Q & A #56 With The Auto Specialist Thanks for joining me again for the latest installment of the Auto Specialist. Since the last segment, the Toyota recall issue has taken an unexpected turn. A highly-publicized test of the automaker’s Prius showed that the car’s accelerator prevented the driver from slowing his vehicle. The National [...]
Last time, we helped Charlotte decide whether she should save a few dollars with a rebuilt alternator or invest in an OEM unit. We also answered a question from Brian regarding his engine’s spark knock. Today, I’ll answer a question from a reader named Jason regarding how auto repair shops fix their rates. We’ll also [...]
Q & A #17 With The Auto Specialist Welcome to another round of Q & A with the Auto Specialist. In this column, we continue to put your car problems under the microscope to figure out what’s wrong and how to fix it. The goal is not to be able to repair everything yourself. Rather, [...]
Car Q & A #6 With The Auto Specialist Car parts have a way of failing or developing problems at the worst times possible. It usually happens when we’re in a rush to get to the office, pick up the kids, or take our spouses out for the evening. Unfortunately, such problems are inevitable and [...]
Mufflers: A Basic Guide To Your Vehicle’s Muzzle Have you ever heard a relatively tame looking station wagon driving down the street that sounds like 500 lawnmowers running in unison? Well, chances are, that station wagon is not modified, it just has a seriously damaged (or absent) muffler. Even the smallest, quietest gasoline powered vehicles [...]
Can You And Your Car Survive A Collision? You’ve probably seen the commercials that show a couple of poor dummies (the fake variety) buckled into a vehicle that is destined for the scrap heap. Auto manufacturers spend enormous amounts of time and money to test their vehicles’ ability to survive crashes and protect passengers. Car [...]
4 Step Plan To Making Your Car Last (Almost) Forever Unfortunately, there’s no way to guarantee that your vehicle will last forever (though my father owned a few cars that I futilely hoped would die). Parts wear out, engines begin to stutter, and transmissions eventually take their last wheezing breath. But, there’s still a lot [...]
Understanding Your Car’s Radiator Your body has a natural cooling system that keeps the temperature at 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit. It might fluctuate up and down a few degrees, but never very far. If you spike to 150 degrees, you’ll die (actually, you’ll expire long before then). Your car’s engine is similar. While you’re driving, the [...]
What Does Fuel Injection Mean? Long ago, cars depended upon carburetors to transfer fuel to the engine. While there are still vehicles on the road that use carburetors, 1990 was the last year new models were sold with them. Since then, fuel injection systems have taken their place. To understand how they work and why [...]
Automatic Transmissions 101 Most drivers operate cars that use automatic transmissions rather than manual. Both do the same basic job, but each approaches the task differently. The main differences between an automatic and manual are that the former doesn’t require the driver to use a clutch to manually shift gears. Everything happens automatically. In this [...]
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