Your Friendly Neighborhood Auto Technician: Automotive Advice

[Mister Mumbler]

Where do you see cars at decades from now? Will all of them be electric and or hybrid? Has there been major accidents in your workplace?

Probably, though I don't mind the coming "electrification" too negatively (electric motors have no torque curve; you put your foot in it you can get 100% torque. It's why you have all those videos of Teslas at the drag strip smoking the other cars). No major accidents (since I've been working here), but a few fender benders.

My Subaru Forester has some annoying body squeak when I drive. What's an effective way to find the culprit when you don't have anyone to ride along and find it?

Drive the car around and try to isolate when, where, and how the noise gets made. Does it happen when you brake (weight shifts forward to the front of the car) or accelerate (weight to the rear)? Does it happen when you take a turn, when you hit a bump, or a combination?

Opinion?

Pretty funny, though the second half was a little dicier with all of the engine explosions and transmissions trying to get free from a moving vehicle.

 

[Baffle]

I pretty firmly believe that cars will be majority automated in 20 years or less. I'm not a mechanic, but I am in a somewhat adjacent field and have some awareness on the direction that automated piloting is taking.

I also think they'll be hybrid by then, but that's mostly just talking out of my ass. It's probably what would have to happen if efficiency and emissions requirements keep getting tighter.

I'm quite looking forward to it. I don't mind driving, but it's not fun anymore, just a chore when I need to be at B when I'm currently at A. UK plan is to phrase out sales of new petrol and diesel cars by 2030, which is hilariously ambitious and never going to happen.

 

[Gordon_4]

They're cheaper in the sense that they are cheaper to fix/replace should anything go wrong; there's no complex set of fluid passages and nesting doll of gears and holding bands, it's basically just a set of gears. Plus what @Fieldy409 said above, it's just nice to know that you can drive anything should you need to (it should be noted that most of the fun performance vehicles have manual transmissions, this these days a lot of them have done away with the clutch and moved to the flappy paddles on the steering wheel). As someone who learned how to drive a manual only about two years ago, it's not necessary but it doesn't hurt to know either.

Car sex obviously. For a more "real" answer, probably with automated factories, but then the whole world of Cars is a mess and doesn't make sense (they seem to follow our history, but cars have only been around for less than 150 years, were steam locomotives sentient, why are they designed to hold people that don't exist, etc).

Haven’t a lot of the super high performance cars done away with manual transmissions because they’re now so psychotically powerful that the gear shifts were too close together for a person to reasonably keep up with? Like I don’t mean in normal person performance cars like Mustangs or Mitsubishi Evos (side note, I miss the Evo ) but stuff like Ferrari and Lamborghini.

 

[Mister Mumbler]

Haven’t a lot of the super high performance cars done away with manual transmissions because they’re now so psychotically powerful that the gear shifts were too close together for a person to reasonably keep up with? Like I don’t mean in normal person performance cars like Mustangs or Mitsubishi Evos (side note, I miss the Evo ) but stuff like Ferrari and Lamborghini.

They're still "manual" in that you still shift gears (with the flappy paddles), but don't have a clutch pedal to actuate and usually use a dual clutch setup to keep shift times quick. Also, they are making transmissions with lots of gears in them for normal cars too now (the new Navigator SUV has a 10-speed in it, and I believe the AWD version of the Challenger had either an 8- or 10-speed) as a way to improve gas mileage.

 

[Shadyside]

What do you think of Tesla and Elon Musk? I sorta see that as the Apple of cars.

 

[Thaluikhain]

Do movies influence your customers? Like, next Fast and the Furious comes out, next week everyone is talking about modifying their car with something they saw in the film?

 

[The Rogue Wolf]

Drive the car around and try to isolate when, where, and how the noise gets made. Does it happen when you brake (weight shifts forward to the front of the car) or accelerate (weight to the rear)? Does it happen when you take a turn, when you hit a bump, or a combination?

It's towards the right rear section, and it happens during most driving. It seems to be quietist when the car is cold.

 

[Mister Mumbler]

What do you think of Tesla and Elon Musk? I sorta see that as the Apple of cars.

Pretty apt, especially all of the criticisms.

Do movies influence your customers? Like, next Fast and the Furious comes out, next week everyone is talking about modifying their car with something they saw in the film?

I imagine they might, but not my customers specifically, as they are mostly older retirees/snowbirds.

It's towards the right rear section, and it happens during most driving. It seems to be quietist when the car is cold.

Hmm...does it seem like the noise is inside or outside the vehicle? The shock absorber at that corner of the vehicle might have leaked out over time, and the squeaking could be the spring jouncing a bit more without its resistance.

 

[Houseman]

@Mister Mumbler -senpai! How often should I run my car?
Also, do I still need to get my oil changed at the suggested date if I haven't reached the suggested mileage yet? Like if it's just been sitting around?

