My Hyundai has been taken over by squirrels!
Q. My three year old Chevy Tahoe has 22,000 miles and is still under warranty. The rear disc brakes were all rusted and the dealer said the brake rotor needs to be changed. Apparently this is not covered under manufacturer’s warranty. I believe this is unusual since the car is only used for highway driving and on weekend trips. What can I do and do you know of any recalls about this?
A. You didn’t mention if the rust is causing a problem. It is not unusual for brake rotors to rust, even just after sitting overnight, let alone for a week at a time. Generally, driving the vehicle is enough to have the brake pads clean the rust off the rotors. If there is a problem with the rear brake calipers sticking, this may also be contributing to the rusting rotors. If the rotors are deeply pitted the only answer is to replace the rotors and at the same time inspect all aspects of the brake system. I’m not aware of any updates or recalls regarding the brakes on your Tahoe.
Q. My 2006 Hyundai has been taken over by squirrels! I park in an old barn on my property and these bushy pests crawled under the intake area of the engine and gnawed the wires. When this happened, I had both transmission and brake problems. Now, five hundred dollars later, it seems like it’s fixed. I know this has been a topic in previous columns, but didn’t really care until it happened to my car, how can I prevent this from happening again?
A. My neighbor feeds squirrels, and luckily they haven’t caused too much of a problem, except for being fat and aggressive. When it comes to other rodents, I have heard pretty good results with a product sold through www.critter-repellant.com called Shake-A-Way (hardware stores have it too). Popular folk remedies include oil of spearmint, Irish Spring soap, cayenne pepper and Bounty dryer sheets placed under the hood. Most importantly, remove any food source in the area such as bird seed, pet food, or anything else that makes your car enticing. Short of traps poison or getting a pet owl or coyote, these solutions may help.
Q. My 2011 Chevy Sierra has an electrical problem which drains the battery to the point of not starting. I’ve had the battery and alternator checked, and I looked on-line for electrical problems with this truck (and found a few). My mechanic knew someone with the same truck who dealt with the same issue. They left the truck with a dealer who spent the day trying to figure out the problem without luck. The owner sold the car to someone else who didn’t like the radio, and by changing it, the issue was resolved. Could my truck have a problem with the radio?
A. The problem is referred to as parasitic draw. The problem is that some electrical accessory is not shutting off. A technician will measure the electrical drain on the vehicle and then try to narrow down where the problem originates. The most common problem that I can find is the vehicle’s computer doesn’t go into a rest/sleep mode. For some of these vehicles the repair involves repairing the computer with a memory “re-flash’’.
Q. The battery in my Ford truck died. I recharged the battery but it still didn’t start. I wanted to tow the van but couldn’t get the shift lever out of park. What do I do?
A. Just about all vehicles use some sort of shift interlock. This interlock requires the driver to apply the brake before the vehicle can be shifted out of park. With the key in the “on’’ position and your foot on the brake, you should be able to shift the truck into neutral, although since the switch is electrical, the battery will need to have some life left in it to work. If this still doesn’t work, some Ford vehicles have an override switch at the bottom of the shift column which will release the shifter.
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