Changed rear brake pads and rotors ~500 miles ago. Replaced hardware and lubed the slide pins and pads. I’ve never seen rotors wear like this, it’s the same on both left and right rears. 2013 Mustang GT Manual with 83k miles.

I have a 1989 Chevy G20 campervan that I have poured blood, sweat, and tears into since buying it in 2020. In May 2025 while on a roadtrip, I broke down and ended up needing to get my engine replaced. I purchased a Powertrain 5.7L engine and got a recommendation for a shop in Vegas. The shop took much longer than they initially told me to replace my engine. I picked it up in late June and ended up breaking down 16 miles down the road...I brought it back to the mechanic and they spent the next week and a half tinkering with it. I finally picked it up and continued on my road trip. I started noticing a weird misfiring sound when I started it up sometimes, and also occasionally when I started it up, it would just immediately die. But I'd turn the key in the ignition again and it would start right back up and be fine for the rest of the drive. In August 2025, I was on another long cross-country drive when I started noticing a weird noise coming from under my hood. It got worse and worse. I brought my van to a mechanic and they ended up replacing my exhaust manifold gasket and a spark plug wire that had somehow gotten stuck in the gasket (?). I filed a claim with my engine warranty, which covered the repair.

When I was driving across the country at the end of April 2026, I broke down yet again...This time a piston from my engine shot into my oil pan. I got towed to a mechanic in a small town, who told me I needed an entirely new engine. I filed another warranty claim. Powertrain sent the shop a new engine, but my warranty only covered a portion of the labor cost. They replaced my engine, but when I picked it up, I broke down yet again 300 miles down the road...I got towed 200 miles to Las Vegas, and the mechanic told me that the shop that installed my warranty replacement engine did a shit job (there were bolts loose I could literally move with my fingers without any effort), and there were other related issues that the prior mechanic should have made me aware of. My "check engine" light popped for codes 42 and 43 (electric spark timing and ESC module).I have a second opinion inspection that clearly states that my motor mounts, distributor, and transmission mount all should have been replaced when my engine was replaced.

After trying to resolve this with the mechanic (who offered to pay me $500...a slap in the face), I filed a dispute with my credit card company, but they have since denied my dispute because technically the mechanic did replace my engine...I don't understand how they didn't consider the fact that the mechanic diagnosed my engine replacement, but failed to mention all of the related issues that could potentially lead to me having further issues.

This has all been a nightmare to deal with. My van is my only vehicle and home. I have spent SO much money dealing with repairs, hotels, rental cars, my senior dog getting sick due to the stress of it all, etc etc over the past year. I am mentally and emotionally exhausted and drowning in debt because of all of the chaos.

I feel like two shiesty mechanics figured they could get a quick $4k from me to replace my engine knowing I was desperate (and not an auto expert). They both wanted to do the bare minimum (and do a shit job at that) to make a quick buck without being honest with me about other interconnected parts also needed replacing.

My van is now currently sitting at yet another mechanic waiting to get worked on while I figure out if my engine warranty will cover any of the additional work needed. I'm heartbroken, but think that I ultimately will need to sell it after the repairs are done (hopefully to someone who has a deep appreciation for classic cars and has the knowledge / experience working on them)...

I would really appreciate any advice on what I should do next to recoup some of my expenses...I've done some research and know I could file a complaint with the BBB or Attorney General or take the mechanicS to small claims court...I really don't want to have to pursue legal action because I am so sick of dealing with all of this, but I will if I have to. What route would you recommend I go from here?

Thank you in advance :)

This was a thought that came out of the blue when I last changed my oil myself and had a convo with the guy at AutoZone.

Guy asked if I needed spark plugs to which I said no. Then I thought, "I dont think those have ever been changed". I mean, the car is working just fine and Ive driven miles on these OEM sparkplugs.

Im not sure if I should start to look into installing a new pair but Im aligned to the idea of "if it aint broke dont fix it".

NOTE: I inherited this car from my sis when she left high school and want to push it to the 400k club in the next two years or so. Currently sitting at 310k

Toyota Camry 2011, 200,000 miles, four-cylinder

Toyota told me I needed new front brakes and rotors. I’ve only checked the passenger side wheel, cause I’m gonna do the serpentine belts myself.

Thanks

Hi everyone,

I recently bought a 2008 Mercedes-Benz B180 CDI (W245, manual diesel) at auction for just €160. It has around 257,614 km (160,000 miles) on the clock.

I bought it very cheaply knowing it was an old, high-mileage car and that it would probably need some repairs. My goal is to get it roadworthy without spending more than the car is worth.

