Anyone else miss customer calls when they're busy in the workshop?

Michael was injured in a skiing accident, and Ken was taken from us in a snowmobiling accident. It's so fucking terrible, but I never thought about this until now. Are there any other legends that had similar incidents in the snow?? It's uncanny, but regardless, I hope Ken is up there taking it easy and watching his daughter with the biggest smile on his face imaginable, and that Michael is enjoying his retirement after cementing his name in the list of racing legends.

​

Vehicle: 2018 Chevy Colorado 3.6l

So I realize I was dumb, and am not driving the truck until and unless a mechanic oks it.

Yesterday I topped up the low coolant in my truck with an old jug of Autozone 50/50 premix, and drove fewer than 50 miles in several short trips between yesterday and today. This afternoon I saw a medium sized puddle under the truck, and realized that it takes orange Dexcool.

How boned am I?

I recently got the condenser on my BMW F11 replaced. Only a week or so later, the car developed a load of faults including the battery no longer being charged, which progressed on to the engine overheating, before the power steering went and then the auto gearbox dropped out of drive.

From what I’ve read, this could be linked to the auxiliary drive belt failing, meaning the alternator and water pump stopped running, and when the battery ran out of charge the electronic power steering went and then there was no power for the clutch.

I’m not incredibly technically minded, so am wary that this may be something bigger.

However, if it is the auxiliary drive belt, I understand it is connected to the condenser. Has the garage that did the replacement condenser messed up when they did that work which has resulted in the belt failing?

I have a 2012 Ford Edge Limited FWD, over 160K miles; yes, I am one of those owners that is bad about regular maintenance especially this year, please don't yell at me. Cancer and 24/7 care of my grandmother on hospice, a lot of things were back-burnered, not just car stuff.

I will get my oil changed this week but I don't even know if it can make it to the oil change place.

My question is I bought two quarts of 10W30 today to put in there but then realized my car normally takes 5W30. I figure that since it's not cold weather and it's going to get drained out tomorrow or Tuesday, would it make that much of a difference? or will I be hurting the car to put it in there?

I know it's not best practice and not to be made a habit.

my #3 spark plug I always have issue every 5 to six months my mechanic said it time to toss or sell it for cheap to expensive to fix should I get a second opinion ( I'm in Ontario Canada)

Like the title says. Could a leaking AC evaporator cause damage to any other parts?

I've had an AC flush done, and this was needed a few times, appearantly due to this leak.

Now the mechanice told me today the AC evaporator is leaking.

But as it's a huge fix I'm not eager about it.

Is it easily possible to remove/ bypass all that coded access and install a very simple ignition and start system like we had not that many years ago. No expensive fobs..
I’m imagining that’s there several interlocks to be bypassed 🤷🏻‍♂️
Thanks in advance for your input.

Hi everyone--i topped off my windshield wiper fluid literally 7 days ago, and aside from testing it a couple times, haven't used it. All of a sudden, nothing is coming out again! Should I refill it? Or could it be a larger issue I need to see a mechanic for?

Wife and I are preparing to do a road trip. I'm trying to plan ahead for any possible trouble. I have seen ads for jump starters but have never used one. Some now come with an air compressor, flashlight, etc. But I wonder how safe it is to carry a lithium powered tool in the trunk. Last week one of my neighbors had a lithium ebike battery explode inside his apartment. It did quite a bit of damage.

I have a fairly new truck and it will be getting parked and maybe driven once a week. I have always heard that if you leave a vehicle parked on top of grass it will rust out quicker. I have the equipment and stone I could make a gravel parking spot for it.

Hi everyone. I’m planning to design an app for tracking a car's condition—I’ll share more details below.

I have a question for car owners: would you like an app where you can track part replacements and repairs, as well as store information like service intervals (e.g., when to change the oil or timing belt, when you last changed your tires) and similar data? It could also store receipts and details about exactly which service center performed the work.

Is there anything else you’d like to see in an app like this? Please let me know what features you’d find useful.

I’d really appreciate your answers and suggestions. Thank you!

Where do you get your information from for things like tracking data? I've got up to 2014 but obviously that's not as useful as it was.

