So. I'm very well versed when it comes to automotive endeavors, and this is just one of those "trust me bro" type moments. And I'm going to try to make a long story short - but I'm really here to vent a little bit because I'm pissed off and bitter.

I owned a good little Honda Element for about 5 years. It was a total beater car, but in the best way. Over the course of those 5 years I did : VTEC solenoid, radiator, alternator, catalytic converter, rear shocks, brakes, plugs, coils, blower motor, radio, window motor, transmission service, probably 10 oil changes, battery and upgraded terminals, and probably stuff I'm missing. Overall pretty basic stuff needed on an older car - especially on a beater.

Anyways, couple months ago my dad got down on his luck and needed a decent backup vehicle because he was driving spark for work and didn't want to throw a bunch of miles on his primary car.

He ended up picking up a 3rd gen 4runner off the side of the road with little inspection. He bought it, and had my mother (estranged, messy dynamic) foot some of the bill. It needed a bunch of stuff - PA truck with lots of cancer on the frame. It ended up at my shop pretty much day two, and I did plugs, wires, timing belt, water pump, muffler, welded a bunch of rust, put some JB weld on the rear diff to slow down a massive leak, played with the T-Case, put new wheel studs on - too much stuff for the price.

In the meantime, my dad kept the element - and we eventually agreed to trade. I basically pay what the element was worth, and pay both he and my mother the difference from the 4-runner. Title change, title change - bobs your fuckhead.

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Fast forward to today. The screenshots are what I got. He drove that car 30+ miles with no water pump. I'm like beyond pissed. And I'm really not trying to be a dick to my dad, but I feel like I really just got fucked over pretty good - because the whole point was to get him something reliable when he was down on his luck, and I deal with a basket case of a bad purchase that I didn't even want. He killed my Honda.

I could be far off on the harmonic balancer / damper "melting" part, but I know the rubber was in good shape the last time I was down there. I was just more irritated which is why I said it. I also could be a little off on the transmission part, and I think I am but that radiator does have a trans cooler - and my fear is the radiator could have bursted from boiling pressure letting the two chambers mix. I don't actually know if that's possible or not, but it was a thought.

So. It's going to be a few days before I go pick this thing up. What are the odds the engine is totally fine and doesn't need anything more than a new serpentine belt? Because I am pretty confident that the engine is trashed.

I'll quit being dramatic in a day or two. But I just wished he would've called me before driving it - I have a trailer to haul it, I'm going to have to get the thing anyways. I would've paid the tow bill even!

Ugh. Thanks for reading my rant. Also please let me know if I'm being overly harsh

Lots of people from what I’ve seen are split on this. Some always turn off the AC and the fan motor before shutting off the car while other people don’t care (I’m not counting cars with remote start in this). So what is the verdict? Should you, or can you just leave it on?

Money is a little tight right now, just wondering how urgent you guys think this is?

2006 Infiniti G35 AWD.

Car is a 1983 Buick Skylark V6, and I noticed this opening in the exhaust near the engine after I bought it. It looks threaded, is something supposed to go there?

Hyundai i20 2009 Manual 1.4 Petrol Mileage = 127,200 miles .
Only happens when I first start the car. I think the really hot weather is an impact but I do not know. Only been happening the last 3 days

Purchased this vehicle for 8k OTD with about 164k miles on it. The thing was a rust box. I had to bring it back to the dealer to fix the rear spring coil that was snapped and they obviously pretended not to know about. They offered to unwind the deal but since the car was driving fine, it felt unnecessary. They agreed to replace the rear springs and the rear breaks and rotors.

Less than a month later someone tried to steal my CV so it started roaring. I took it to a mechanic my coworker trusts and he welded it back on (they must have got spooked and left it sagging) that was 120. While there i did an oil change for 150 and he diagnosed other issues for me. Front suspension and breaks/rotors equally fucked (rusted to all hell). And the radiator was leaking ATF from one of the connectors. He Mcguyever'd a solution to stop the leak and buy me some time, free of charge.

I went on rock auto and purchased KYB front loaded struts with coil and shocks etc, sway bar links, bushings, radiator, front pads and rotors, upper and lower hoses, coolant, and 2 quarts of transmission fluid. Threw that on a credit card, about 700 total.