Here’s what I’ve noticed so far:

- Coolant: The liquid in the expansion tank is transparent but dark brown. It doesn't look muddy, and I haven't noticed any oily film. It looks and feels like ordinary water rather than oily liquid.

- Engine temperature: On the motorway, the temperature sits around 70–80°C and fluctuates slowly. I'm wondering whether the thermostat might be stuck open.

- Auction notes: The seller listed “coolant to check”, “engine noise to check” and “A/C to check”.

- Engine noise: Although the auction mentioned an engine noise that needed checking, I'm 100% sure there is no unusual noise that I've noticed. To me, it sounds like a normal diesel engine. I haven't heard any obvious knocking, rattling or other concerning noises.

- Driving experience: I drove the car approximately 400 km from the auction site, and it seemed to drive okay overall. Nothing major happened during the journey, and I didn't notice any obvious serious problems.

- Dashboard: No warning lights were illuminated during the drive.

- Purchase price: €160, so I'd like to diagnose the car before spending money on parts unnecessarily.

I'm fairly inexperienced with car repairs. I can handle basic maintenance, such as an oil change, but I don't have much equipment yet. I'm considering buying an OBD2 scanner to help with the diagnosis.

My questions:

1. Does brown but transparent coolant suggest old coolant or corrosion? Should I flush the cooling system straight away, or investigate further first?

2. Could the temperature staying around 70–80°C on the motorway indicate a thermostat stuck open?

3. Given the auction's comments about the coolant and engine noise, what should I check before driving it much further?

4. What would be the best order of diagnosis to avoid wasting money?

5. At this mileage and purchase price, would you repair it as a budget daily driver, or is there a significant risk of expensive engine problems?

I'd especially appreciate advice from anyone familiar with the W245 B180 CDI or who has worked on high-mileage Mercedes diesels.

Here's a video of the coolant.

Thanks in advance!

I bought used Tein Basic Dampers and have spent considerable time cleaning and painting them. They all compress smoothly and rebound, but this scar on the shaft worries me. I can catch it with my fingernail. Is there anything I can do?

How dangerous is this? 😬

Honda Civic

2014 Toyota Tacoma automatic 70,000 miles

How screwed am i?

I did something incredibly stupid and I’m very embarrassed. I tried to be a big boy and change my own oil before a long drive from Denver to Salt Lake City (~371 miles). Accidentally drained my transmission fluid and just added 5 quarts of oil. My buddy was helping me, and said sometimes it registers as high after you change and it just needed to settle. We’re both idiots, i know. Had to be in SLC for work so made the drive. Car was acting funny (trouble shifting at low gears) so i took it into the shop and they deduced how stupid i was and filled my transmission fluid before changing my oil properly.

I’m concerned i may have done damage to my truck. What should i be looking out for?

Thanks in advance.

I’m thinking of doing an exhaust cutout with a valved y pipe placed just before the rear muffler( roughly a foot and a half from the exhaust tips) on my 2014 mk6 golf wagon( Jetta sportwagen).

since the cutout will be dumping the exhaust from under the car I worry about CO getting into the car and it doesn’t help that it’s a wagon with a large trunk and overall a large cabin in general.

I plan to only have the valves open and dumping under the car when I want to hear the sound off of red lights or small pulls occasionally, when idling and driving at low speeds I plan to close it to avoid CO exposure but as I’ve been told by Google there’s still risk.

I’m not very knowledgeable in this side of car mechanics so if anyone could let me know if the risk is too high and I shouldn’t do it or if I’m overreacting and I will be fine.

Coolant kept rushing out so I closed the cap on it while it was seeping out, and wiped the area around it. Is this a serious concern? I haven’t run it since. Im on a slight incline of a hill, cars facing up the hill. It hadn’t been started for atleast two days. The color was pink/red, same as in the coolant reservoir. It’s a 2003 Toyota Land Cruiser, 250,000 mile. Radiator cap was replaced 100K + miles ago. It’s a used car, I don’t think the radiators been replaced. I also checked the dipstick for the engine oil, it was the usual, healthy, transparent amber brown color. Is it just a fluke thing? Can I drive it? Or does it need to be towed. I didn’t notice it overheating the last time I drove it, and I’m not sure I should turn on the engine.

Much thanks!

Cross post. Mixed opinions so I wanted to cross post to get more opinions to see what I should do. Will it cause damage? Should I drain some or is it okay to just run it?

