My Car Sounds Like Running Water
Q. I have a rusty 2000 Ford Windstar as a third car that I use for errands, dump runs but don’t really depend on it. The right directional signal, parking and cornering lights do not work. All of the bulbs are okay. According to the manual, they are all on one circuit and the fuse is okay, is there a solution?
A. There is always a solution. Once upon a time cars were simple and lighting used switches, power and ground circuits. The only tool necessary was a keen eye and a test light. In the last decade that has all changed. Although wiring could be a problem, the circuit in the Windstar uses a rear electronic module to trigger the ground circuit of the lights. This part as well as the lighting can be checked with a Ford compatible scan tool.
Q. I have a 2010 Nissan Altima, when I first start the car there is this sound of running water. This only happens for a few minutes. The second problem is the car doesn’t always start. When it doesn’t start I just wait and it will start up and run fine. Any thoughts?
A. I would start with leaving the car overnight in a repair shop so the technician can hear the noise. If possible you may even want to meet them in the morning when they start the car so you can identify the noise. At the same time they can hook up some test equipment to measure fuel pressure and test the ignition system to determine if this may be a cause of the “no-start’’ condition.
Q. It seems most quick change oil places still insist that oil be changed every 3000 miles. This is the “severe duty’’ schedule, at least in my car and I think 5000 miles a more reasonable interval? Recently a friend of mine with a Volvo was told he could go 7500 miles between changes. I’m sure the “quick lubes’’ have their reasons for wanting to change your car’s oil every 3000 miles, but it’s wasting an awful lot of perfectly good oil and doesn’t seem very green. Perhaps your newspaper could publish an objective article on the topic of how often oil should be changed. Maybe the quick change places could be encouraged to be a little more up-front about informing owners about oil changes.
A. When I first got into the repair business, I also recommended changing engine oil every 2500-3000 miles; although in those days we were also grinding valves at 25,000 miles and rebuilding engines at 75,000 miles. Today engines very rarely need major work, are more precisely manufactured and run cleaner. In addition, the quality of today’s oil as well and filters have improved dramatically. Today my recommendation is to follow the vehicle manufacturer’s schedule as stated in the owner’s manual. In some cases these intervals can run anywhere from 5000 miles to as many as 12,000 with some models. One final note, oil level should still be checked every 1000 miles. Even the best running engine can burn a quart of oil every 1000 miles and operating your car low on oil is a sure way to cause expensive damage to the engine.
Q. As I’m getting older I feel I can’t see as well at night. I recently drove a Audi with xenon headlights and thought they were great. Can these lights be adapted to my three year old Toyota Camry?
A. There are xenon light kits available. Although many don’t have the self-leveling function that allows them to meet Department of Transportation (DOT) standards and would be considered illegal. A better and cheaper choice may be upgrading the standard bulbs with brighter bulbs from Sylvania or GE. Sylvania has a brighter bulb called the Silver Star Plus and GE has a bulb called Nighthawk. When shopping for replacement bulbs be cautious, some cheaper bulbs are very bright, but are poorly focused and produce far too much glare to be safe.
Q. I just inherited a new to me Volvo and due to my height I sit sort of close to the airbag. I’m concerned about the airbag and getting hurt. Can I get the air bag disconnected?
A. You can get the airbag disconnected, but consider this first. The majority of drivers are much safer with the airbags operational. In fact according to NHTSA the chance of serious head injury is reduced by 83% using a combination seatbelt and airbag. Personally I would consider pedal extensions before disconnecting an air bag. If you still would like to have the air bag on your car disconnected go to the National Highway Safety website (www.nhtsa.gov) to find the necessary information as well as shops that will install a shut off switch.
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