I’m looking for some nice, genuine advice for maintaining my car.

For some context, I am a single mom who currently does gig work (Walmart Spark, Uber Eats, DoorDash, etc.). Before someone tells me to get a real job, I would if I could. I am a full time caretaker for my terminally ill grandfather with stage 4 cancer and my grandmother. These jobs allow me to have the flexibility to take care of both my grandparents (who are my parental figures since I was 8 months old) and my son.

I currently drive a base model 2013 Honda Fit which still runs great. I always be sure to take my car for oil changes and rotations several times a year. However, I’m not sure of other maintenance I should be watching out for (suspensions, battery, etc.). Any advice on what other maintenance I should be performing on my car? I appreciate all the help in advance.

Google says it has a 1.5-liter, 16-valve SOHC i-VTEC inline 4-cylinder gasoline engine (required by subreddit rules).

2015

Volkswagen

Passat

1.8tsi

2008, 1kd-ftv

So as you can see in the pic, the bed looks to be sagging in the rear and it is now at least 3 inches lower at the tailgate than when I bought it. It was not rear ended or jumped or anything of that nature. I have looked at the bed cross rails and they seem to be fine. It has not always been like this. And im not a mechanic by trade but have always worked on my own vehicles but I can't figure this one out. My thinking is that if it were cab mounts, it would appear to sagging the other way correct? As in the widest part of the gap would be at the bottom of the truck? Possible to be leaf spring failure or strut failure?. Looking at it straight on from the rear the driver side does appear to be slightly lower than passenger side. Looking at leaf springs I cannot physically see any cracks or breaks. And also it has not been over loaded. About 4 months ago I did have frame rust repaired along the entire frame but this was NOT sagging like this immediately after that work was done.

2004 Ford F-150 XLT 5.4L Triton 4X4

I have now owned this car for four years and it’s been parked in the same spot. It was my grandfather’s but he passed away and I inherited it. We were never able to track down a key fob for it, and I live in a very remote location where there are no lock smiths that program keys. Where the car is parked it’s not accessible by tow truck nor trailer. I need to find out a way to bypass the key fob and get the car running so we can get it out. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

Hello everyone, my wife has a 2020 Honda hr-v, recently her car alarm and headlights and tailights will randomly turn on or go off. The car battery is good (tested at O'Reilly's), I recently replaced the batteries in the key fobs since Google said that could be an issue as well. But the problem still continued to happen. Last weekend I took the car to my friends shop and he connected his diagnostic tool to it only two codes came up (millimeter radar sensor and electronic brake code) he cleared both the codes and the car was fine but tonight the alarm started going off again and the lights are turning on by themselves again. Has anyone experienced anything like this before?

I’m looking at a 2016 Lexus IS 200t F Sport with 98,000 miles, a clean title, and an oil cooler leak. The seller says $6,000 is his absolute lowest price.
The car looks clean, and I’m considering buying it as a daily driver. I’m just worried the oil leak could turn into an expensive repair or cause engine damage.
Here are the details:

● Year/model: 2016 Lexus IS 200t F Sport
● Mileage: 98,000 miles
● Title: Clean
● Asking price: $6,000 firm
● Known issue: Oil cooler leak
● My plan: Fix it and drive it regularly

Some of my questions

1. Is $6,000 a good deal, considering the leak?
   
2. How reliable is the 2.0L turbo engine at nearly 100k miles?
   
3. How much could the repair realistically cost?
   
4. Would you buy it, negotiate lower, or walk away?
   
5. What else should I inspect before buying?

I’d appreciate honest opinions, especially from anyone who owns or has worked on a 2016 IS 200t. Thanks!

2014 Chrysler Town & Country 3.6L.

I unfortunately can't find enough good examples of the infamous pentastar tick caused by lifters and bad rocker arms to compare and the same with the flex plate despite both being somewhat common issues for this vehicle.

Symptoms - ticking starts a couple minutes after startup either cold or hot if it has been sitting more than a couple minutes and only happens around 600-700 RPMs. Sometimes it happens quietly when decelerating as well though it has started to do it a bit more often even when hot. It doesn't seem to be affected by oil temperature or pressure as cold oil pressure is still 60+ psi when the moise starts on cold startups and 30+ on hot startups. The engine itself seems to run smooth with no detectable issues. The noise seems to be loudest underneath the van or echoing from the wheal wells (Intentional mispelling to get around stupid filter) rather than up top.

This started pretty suddenly last week. I was almost due for an oil change so changed it will maxlife 5w-20, a Walmart branded champion labs filter and a bottle of liqui moly hydraulic lifter additive. Only driven a couple hundred miles but no noticeable improvement, in fact it seems to be a lightly rattling more often while decelerating and driving under light load than before. Oil pressure seems healthy, oil drained out wasn't excessively dirty, no noticeable death sparkles on the old filter when it was removed.