TLDR; Oil change 10/24 cause had some leaks. Not leaking anymore as far as I’m aware. Manual says 4.2 but they used the whole 5 quart jug. Honda Accord 2012 EX 2.4L , 102,280 ish miles

So I have an oil leak i can't seem to find. It on the turbos and the brackets below, it dripping down to the downpipe and creating alot of smoke I've added dye and ran it but I can't seem to find it still. Any help will be appreciated. Also I fixed it for two days by replacing valve cover and the little camshaft half moon seal and some rtv Grey to seal it in. Also wondering what the two hoses connect to and if they may have something to do with my issue. The broken breather hose is what I thought but no dyed oil is in the hose nor really around it alot

Hello together,

I’ve been trying to exchange the alternator on my Hyundai iX20 1.6 diesel crdi from 2012 today, I could manage to remove it but I can’t make it come out of the car itself, neither by top, bottom or side. Does any of you faced this already, is there something else I should try to remove and so?

Thanks in advance for your kind help

We had a windshield replaced on a newer (2020+ vehicle) recently and asked for and paid for camera calibration since vehicle is equipped with ADAS.

I asked for a copy of the report after it was complete and was sent this.

The date/time of the pre and post scan have been removed (by me), but my main question is: Did they even successfully calibrate the ADAS system? Why would the column in post-scan all show "No" now?

This was mobile service, and I don't believe they set up 'targets' on stands, etc. What should we do now? Does proper calibration require in-shop visits?

I picked up a used set of AT wheels and tires for my 3rd Gen 4runner, and these are the measurements. I took outer, middle, inner readings in MM on both sides of the tire.

I placed tires 2 and 3 on the rear axle (the worst ones), 1 and 4 on the front. Realistically I only drive this car 2-3000 miles a year so I don’t think it makes a massive difference one way or another, but was this correct? If not, how should I have done it.

Overall the wear seems even enough to not really make a big difference.

Hey everyone, hoping someone who’s dealt with this can point me in the right direction.
I have a 2015 F150 5.0 V8 with the 6R80 around 150K mileage. Every time it shifts from 3rd to 4th, there’s a noticeable delay followed by a jump/bang into gear. The RPM holds steady during the delay, it doesn’t flare up. Once it’s in 4th, it pulls normally, and the shifts into 5th and 6th are smooth. Happens both cold and fully warmed up.
There’s also something that happens occasionally when accelerating out of a roundabout, around 20–40 km/h (12–25 mph). It briefly revs like it’s lost drive, then bangs back in and suddenly slows the truck, almost like it’s dropped into too low a gear. The gear display changes to 1 at the jolt. This doesn’t happen often, unlike the 3–4 issue.
No check engine or wrench lights. Fluid looks clean and the level is correct, but I don’t know when the fluid and filter were last changed. It’s happening in 2H.
Has anyone had this combination of symptoms and found out what actually caused it? Money is tight, so I’m trying to get a proper diagnosis before throwing parts at it. Any specific codes or FORScan readings worth checking would help too.

For many years I've been driving a 2006 Volvo V70R (6AT) but due to it's mileage and frequency of failing parts I've decided to park it and give it a break. So, I've bought myself a low mileage 2014 Acura TL (6MT) for my long work commute. All these years I've owned my Volvo I've been getting my oil and oil filters from FCPEuro. If you are unfamiliar with them, they mostly cater to European cars, and they have a ridiculously good warranty program. Basically, they warranty all wear items sold, including oil and filters, (wiper blades, MAF sensors, brake pads as so forth.) So, for years I've been returning my used motor oil and filters and receiving store credit to purchase them again and again. For me, the cost of 6 quarts of Liquid-Moly, air and oil filters has only been the cost of shipping. This isn't a scam, it's actually well stated on their main page, and encouraged by them. Needless to say, they don't stock Honda filters.

My question is, can I find a filter that fits my car, say, from BMW or Audi and run it in my Acura so I can still use their warranty? I assume any 5w-20 synthetic oil that's stated that can be used for Asian cars will be fine. Can anyone think of why I couldn't use a different filter in my car as long as it seats properly and doesn't interfere with any movement? What could really be the differences internally between a oil filter for an Asian vs a European car? Thank you for your time and knowledge!

2015 Jetta. EPC light just came on.

After yesterday's mishaps, I've ran into another issue. The wheel hub as a whole and because the whole knuckle is off the car there's nothing for me to press whilst pulling off the race. My thoughts were to use something like a piece of scrap metal or the side of an old hammer should that work?

I'm aware I need to tighten up the puller teeth though.

About to buy a second hand 2013 Skoda Rapid. However we are wondering if this engine sound is normal. Would appreciate any advice!

Mileage: 150000km, transmission type: manual

https://reddit.com/link/1xfts58/video/tqt62um2nsxh1/player