Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with automotive

mini cooper warning light question

fingers_of_fire — Sat, 09 Feb 2013 12:03:18 -0800

Any mini cooper owners have any experience with the warning light that looks like a mini on stilts? My gf is out of town for the weekend with her mini cooper, and this light is coming on. She's in Harrisburg, PA, with no local service departments available until Monday am - not an option for her. Apparently the manual suggests that this light refers either to the ignition, the starter, or the lights. But the car starts fine. Still, us being not too knowledgeable about cars, we are hesitant to assume that it's ok to drive it - especially all the way from Harrisburg back to NYC. Does anyone have any experience with this?

Fuel injection huh?

jabes — Mon, 01 Oct 2012 11:58:41 -0800

Mechanic-filter: AAA just fixed my car and I don't understand how. Explain it to me like I'm 5 years old. Tried to start my car about 5 days ago and the engine would crank but the car wouldn't start. I was out of town and got back last night. Tried it again, same result. The boyfriend tried it, putting his foot on the gas, and got the same result. Called AAA to have them tow it to a shop. The tow truck driver asked if he could take a look at it. He got in the car, turned the key, put his foot on the gas (all the way to the floor) for about 15 seconds while the engine cranked, then lifted his foot up slightly. The engine caught and a puff of smoke came out the tailpipe. Turned the car off and restarted it a few times and it started like normal. He warned me not to put my foot on the gas or touch the gas pedal when the car was turned off, and said something about the fuel injection. I don't understand what any of this means! I've been driving for 16 years and have never had this happen before, and I don't put my foot on the gas when I'm starting the car. Can anyone walk me through what happened so I'll know what to do if it happens again? Car is a 2002 Ford Escort. Thanks!

I've been reading about locksmith scams

Anonymous — Fri, 14 Sep 2012 06:58:54 -0800

I bought a new 2012 Toyota Corolla LE. I received 2 Master keys (Smart keys with buttons) and a valet key (starts the car, but doesn't open the trunk). The dealership wants crazy $ to make more keys. They're equipped with an immobilizer, so only those keys can be used to start the car. I want a spare that will open the doors in case I lock myself out, either for a Hide-A-Key under the car or my wallet. Will a $3 duplicate from a hardware store accomplish this? If not, is there a cheap way to go about it?

I never liked those screws anyway!

pullayup — Thu, 14 Jun 2012 10:56:56 -0800

I torqued off the heads off of the screws that fix one of my car's rotors to the hub assembly, and I had to reassemble it and leave for work before I could extract the broken remainders and find replacements. Now that I'm thinking about it, it seems like they only serve to hold the rotor in place when the wheel isn't there. Do I need to replace them?

Do cars really go 10,000 miles between oil changes these days?

COD — Wed, 23 May 2012 05:44:51 -0800

We bought our first new car of the millennium back in March, and it came with free oil changes for life. Since it hit 5000 miles this week, my wife stopped by the dealership for an oil change / tire rotation. They are telling her that the car (2011 Corolla) only needs an oil change every 10,000 miles because they are using synthetic oil. I religiously change the oil in my cars every 5000 miles, and the idea of going 10,000 miles makes me nervous. Should it make me nervous?

How were car emblems designed?

Typographica — Wed, 23 May 2012 02:39:51 -0800

My focus is mainly on the chrome badges that labeled models of the 1940s–’70s, as celebrated at Chromeography. Who was generally responsible for designing the emblem? Were they from inside the car company? Did they have lettering experience or were they more often car designers who were handed the job because there was no one better available? Has the situation changed much since then? I’ve seen this Neatorama post with some short histories of car logos, I'm most interested in the model badges that changed more often.

