2018 Kia Optima — short-trip driving and oil-change intervals
2018 Kia Optima EX, about 51,500 miles. The car gets lots of cold starts, idling and short trips with few long highway runs. The factory interval feels long fo…
Repairs & ownership
1990 Ford F-150 — car pulls right even though alignment is green
Alignment printout is within spec, but the car still wants to drift right on a flat road. Tire pressures match. Would you cross-rotate tires to check radial pu…
2019 Porsche Macan — fuel trims are positive at idle and improve with RPM
2019 Porsche Macan S, about 50,500 miles. Long-term fuel trims are much more positive at idle than at 2,500 RPM. No obvious misfire. Does that pattern still ma…
2024 Toyota Tacoma — catalyst efficiency code but car drives normally
2024 Toyota Tacoma TRD Off-Road, about 41,500 miles. A catalyst efficiency code came back after clearing once. The car drives normally and there are no misfire…
2021 Toyota Highlander — service lifetime transmission fluid or leave it alone?
This started as a small annoyance and I finally decided to track it down. The manual treats the fluid as lifetime under normal conditions, but the vehicle is g…
2021 Toyota Highlander — new pads squeal at parking-lot speeds
Pads and rotors were replaced recently and stopping performance is good, but there is low-speed squeal. Hardware was cleaned and lubricated. How long would you…
ShiftCollector423Community StarterAug 4, 20262021 Toyota Highlander XLESalt Lake City4 replies0 helpful
1970 Datsun 240Z — temperature climbs in traffic but drops once moving
1970 Datsun 240Z, about 96,500 miles. Coolant temperature rises while sitting with the A/C on, then drops once the car is moving. Coolant level looks correct.…
2021 Honda CR-V EX-L — anyone else: Do shorter oil intervals actually make sense for my use?
Most of my driving is short trips with a lot of idling, but the factory interval is pretty long. I'd rather not waste oil, but I also plan to keep the car past…
2018 Ford F-150 — brake fluid is old but still looks clean
2018 Ford F-150 XLT 2.7 EcoBoost, about 79,000 miles. Fluid looks clear in the reservoir but has been in the car for several years. Would you change based on t…
EVMechanicishCommunity StarterAug 4, 20262018 Ford F-150 XLT 2.7 EcoBoostNationwide0 replies0 helpful
2024 Toyota Tacoma TRD Off-Road — first used oil analysis — what should I care about?
Thinking about sending an oil sample in mostly to establish a baseline. For a normal street car, which numbers are actually useful over time and which ones do…
2023 Audi S5 — steering wheel shakes only under highway braking
2023 Audi S5 Sportback, about 43,000 miles. Cruising is smooth, but braking from highway speed makes the steering wheel shake. Pads still have material. Would…
2022 Cadillac Escalade — car died once at a light and restarted immediately — second opinion before I spend money
2022 Cadillac Escalade Sport, about 44,500 miles. The engine shut off at a stop once, restarted right away, and has been normal since. No warning stayed on. Wh…
2022 Genesis GV70 — car pulls right even though alignment is green
Alignment printout is within spec, but the car still wants to drift right on a flat road. Tire pressures match. Would you cross-rotate tires to check radial pu…
2020 Kia Stinger — windshield replacement created a highway whistle
2020 Kia Stinger GT2, about 114,000 miles. A windshield was replaced and now there is a whistle around highway speed that did not exist before.
2021 Honda CR-V EX-L — new pads squeal more than the old ones
2021 Honda CR-V EX-L, about 37,000 miles. I replaced pads and rotors and now the brakes squeal at low speed even though stopping performance is good. Hardware…
2013 Toyota Prius — my model year is in a recall article but my VIN is not — trying to narrow this down
News says my model year is involved, but the VIN lookup shows no open recall. Is that usually because only certain build ranges are affected, or can the databa…
New pads squeal more than the old ones
I replaced pads and rotors and now the brakes squeal at low speed even though stopping performance is good. Hardware was cleaned and lubricated. Is some noise…
2024 Tesla Model Y — windshield replaced — does camera calibration matter? — trying to narrow this down
2024 Tesla Model Y Long Range, about 41,500 miles. A new windshield is installed and there is no dash warning, but the shop recommends camera calibration. If t…
2017 Audi Q7 — battery dies after the car sits for a weekend
Battery passes a quick test and charging voltage looks normal, but after two or three days parked the car sometimes will not crank. What is the cleanest parasi…
Driver-assistance camera needs calibration after windshield
New windshield is in and shop says the camera needs calibration. Car drives fine and no warning is showing. Would you still do the calibration immediately, and…