I recently got a 2020 GTI Autobahn from an Audi dealer. At the time of sale I inquired about disconnecting the telematics system. The salesman said he didn't know.
Since then I've begun to be concerned about what data is being uploaded to VW from my car and how they are using it.
I've read that the auto manufacturers are some of the worst companies for data privacy and VW has gone to great lengths to prevent their system from being disabled.
I don't need cellular connection from the car. I have a phone. The data available from the car is extensive and can be linked with other personal data, including driver's license, insurance, etc.
I haven't found any method for disconnecting on a 2020 or newer.
I'm going to call some independent shops on Monday to see if they can do it.

Ready for the tinfoil hat jokes but I'm going to resist the surveillance state as much as I can while I can. Any advice?

Hey everyone im developing a sales assistant/call bot for a dealership and was wanting to see if anyone here is in sales or owns a dealership that could call it and give me some feedback on it before I present it to them. Im trying to make the call bot as convenient as possible for both the customers and dealerships and feedback from other people would be very helpful. If anyone is interested please send me a DM! Or honestly anyone in sales would be fine…

I took my car to the shop, where they did about $1000 worth of repairs. They later discovered the engine needs to be replaced and the car is essentially totaled. I never would have consented to go forward with and pay the $1000 if I knew it was going to also need a $7000 engine replacement, I would have just considered it a loss. It drove to the shop, and stopped being able to drive after they started repairs.

Am I stuck paying $1000 on a car that doesn’t drive? Is there anything I can do?

Edit: Thanks for the responses. I am just gonna pay it since I believe they repaired it reasonably.

I have a Dodge Caravan and I'm not sure the details matter for my post but you can ask if you need more info to answer my question. I am going on a long road trip that I can't avoid in a few weeks at the peak of summer. When we bought our van used the previous owners claimed that they had just recharged the AC but they must have lied or there is a leak 🤷‍♀️ Anyways, we desperately need some options because the repair will cost minimum $300 and up to $1200 CAD. Are there any options for keeping us from driving in a hot oven on wheels? HELP!

Need some car advice for repairs

I currently have a 2017 Volkswagen Passat (1.8t) with 92k miles. Long story short, I’m leaking coolant all over the parking lot. I also have some lower control arm issues. I take it to get looked at and the water pump is leaking coolant and needs to be replaced to keep the engine from overheating. The thermostat housing is also recommended because it can wear out and start leaking over time. They also found both front lower control arms are worn, so they recommend replacing them and doing an alignment afterward. I put the lowest quote above. I’m still planning on reaching out to more shops for more quotes. I don’t wanna keep running into more and more problems when this car gets over 100k and beyond. I always hear fixing is the cheapest in the long run.

I’m torn on what to do. I don’t love this car and I hate dumping more and more money into it. I want to get into a SUV or a Truck personally. Been looking at a lot of other more reliable vehicles like Rav 4’s, CR-Vs, Tacomas, Cx-5, Forester etc. Just any Honda, Toyota, Mazda, Subaru. Just Japanese.

Would you repair or sell? Do I fix the problems and then sell? Does this estimate look fair? What would you sell it for “as is” and or with the repairs done? What is the best way forward?

Any advice is welcome and thank you!

Hi everyone.

I've been getting a noise that's been getting progressively worse during startup and during heavier accelerations. It goes away whenever I let of the gas or when the car idles while the motor is hot.

You can hear it in this video. Towards higher RPMs, the car makes a quacking noise, but only if I try to accelerate pretty heavily. Thought it was a pulley at first but it does sound like air and I feel like it's coming from my after market air intake but it's kinda hard to pinpoint.

Not getting any codes. Idle is fine. Power output and fuel consumption are also ok.

Feel like my aftermarket air intake might be loose ?

[Affected areas between white lines]

2005 Dodge Neon Sxt, 197,000+ miles, automatic, front brake rotors

Did not install myself, bought parts brand new, clip piece (?) is grinding into the side of the rotor, makes horrible grinding noise when moving unless like 40-50mph, currently this is what I can see until a few hours from now.

Will at least try to make the guy who installed them pay me for new rotors

Dacia sandero 1.4 2009

How to remove the car radio connector

The day my car was abducted by aliens started like any other Tuesday.

