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What’s the cause of mysterious beeping inside my SUV?
John Paul, AAA Northeast's Car Doctor, answers a question from a reader who experienced beeping of an unknown origin in an SUV.
Q. An odd thing happened yesterday with my 2019 Hyundai Santa Fe. It has about 34,000 miles and is well maintained. I was driving home, which was a 39-mile trip. I heard three quick beeps, which happened about four times during that trip. It wasn’t the lane departure alert, which sounds different. No indicator light came on. The car seemed to run fine, so I’m not sure what this could be. Any ideas?
A. Intermittent problems are always the hardest to diagnose. It is possible one of the sensors was blocked. This could happen if you were driving in a heavy downpour. The other possibility is one of the doors or liftgate wasn’t completely closed. At this point I would wait and see if the beeping repeats itself. If it does, try to log when it happened and whether there was anything odd, such as weather conditions, rear seat occupants, or cargo in the hatch area. Any notes you can make will help the technician find a solution.
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Q. Have you ever considered a mobile car inspection service? This would be a great service for consumers that are thinking of buying a used car.
A. For my first 20 years at AAA I ran the AAA Diagnostic Center (just inspections, no repairs), and we inspected used cars every day. When we discontinued the service, I considered a mobile diagnostic company as a part-time venture. I had the diagnostic equipment, hand tools, jacks, ramps, etc. I had even lined up a former post office van as my mobile office. Once I looked at the overall expenses (insurance was staggering) and the importance of a work-life balance, I decided to leave it to someone else.
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Q. My beloved 1997 Maxima GLE recently succumbed to rust and had to be permanently retired. After searching for years for a car I liked more than ‘Maxi’, I found that I really enjoyed the new 2025 Camry SE – so I bought one three weeks ago. It puts a smile on my face every time I drive it, so I was a bit surprised by your quick review today of the new Camry, which left you unimpressed. My question is: Did you drive the SE or the LE? Someone I know recently rented a new Camry LE and was also not as impressed as I am with the SE. Perhaps it may well be that any new car made in this century would be a major change for me, or could there be a big difference between the LE and the SE driving experience? One more quick question: I have always used and trusted Michelin tires after a bad experience with Dunlop tires. My new car has fancy Bridgestone tires. Are they considered as reliable as Michelins?
A. The Toyota Camry that I drove was, I believe, an LE. I found it to be a fine car, not exciting but solid. The hybrid option and improved fuel economy make it a winner. The Camry in almost any year and version is a great car, not exciting but well crafted and comfortable. Adding in the suite of standard safety features in the 2025 model year makes it easy to recommend. Still, to me if the Camry were ice cream it would be vanilla, maybe French vanilla, and your Maxima would be Rocky Road. As for the Bridgestone tires. I think they rival Michelin in some areas and perhaps surpass Michelin with their run-flat tires.
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Q. My wife has a 2017 Chevrolet Traverse with approximately 95,000 miles. We have had continuing issues with the traction control light coming on as well as a message to service StabiliTrak. When that happens, the car goes into limp mode. We then pull over, turn it off, and wait a few minutes. It is fine until the next time. We’ve brought it to several mechanics who have advised that we needed new tires (which we did), needed a new battery (which we did), throttle body needed cleaning (done), and low transmission fluid that was causing the slip that activates traction control (done). All of these generally result in short term fixes. Any suggestions?
A. The issue may be a poor connection at one of the ABS brake/wheel sensors or modules. The issue is that any code clears itself after about 40 restarts. To properly diagnose the issue, you need to get into a shop that can scan all the modules as soon as possible after the light comes on. Some other possibilities are the accelerator pedal sensor or brake pedal position sensor.
John Paul is AAA Northeast’s Car Doctor. He has over 40 years of experience in the automotive business and is an ASE-certified master technician. E-mail your Car Doctor question to [email protected]. Listen to the Car Doctor podcast at johnfpaul.podbean.com.
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