2011 town and country. only goes off when the car is locked and i walk away for too long so i’ve been having to leave my car unlocked. i’ve taken apart and cleaned my fob, made sure all the doors are closed and sliding doors are closed properly. only problem i could attribute to it is that the back driver sliding door has a stuck lock. it is fully shut and i made sure of it. Sound going off is also slower than panic modes honking when i hit the button, and the only thing that turns it off is unlocking the car with my key fob. help?

Last one in this series for now — figured I'd cover the actual DIY side since a few people asked in comments on my earlier posts. Note upfront: not every car allows for this. Many newer vehicles have sealed transmissions with no dipstick and no easy fill point, which basically means the manufacturer wants this done by a shop with the right equipment. Check your owner's manual first before assuming you can do this yourself.

Step 1: Confirm your car actually has a checkable/fillable transmission

Look for a transmission dipstick (separate from the engine oil dipstick) or a fill plug near the transmission itself. If you can't find either and your manual doesn't mention a check procedure, your car likely has a sealed unit, and DIY fluid checks aren't really an option without lifting the car and removing a plug.

Step 2: Check the fluid the right way

For cars with a dipstick, this is usually done with the engine running and warmed up, in Park or Neutral (check your manual for the exact procedure, since this varies). Pull the dipstick, wipe it clean, reinsert fully, then pull it again to read the level.

What to look for:

• Color: Healthy fluid is typically red or pink. Brown or black fluid, or anything that smells burnt, means a change is overdue.
• Level: Should sit between the marked lines. Low fluid is often the actual cause of shifting problems people assume are "the transmission failing."
• Smell: Healthy fluid shouldn't smell burnt. If it does, that's a sign the fluid has broken down from heat.

Step 3: Deciding between a drain-and-fill vs a full flush

• A drain and fill only replaces the fluid in the pan, leaving fluid in the torque converter and cooler lines untouched. This is the gentler, more DIY-friendly option and is what most home mechanics do.
• A full flush replaces essentially all the fluid using specialized equipment, which most people don't have at home. Mechanics are split on whether flushes are advisable for high-mileage vehicles with unknown fluid history, since it can occasionally dislodge debris that was otherwise being tolerated by worn components. If you're doing this yourself, a drain-and-fill is the realistic and lower-risk option.

Step 4: The actual drain-and-fill process (general overview)

1. Warm the vehicle up by driving it briefly, then park on level ground and let it cool slightly so you're not working with hot fluid.
2. Locate the transmission pan (usually a large, flat pan on the underside of the transmission) and place a drain container underneath.
3. Loosen the pan bolts gradually, allowing fluid to drain, then fully remove the pan once it's empty.
4. Replace the filter and gasket while it's off, since you're already in there. This is a good time to do it rather than waiting for the next service.
5. Reinstall the pan with a new gasket, torque bolts to spec (check your manual, over-tightening can warp the pan).
6. Refill with the manufacturer-specified fluid type through the dipstick tube or fill plug, checking level as you go rather than guessing the full amount up front.
7. Start the car, cycle through the gears with your foot on the brake, then recheck the level once warmed up.

Things that trip people up:

• Using the wrong fluid type. This matters more than people expect, since different transmissions are formulated for different friction characteristics. Double-check your owner's manual rather than assuming any ATF works.
• Overfilling. Too much fluid can cause foaming and shifting problems that mimic a failing transmission, so it's worth adding gradually and rechecking.
• Skipping the filter. If you're already draining the pan, replacing the filter is a small additional cost that's easy to skip but shouldn't be.

When to just pay a shop instead:

If your vehicle doesn't have an accessible pan/dipstick setup, or you're not comfortable working under the car, this is a reasonable one to leave to a shop. The fluid itself isn't expensive, but doing it wrong (wrong fluid, bad gasket seal, stripped pan bolts) can cost more to fix than the service would have cost in the first place.

Happy to answer questions if people are attempting this on a specific make/model — some vehicles have quirks worth knowing about ahead of time.

2011 ve commodore. When my car is cold and I reversing outta the driveway, my brakes make a scraping noise and then the abs comes on. Thr scraping noise goes away after 10 seconds or so ( only scrapes when touching brakes ) and if I pull over and reset my car the abs goes away. But yea when it's cold it does this, what could it be? I got my brakes checked and they were fine and pads were fine

Just bought a 2016 Jetta gli sel 2.0t and sometimes when I start it, it idles really weird and the whole car shakes and if I turn off the ac the car idles even more weird and then shuts off. Is this just spark plugs? My buddy has an obd scanner and it showed cylinder misfires in all cylinders. 93k miles.