Looks like you need a costly car repair...not!

teg4rvn — Wed, 02 May 2012 12:43:00 -0800

How do car dealer customer reps in the repair shop get paid? Salary? Commission? Both? I've been taking my car to the dealer for repairs with great result. That is to say that in about ten plus years (and two different cars) I've not needed any major repairs (which I'll define as over $1000). As a result, I get the impression that I have never been the target of a fleecing. Fast forward to current day and I'm told I need a major repair ($2500). Since the car is now older I figured I'd get a second opinion from an independent car mechanic work colleagues swear by. He takes a look at the car and says nothing is wrong with the car. And in the 6 weeks since that diagnosis, the car has been fine. Even brought it back to the independent mechanic and he says things haven't changed.

So I'm torn about my allegiance to the dealership's shop. What are the incentives of the sugary-sweet and polite customer reps? Straight commission? Quotas? Other? And I guess on the backend, do the mechanics have any incentive to "find" something wrong? Are they "incentivized" in any way?

Disappearing power steering fault on a Toyota aygo

cilantro — Wed, 02 May 2012 04:08:41 -0800

Power steering failure, AA guy said it was the alternator, dealership (where it's under warranty) claim they can find nothing wrong with the alternator or any aspect of the power steering. Warranty expires next month. What now. 2006 Toyota Aygo with manual transmission, electrical power steering, and a certified toyota extended warranty. Last night, as I slowed down to turn the corner at the bottom of my street, there was a god-awful squealing sound like a tortured pig and the power steering suddenly failed. I managed to fight it back around the block and in to my driveway. The AA guy came today to have a look - checked the PS belt etc., all was fine, checked the charge in the battery and said it was quite low. There was also an electric-y burning smell. He charged the battery for 20 minutes and then followed me to the dealership. He said that it's something he's seen before on Aygos and the other two cars that it's identical to, the Citroen C1 and Peugeot 107.

The service department just called to tell me that there's absolutely no problem that they can find and just hemmed and hawed when I asked how that could be possible when the power steering failed spectacularly less than 12 hours before. They were also quite clear that if it failed again outside of the warranty, or if it failed again within the warranty and they couldn't find a fault, that I was out of luck.

What on earth do I do now? I'm terrified to drive the thing knowing it might fail again - what if it fails when I'm going 70 on the motorway? What if they're just stalling and being dishonest so they don't have to repair it under the warranty? Halp please?

Wheels on the box go round and round

FatherDagon — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 12:36:23 -0800

What do I need to know to buy all-new wheels for my 2006 Scion xB? So it's become time to replace a wheel on my car, and I've decided to replace ALL the wheels on my car, along with all new tires. I know that my current wheel size is 15" (stock). What else should I know when shopping for new wheels - are there any surprises that wouldn't spring to mind normally? Specific wheel sizes I need, or what sizes are available to me, or if certain sizes have unexpected pitfalls of their own? Extra parts or hub assemblies or something that I'll also have to get, etc etc? I know well enough about cross-checking prices, getting thorough reviews of the various tires that can come packaged with the sets, etc. I'm currently browsing mostly through wheelsnext.com, altho their packaged tires seem a bit underwhelming.

Collection of questions concerning creatively capturing cars with a camera?

punkfloyd — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 06:06:06 -0800

I am a novice photographer who would like to improve my skills at photographing vintage cars primarily outdoors in natural light. I am looking to replace my old Nikon D50 and 18-55mm lens with a Nikon D3300. What would be the must-have lenses, filters and accessories for my task? Also best camera settings? Also interested in tricks for getting compelling images. Close up? High angle? Low angle? Just experiment? I have Photoshop and am pretty decent at post-production touch up and stuff. I know Photoshop can play a big role in great photos, but I want to start by capturing the best image. This is not a professional thing, I am just lucky enough to come across some sweet British motors on a regular basis and want to capture some nice images for myself.

How to become a mechanic? With SA?

MrFish — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 22:11:25 -0800

How does a person become a mechanic, ideally, and is this line of work compatible with social anxiety? I have a friend; a class setting or lots of people around seriously wears her out mentally/emotionally and her difficulties make her feel inadequate. She's intensely nervous of being called on or speaking in front of others. Starts thinking negatively about herself. Things go poorly and she can barely stand to be there, really. This in turn depresses her badly and ruins her motivation in class and her motivation to keep attending.

