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Toyota - 4runner :: Rust On Frame
I took my 2003 4Runner to the dealer and they sent pictures to toyota. I asked that the customer service rep contact me next time he was in the area. Toyota replaced the frame with me paying a 2500.00 deductible. Now I still have the car and will wait for the recall/class action suit that someone will file to get reimbursed. I hear it was due to the frames being dipped in Alabama.
View 2 RepliesAlignment - Belts :: 1994 Ford E150 - Power Steering Pulley Out Of Line
I have a '94 Ford E150 (6 cyl). A few weeks ago the pwr steering fluid began to leak. I couldn't readily see where it was coming from and thought no big deal I'll wait until it's more pronounced. After a week or so of topping off the fluid, I heard a pop under the hood as the serp. belt broke (sheared off actually). Not sure if it matters but at the time I was all manual power with the steering as all the fluid had leaked out.
That's when I noticed that the power steering pulley was slightly out of alignment with the others. I replaced the belt, limped home and the next day the new belt sheared off like the 1st (in ribbons wrapped around the fan). Never had this happen before but is there any way to adjust positioning of the power steering pump and pulley?Looking on the bright side, I'll definitely have a chance to get to that leak now.
Subaru - Outback :: Intermittent Loss Of Power Steering Ability
I bought my outback a few months ago from a dealer/mechanic who had fixed the car after it was totaled. So it has a reconstructed title, but it was hit in the back, so all the engine parts were unaffected by the crash. Since I have had the car I have experienced intermittent loss of power steering ability. Sometimes it's nearly impossible to parallel park or turn a corner gracefully, and other times, within the same short trip, the steering will be completely fine and smooth. I have had the issue looked at about three times now by different mechanics. Each time they have either replaced or tightened the belt, which temporarily fixes the problem. But within a few weeks it always comes back. Is there something not keeping the belt tight, or could the issue actually be in the power steering pump?
View 3 RepliesVolkswagen - Cabrio :: 2002 - Back Window Peeling From Canvas Roof?
I have a 2002 VW Cabrio (convertible) and the back window is beginning to peel away from the canvas roof. We called a mechanic who says the entire roof needs replacing. This seems crazy as the the window just appears to be glued to the canvas.
View 3 RepliesFord - Focus :: 2010 - Rhythmic Hiss Coming From Dash When AC On And Does Not Cool The Air
Car is approaching 100,000 miles. While driving today I noticed a rhythmic hiss coming from the dash when the AC ran. No temperature difference between AC and vent after a little while. Is there anything I can look for before I take it into the shop? I will take it in and have them put die in to find potential leak before we start with the more expensive repairs, but would like to save where I can.
View 4 RepliesHonda - Odyssey :: 2005 - At Cold Temp Brake Won't Work How Hard Pressed
When the weather gets to below freezing and I start my van in the morning the brake pedal will not push down no matter how hard I push. The first time this happened I was moving and had no brakes for seconds. Luckily no one was in front of me. If I warm the van up just a couple of minutes I can feel it release and then the brakes are fine. I've taken it to the Honda dealer twice and also an independent mechanic and no one can find anything wrong with my brakes. I know I can wait until the van warms up but should this situation be happening? I never experience this in my Caravan or any other vehicle.
View 6 RepliesGasoline - Geo - Prizm :: 1996 - Excessive Fuel Consumption And Squeaking
I have a 1996 Geo Prizm, with about 126K miles. I bought it last May, at around 120,000 miles and had no problems with it until recently, other than some minor issues with the power steering in November. In November, it started making a squeaking or grinding noise whenever I went around a sharp turn. It turned out that the power steering fluid was slightly low, so I added more and that was the end of that problem. But I also found out that the previous owner had put the wrong kind of power steering fluid in. Starting about 2 weeks ago, the car started making a squeaking or squealing noise. There would be no squeaking when I started the car, but then it would start when I turned. It is only audible when the engine is idling, and I'm not sure if it is squealing at other times, too.