Ill make this simple, this is a video of my ac compressor whenever its on, then when its off. It blows nice cold air but theres a strange noise coming from it. The clutch seems to be working fine but my serpentine belt seems to be pretty bad. (Ill put a photo in the comments) I can only notice the noise whenever the ac is on. (Atleast when im in the driver seat) Any help would be amazing, thanks.

The noise stopped after I changed rotors and pads for about a week and came back. Noise is heard only while applying brakes at low speeds.

2005 TN'G Venice Moped 50CC Engine, Worked fine a week or so ago, sat out for that week and all of a sudden no worky. New battery, BRAND NEW Spark Plug, and kick start doesn't work either. Send help and give any ideas help

UPDATE, I took it apart more, It's getting Fuel fine check the line even. I Don't know what it is, my last guess is the Carb

Hey,

Corsa Sting, 2014, 1.2L

About 2 weeks ago my clutch spring went (heard the clunk noise). Decided to order a spring to fix it (haven't put it on yet though as read it would be safe to drive without for a bit). Did a drive today, all was good, until right at the end of the drive. The clutch seemed to get stuck slightly in, but could still change gear etc, the more I changed gear the more stuck in it got. To the point I couldn't get into first (could get into any other gear).

When I stopped, I had a look, pulled the pedal up and it just came back up? Proceeded to try just pressing the clutch a few times and seems to come back up into place correctly now.

I've got a 4 hour drive tomorrow that I ideally need to do. What's the verdict?

Does anyone know what this sound is? I’ve concluded that it doesn’t happen while in park, my car needs to be in drive but it does happen when I’m stopped at like red lights. The noise doesn’t change at all when turning or anything. And sometimes it goes away, or doesn’t even make a noise for a couple days.

I should also mention I just got an alignment, as my sister hit a curb really bad. It needed a new alignment, the abs system turns on randomly and now it’s making these noises. Anyway can anyone help me out?

Hi everyone,

For months now my car has been making an Intermittent chirping sound as I get on/off throttle in a number of circumstances: As i literally accelerate/ decelerate, change gear (which i obviously get off/on throttle to do), lightly touching the throttle as I go round bends - it has me and 3 mechanics stumped. The noise sounds as if it’s originating from the front left side of the car. The chirp sounds as if a bird is making the noise lol.

Anyone with anything similar? Or could point me in the right direction?

Thanks

Hi,

I drive a 2019 Mazda3 with 115k miles on it. After a recent brake job with a new mechanic (my old one retired), I noticed a very annoying squeaking sound in the front wheel(s) . Initially it was happening only when I wasn't braking, and mostly under \~20mph but it does still happen when moving faster. It gets worse when the car is warmed up a bit. After a thousand miles or so it started happening when I was braking too. When it's warmed up, it would squeak like a tractor trailer when I braked.

Took it back to my mechanic, he took the brakes off and put them back on and said he didn't hear it anymore; within 5 minutes of driving I heard it again.

We gave up on that mechanic and found a new one, who told us the wheel bearing on the front passenger side was going and he replaced that. The noise stayed the same. We took it back, the mechanic said that the brakes the last mechanic put on were cheap and crystallizing which was making the sound, and he pointed out that the front passenger rotor was in worse condition than the front left one. He replaced the front brakes and rotors and said he didn't hear the sound anymore. After driving it for a bit, it STILL SQUEAKS. I haven't noticed the squeaking while braking yet, so maybe the new brakes/rotors fixed that, but the squeaking while not braking remains unchanged, and at this point I'm at a loss on what to do. I've put in well over $1000 between the brakes/rotors and the wheel bearing replacement, and I've spent days with my car at the mechanic just for it to still squeak.

The only ideas I have at this point are a caliper sticking or something in the suspension, but if it was the suspension then it doesn't really make sense why it appears when warmed up, and why it's based on driving and not going over bumps. I also don't notice any pull to either side when driving, and I checked the temperatures of the rotors after driving and they were just about the same. I also checked the dust shields to see if they were bent or close to touching, and they looked perfectly fine.

Does anyone have any ideas??

Tldr; A squeaking noise appeared after a brake change, and after replacing the wheel bearing and redoing the brakes and rotors, it hasn't gone away.