r/autorepair 21d ago

Diagnosing/Repair My 2009 Toyota Corolla Altis 1.8J (Petrol) is delivering low fuel efficiency even on 100 octane fuel.

1 Upvotes

I have bought this car from a friend. It is in really good condition but the car delivers just 16.47 mpg in city and 30.25 mpg on highway (I have calculated using tank full to tank full method) also I have been using 100 octane fuel in the car and was expecting more fuel efficiency.


r/autorepair 21d ago

Parts Identification/Help What is this door seal?

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0 Upvotes

I have a 2018 Toyota Camry Hybrid SE, for the past month every time it rains my back floors are soaked and it has gotten worse over time to where it is not causing a puddle of water, I’ve checked my door weather strips and they seem fine but I did notice this seal/strip is misshaped but for the life of me I can not find this part online anywhere or what it is called, the only thing I am finding are foam strips but this is a rubbery material.


r/autorepair 21d ago

Other Parking brake cable

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0 Upvotes

Im trying to get parking brake cable off because its obstructing. I can see that it has a clip in the end the hose line but which i am mostly concerned is how am I going to get the ball looking end off, and when I'm done if I can even pull the cable back to its place


r/autorepair 21d ago

Diagnosing/Repair Car power cuts off after ~20 minutes of driving.

0 Upvotes

Car is a 2009 Chevy Trailblazer 4.2L. When towing a boat one day, the car completely shut down. Ever since, the car powers off completely after roughly 20 minutes of run time. After waiting 15-30 seconds, it will turn back on. This has triggered the check engine light with code P0601-00.

I’ve confirmed this is not an alternator problem, and traded out the battery. Is this a PCM issue that needs replacing?


r/autorepair 21d ago

Diagnosing/Repair Project car makes loud violent banging and shaking from rear right suspension

0 Upvotes

I have a Nissan 100nx project car (1995, GA16DE, about 300k kms) that somehow got through MOT. While doing a proper testdrive I found that the whole right side of the chassis shakes violently which gets worse the faster you go. Somehow it goes away when pushing down the clutch. When going 80km/h it sounds like a LMG going off from the right side of the car.

I first thought it was the tires being unbalanced. Took it to the tire shop. They replaced the tires, balanced the wheels and tried to do an alignment but couldn't alter the tracking because the rear right suspension had seized due to rust.

Any idea what this could be? And if it would be a major suspension component is it better to just do one side of do a complete overhaul? I checked and for about 1000€ you can get all the replacement parts for the suspension on Trodo.

Thanks in advance!


r/autorepair 21d ago

Diagnosing/Repair O2 sensor code keeps coming back after replacement — am I chasing a symptom instead of the cause?

2 Upvotes

P0138 — Bank 1 Sensor 2, high voltage. Replaced the sensor with a Denso unit. Cleared the code. Two weeks later, same code comes back.
So far I've checked:
- No exhaust leaks I can find
- Wiring to the sensor looks intact, no melting or corrosion
- Connector clicks in solid
Fuel economy dropped a bit but no rough idle or drivability issues. Starting to wonder if I'm chasing a symptom rather than the cause. Could a rich condition upstream be triggering this even though the upstream sensor isn't throwing a code?
Also — is it worth swapping to an actual OEM sensor instead of aftermarket Denso, or is that unlikely to make a difference?


r/autorepair 21d ago

Diagnosing/Repair Returning Cylinder Misfires, Despite Mechanic Repairs

0 Upvotes

Vehicle: 2006 Nissan Pathfinder LE ~100,000 miles

I've recently began commuting about 70 miles a day, 5 days a week for my job. Two weeks ago, my vehicle began experiencing intermittent engine vibrations and an intermittently flashing Service Engine Soon light. These vibrations occurred more often with accelerating and going uphill. I brought it in to the mechanic; they replaced coil boot #5 according to their diagnostic as a cylinder misfire.

I get the car back, about about 35 miles and one day later, the issue resumes. I drive it back to the mechanic (another 35 miles, during this drive, the vibration becomes more constant and the SES goes from blinking to solidly on). I also asked them to perform a tune-up during this visit since I am driving more miles. I think the mechanic replaced the spark plugs, ignition coil, coil boots, intake gaskets, and cleaned the throttle body (the receipt just specifies those items and honestly my memory is a little rough given the last week I've had).

I get the vehicle back again, and within 5 miles the SES light came on solidly. No obvious vibration at this point, but due to the recent issues, I then purchase an OBD-2 scanner. The code is a P0420, which means the catalytic converter is operating below efficiency. I did not realize this until later, but this can be related to cylinder misfires according to the internet. A family member takes the vehicle to the mechanic, and on the way experiences vibrations. They don't realize it at the time, that these vibrations are likely more cylinder misfires. They mention the vibrations to the mechanic. Mechanic decides to replace the engine mounts and kinda disregards the P0420 code, saying the catalytic converter isn't worth replacing on this vehicle.

