Some signs that your job might just be in jeopardy.
Al Wise Somerville, Massachusetts - 2000 Nissan Sentra
A fuel/exhaust question. After he fills it up, driving away it will make a sound like 'er re rere GGGuuh..' When the tank gets down to 7/8th full it works fine again. noticed some gas leaking out of a little nozzle in the back? The nozzle is the overflow, which is part of the evaporative emission system. Need to get it fixed or car won't pass inspection. May be covered by emissions warranty.
Faith Neenan Memphis, Tennessee - 1998 Honda Civic
Two problems. 1: She recently changed her own pads and now the pedal goes all the way to the floor. 2: She also hears a 'click, click' sound when she turns steering wheel sharply to the left or right. She caused brake problem by loosening the wrong bolt and draining fluid out--now she needs to bleed the brakes. Click is a bad axle, need to take it in to get it fixed.
Bill Vogel Soldatna, Alaska - 2003 Subaru Outback
A volcano ash/air filter question. He lives right next to a volcano, which is expected to erupt soon. Was told to duct tape panty hose over the air intake to keep ash from clogging the filters? Guys said that would work. Volcano blew, lots of ash and panty hose worked. Right answer!
Deirdre Williams South Berwick, Maine - 2002 Toyota ECHO
A brakes/calipers/suspension question. When she hits the brakes, there's a 'eh heh ehehehehe eh he he...' noise, even if lightly pressed. Had front brake job, keeps going back to mechanic, he keeps replacing stuff, noise still there. First, need to figure out where noise is actually coming from. If it's the rear, do all the brake stuff there. If it's really the front, could be a bad hub on the wheel.
Allie Robinson College Park, Maryland - 2002 Saturn SC
An engine/throttle/acceleration/fuel question. Her car randomly speeds up, she has to brake hard to avoid hitting car in front of her. Check engine light on. Coolant light on? Car also sometimes has trouble starting. It's probably a coolant leak--take it in and get it scanned.
Lou Casimir Lewisberg, Pennsylvania - 2003 Subaru Legacy
An exhaust and animals question. He just bought the car, and when he changed the air filter, he found a cup of hard feed corn. Now it needs a new muffler. Could dealer have put corn in to mask muffler problem? Uh, no--the dealer is innocent. Mice are getting in and storing seeds--the air filter couldn't conceal the muffler problem.
Nancy Black Denver, Colorado - 1990 Toyota Celica
A clutch question. She recently got a new clutch, and now it's extremely hard to shift. Mechanic says it's nothing, and he greased the shifter. Clutch is not disengaging fully for any number of reasons, mostly resulting from error by mechanic. Take it back, he may have to re-do the clutch.
Jeff Davis Mildenhall, UK, -
A suspension/differential/alignment question. He was driving around a rotary at about 30 mph, skidded on ice and bumped his left wheel on the curb. Now he's getting a vibrating, thumping sound from the front left wheel and steering veers to the right. There's also more play in the wheel. Insurance wants to total it, but can it be fixed? He damaged the wheel and threw off the alignment, but probably didn't damage the frame. Should be easily fixed and affordable.
Mandy Sehr St. Louis, Missouri - 2006 Pontiac Grand Am
A prank/body/AC vent question. She hung a spoon in her sister's AC vent in the dashboard. It fell in and is now stuck in the vent. She can't get it out, is it a problem? Fake finding it, by bringing a spoon into the car the next time they're riding together. Unlikely it'll cause any damage, unless it gets into the blower motor. Could just tell her the truth and let her know it's unlikely anything bad will happen.