I figured it was probably one of the belts, probably the power steering belt. However, I checked it and it seemed to be tight enough and did not appear cracked or glazed. A friend of mine who knows much more about cars than I do also checked the power steering, alternator, and A/C compressor pumps for me, and he said they seemed fine. About the same time the squeaking started, I noticed the car seemed to be burning a lot more fuel than usual. I have filled up the gas tank twice since then. Typically, throughout this winter, the car has gotten 33-36 miles per gallon. But on the last tank, it only got 25 MPG and it got 29 MPG on the tank before that. There has been no change in my driving habits to explain this. The engine also sounds slightly rough when it is idling, almost like a diesel engine, but no louder than the car usually sounds. My friend who checked the belts listened to it when it was idling, and he thought he heard a slight knocking sound, which I heard too.
I noticed no decline in performance: the car accelerates just as quickly as ever, and performs the way it always has. The power steering seems to function just fine, despite the squeaking. I thought that perhaps there was something wrong with the timing belt, and that might explain both the squeaking and the increased fuel burn. But I looked online at a few websites, and it sounds like timing belts usually don't show any symptoms when they are wearing out, they usually just fail without much warning. Also, when I bought the car, the previous owner said the timing belt was replaced at around 90K, so it should be fine for a while. I am at a loss as to what might be wrong with the car. I wonder if the squeaking and the increased fuel burn are caused by the same problem, or if there might be separate problems causing each.
Chevrolet - Trailblazerext :: 2003 Chevy Misfiring / Spitting And Sputtering
My trailblazer started with the spitting and sputtering (misfiring) last week. Over 100,000 miles on it, ya, in need of a tune up. So for obvious reasons new spark plugs seemed to be the logical choice. If it wasn't the problem, it can't hurt to change them. Truck's SES light did not come on, but truck was running pretty crappy, more when it was cold than hot, but definetely a loss of power. There is also a slight exhaust leak starting, where abouts right now I haven't pinpointed, deaf in one ear so it's hard to tell where it is coming from.
So I had my brother in law install the new spark plugs. We took the old ones out and 4 and 5 cylinder plugs had oil on them. Ah great, valve cover gasket and the gaskets the spark plugs sit on (don't ask me, not a mechanic lol) need to be changed. Started with just the plugs for now. Started truck up, still had a bit of vibration on idle, like it would from an exhaust leak, but still didn't seem right . But an even more noticable loss of power when driving, truck doesn't seem to want to get above forty.
Now my SES light is flashing almost consistently unless I'm stopped (idled). It almost feels like the cat is clogged. Did smell a heavier than normal gas smell when changing out the plugs. I know that the flashing SES almost certainly means a misfire. But why would it all of a sudden come on after changing the plugs? Tomorrow I am going to my friends garage who has the scanner tool (not just the one that reads codes) to see if it is a bad coil pack and to see if there is a specific cylinder that is misfiring.
But there is something about that exhaust leak that is leading me to believe it is the culprit of my problems. Leak came first, then the misfiring. Could the cat be clogged, which blew a hole in the exhaust and cause a misfire? And the new plugs just made the misfiring worse to cause the SES light to come on? Is there anything else I should check besides a faulty coil pack and compression check (even though I should have done that when I changed the plugs, but live and learn).
Honda - Accord - Gauges :: 2005 - Overheating When Idling?
When it is cold outside and I want to turn my heat on in my car, it takes a loooong while for heat to be produced. I have to have the car moving at a high rate of speed before any heat is made. Even when it is turned all the way to the hottest setting it just spits out cold air. Here is the real problem. If I have the temperature on the heat and the car is idle, the temperature gauge on the instrument panel starts to move around to the RED side(meaning the engine is hot, right?)
As long as the car is moving the gauge will stay in the BLUE(engine is cool, right?) As soon as I stop the car at a red light or sit in traffic(which is usually the case) sure enough the little temperature needle begins to make its way to the RED side. As soon as I move again, it normals again. I have taken this to several mechanics and they have said that they do not know what is wrong and they think that it may just be a faulty temp gauge(this does not seem right) I do not really know if the car is in fact overheating when the gauge starts its travels or if the car is fine and I just have something that is faulty.
Jetta - Volkswagen :: Idles High - Gas Smell When Car Gets Started
I have a 2003 Jetta. After it runs for awhile, if I have to shut it off and start it back up - I have to pump the gas to get it started and it idles high and gets flooded. I can smell gas after it gets started. A mechanic already replaced the ignition coil, which wasn't the problem at all.
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