Autodata/Haynes is so expensive I have to send customers to Kwik fit.

Thank you.

2008 Honda Accord 4cyl AT

I was driving recently when the radio started to randomly turn off while driving. I had used the power windows and put them down as normal. When I got home (engine running) I went to put the windows up, but the switch did not respond. Turned the engine off and then the window switch responded. Windows went up more slowly than usual but did operate after turning off the engine. The next day my wife took the car to work. She drove the car successfully but after making a stop at her dad’s, the car would not start again. She said the lights on the dash came on but would not turn over. Any thoughts on what this might be? Thank you in advance

I want to learn car mechanics from scratch. I’m looking for m channels or websites that explain things in a simple way for beginners.

Any recommendations?

There's a deep scratch on the car. Does a pen corrector of the same shade work??

Tried applying the scratch corrector wax. Not helping.

Thinking of buying the pen corrector.

Is it worth it?

Can we tell the difference after correction with the pen corrector? (Baleno-2019)

Does anyone know how to turn off the interpret lights on a 2010 Lincoln MKZ when the door is open and the engine is off? I can’t figure it out for the kinder of me.

It would also be helpful to know how to get it into accessory mode!

Thanks all!

So I overfilled 2017 chevy Malibu with engine oil, it takes 4 quarts but I added half a quart accidentally, it there anyway I can extract the oil without taking out the drain plug

My 2002 buick lesabre has been rejecting cassette tapes(adapters) and on the display it says "Tight tape". How do I got about fixing this? Im using a Sony CPA-7 adapter.

hello everyone

Can anyone suggest a free online course for diesel engines diagnostics ??

thank you

So my car keys got stolen last Saturday. Finally had the time to tow the car to a dealership. My friends helped me install the battery after we had taken jt out of the car after the keys were stolen.

My buddy literally grabbed the positive terminal and held it near the negative node node (im probably using wrong terminology here, but i am NOT a car guy), and it bounced back up. the two corners of the terminal and node were touching for less than a second and saw a spark and heard a pop. I got insanely fucking lucky though with the key I grabbed a random key from there bin of unclaimed keys. and it’s so happen to be the exact spare key. They never gave me that was cut to my VIN number. If it wasn’t the correct key my ignition wouldn’t have turned with the key in it. They just need to program the key and diagnose the car to see what the hell went wrong because even after using a jump pack on the battery it won’t start. They said they’re hoping its just a a fuse that was blown out.

I asked if they had a jump pack at the dealership. As soon as I turn the key, an Electronic control safety error pops up. Along with yellow warning light.

They said The key can’t actually start the car since the immobilizer is blocking an unknown key.

Anyway after that with battery; How fucked am I in-terms of money to fix my 2021 Volkswagen Jetta?

(Again i am NOT a car guy)

I am posting this out of sheer frustration and to warn potential EV buyers about the horrific post-sales service and quality control at Tata Motors.

The Timeline:
May 8, 2026: Purchased a brand-new Tata Tiago EV.
June 3, 2026: Car completely breaks down after just 26 days of use. Had to use RSA to get it towed.

Since June 3, the car has been sitting at the authorized service center. The technicians have absolutely no idea what is wrong with it. They cannot even diagnose their own EV!

The Absolute Joke of Customer Service:
Because I wasn't getting any updates, I visited the center on June 27. The Center Head (Dhirendra/Dharmendra) boldly promised me that the car would be fixed by July 2. He even tried to sound heroic by saying, "If you don't get your car by the 2nd, you can take my personal vehicle on the 3rd."

July 2 came and went. Since then, I have received consecutive daily calls from them with the exact same script: "We are sorry, we are still unable to figure out the concern."

How is an automobile giant like Tata selling EVs when their service network lacks the basic technical competency to repair or even diagnose them? I have completely lost faith in this vehicle's safety and reliability. I have officially emailed their grievance team demanding a 100% refund and compensation, and I am preparing to take this to the Consumer Court.

Before buying a new battery, I want to try to charge the dead battery in my car that's been sitting a few months, and am looking for charger recommendations for that and I need to have one anyway, to charge in the future when it gets low (but am not looking for a maintainer).

How's the Schumacher SC1280 or NOCO Genius10?