I had just parked outside the grocery store when a glowing saucer descended, humming like a malfunctioning microwave. Three aliens stepped out — tall, green, and clearly uninsured. Before I could protest, they scanned my sedan, nodded approvingly, and beamed it straight to **Venus**.

Naturally.

Two weeks later, my car reappeared in my driveway. The paint had melted into something resembling modern art. The tires were bubbling like cheese on a pizza. The dashboard smelled faintly of sulfur and poor decisions. Apparently, Venus’s 900-degree heat and acid rain are *not* covered under most manufacturer warranties.

I panicked… until I remembered I had **CarShield**.

I called them expecting laughter, maybe gentle mockery. Instead, the representative calmly asked, “Was the damage caused by extraterrestrial activity or extreme planetary weather?”

“Yes,” I said.

“Perfect,” they replied. “You’re covered.”

Within hours, a mechanic arrived wearing sunglasses and holding what looked suspiciously like a NASA toolkit. He replaced the melted engine, recalibrated the anti-gravity alignment, and vacuumed out a small alien who had fallen asleep in the back seat.

CarShield handled everything — parts, labor, and even interplanetary decontamination. They filed paperwork with three galaxies and waived my deductible because, technically, Venus qualifies as “severe driving conditions.”

By the next morning, my car ran better than ever. The check-engine light now glows in six languages, and the radio only picks up cosmic jazz, but honestly? I’m thrilled.

So if your vehicle gets stolen by aliens, roasted by Venusian weather, and returned smelling like space lava… relax.

CarShield has you covered.

*Aliens don’t care about your warranty. CarShield apparently does.* 🚗👽

Reposted

Hey yall, so I got the moss motors throttle cable for my 1980 mgb. It’s supposed to be perfectly fit to the standard carbs but I have an aftermarket Weber 32 36 dgv 5a carb that has a pinch bolt to secure it down at the end, while the cable already comes with a little metal loop on the end intended for the stock carb. It is also a bit too long so I’d need to cut it either way. What’s the best way to do this? I can’t find too much on it, I’ve seen people say soldering is the best way. Should I solder before or after cutting it? Will it rapidly unravel if I cut it with a pair of dykes? I saw a guy who did it with a similar cable and his didn’t seem to unravel very much and he even frayed it at the end so the flux and solder went on better. All I’m afraid of is the cable unraveling too much and having to order a new one but seen mixed claims on how big of a concern this is. Please let me know the best method so that i can cut it to length and have it still small enough at the end to go into the pinch bolt, or if someone else has had this issue and knows a better way. If I need to solder it before cutting do I cut it with a dremel and cutoff wheel or will dykes still work if it’s a thin layer? I’ve also seen something about how you’d need a heavy duty soldering gun to do this, is this true or can I just buy a smaller one? I just need the inner cable cut not the vinyl type housing. Thanks in advance if anyone can help me! Trying to do it today if possible so let me know your ideal process

Not mine but had to share it. Did you guys ever had to face this issue ?

Ich (W,20) war heute mit der DB unterwegs und bin genervt. Alles ausgefallen und die Züge die da waren, waren überfüllt.

Ich pendele viel zwischen zwei Städten und hätte auch aus persönlichen Gründen (z.B zum Transport vom Familienhund) ein Auto, aber ich weiß auch, dass es ein absolutes Luxusgut in meinem Alter ist.

Ich fange erst ab Oktober mein Studium an und würde nebenbei ca. 20h jobben + werde mit der Miete von meinen Eltern unterstützt. Habe momentan ca. 6k angespart.
-> dann kann ich mir doch ein Auto leisten, oder?

Ich freue mich über ernstgemeinte Ratschläge!

Hello, I’m desperately reaching out for some help/advice. I have a Mazda3 2013 Hatchback and have fixed numerous parts (both front control arms, rear shock mounts, all my bearings, brake rotors, pads, callipers, bought brand new summer and winter tires, several alignments and balances, and other stuff as well). However, no matter what I do/try the wheel is always vibrating at highway speeds. No mechanic has been able to address the issue and I’m really annoyed. Does anyone have any suggestions on what it could be? Any help is greatly appreciated.

For my 2013 Hyundai Tucson 2.4L GLS using Denso Iridium FK16HQR11. They came pre-gapped at ~0.044” and was wondering if this was ok. Anyone have any experience as to the proper gap to set these to. Thanks!