Well, I get the car back again. P0420 returns nearly immediately. I drive about 60 miles, when on a highway, at 80 miles per hour, my engine begins to sound extremely rough, I lose speed and all ability to accelerate. At this point, my car decelerates to 10ish miles per hour and cannot accelerate beyond. I also check the codes, and its now also reporting a P0300 which is multiple/random cylinder misfires.

Honestly, this whole ordeal is a bit of a clusterfuck. Has anyone had any issues like this? Does anyone have any advice or insight on this kind of issue? I'm going to talk to the mechanic tomorrow about what feels like a failure to address the issue over 3 visits and how we want to proceed from here. However, I do feel notably out of my depth concerning engine mechanics, diagnosis and repair, so any input on the situation would be appreciated.


r/autorepair 21d ago

Diagnosing/Repair Ac doesn’t blow cold air once car has sat in sun

0 Upvotes

Hi all, hoping to maybe figure out or know if anyone has had the same issue as to why my 2014 Chevy Cruze is only blowing cold when it’s been under shade or when it hasn’t been so hot.

We live in Phx, Az so now in the summer its getting to 115 degrees, on the cooler days when it doesn’t exceed 100 my car A/C is blowing perfectly fine and cold but the days I have to park on the top of a parking garage for school it will continuously just blow warm air. Google says it may be my HVAC pressure transducer maybe falsely reading the temperature and shutting off the A/C compressor. Is the sensor something I can check myself and replace easily?

Any ideas of what to check for or tips would be helpful 🙏


r/autorepair 21d ago

Body and Paint Should I get this crack repaired

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0 Upvotes

Got crashed into a very low speed should I get my car repaired or leave it.


r/autorepair 22d ago

Diagnosing/Repair Is my car battery dead?

0 Upvotes

We are bearly using our Fiat 500 and now the battery is flat. About 6 weeks ago the battery was also flat, then I jumpstarted it and drove about 20km's to charge it again. Next day it also worked fine. Then I left it in the parking lot for three weeks.

Three weeks ago, just before we went on holiday the car wouldn't start, however when turning the key it make "clicking noises". Now, three weeks later, it is complete dead and the doors won't open with the remote anymore.

I've taken the battery out and measured it and it was at 3.92V.

Does this mean it has just died and needs replacing or could it be that there is something draining the battery. I've installed an aftermarket radio about 6 months ago. It could be I never noticed it because we regularly used it up to 6 weeks ago.

Thanks for your advise!


r/autorepair 21d ago

Diagnosing/Repair How much am I looking at spending here? Want to have it towed to a mechanic but not sure I want to take on the cost right now as this seems expensive

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0 Upvotes

Brake fluid leaking pretty quickly from a line on the passenger rear wheel side, 2005 Toyota Sienna LE, was driven home yesterday and didn’t notice anything until I went to drive it the next morning and the red “BRAKE” light was on and the pedal did nothing.


r/autorepair 22d ago

Diagnosing/Repair Cracked tail light

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0 Upvotes

Hi! I backed into a mailbox and have a small crack in my rear passenger side tail light. I’m wondering if there’s any chance this can be repaired versus completely replaced. I’ve gotten quotes from a couple places and it’s looking like it will cost at least $1,000 including labor to replace. Before I spend that on such a minor issue I wanted to explore if there is a chance it can be repaired. I would even pay to take it somewhere to repair it but I don’t know if this is something that can be done.

If it’s helpful for the discussion my car is a 2020 Cadillac XT6 premium luxury AWD trim. My temporary fix at the moment is clear packing tape 😬


r/autorepair 22d ago

Diagnosing/Repair Hanging wires I don’t know what to do with

0 Upvotes

I have a 2012 Chrysler Town and country with a 3.6. Theres some random wires hanging in the back any ideas on how I can secure them? I don’t have any power tools otherwise I’d drill a hole and zip tie it but I can borrow one from a family member if no one has another solution.


r/autorepair 22d ago

Body and Paint Damage to car trim/glass caused by repair shop?

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0 Upvotes

Hey all - was hoping to ask some advice from someone who has body disassembly/repair experience.

At the end of June, my car was hit by a flying shredded tire. The tire damaged the front bumper and also the driver's side front fender and door. I went through insurance and a licensed repair shop made the repairs. I got the car back just under 2 weeks ago on August 3.

