In the summer I have a habit of switching off the air conditioner every time I pull away from a stop, then turn it back on after I get up to speed again. Because the engine needs the most power when pulling away from stops, I have the impression that this saves fuel. Is this necessary?
View 19 RepliesI have a 2001 Ford Escort with 92,000 miles that recently has started stalling when coming to stops. It's especially bad on stop and go traffic. It starts up easily every time, and once I'm actually driving with steady speeds, it has no problems. I've had plans to go out of town this Memorial weekend and visiting friends about 200 miles away (400 round trip). The earliest that I can get the car into the mechanic is Tuesday. This trip would be mostly highways and very few stops, but I don't know if it's safe to do so. Would I potentially be causing damage to the engine?
View 7 RepliesMy pickup runs smooth 95% of the time. It runs rough at red lights and when pulling away from stops. It seems to happen more when the A/C is on.
View 3 RepliesMy '02 Explorer transmission is giving me a little trouble. The vehicle has 240,000 miles, but the transmission has been rebuilt several miles ago. I recently had the fluid changed, and I had them add a bottle of Lucas Transmission Fix, which I have had good luck with in the past. Most of the time, the transmission behaves normally.
Occasionally however, when I come to a stop after driving for a while, the transmission stops pulling, like it has shifted into neutral. Sometimes it will re-engage after a couple seconds, and sometimes I try to hurry it along by shifting to Park, then back to Drive and it will go. If I am on an incline, and the vehicle does this, it will actually roll down the hill.
Hopefully there is a simple fix because this thing is too close to the end of its life to require a hefty repair investment! Maybe a switch or a sensor. I'd love to tell you that I checked the fluid level, but Ford forgot to put a transmission dipstick on it.....
I'd like to turn off my drl's.....getting new front bulbs and going to install some led's to use as drl's. Up to now, I've only read about using VAG-COM to turn off. I just came across a YouTube demo about turning off drl's by pulling out switch on dash, disconnecting switch from connector and bending down a prong inside the connector. Sounds and looks simple. I haven't seen this method written up on Vortex before....
View 3 RepliesI just had an alignment done and the steering wheel is turned counter clockwise a little. I know very little about alignment. I know the terminology and what it means and i heard the the rear camber and toe isn't adjustable on mk4s. I did lower my car,only about one inch though.
Here is the sheet that came with the alignment:
2K 1.8T Golf. Lowered on Koni struts and neuspeed street (red) springs last year. Rear axel bushing done soon after. Replaced front and rear strut mounts and bearings at the time of struts and springs. Rack died on me in the fall so I had it replaced along with newer control arms and upgraded bushings. Aligned right after the rack was installed and ran like an arrow until last weekend. Now it pull to right, more as I speed up. I also noticed that when I turn left, the steering is much stiffer then steering left (full turns and mild turns).
PS fluid is still full. My ball joints are about 3 years old so I'm leaning towards that direction. Especially after this past winter and the never ending pot holes in Detroit. The shop used moogs and were regularly greased as they had zerk fittings. I think I hear some clunking upfront but I'm unclear as my old GHL Muffler weld finally gave out and is having by a hockey lace and it is rattling every time I accelerate or hit a bump. I'm going to jack it up this weekend to do some exhaust work so I'll give it a good once over and shake down what I can.
About 3 weeks ago my truck decided not to start after having driven many miles. It has happened again after a day of driving with multiple stops. It cranks but doesn't turn over. Mechanic could find no code errors, there is no service engine light. Problem?
View 9 RepliesRecently bought a 91 f250 4x4 460 turned the air on and after a few min running the ac unit clicks. The front of the unit stops turning and makes a clicking sound. Then starts to spin again. Air blows kinda cold....
View 10 RepliesHappened two times already if i press gas when turning 90 degrees. My engine stops and i have to start car again, why could this be happening?
I got misfire cylinder 4 and 6 perhaps its related however i am trying to understand dynamics of things why engine only stops under this conditions?
My Honda's check engine light and VSA light were on. The diagnosis was cylinder 3 misfire, an apparent Honda problem and one that I've had fixed once before on this same car at the dealership where I bought the car. This time the tech said I needed the pistons replaced and that the damaged pistons had also damaged the cylinders so they needed to be repaired (not replaced), and that I needed new spark plugs. My car has been in the dealer repair shop since July 16 (3 weeks today). I've had cars in the shop before and know just a little about cars. Three weeks seems like a LONG time. My question is: Is this normal or not (I am a woman and I'm not sure the tech/dealership is being honest with me. They assure me that this repair can take a long time).
View 17 RepliesPurchased my car in April of this year. Right at 2000 miles it began leaking oil and it was with dealer for over a week being repaired. Apparently it took so long because the engine had to be dropped to fix. At the time the dealer said they had 6 other 2015 350's with the same issue and were pushing for a recall. Now, a few months later and I have a puddle of oil under my car again. Very frustrating.
View 1 RepliesRecently the dealer damaged the leather on my steering wheel and is having a guy repair it. Work obligations have made it very difficult to get time to take the car in and I would have to really squeeze to get the car in to them at the moment.
View 10 RepliesCold weather making my clutch soft... Or is it something else? I just drove it fine 5 hrs ago and now its cold as hell and can put it into gear.
View 1 RepliesI took my car in a month ago for a routine oil change and have noticed an intermittent "whistle " inside the car since then. It can be heard when stopped, accelerating or braking and my occur only once or twice in a 15 minute drive. It is as if there is a stowaway in the car.
View 2 RepliesI'm replacing the lug nuts on all 4 wheels, however, I do not want to jack up the car. Can I replace one lug nut at the time per tire and then move to the next tire without lifting the car?
View 6 RepliesHow soon one should replace the original shocks on a car or SUV with normal (not heavy duty or off road) use?
View 19 RepliesSo I went 30k over the recommended 3 k oil change. Anyway I got a synthetic change, and while I was leaving I noticed white smoke coming out of the tail pipe, it quickly subsided so I didn't go back to the shop. Anyway throughout the week it had been coming out when i start it up, then stopping short after,now today a week later it is really bad pouring out of the exhaust and even coming through my vents this most recent drive! what could of caused this??? They filled my windshield wiper container up, and i know that either had a leak or is broken because it stopped working a few months ago, could that be causing it?? I don't want to drive it if it is not safe and could damage the engine.
View 19 RepliesI change my 3.23 gears on my limited slip differential to 3.90s everything was installed back to how it was oil was added at the end...however when i went to test drive it, it was whining and on reverse it would be popping..
View 19 RepliesIs there any way to repair a small rip in a CV boot without removing the entire assembly? Maybe a new boot that wraps around it or is this a part that needs to be fully replaced.
View 4 RepliesI have a 1999 Saab 95, auto, 4 cylinder. I believe the fuel pump is going out. The car will sometimes stall at a stop light and when I stepped on the gas hard it sound/feels like it's stalling but gets going again!! I already checked the fuse, what else can it be? The car has of 100k on it and it's the original fuel pump.
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