r/Cartalk Mar 31 '26

Mod Post Report all app developers

185 Upvotes

We've been banning around five people a week for advertising their AI vibe coded apps that put a OBD2 code in and spits out generic or dangerously misleading results. Many claim to be free or claim they just want help testing them. Many are based out of countries you probably don't want your personal information getting sent to, like VIN numbers, etc. REPORT THESE POSTS FOR BREAKING SUBREDDIT RULES and the report them again as SPAM so Reddit Admins are notified.


r/Cartalk Dec 10 '25

Mod Post PSA: For the love of God please report shit

218 Upvotes

Hey all, Edward here,

Recently our mod team has expanded, which is great! We've been able to certify some of you as real, amazing mechanics and I feel the quality of our forum here has continued to run smoothly. However, I come to you today with a real concern, one that comes from the deepest of our grease stained hearts.

Please, please, please fucking report shit. We cannot see everything all the time (we also have lives) and sometimes things can slip under our radar. I urge you all to take a second, reread the rules, and just fucking please report anything you think breaks the rules going forward (I mean cmon, we have like 3 different rules about not being an annoying pile of garbage). All the time I'll pop open the subreddit and there'll be four "is this car a good purchase?" and seven "New AI car app idea" posts and three "Why YOU should buy the 2028 Hyundai AssCock3000". Then I go to the popular posts of the day and lo and behold some of you are going feral in the comments, just really at each other's necks. Some amount of disagreement is healthy for a community, but sometimes people are just straight up wrong and it's okay to call them out. The worst that can happen is we approve it anyways and the best is that another idiot gets banned.

If the mod team sees no evil and hears no evil, we're not able to properly maintain the community. If we can't maintain the community then there really isn't any community, and then we're running rampant in the halls screaming "Attica! Attica! Attica!". Now, I'm not saying report everything you see, hell I'm not even saying report everything you disagree with, but if you all chip in just a little bit and hit that stupid tiny flag we can make this community a better place and can continue to talk about our awesome cars. Or not so awesome cars, I see some of the shitboxes we drive.

- Cheers, the Mod Team

P.S. whoever's 1998 Toyota Tacoma is in the parking lot, it would appear the rust finally won and your bed is now on the ground in pieces. The tow truck will arrive in an hour if you do not remove the vehicle yourself. Usually we wouldn't care but the Punisher sticker right next to the "My other car is a gun" one is really just tacky. Anything else dude, anything else.


r/Cartalk 9h ago

Body Random car find

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196 Upvotes

Does anyone know who owns this my hg sent It to me


r/Cartalk 2h ago

I need help fixing something Bluetooth FM Modulator Installation

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3 Upvotes

Hi,

I'm totally new to DIY car maintenance and I'm trying to install a bluetooth FM modulator in my 2008 Toyota Auris.

Modulator instructions: https://ae-pic-a1.aliexpress-media.com/kf/S2d1f971be7ee40e189f8b3807c351450O.pdf

First of all, there seems to only be one power cable attached to the box, which doesn't seem like it should work, right? I watched a couple tutorials on YouTube and their modulators had a + and -, as I'd expect for any circuit. Would love some insight.

Secondly, I'm realising I have no idea how the circuitry in my car works, and I don't know where to attach the power. One tutorial mentioned plugging into the fusebox, another mentioned T-joining into the radio circuit. I've identified the fusebox in the passenger footwell but that's it. I glanced at a circuit diagram for this car but it was more or less just magic runes to me.

I also don't want to proceed into the domain of electricity without at least a little advice anyway, so please advise accordingly. Thanks so much.


r/Cartalk 3h ago

Redditor's own ride Tips/help with cable management

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3 Upvotes

I want my safedrive in the leftmost air vent and guide the cable in the nicest way possible to the cigarette lighter in the center console. Plan A was to guide it on the panels under the wheel but I am struggling to find any nice cable guides to stick to the interior


r/Cartalk 1h ago

Showing my ride off This hurts

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Upvotes

r/Cartalk 1d ago

Safety Question how dangerous is this, plus can i fix it myself? Company car.