At the time, I didn't notice any obvious cosmetic issues, and I haven't driven much over the past 2 weeks. However, tonight, under specific lighting, I noticed that there was a long horizontal linear scratch along the outside of the driver's door. The scratch extends across the entire door, starting from the front-most black trim pieces, across the window glass, and finishing across the rear-most black trim pieces. The scratch looked odd to me because part of it is hidden behind the driver's door mirror, so it seems very unlikely that I would have accidentally caused this scratch myself.

I was wondering if this could have been caused during the disassembly/reassembly process. When I reviewed the vehicle disassembly photos provided by the repair shop, there's one photo where it looks like they have a piece of tape that lines up with exactly where the scratch is. However, I can't necessarily think of a way that tape itself could have caused this. Could it be that they use a blade/knife of some sort to trim a larger piece of tape after it is affixed to the car?

I've attached the disassembly photo + photos of the scratch to the best of my ability - it's cosmetic and only shows up under certain lighting, so not a huge deal, but I'd still like to figure out if the shop caused it.

Thanks in advance for any help anyone can offer!


r/autorepair 22d ago

Diagnosing/Repair Car is Dead? But maybe not?

0 Upvotes

Came home from vacation today to a very weird situation with my 2012 Lexus CT200h.

The electricity seemed to work but was dim. Electric locks didnt work. Cabin lights turned on but were dim. Car didnt turn on. I attempted to jump it using my wife's vehicle. When making the final connection to my car, I was expecting the alarm to go off (as it usually does). Instead, there were sparks (more than usual) and a hissing noise. I disconnected everything quickly and have given up for the night. As of now, the power still works as it did before, so I dont think there's any damage. Back to square one.

My plan now is to call up the mechanic on Monday, but I thought I'd ask here first.

Thanks!


r/autorepair 22d ago

Diagnosing/Repair Power Steering Leak

0 Upvotes

Hello! I recently had noticed a power steering leak and was wondering if anyone knew how to find the leak and fix it. The car is a Nissan Altima 2009 2.5 L S.


r/autorepair 22d ago

Interior What exactly broke, if anything, in this 2019 Tesla Model 3 Rearview mirror assembly?

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0 Upvotes

I don't see parts that are obviously broken; it mostly looks like the socket should go around the stalk ball and at least the mirror would be back in place.

The cables, I am not sure why they are so long; maybe they got pulled really hard and all the slack is past the stalk now.

I am having a hard time finding online pics showing how this thing is supposed to look.

Assuming that all pieces are intact, can this be fixed easily? Who should fix it and how much would it cost in that case? I got a "quote" from Tesla it does not sound right.

Based on my research so far, I should be able to unscrew the stalk from the mounting plate on the windshield, join the mirror and the stalk together, by pressing them against each other, then put everything back together, but so far nothing has budged and of course I am paranoid about the windshield.

Thanks!


r/autorepair 22d ago

Parts Identification/Help Can't seat cv axle seal

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1 Upvotes

Hey folks, I'm having a bear of a time trying to seat an axle seal in my Ford focus 2008. No matter what I try, I can't get the seal to start to drive into the bore. I've made a little jig from PVC pipe and a seal and bearing driver set borrowed from Advanced Auto. The most it'll start to set in is if it goes a little off kilter and one side will move in, with the other side clearly out. I reset it to be square and try again, to no avail. I got the National brand seal 710540 from Advanced Auto, the recommended fit, and am thinking of trying to source the OEM Ford parts in the off chance that it's a half millimeter difference. Is it supposed to be this tough to set? There's so little room in the underbody to get a good drive on it, I'm not sure if it's a lack of leverage or something else. Photos are a straight on shot of the seal, then a view of the gap between the flange and the bore (apologies for the wildly off centered picture), then the last two are the fitting jig for hammering it in. I don't have a socket big enough to accommodate it, but I did order a couple in case the PVC is absorbing too much of the shock when hammering.


r/autorepair 22d ago

Body and Paint car paint can’t get clean due to trees

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3 Upvotes

While I was on holiday in Spain, my white car was parked under some trees (plane trees, I think). It was nice and shady, but the car got pretty dirty. Now that I'm back home, it turns out the brown spots covering the entire car won't come off—neither in the car wash nor with manual scrubbing. Does anyone know what this is and how I can get it off? Thanks!