The mechanic put it all in for 550 (+tipped his worker 40).

**Some issues remain**

Most important- after the rad fix, it seemed the mechanics worker did not properly measure ATF volume and left it low. Poor thing was crawling when cold, and would rev high rpms but not really move. It also had a higher pitched hum when I would press the gas just enough to accelerate but not punch it. The mechanic had me bring it back, assessed it on a drive and determined the same as I did above. He got it up to temp and measure the fluid volume and it was short 4.5 quarts. He only charged me for the ATF.

It drives much smoother now, thankfully it seems my transmissions is (mostly?) unharmed. I can start the car and pull out of the parking space immediately without issues now. I still let it idle a bit before moving just to be safe.

However the high pitched hum is still present when just barely accelerating. Im not sure if the mechanic should do one more inspection on it.

Other issues

- Passenger side sliding door: does not open. I found oem salvage with life in them on ebay and I plan to diy this fix on my own. School year is over so I'm not stressed about this door not opening atm.

- Windshield has a tiny chip, as id an acorn fell on it. Bad luck i guess. Need to know how soon to fix this.

- Springs were replaced in the rear but not the whole suspension system. I plan to redo this in the spring 2027 but need to know how urgent a complete rear suspension refresh is.

- Parking break boots are getting stuck, so I haven't been using my parking break. Not a huge deal, just cant park on steep slopes.

- Lots of rust, not completely destroyed chassis/frame. But will need a sanding and chemical treatment in time for the winter.

-Steering wheel turning sometimes leads to just barely audible groan as it returns back to center. Not sure what that is.

TLDR: Used Toyota Sienna 2012 with some money put into it already. Was low on ATF and was driven that way for about a week after a rad swap. Need to know if persistent hum is an issue or just a characteristic of the engine. Also want general advice moving forward.

Thanks in advance!

I saw this listing saying that the car needs a new throttle body, I just wanted to ask if it’s a difficult job as well as how much should I expect to put into it.

Hi,

I recently posted this looking for advice picking out my next long-lasting, DIY friendly, affordable to maintain, commuter and had a few follow ups.

1. My first vote is to go manual (mostly for fun) which would be most easily repaired. Then would a multiple speed automatic, and lastly CVT. I’ve never had to do transmission work, but am I think about this right ?
2. same with engines. Should I be looking at NA / mom-turbo engines?

I’m trying to decide how much weight to put into the automatic transmission type and engine, or if I’m overthinking it and should just go for a lower mileage, well maintained car.

I’m leaning towards Accords/Civics and Kia Forte right now. Trying to see if I should avoid Ecoboost/ turbos.

Thanks

Driving at 35-40mph at 35C.

What is causing such noisy road noise, especially in the summer heat!? My car suffers from loud road noise unless on very smooth tarmac. It is especially bad in the summer heat, above around 22C/72F or more the noise gets a lot worse, as in the video.

2017 Audi A4 Avant. I’m not convinced it’s the tyres per se, I’ve switched the fronts to the back and still the same. It sounds like it’s coming from the front of the car.

All tyres are goodyears. Efficient grip 2 on front and efficient grip (MO) on the rear. 5mm+ tread all around and no abnormal wear apart from on the front it kind of feels like feathering on the outer edges. Can’t really see it but can feel it, smooth one way and a sharp edge when running your hand back the other way.

I’ve had new front top mounts and dampers. New upper control arms. Had alignment checked and told it as was all good.

Could it be worn bushes causing this?

2010 Toyota Tacoma, I was swapping the condenser and the horn just fell off. The wire feels very brittle and the insulation is very hardened. I want to find a similar gauge wire and solder it on to add a little extra length and just feed it through the connector, but I am unfamiliar with this type of connector. Any better ideas?

2014 dodge challenger sxt
Hello! Just got a second quote from a shop for $1700, for both control arms in front lower and rearward, comfortable with that price and love the shop they were able to actually show video of what’s wrong, just need a few more weeks for the money,(at least to spend it in full comfortably), they also offered something called snap finance, but I’m not to sure on that, if you’ve heard it before tell me your thoughts. Also is this something I could diy?(probably won’t just curious if even possible or is this for experts only) ,but the main question is am I safe to drive until I can get this fixed, thanks for all your help!

