Practical car diagnosis tips, maintenance guides, and troubleshooting advice from your AI mechanic.
66 articles
Steering gone heavy, especially parking or at low speed? The car is still steerable, but the assist has dropped out. The fix depends entirely on whether you have hydraulic or electric power steering, so start by working out which one you have.
Fuel economy rarely falls off a cliff. It creeps, a few extra dollars a tank, until one day the range looks wrong. Here is what quietly drives it up, how to work out if it is actually a fault, and what to check first.
The dashboard battery light does not mean your battery is flat. It means the charging system has stopped keeping it topped up, and you are now running on borrowed time. Here is what it means, what causes it, and what to do before the car dies.
If you are topping up oil between services and never see a puddle on the driveway, the engine is probably burning it, not leaking it. Here is how to tell what is going on, what causes it, and when it is worth worrying about.
Wheel nuts are the most common torque spec people get wrong. Too loose and the wheel can work itself off. Too tight and you warp rotors or snap studs. Here is how tight is actually right, and how to do it properly.
Lost power, stuck at low revs, check engine light on? That's limp mode, your car protecting itself. Here's what triggers it, what to check first, and when it's safe to keep driving.
Slotted, cross-drilled, dimpled or plain? Here's what each rotor type actually does, what's marketing, and how to pick the right one for daily driving, towing or the occasional spirited run.
No logbook, no receipts, no idea what's been done? Here's how to establish a baseline on a used car, what to service first, and how to stop guessing about its past.
You are under the car doing pads and the rotors are sitting there looking grim. Or the workshop quote says rotors at $200 each. Here is how to tell whether they actually need replacing, when machining is enough, and when you can leave them alone.
Sweet, faintly maple-syrup smell after a drive, no puddle under the car, temperature gauge looks normal. Coolant is leaking somewhere and the system is burning it off before it pools. Here is how to find where, decide if it is safe to drive, and what each repair costs.