This same person is quite competent outside such settings. Intelligent, no-BS, reads up, makes an effort to do things right.

So, we kind of bounced career ideas around trying to find a 'path of least resistance' -- a job that didn't require working with many people. Among the ideas: auto mechanic.

Does this make sense? If so, what's a good way to get into this line of work? Apprenticeship? Self-study and an expendable vehicle? Are vocational training classes differently structured than normal classes?

What does 4WD feel like

foxy_hedgehog — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 11:12:01 -0800

What does four-wheel drive "feel" like? How would I know that it's on and operational? Hi car folks. We have a 20-year old car with the option of four-wheel drive, activated by a button on the dashboard. Unfortunately, either the light that indicates that the four-wheel drive is in effect has burnt out or the four-wheel drive isn't activating. We would like to try to figure out on our own what the answer is before we take the car into the mechanic.

Why do we need the help? We just moved to Michigan and have never used four-wheel drive before, so we have no idea what it feels like if it's working properly. Would we be able to tell? What would working four-wheel drive feel like, and how would it feel like from normal driving? We had the car checked out six months ago by a mechanic before we left and he said that it appeared to be working normally then.

Shop says car engine seized, with no warning signs. Need advice.

Alaska Jack — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 17:55:46 -0800

Catastrophefilter. Auto shop just called, say Subaru has seized engine. Baffling, because no warning signs. ~$5,000 for new one. Options? My finances may be about to take a devastating hit. Here's the situation.

I have a 2000 Subaru "Outback Wagon Sport" (the Outback version of the Impreza) w/just over 100K miles. It's been a while since the oil was changed, but not incredibly long (I can't say exactly when, as I'm at work right now and the car is in the shop).

There have been no warning signs whatsoever. No overheating, no engine lights, no oil leakage. Last week I drove to work fine. When I went to go home, the engine cranked over a couple of times, there was an audible "clunk" from the engine compartment, and it stopped turning over. It would only click after that.

I towed it to the shop on Thursday. They just called, and said the engine was SEIZED. Said it would be about 5K for a new engine, maybe less if they could find a used one.

So, I'm trying to wrap my mind around this.

(A) The guy I talked to was a desk guy, not the tech, who had gone home by the time the desk guy called. Is there any chance there's been a mistake? How does a car seize with no warning signs? If there was no oil, wouldn't it have been overheating? How could it have turned over at all before suddenly going "clunk" and dying?

(B) What options should I be looking at in terms of new engines? Craigslist? eBay? Junkyards? I just have no idea where to begin.

Sorry to ramble -- obviously this has really blindsided me. Any guidance gratefully appreciated.

Trying to find new-type winter tires to fit older car

Alaska Jack — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 21:04:10 -0800

I know very little about car tires. Having problems finding a Blizzak-type winter tire, and retailer of same, for lady friend's older car. Advice gratefully accepted! Hi everyone. I swung by Costco today to get tires for a 1992 Toyota Camry. I particularly wanted to get a set of the new-generation winter tires, like Bridgestone's Blizzak or Michelin's X-Ice.

The current tires say "P195/70Rr14 90S". Costco guy said they don't carry this size, and their website seems to back this up.

Recommendations? Is there a good online retailer, preferably one that offers free shipping, that I should check?

Tirerack, for example, only seems to offer a single tire in this size: The Firestone Winterforce, which as far as I can tell does not seem to be one of the "new generation"-type tires.

I would love to get any helpful pointers or suggestions you might have.

Mass transit.

bhayes82 — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 20:14:51 -0800

I'm spending nearly $400/month on automotive-related expenses for a car I don't enjoy driving. That's about 25% of my monthly income, and when it really comes down to it, I think I'd rather be saving that money for something better, like travel. Or education. Or Scotch. Lots and lots of Scotch. Car in question is a 2003 Volkswagen Golf. If you know anything about cars and a little about me, this purchase was a mistake, solely for the choice of transmission. Really, I can't stand it. I'm falling asleep at the wheel without a clutch pedal.

