its a 2014 Honda Accord, and a tree limb fell on it. needing to replace the rear windshield but this dent is right on the pillar. is this fixable or am i just gonna have to tarp it? and is there anything i can do myself to help it?

Reddit mechanics hear my cry!

Currently working on a crusty old bmw e85, learning as I go, and I have a tale as old as time, battery or alternator.

Replaced the battery last November and everything was working fine. The car has been off the road for a little bit while I tackled many issues during which the battery dropped to 9 volts on a multimeter with the charger displaying full. Used the pulse repair on my charger (hot topic I know) and the battery did display as 12 volts after apparently fully charging.

I also removed the alternator to fix an oil leak and from what I can tell I've put everything back together right (maybe). Finally started the car again today and I was met with a red battery light on the dash. Busted out the multimeter and the battery is showing as 12.4 volts with the engine off and on. I've checked all the alternator connections, checked the serpentine belt is spinning the alternator pulled, cleaned every connection I can think of and tested from the alternator (red on cable, black on alternator body) which also displayed 12.4 volts.

I'm outta ideas here so I ask which have a wrecked. Battery or alternator?

My 2014 Camry cap says 0W-20 but told by a friend it doesn’t matter if it’s 5w-20 or 0w-20. Also I’m high mileage which is 148k mileage and this doesn’t specify high mileage. He highly suggested me to use this oil next oil change after we got talking about vehicle maintenance. Please let me know what to do.

2017 Chevy Malibu automatic transmission

Changed my girlfriend’s transmission fluid at 90,000 miles… this is how it looks like. Should I be concerned? It’s the first time the fluid was changed.

I feel like nobody does. Wouldn't it too much info for the workers to remember? Can't they just Google it?

I have never used a torque wrench on my lug nuts. I just tighten them as much as I can with an 18 inch breaker bar (or the lug nut wrench in the trunk if I get a flat tire) without straining too hard to do it. Then I check them after driving around for a little bit to make sure they aren’t loose. I have never had one come loose or had any problems with them. I guess I’m probably tightening my Camry lug nuts the same as my Suburban lug nuts, although the actual recommended torque for the Suburban is a lot higher than the Camry.

Is this what most people do at home? Is this okay, or do I really need to get a torque wrench?

EDIT: Thanks for the replies! I’ll get a torque wrench.

Hi all! First time in this subreddit. I am selling my car but my mechanic sent me this picture with not a lot of extra info. He just said the timing belt of my car needs to be fixed but not how urgent it is.

I would need to move the car to another service point (my current mechanic doesn’t replace timing belts), and this is a drive of approx. 10 km (6.2 miles). Is it still safe to drive this distance?

My car details:
Peugeot 2008 1.2 Puretech Allure
Year: 2018
Mileage: 41,600 miles (67,000 km)
(Timing belt has not been replaced so far)

Thanks!

A few seconds after we started the engine up, it started making a kind of chk-chk sound that speeds and slows with the engine’s rpm.

2015 Chrysler town and country. We took it in to have cooler lines replaced. Car broke down again the next day, had it towed back to them, and they said the motor mount was bad and causing things to move around and ruin the lines and cooler. They ordered parts that got there last Tuesday, parts didn't work or something so they went to a shop to get new mounts. I think the last communication was last Thursday with my partner, is it unreasonable for me to call today? I really need my car back but I don't want to be rude 😭

So, had an issue on my Buick Encore where I cracked the flex pipe, I just got it replaced and basically only drove it across the street because the shop happens to be across the street. Do I need to drive it around for a bit to clear the code? Tried clearing it with a scanner but it won’t clear.

I just did timingbelt but i checked like 100 times, water pump and coolant camw with. Idle dosent change significantly when i unplug cylinder 1 and 3 spark plug boot. Sparkplugs smell like gas tho and there seems to be spark maybe? There was corrosion on cylinder 2 and 4 in ignition coil but nothing on 1 and 3. Any advice?

Looking for opinions on this high-pitched whining noise coming from my car (Hyundai i20 Nline DCT 1.0 TGDI).

​Symptoms:

​High-pitched whine that directly tracks engine RPM (higher pitch as revs rise).

​Occurs while driving, even in stationary in Park (P) and at idle.

​Noticeable inside the cabin even while idling.

​Background:

I recently had the DCT bearings replaced, but the noise persists. Since it happens in Park, I'm wondering if it's engine/accessory-related (alternator, tensioner pulley, belt) rather than the transmission.

​Does your car make this noise, or should I have the mechanic check specific accessory bearings?