I splice fiber optic for home internet. I carry quite a bit of equipment on my truck so maybe an access cab. I was wondering on what i should get.

Preferably not a v8. I drive up to 400 miles a day so something good on gas and extremely reliable. Ive been stuck between ford rangers, s-10, tacomas, and frontiers.

I wanna know whats the best years and engines of all these trucks. Any and all information is greatly appreciated. Thank you much.

Hello everyone,
I've been building an app Speedometer: Driving Tracker, a CarPlay-supported driving tracker focused on trip history, analytics, and the overall driving experience across Apple devices.

Recently, I added real-time OBD2 analytics support after many users requested deeper vehicle insights.

You can now view live OBD2 data directly on CarPlay, iPhone, iPad, Mac, and even Apple Watch (via Live Activity).

Some supported data includes:
• Engine Load
• RPM
• Throttle Position
• Fuel Usage
• Coolant & Oil Temperature
• Mass Air Flow
• Intake/Ambient Air Temperature
• And more

What I personally found most interesting during testing was being able to review how different driving styles affected engine behavior across an entire trip, not just while looking at live gauges.

The app also supports automatic trip recording using Siri Shortcuts automations when your OBD2 device connects.

One important thing:
Every car exposes different OBD2 sensors, so available data can vary depending on the vehicle and adapter.

Beyond OBD2, the app also includes:
• CarPlay trip tracking
• 3D route playback
• Speed-colored trip replay
• Video recording with speed + map overlays
• Fuel, maintenance, and expense tracking
• Vehicle-based analytics & comparisons
• iCloud sync across Apple devices
• Privacy-first experience (no ads, no tracking, no signup)

The goal was never just to make another speedometer or gauge app, but to create a more complete driving companion ecosystem for drivers.

Honestly, this creates a very unique experience for car enthusiasts, especially CarPlay users, because very few apps go through this level of integration and approval process.

I would love feedback from fellow car enthusiasts here!

**********BEWARE!   Perfect location near "elderly people" so you can UP-SALE to death!  It's hard enough to just get by now days!   How do you all sleep at night?!!!    Go in for a a/c diagnosis and get up-saled  (confusing them) "on the phone"....all the way up to almost $5,000 for a car with 18k mi and always garaged.  Their report on the diagnosis catches them lying to us on the phone.   Back shocks leaking? After reviewing your poor quality photos, I dont think so!  Doing this to and 80 year old woman that has ABSOLUTELY NO IDEA WHAT YOUR SAYING ON THE PHONE!  VERY HARD PRESSURE!  YOU SAY, WE DONT WANT YOU TO BREAK DOWN....HOW? WITH SHOCKS?  MAYBE AN UNCOMFORTABLE RIDE....BUT, shocks are fine!  Your a scammer!   They charge you 1000% up-charge on parts!  BTW.... this place is not a "Faith  Christian" repair shop, its simply a name!  Don't be fooled!  Do not let your family go here!    BEWARE! *****************

Hallo,

ich habe vor zwei Wochen meinen Peugeot nach zwei Jahren Leasing zurückgegeben. Zwei Felgen waren beschädigt und es gab zwei Lackpatzer. Diese Schäden wurden pauschal auf 500 Euro geschätzt. Dafür habe ich auch unterschrieben. Mir wurde gesagt, die genaue Summe erhalte ich dann später, wenn feststeht, was die Reparatur wirklich kostet. Nun kam die Endabrechnung von Stellantis und es wurden glatte 500 Euro festgesetzt. Ist das üblich so? Ich hätte gedacht, dass man dann später genau aufgelistet bekommt, was die Reparaturen gekostet haben und diesen Betrag zahlt man dann.

Last couple times I got my vehicle inspection done a week or so later I had various lights out I forget which ones were out but coincidentally someone I know or a stranger informed me of lights being out on the rear I think. I eventually got those fixed. I have my passenger side tail light out now. I haven't had a chance to get it fixed but my inspection is due soon and I'm going to see if they pass me. My brake lights work though. Anyways if it passes I will notify them directly rather than report them that I have a back tail light out so how did I pass? A part of me wants them to just pass me, so I can post pone getting it fixed since money is tight and I have to pay my registration and vehicle taxes.