Because driving this car is such a boring, arduous chore, I do ride the bus from time to time. I like the bus, mostly. My home is a block away from a major bus route (for MSP folks, the 14) and it gets me a few blocks from work; most of my other destinations (friends in Uptown/Northeast, entertainment/shopping/etc) are a transfer away. What the bus lacks in driving excitement is traded for an exciting tour through North Minneapolis.

Total monthly expenses are broken down like this: $150 car payment, $60 insurance, $160 for fuel. Plus maintenance and repairs, which will likely start piling up on this wonderful little box of Brazilian-built German engineering with 100,000 miles. I still owe $1500 on the car; it's probably worth $3000 in its current condition, needing some attention to the exhaust/emissions system and some minor body work.

It's not like the $400 is a complete stretch of my budget, but I'm just not happy that I'm spending that much on a dinky little commuter hatchback with an automatic. I've had it for almost five years now. Yeah, actually, it's not that I'm unhappy about it, I'm kinda pissed. But let's save that discussion about anger management for another AskMe.

Could I buy a different car? Well, sorta. My credit is lousy; I'm in the 590-640 ballpark. But more importantly, I just graduated, and I don't really want to take on another loan or a lease because I don't know exactly where I'll be in three years, let alone three months. I have dreams of getting my foot in the door at a design agency either here in Minneapolis, or, better yet, in Madrid. Or Montreal. Or Manhattan. And those work dreams trump my car dreams.

So I've come up with three plans. YOU DECIDE:

Plan A is selling the car, paying off the loan, throwing the change in savings, and taking the bus year-round. Hooray for saving money and the environment and all that.

Plan B is selling the car and buying a cheap old beater with the leftover cash, like an E28, E30, W201, or something of that size/shape/vintage. Or maybe a motorcycle, if I can find a working R60 in that price range. I could probably be cool with taking the bus all winter long if I had a sweet old Beemer to look forward to riding in the summer. Either way -- more fun to drive, lower ownership cost. Maybe not as practical, but I'm not always a very practical person.

Plan C is doing nothing, because, well, this probably isn't that big of a deal in the long run, is it?

My SUV Stereo is Haunted

imjustsaying — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 10:18:43 -0800

Why does the factory stereo in my 2002 Ford Escape (AM/FM stero, 4 speaker, six disk changer) randomly change stations and randomly change or eject CD's? Some days I can drive for a few hours without problems. Other days for only a few minutes and this behavior will start. I remain clueless. It's very annoying.

Stay stuck dammit.

256 — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 10:10:01 -0800

In search of clearcoat or other substance that will allow vinyl wall stickers to survive the elements of Canadian spring/summer/fall. I got a 2006 Kawasaki ZZR-600 for a song because of extensive cosmetic damage.

The lower fairings were a complete write-off, which is fine, I prefer the naked bike look anyway. I dremeled the upper fairing back to little more than a bikini cowl and bondoed the big dent in the gas tank.

Then, rather than try to repaint the tank (which never seems to look good unless you pay a professional a ton of money), I opted to go the decal route.

I bought some of these wall decals and did a test application to a sheet of metal, applying two coats of rust check clear coat and everything seemed fine, so I moved on to the bike.

I was really happy with the result: side view, tank closeup

The only problem is that, after only two weeks of alternating 35 degree celsius heat and thunderstorms, the edges of the decaled area are starting slightly to peel, despite the clearcoat: aargh!

The clearcoat was definitely applied properly, but the desire of the decals to curl just seems to be too strong for it to seal in.

What can I do to seal these decals down? Ideally I would like a solution that doesn't require me to remove all the decals and start again but I will do that if it's the only way.

Also note that I have applied decals both to the painted steel tank and to the ABS plastic fairing. The tank decals are the only ones that are peeling so far, but I'd like some way to protect the fairing ones as well.