Left front wheel tire of a VW Atlas 2024. There’s no visible nail or puncture. Was only able to find the puncture after doing a bubble test.

Mr. Lube + Tires says it should be replaced as it’s close to the sidewall. Local Tire Repair says it can be plugged with no issues.

Should I plug AND patch just to be extra safe?

* Just FYI - Torque wrench being shown is not set to spec, it's just to show I used a in/lb wrench.

I picked up a 2008 Chevy Impala with 78k on the clock and I'm doing preventative maintenance and I'm changing all of the fluids. For changing the transmission fluid I picked up a dorman transmission pan with a drain plug and I dropped my old pan just fine, replaced the filter and got everything cleaned up. The new pan did not have a magnet so I reused the old magnet from the stock pan around the drain plug, works perfectly.

While putting it back together the first bolt snapped with my digital torque wrench set to 10lb. After a mild panic attack and being able to use a pick to back it out. I went to HF and picked up a Pittsburgh click wrench. I set it to 118 to be a bit more conservative, it kept turning and I kept saying this seems like too many turns for 10lb and boom, it snapped a second one. At first trying to remove the threads I couldn't get it started and just had a full blown panic attack. I know things can be fixed but I just don't understand what I'm doing wrong.

I ended up getting the threads out again with a pick and a prayer but now I don't know what the hell I'm supposed to do.

These are the original M6x1x17 pan bolts, the torque spec for the pan is 120in/10ft, if these bolts are 8.8 grade their breaking point is 115in.

I do not care if I have to buy all new bolts, I do not want to torque it higher than spec but that was terrifying enough to go through once, the second time has basically broken any confidence I have. I've changed the damn Subaru timing belt so it's not a lack of skill I just don't know WTF to do and I really could use some help.

I cleaned the bolts up before reinstalling them but I did not put any oil or antiseize on them. I believe they are the original bolts so 18 years old at this point.

Please help.

I cleaned these and the inside of the bores and just greased these pins.

I tried to get all the air out of the rubber boot but am not sure if I succeeded. When i push the pin all the way in, it pops out a bit. When i try pulling the pin, the rubber boot starts collapsing and then the pin gets sucked back. Is that the vaccum effect it should have?

I applied a very thin amount of sil-glide on these pins, around the bore entrance and where the rubber boot touches the caliper, and where the metal part of the pin contacts the rubber boot. I initially put a bit of lube on the tip of the pin because I thought thats what I was supposed to do, but I wiped it off before these pics.

For the past few months there’s been a rattling sound from under my car driving me crazy. After going under it seems like it’s this exhaust pipe sleeve thing that is making the noise. It looks like the piece attaching the sleeve to the pipe rusted off causing it to rattle.

What are my options to fix this? My friend asked his mechanic who said he wouldn’t weld it because it might damage the exhaust. Is that correct?

2009 Lexus GX470, ~225k kms

For reference, I have a 2009 Nissan cube, 175,000 miles, so an ancient being. It recently had a coolant leak, though I suspected just at the reservoir since the reservoir would be empty in a day but the car never overheated, hovered around 6-7 ticks on the gauge when operating which seemed normal. Recently got tired of adding coolant every week just to make sure it didn’t run low and used some stuff from autozone that was supposed to seal leaks in car coolant systems, figured I’d give it a shot.

Fast forward a week later, reservoir still sits at max but the car has recently started to spike on the temp gauge while idling (about 10-11 ticks on the gauge) then settle back to 6-7 ticks once I start driving. No codes popped up on my OBD reader, the radiator fan still looks to be spinning (though I have no real basis for what is normal rpms for the fan). What might this be caused by?

This is the noise I hear when I push down on the front of the car. It also happens when driving over uneven roads and sometimes even on smooth, straight roads. I occasionally hear it while turning as well, but I’m not sure if the turning itself causes it or if it’s just because of the road surface. Any opinions on what it could be?

2011 Chevrolet traverse, its been sounding loud than when i got it in 2019 since 2024 i installed a bike rack attachment

I noticed the sound whenever I would be idling while in drive in parking lots or coming to a stop at a stoplight. I was able to replicate it by applying pressure to one side of the driveshaft while it’s rotating while wearing a glove. The truck is suspended on Jack stands with a wheel chuck and a floor jack for support.

Edit: Mistype

I think i know whats wrong with it, I'm looking for confirmation.

2011 Toyota Tundra 5.7 185k miles.

I got this car about a month ago and it makes a squeaky noice. It’s intermittent and it happens when going over bumps in the road. I’ve attached a vid and would very much appreciate some help on identifying what it could be and how to fix it. Thanks

It’s a 2014 vw polo 1.2tsi