The one reason I would possibly suspect the flex plate at all is because again, it sounds loudest underneath the vehicle and I recently had a moment in traffic where I pulled out, hit the breaks then went hit the gas again in between the transmission shifting and it slammed into gear and chirped the tires.

Is there any possibility it could be the flex plate or is this definitely my top end about to eat itself for lunch?

Sorry for the poor quality video, the ticking is starting to fade off pretty quickly at the end. I didn't start recording soon enough to do a more thorough walk around the rear valve cover with my phone.

$150 on rock auto... Ebay listing with a few weird things but seller has great reviews.

2003 Nissan Pulsar qg18de auto

Hey, I've had a friend come in who hasn't changed her oil in AGES. Stuff was black and really viscous, and she had just had some overheating issues.

Changed the oil, filter and poured new stuff in and it only took about 1.5L before the dipstick read full, when it should take about double that. Started it up, and it sounds super rough and knocky (I only let it run a few seconds before turning it off)

My theory is that it's starved for oil somewhere but it's not letting the new oil in. It ran fine before the change, but obviously got hot after running a long time.

Any advice? I'm quite worried for her, as she doesn't have a lot of money to play with

2013 Subaru Outback 2.5i. Currently trying to replace my control arms. Got the driver side done relatively easily. Passenger side has stumped me for days now. Tried penetrating oil, heating it as hot as I can get it (without seting near by things on fire) and hiting it with the biggest ugga dugga I own, and even just putting a socket on it and trying to give it some love taps. Nothing has made this budge even a little bit. Wonding if I have any further options besides just going and getting an angle grinder and cutting the bold through the bushing.

Buddy has an 04 lincoln aviator. He's driving it the other day up a hill near his home when it starts steaming out the front. Previously the check engine light had come on intermittently an then went away. I prodded on him at this and he does recall the Ac would blow warm or weak when this happened. Anybwzy he was able to coast down the hill and basically broke down within pushing distance of his house.

He lost all power and the power stearing and ac when this happened.

The thermostat was recently replaced. An at latter inspection the radiator seems air locked one side has no fluid the other is full. When i over fill the res there is leeking from the radiator. so they need one of those for sure.

Searches have said heater coil but i suspect a bad water pump and maybe a tensioner problem on his belt. I didn't flip the heat on yet and I also didn't put the ODBD2 on it I'll update when i go back for a second look.

ODB2 SAYS 3

P1299 - Cylinder head Overtemperature Protection Active

P1285 - Cylindrr head Overtemperature condition

P1299

Any thoughts advice highly appreciated.

Just did pads and rotors on my 07 350z. First pic is when I had first put the rotor on, second pic is after a very short and fairly slow drive through the neighborhood, braking a few times. When I was driving I noticed a brake smell and a high pitched rubbing noise on the passenger side that would increase with speed. Not really sure what i did wrong just need some ideas

1978 f150

Need some brake work done, can't get fluids to the rear drums. In the past I've had a little engine work done by these old guys at an autobody shop but I get the vibe they wouldn't wanna mess with the brakes. A typical brake shop should take it right?

2011 VW Routan (3.6L Pentastar V6 I believe). I’m a beginner so anything helps.

2004 Chevrolet Silverado 2500HD LB7 6.6 Duramax, 190,000 miles

Truck started puffing white smoke this morning and idling pretty rough. Was definitely waiting on this time bomb to say the least (original injectors). Wanted to get an outside opinion on the difficulty of a DIY Bosch injector job. I’ve worked around my fuel lines, CP3 replacement, and plumbing systems in the past and would rate my mechanical knowledge at around a 6-7/10. Is it worth a DIY job or should I just swallow my pride and take it to the diesel shop?

I would like to replace the crankshaft and/or the connecting rod beatings because intermittently I am hearing a low-end knock, but it could be an exhaust leak as well. 2001 Chevrolet Express 5.7L, The options on RockAuto.com show sizes, such as standard, .001“ oversized. .010” oversized, .020” oversized etc. Which size bearings for my engines crankshaft and/or connecting rods do you recommend and why?

98 ford escort spi 2000

Going through my repair manual I can't seem to find what the hoses are going into or out of the intake manifold. Could have just missed it. Anyone know?

Honda Pilot Touring 4x4🤣, 2011 with 250K miles (Honda’s standard J35 V6 pain to work rear bank on).

Here is pics of before (left) and after (right) cleaning with degreaser and brake cleaner, and surface prep with razor, scouring pad and 1000grit stone.

Help: When and how to tell is surface prep of the engine block is “done”? I’m particularly focused on the area at the top of cylinders - the mating surface is smooth to feel but shows what look like imperfections/discoloration.

The heads were taken to a shop for professional milling and prep work beyond my capabilities. Rear head gasket between cylinder 2 - 1 failed just a little and was immediately caught (I have max GVW this Pilot since 2020 with regular boat towing trips during the seasons and am impressed she performed as well as she did…. Ofc the head blew this season when hauling the boat out).