 

[Agema]

I'm glad the advice here is better than turn it off and on again.

I remember once when it was dark and I was very tired and needed to refill the windscreen wash, I accidentally opened and poured it into the brake fluid reservoir. Thankfully, that's my biggest screw up in car maintenance. Unless you count straining my calf muscle pushing one that wouldn't start and was stuck in the road.

 

[Mister Mumbler]

@Mister Mumbler -senpai! How often should I run my car?
Also, do I still need to get my oil changed at the suggested date if I haven't reached the suggested mileage yet? Like if it's just been sitting around?

About once a week for about 30 mins or so; it should at least hit operating temperature, or about the middle of your temp gauge, for a little bit (taking the car for a short 5-10 min drive works best). Your car's oil should be changed about every 12 months or so.

General fluid change interval for all cars (always check your owner's manual):
Oil - 12 months, or 3,000-7,000 miles (depends on climate and type of driving you do, IE excessive freeway/stop and go traffic requires more frequent changes)
Brake Fluid - 2 years, or ~20,000-30,000 miles
Coolant - 5 years, or 45,000-55,000 miles

I'm glad the advice here is better than turn it off and on again.

I remember once when it was dark and I was very tired and needed to refill the windscreen wash, I accidentally opened and poured it into the brake fluid reservoir. Thankfully, that's my biggest screw up in car maintenance. Unless you count straining my calf muscle pushing one that wouldn't start and was stuck in the road.

That's because turning it on and off again is my job (there are times when a step of the test I'm going through to find out why x doesn't work will have me (attempt to) turn x on and off). Also, oof, yeah that sucks with the brake fluid, and pushing around cars is a pain when we have had to do it (and the few occasions where we were pushing around a coworkers giant toolbox).

 

[Houseman]

About once a week for about 30 mins or so; it should at least hit operating temperature, or about the middle of your temp gauge, for a little bit (taking the car for a short 5-10 min drive works best). Your car's oil should be changed about every 12 months or so.

General fluid change interval for all cars (always check your owner's manual):
Oil - 12 months, or 3,000-7,000 miles (depends on climate and type of driving you do, IE excessive freeway/stop and go traffic requires more frequent changes)
Brake Fluid - 2 years, or ~20,000-30,000 miles
Coolant - 5 years, or 45,000-55,000 miles

Thanks.

So what happens to oil when it just sits there, if the car is only run once a week. Does it rot, or something?

 

[Mister Mumbler]

Thanks.

So what happens to oil when it just sits there, if the car is only run once a week. Does it rot, or something?

No problem. You want to run the vehicle every once in a while to keep oil up around the upper portions of the engine; the pistons, camshafts, valves and such. This helps prevent damage to these parts during the crucial time starting the engine, as the oil pump is usually mechanically driven off of the engine and won't circulate oil until the engine is running.

Used engine oil doesn't rot, it rots away your engine and becomes sludge. Since oil is what keeps the pistons moving, they are able to collect chemicals and vapors in the combustion chamber from the burning fuel/air mixture. Overtime, this turns the oil a bit acidic (this is why used motor oil is considered a hazardous material). If you fail to change your oil at the proper intervals, it further breaks down from these chemicals and the constant heat until it starts to coagulate into an awful sludge, with an engine failure not to far behind.

 

[SupahEwok]

I'm glad the advice here is better than turn it off and on again.

straining my calf muscle

Did you try turning it off and on again?

 

[Mister Mumbler]

Did you try turning it off and on again?

God man, are you insane?! It's a leg muscle!




You unplug and plug them back in.

 

[Shadyside]

What's the difference between autozone and O'Reilly Auto Parts? Don't they just sell the same stuff?

 

[Mister Mumbler]

What's the difference between autozone and O'Reilly Auto Parts? Don't they just sell the same stuff?

Basically like Target and Walmart. See also: NAPA Auto Parts, Advance Auto Parts and such.

 

[Shadyside]

Should we all be worried about computers on our cars? Since they can be hacked quite easily.

 

[Mister Mumbler]

Should we all be worried about computers on our cars? Since they can be hacked quite easily.

Shit, sorry for the late reply. Cars already have a lot of computers on them to run all the stuff in the car, but the type of remote kill switch (ala OnStar) I think you are talking about, maybe. Right now I think the danger is mostly confined to just a basic immobilizer, but with more actual self-driving Tech coming out, who knows what the future holds as far as that goes.

 

[EvilRoy]

About how often do you expect a CVT to crap out relative to an automatic? I've apparently got a computer message saying my CVT needs to be replaced, and I basically know why - thing revs weird when its cold, and two fluid changes came back black so its definitely burning something.

I'm trying to make a call on whether saving this thing is worth it. Replacement fee is about a third of what I paid for the vehicle and if its going to die again five years after a replacement I'm not bothering.