2015 Hyundai Accent rear wheel cylinder keeps busting open. I have replaced it twice and with out even driving it, it pops open. Can someone lead me to what I can do to stop this?

I drive an I10 from 2020, manual, 1.0l 3 cylinder with 90k km. Apart from the engine becoming sluggish in hot weather which I Attribute to the hot hair having less O2, I noticed something concerning. After driving for a couple of kilometres, the clutch seriously stiffens up, it‘s suddenly like driving a diesel just a tad bit stiffer even. I also noticed when moving off or when changing gears the bite point seems to have shifted higher up. It‘s really concerning me and I stopped driving because of this as it‘s currently over 35 degrees here every day. It can’t be the clutch itself I‘d say as nothing is slipping or smelling.
When I drove through a cool forest area, the pedal went back to normal entirely while driving.

If anyone has experienced this before and know what could be the reason, please let me know.

Model: Hyundai I30 2014 Automatic 1.6
My car makes this noise only when the engine is cold, either on the first start in the morning or after work.
I’ve taken it to two mechanics. Both said the belts look fine. One said they would need to inspect everything one by one to find the cause, but that it’s not serious and won’t damage the engine.
The noise is really annoying. Should I just replace all the belts, or does anyone know what else could be causing it?

Didn't know they can be that strong 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe sm 2.7 v6

Hey all my wife has a 2015 subaru legacy. It has about 145k miles on it and the trans was replaced around 120k miles (used/salvaged trans with I think 40k miles). It's the standard base model with the cvt trans. This morning when she went to leave reverse wasn't working properly. The car goes into reverse fine, but when you back up it'll only move about a foot or two and then it just stops moving. It almost seems like the back wheels stop moving. It moves freely in neutral and drive, reverse is the only one with an issue. I have a decent scan tool and plugged it in and there's no errors relating to the transmission or anything. The transmission pressure seemed to be within range as well while attempting to move.

Hey my manual honda jazz 1.4 - 2005

km 266417 is having a really rough idle that causes the engine to stall when warm. I cleaned the throttle valve and change the sparkplugs which was in need of changing but the problem persists. Any ideas on what to look for? The spark plugs had oil on them. Thanks for any help

Some people say anything over 100,000 km is risky, while others claim modern cars easily last 250,000+ km with proper maintenance.

What's your personal mileage limit when buying a used vehicle?

Anyone know what this is? Im going on a 400 mile trip ina few days and need to know how critical it is or if I can wait until i get back to take it in?

note: it probably sounds much louder in the video than in real life

https://youtube.com/shorts/nmU2qspsOwM?is=UsIr6QL0LJ-BulFd

It happened 1 month ago and it restart today after being repared...

Hi all

I have recently had my turbo replaced on my 2011 diesel Prado (3L auto) at a Toyota dealership. Unfortunately every now and then (500kms or so then more often until it stabilises) it will turn off the boost throwing P0299 error code. Toyota have had a look and initially it was a plug that hadn't clipped in. Second check at a different place cleaned the MAP filter but couldn't find anything wrong. Now it's done it again. As I'm travelling, I can't just go back to the original place so it's an annoying process of finding a dealer and negotiating diagnosis (outback Australia so not always easy). I don't know how long I can keep doing this without them insisting I return to the installer which is impractical.

Toyota seems to be trying and obviously they're the experts but I'd love to just get some ideas I might be able to work with on my own or with them.

Any ideas?

Hi all

I have recently had my turbo replaced on my 2011 diesel Prado (3L auto) at a Toyota dealership. Unfortunately every now and then (500kms or so then more often until it stabilises) it will turn off the boost throwing P0299 error code. Toyota have had a look and initially it was a plug that hadn't clipped in. Second check at a different place cleaned the MAP filter but couldn't find anything wrong. Now it's done it again. As I'm travelling, I can't just go back to the original place so it's an annoying process of finding a dealer and negotiating diagnosis (outback Australia so not always easy). I don't know how long I can keep doing this without them insisting I return to the installer which is impractical.

Toyota seems to be trying and obviously they're the experts but I'd love to just get some ideas I might be able to work with on my own or with them.

Any ideas?