Be still, Aztek, be still!

galadriel — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 16:46:23 -0800

My sister's new-to-her 2003 Aztek shudders sometimes. The Aztek shudders in the first drive of the day when accelerating from a stop. It also shudders, now, at speeds between 60 and 80 mph.

The transmission fluid and filter were changed. A faulty speed sensor was replaced. What else should she look for? What can she look at herself, before taking it to a mechanic? She's on an out-of-town trip and would like the car to be more drivable on the way home.

Thanks!

Why would the A/C make my car accelerate rough?

breakin' the law — Sat, 30 Jul 2011 12:44:40 -0800

Why does my car's air conditioner cause it to hesitate when accelerating? I have recently been having an issue with my car hesitating during acceleration, especially from a complete stop. I had suspected it was the fuel injector and I went to my (very trustworthy) mechanic the other day, who agreed. He suggested that I fill the tank up with high-octane gas and then pour in a fuel injector cleaner before embarking on a costly repair.

While driving to the mechanic's, I noticed that the car accelerated smoothly, which struck me as odd. After coming home from work that day, I got in the car and pulled out of a parking space...smooth acceleration. I switched on the A/C, came to a stop sign, and accelerated again. Jerky acceleration.

It suddenly occurred to me that I did not have the A/C running in the morning when driving to the mechanic's. I pulled over to a complete stop and turned the A/C off again to see what would happen - smooth acceleration. I then did the same with the A/C on - hesitation. I drove home with the A/C off, and it was smooth the whole way.

I then realized that I began experiencing this problem when I began running the air conditioner on a regular basis. It's pretty clear to me now that the A/C is somehow making the car hesitate during acceleration.

So my question is...WTF? This has never happened before. I've done a bit of googling on the issue, and it seems there are some electrical components that may be to blame, but I haven't found anything terribly specific. Also, if you can say what the problem is, about how much would it cost to fix?

BTW, car is a 1999 Camry with 135k miles. Previous owner was a relative and it's always been well-maintained. I had some major maintenance done a few months ago by said mechanic, who checked out the engine and everything in the process and said it's in good working order.

Help me help my Honda.

googly — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 08:56:18 -0800

Just had to replace the rotors on my Honda Accord. Again. Help. My 2004 Honda Accord with 65K miles has needed its rotors replaced 3 times in 7 years. I understand that this is likely due to lack of use, especially during the winter. We live in Montreal, which has very long and snowy winters, and we do not use the car very much (note the low mileage), but we drive it at least once a week during the winter and often more than that. It certainly doesn't sit in a snowbank for months on end. Yet approximately every other year I need to have all the rotors replaced, and they always look like they've been sitting out in the rain for ten years. Is this normal? Am I being suckered by various mechanics? Short of getting a job with a 20-mile commute, is there anything I can do to prevent this?

I need to find the best tire store in Northern Virginia.

Jamesonian — Sun, 24 Jul 2011 20:11:27 -0800

I need to find the best tire store in Northern Virginia. My '04 Tiburon has a wheel that's been leaking air for months and after failures by three different tire shops I'm at my wit's end. I've taken it to THREE DIFFERENT TIRE STORES (NTB in Merrifield and Springfield, and Mr. Tire in Arlington Courthouse) with no success. The first NTB couldn't find any problems despite the fact that the tire was losing about 5 lbs a day. The second NTB claimed to have found and removed a screw yet the tire was flat by the time I left their parking lot! The Mr. Tire also claimed to have found and removed a nail but they also removed rust and applied something called "tire glue" around the rim. That seemed to work for a few months but now the tire is losing air again, this time it goes flat in about three hours. I need to find someone who will not rest until they've checked everything about this wheel, both tire and rim, and can locate this problem once and for all. Is it the tire? Is it the rim? Is it both? I don't care! I just need to fix it. Because of where I live and the condition of the tire, my options are limited to shops in Virginia either inside the Beltway or not too far outside of it. Can anyone recommend a reputable shop whose tire technicians take pride in their work?