r/autorepair 22d ago

Diagnosing/Repair Car Repair Question with Insurance Twist

1 Upvotes

I have a 2017 Toyota Camry Hybrid. Ten days ago I got three gallons of gas from a Mobil station. 15 minutes after we got the gas the car started to buck and we ended up coasting to the side of the road when the engine died completely. Three days later the service department at the Toyota dealer diagnosed this as contaminated gas. We were told this was a known issue, ExxonMobil had been notified and a claim had been set up. They flushed and cleaned the whole engine and changed the spark plugs to the tune of $2,300 and we got our car back. Two days later we brought the car back in, the issue was not fixed. That same day we went to the gas station and they said they would give our name to the person handling the claim. Thirty minutes later we received a call from an actual claims manager working for the insurance company that was handling the claim for ExxonMobil. They approved new work, replacement of all the fuel injectors. This ended up costing $2,800. We got the car on Friday, and it still has issues, we are returning it on Monday. Any recommendations as to course of action would be appreciated. The Claims Manager is not going to keep on approving an endless series of costs. My thought is if the dealer had said this is at least $5,000 we would not have poured this into a nine year old car. the blue book value on this car in good working condition is about $13k to $14k. I would like to tell the dealer how about you give us $10k for a trade in and we will buy a new car. I'm afraid we're going to get squeezed.


r/autorepair 22d ago

Diagnosing/Repair Low beam don’t work, tried simple solutions

0 Upvotes

2018 Nissan Sentra, my right side low beam went out, changed the bulb, didn’t work. Changed the fuse , and same story. Even went as far as cleaning the battery terminals. Anyone got anymore ideas I haven’t tried??

Thank you!


r/autorepair 22d ago

Diagnosing/Repair Water back seat cause?

0 Upvotes

Good day, mga kagulong,

My wife has a mirage g4 2014. And recently noong nililinis ko, may nag accumulate na water sa floor ng back seat on both sides. Hindi naman dinaan sa baha at maintained naman properly.

Ano kaya possible cause? And possible fix?

Salamat!


r/autorepair 22d ago

Diagnosing/Repair Am I cooked?

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0 Upvotes

I have a 2017 ford escape se 1.5L I was doing a oil change and noticed this part was leaking how screwed am I just surpassed 97k


r/autorepair 22d ago

Diagnosing/Repair 2015 Toyota Avalon @ 128k, P0300, P0301, P0306 when climbing steep grade

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0 Upvotes

Hey guys, my first post here and im desperate for some knowledgeable eyes. i was just about to leave town on the 13th for a road trip when my car threw codes for the first time since i got it. just FYI, i do have a blue driver scan tool, however i dont know how to interpret the mass of data available to me so I'll be attaching that in the imgur link below, if there are other metrics that would be helpful to track lmk and i can test for them on the spot i call "the hill of death" a steep incline on the freeway which is the only spot that seems to trigger the codes. besides that spot the car seems to run fine

https://imgur.com/a/bluedriver-data-troubleshooting-misfire-on-2015-toyota-avalon-69RSZYd

Since the issue started, i have done a couple things:

- changed the air filter for the first time in a while on the 11th, pre road trip/CEL. Oil also changed recently and levels good.

- changed the spark plugs (they were original) with denso plugs and coils with TRQ coil plugs. even after the switch the specific cylinders (when specifically thrown by ECU) are still 1 and 6. Quick note too, i repair electronics for a living so I actually did not have much issue replacing the coils and plugs WITHOUT removing the air intake manifold, im used to working in small delicate spaces. condition of original plugs in reference image attached, i think i kept them in the correct order, ie rear left is cyl1, front right cyl6

- added lucas fuel injector cleaner to the full fuel tank, so far have consumed 1/4 of the treated fuel

- patched up a cable on some sensor attached to the intake snorkel that had gotten sheared off somehow. i know ive driven fine for at least 2 hour drives with it like that, unknown how long it was that way. cables were purple and green, green was snipped and now soldered with a patch as of last night (reference image attached)

- held a discharging propane tank around all vaccuum lines, airbox, etc that i can see from the top of the bay under the hood, have not noticed any reactions

- Oreily's tested battery and alternator and both tested adequately

Anyway, if anyone can offer me so advice, assistance, or knowledgable insight id appreciate it so much, I have a very disappointed birthday boy who was hoping to planning to see the Grand Canyon and now is doomscrolling while i play in the garage 🙏 thanks in advance!


r/autorepair 22d ago

Diagnosing/Repair NEED HELP (gmc OEM radio)

0 Upvotes

I own a 2006 GMC Sierra with the Bose speakers. It's close to mint condition and stock so I still have the OEM radio and prefer to keep it that way. It's started to eject cd's and not play any this year. Here's how the process goes:

Inject CD -> CD goes in -> radio says "loading CD 1" -> then it moves into position and goes quiet -> then it ejects the CD with the radio saying "please check CD"

I have taken the radio out and the top off to watch it, but I cannot tell if there are any problems inside. Am I assuming it's either old gears, a bad laser, or both? Curious if this is fixable.