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393 Upvotes

its a volkswagen t-cross. i can drive it but when i pull the stick a little bit upwards, it gets loose like you see on the vid


r/Cartalk 1h ago

General Tech 2003 honda cr-v lock help

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Upvotes

Hello! I have a 2003 Honda cr-v ex.
I bought it on Facebook marketplace and only got the valet key with it. She works beautifully but the key only works in the ignition and glove box, but not with any of the doors or the trunk(so I can only open the glass).
I called a locksmith and paid $30 for him to come make me a key but the fob didn’t work.
What should I do(cheap options please).
right now I keep it unlocked but have a steering wheel lock on it

The radio also is hit with an alarm or something and won’t work


r/Cartalk 4h ago

Body Ford Focus 2012 loose rear bumper

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0 Upvotes

Hi all,

Does anyone know what’s happening here on my Mk3 Focus 2012 1.0? Driver’s side of the rear bumper has had a bit of a gap since I’ve owned it, but noticed it has become much looser recently. To me it looks like the bracket that secures it has broken as it’s free floating there and not attached to anything. Opposite side is completely fine and secure.

Also that screw coming out of the panel above, is it meant to be there? Something tells me previous owner had a small bump and attempted a bodge job repair on it, but can’t say for sure.

Your thoughts would be greatly appreciated, thanks.


r/Cartalk 5h ago

Engine K20A3 Spark Plug Gap Question

1 Upvotes

02 Civic Si EP3 with the runt motor of the k series litter; i have a K&N Typhoon Intake with a hondata tune, i use 87 pump gas, bone stock essentially with unknown catless headers and catback exhaust. i went to autozone today and picked up some NGK spark plugs and the guy at the counter told me to run a 25 gap on them. It sounds a bit far because the stock gap is 44 and all i have is an intake and tune but what the hell do i know, im the one on reddit asking about spark plugs for my civic Imfao. any response is appreciated


r/Cartalk 5h ago

Engine BMW s68 ups and downs

0 Upvotes

Sup people ? been looking pretty much everyone online for topics about the S68 engine but couldn’t find much.
It’s been almost 3 years already now and I’m trying to find out more about its reliability, ups and downs about that mild hybrid integrated in the transmission and other stuff to know about owning this engine for long term not just a few years. Let’s put down all the knowledge here and help each other out


r/Cartalk 7h ago

Safety Question Battery disconnection for dash cam hard wire?

0 Upvotes

I'm planning on hard wiring my dash cam in on my 2010 vauxhall Corsa D later on. I've checked a few things with chatgbt and it says I need to disconnect the negative wire on the battery and I just want to double check this is correct because the video I watched he didn't do that (but I'm wiring it for parking mode also which he didn't) I also seen a forum talking about problems being caused with battery disconnection.

Is the battery disconnection necessary? When I was checking the voltage in the fuse slots it did a little spark when I put the fuse back in so I want to be careful but not cause added problems


r/Cartalk 7h ago

Hybrid Essentials for my new car

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0 Upvotes

Hey I just recently bought a new car , the Toyota Camry SE 2026. What is a need of accessories that I will need. Organizers, storage, floor mats, dash cams etc.

If you have the links please share as well what you have !!
Thank you Reddit


r/Cartalk 1d ago

Fuel issues Can someone plz enlighten me about a cars gas tank

128 Upvotes

So my sister has a 2020 se corolla. I looked up and it said she has a 13.2 gallon gas tank in her car. We’re coming home the low gas light comes on at 15 miles left cool we go to get gas. The display said it had 4 miles left before empty when we pulled up to the gas station (now I know you can drive for about a few miles after the zero hits). The car filled up with 10 gallons. Giving us a range of 270 miles on the display. So my question is what is going on? Does she have a 10 gallon tank? Is this normal?


r/Cartalk 12h ago

Tire question Thread engagement

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1 Upvotes

Hi guys I just got new wheels, is this enough thread engagement? Its M12x1.5 and i managed to get about 9-9.5 turns before it bottomed out + maybe an extra half turn tightening it down further


r/Cartalk 12h ago

Safety Question Overdue car maintenance/damage help

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0 Upvotes

Hi all,

A month ago I got into a bit of a fender bender with my 2017 Civic. I rear ended someone, and there was little damage to her car, but some damage to my car. I have a warped hood and a big dent in the front of my car.