How can I get a title for a junkyard car?

Elminster of Labor — Tue, 07 Jun 2011 20:09:51 -0800

How can I get a title to a previously owned car that was sold to a junkyard? I bought this car from a junkyard but the previous owner has the title. He crashed it but did not call it totaled or forfeit the title. He then sold it to the junkyard eight years ago. I bought this car a couple months ago and got it road ready, but now I have no recourse to get the title in my name. How can I get this title? I have no information on the original owner of the title.

my honda civic has trouble going into reverse. why?

patricking — Sat, 16 Apr 2011 18:14:59 -0800

our 2006 honda civic EX sedan (automatic) is having occasional problems shifting into reverse. we're taking it in to be fixed, but i want to try and read up on this beforehand. fascinating details inside. the day after our blizzard (we're in chicago), the boyfriend got stuck on a snowdrift.

the front end of the car was stuck with packed snow underneath, so boyfriend basically had to dig out and back off of that in reverse (that being a summary of about two hours worth of effort), which caused some damage underneath.

firstly, a plastic shield was ripped off from the undercarriage/front bumper. that's like a hundred bucks to replace, so i don't care.

secondly, the car will occasionally refuse to go into reverse. when put into reverse, it'll act like it's in neutral and just rev.

we can make it drop into gear, but it's not really safe—we have to either shift into drive then back into reverse until it drops into gear, or gun the engine in reverse until it catches.

it'll drop into gear after about three tries of either method. this only happens with reverse, none of the other gears.

during driving after it's needed to be forced back into gear, it'll jump somewhat as it shifts between other gears. (this happens every time, so i assume that to mean it's connected). it feels like something slipping for about a quarter-second before changing gears.

what does this sound like to car folks? i'm not sure what portion of the engine to familiarize myself with. ultimately, i'm going to trust a mechanic making repairs, but i do want to have a general idea of what we're getting into before taking it in.

How do automotive firmware engineers do their jobs?

TheNewWazoo — Sat, 09 Apr 2011 12:00:12 -0800

Are you an automotive engineer? Do you design engine control module firmware? Do you know or love someone who does? How is that firmware actually written? I'm interested in learning how automotive engineers actually perform development when they're creating the firmware that runs on a car's ECU. I've got a background in software development and am familiar with drafting specifications and turning them into a delivered product. I've also got some background in embedded systems programming and a know a bit about controls. That is, I know enough to know just how complex something like a car's ECM can be given the huge number of variables involved.

So how do they do it? I can't imagine that there's a team of programmers sitting around hacking Erlang or C... right? I've played with MATLAB and Simulink, and know that you can somehow turn rigorous simulations into code but my impression is that it's not easy or straightforward. Is that what they do? What tools and techniques are the current state of the art at somewhere like Siemens or Bosch or Toyota?

Pressing Clutch Pedal Creates "Air" Noise in '04 Tiburon

Jamesonian — Fri, 18 Mar 2011 12:10:30 -0800

I have a 2004 Hyundai Tiburon GT V6 Special Edition (http://autos.yahoo.com/2004_hyundai_tiburon_gt_v6_special_edition/) with 53k miles. Recently I noticed an odd sound when I press the clutch pedal. The best way to describe the sound is that it's very much like the rushing air sound you hear when a window is opened. The sound does vary just a bit in pitch depending on how far the clutch is pressed, and the sound stops when the clutch pedal is let back out. I'd swear it sounds like a hole being opened and closed. The sound is very subtle and can't be heard when the radio is up, so I don't know how long it's been there. I first noticed it several months ago and it hasn't changed since then, neither getting worse nor better. As best as I can determine, the sound is coming from the area underneath the pedal. The transmission seems to be working perfectly and I don't abuse the clutch in any way. Someone suggested that it could be the throwout bearing, but I've watched clips of that sound on-line and it doesn't quite match what I'm hearing. Any ideas or suggestions?