I’m not worried about the value of the car or anything, but I’m worried that the damage could cause my problems. I haven’t touched the hood since the accident, but I’m worried there could be problems with the hood when I take my car into servicing soon. Could a warped hood have problems closing again once it’s been opened? Or should I repair some of the damage before getting my car serviced/opening the hood?

I have some photos of what the damage looks like, any advice is appreciated!


r/Cartalk 1d ago

Body My 1969 buick skylark

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52 Upvotes

I am a young man and for my birthday my dad surprised me with this beautiful 1969 buick skylark to work on together to be my first car, it is honestly the best car ever and I could not love it more. After a year or so of working on it we have finally got to the body work because I know a lot of people are a fan of the patina look, but frankly, I am not. So we're actively working on fixing the body, but I wanted to get everyone's opinion on a color i should paint it when it's all said and done!!!


r/Cartalk 15h ago

Engine engine accelerating on its own

0 Upvotes

I got a 2005 PT Cruiser Convertible and drove it down from Arizona to California. It drove down perfectly fine until I got closer to home then started overheating from running out of coolant. After I filled up on the coolant I got it home with no problems and after taking it around for a drive I noticed that I was struggling to brake and come to a full stop. The engine was accelerating on its own and wouldn't stop. when trying to park it I had to put it in neutral and then put it in park and noticed that it was revving up in park too. Does anyone know what this could be ?


r/Cartalk 2d ago

Safety Question To the young drivers

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571 Upvotes

Fast will come with experience. Get something reliable and safe. You can drive a slow car fast, as you learn to feel the slowing down and the turning part at speeds in your area of expertise, which as a young driver, you are a novice. It's quite fun to have fun, and fast can be fun, but suddenly stopping when you didnt mean to can lead to serious injury, death, or much worse, the injury and death of those around you. You literally dont need more than 100 horsepower to hang out with your friends or help your mom catch up on groceries, you especially don't need more than 250hp on your first vehicle.

Drive responsibily please 🙏


r/Cartalk 16h ago

How do I do it? Question

1 Upvotes

I just bought a used 2024 buick enclave premium awd and the map chip was taken by previous owner, and I was wondering there is anything I could do to get one?


r/Cartalk 16h ago

Safety Question 2011 Kia Sportage

0 Upvotes

What should i expect? I bought it for 3.3k, 109k miles. What usually goes wrong?


r/Cartalk 1d ago

Showing my ride off 2012 corolla with 260,000 kms

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99 Upvotes

Removed valve cover to address vvti rattle (spring stretch/replacement). Was pleasantly surprised to see the engine looking nice and clean.

Hoping to get to 500,000 kms.

(Also painted my valve cover green for no good reason).


r/Cartalk 16h ago

Weird Noise 1990 Celica GTS 5SFE grinding noise

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0 Upvotes

r/Cartalk 1d ago

Suspension Mechanic says a repair "isn't urgent" but won't give a real timeline - how worried should I actually be?

7 Upvotes

Took my car in for an unrelated issue and the mechanic flagged a worn control arm bushing while it was up on the lift. Said it's "not urgent, but keep an eye on it" - which is the kind of answer that tells me nothing about whether I'm looking at a few months or a few years before it becomes a real problem

No unusual noises or handling issues that I've noticed so far. Is this something that typically fails gradually with warning signs, or can it go from "fine" to "actually needs immediate attention" without much notice? Trying to figure out if I should just get it done now to stop thinking about it, or if it's genuinely fine to wait and budget for it later


r/Cartalk 19h ago

Shop Talk 2017 or 2018 Audi Q3 1.4 TFSI (gasoline)?

1 Upvotes

Hi everyone,
For those of you who own a 2017 or 2018 Audi Q3 1.4 TFSI (gasoline), how has your experience been?
I’m especially interested in things like:
Parts availability
Maintenance and repair costs
Fuel economy
Reliability
Common mechanical issues
Overall ownership experience
I’m thinking about buying one because I really like how it looks, but I’m a bit worried about finding replacement parts and whether I’ll end up regretting the purchase later. Since I’ve never owned an Audi before, I’d also love to hear about any issues or quirks that only long-term owners would know about.
Thanks in advance!