About the Maintenance and Repair Message Board

rae08512

ty 4 the follow up.......will check sites u suggest......... tx again

baphillip

Does anyone know why my washer pump doesn't work?

I have a 1997 Avalon and the washer pump stopped
working a few weeks ago.
I've looked and looked but cannot find the fuse
(the covers to the three fuse boxes (in the car and
under the hood) have descriptions like "AC" and
"HL" (headlamp?) and "Radio"... but there isn't any
labeled "washer" or "pump" etc.)

In desperation I pulled all of the fuses to look
for any blown fuses. They were all okay.

There is a "float" in the washer-fluid tank that
moves up and down on guides. I thought maybe this
tells the pump not to run if there isn't any fluid.
But the tank is full and the float moves freely.

Any ideas?

Thanks,

pat455

My suggestion is that you use the Topic Search feature on the left side of this page for Avalon. Then you can stop by an active topic on this vehicle to check in with others who may have some thoughts for you.

Good luck, and welcome to Town Hall.

Pat
Community Leader/Maintenance & Repair Conference

meb235

The turn signals no longer operated on my Olds Calais. First, they just stayed on; then they blinked very fast. Now, they don't light up outside or inside. The outside lights are all working (hazard lights operate) and the fuse is not blown.
Any ideas what could be causing this? Thanks

jules18

I am currently looking at a 1992 Saab 9000CD. It looks to be in great condition with just under 30,000 mi. Offered at ~4,500, well under blue book. My concern however is the high maintenance costs affiliated with these cars. I have read mixed reviews and would like an honest and somewhat experienced opinion. The car seems to be a steal. But I am a college student, and if there are problems associated with this vehicle of which I will be paying a fortune for, I would really like to know. (From what I have read from "sportymom's" experience within the archive, I am very very nervous.) I would like any advice available. Thanks!

ed96

HELP. I NEED A VACUM DIAGRAM FOR A 88 JEEP GRAND WAGONEER V8 360.

byyhills

Loud whinning noise occurs when accelerating up to 25mph. Louder when the outside temperature is over 75 degrees.Dealer says that this noise is normal for the low end Civic. No other owners whom I have skoken to have this noise. Three top notch mechanics have suggested that it is a bearing noise. My car is still under warantee.

pat455

We have an active discussion on Honda Civic Problems that you could take a look at - you can click on that highlighted link to go there.

Pat
Community Leader/Maintenance & Repair Conference

mimi620

Hi
I have 7500 miles on my 2000 Acura 3.2 TL and I
went in for a second service which included oil
change and tire rotation.
Before I went in to the service, the car is
extremely quite while driving. Soon after the
service, I hear my tires rotating sound when I
drive my car ( something like dub, dub, dub... )
I went back to the acura dealer and he says that
the tires have to worn out evenly and the sound
would go away once this has happened. The sound is
not a major problem.
Has this happened to anyone else too ? Appreciate
your response

alcan

Tire noise after rotation isn't uncommon. It should go away after a couple of thousand miles.

scimitar15

Jules18, I would definitely not buy this car. While Saabs have improved their reliability the last few years the older models from as recently as the mid-late nineties have not been all that reliable. As a college student I am sure you need your extra cash on things other than expensive car repairs, especially on a car that costs more than the average to fix xyz problem.

As one auto writer put it, Saabs don't cost that much to buy at first (heavy depreciation, which should be a clue) but they cost almost as much to repair as an Audi or BMW. Basically a Saab, as the writer went on to say, is a mid teens car to buy but a $30s car to repair.

jules18

I appreciate the input. I did more research after submitting the question, and realized the same thing. The vehicle is beautiful, but not very reliable, and I simply couldn't afford the repairs. Have a great day.

jmaher4

WHEN GOING UP HILLS MY TRUCK SEEMS LIKE IT LOOSES POWER AS YOU HAVE TO GIVE IT ALOT MORE GAS BUT IT IDLES FINE AND IT JUST PASSED EMISSIONS.IT ONLY HAS 42000 MILES ON IT.I HAVE CHANGED WIRES,PLUGS,BUT STILL SEEMS THE SAME.

pat455

Welcome to Town Hall.

There is a discussion going on in our Pickups conference about F-150 problems. You can click here to go directly there.

The topic title refers to MY 2000 F-150's, but I'm sure that it is fine to ask about other model years there as well.

Good luck, and again welcome.

Pat
Community Leader/Maintenance & Repair Conference

bmac6

My 96 Taurus, 3.1 liter, drips oil after the engine is killed. Does not seem to leak while engine is running. What could it be?

ovlee

Hi Guys: I am enjoying our 2000 Avalon XLS. I'm at about 5500 miles and have always changed my own oil. What is the correct/best oil filter for this car? Is there a FRAM made for it??? Ciao (better, perhaps, Sayonara)...Ollie

biyonic1

I have loved this Jeep but it has had $1000's in repairs. Most all repairs have been due to shoddy Jeep dealer service dept. workmanship from Chicago area to Cincinnati area.

My post topic is this -

A portion of my tranny case tail has been chipped and the black bubble gum type gunk they secretly crammed in there is starting to fail and now I am really starting to leak fluid. I know when they cracked this. It was in '98 when they rebuilt my rear diff. at 35k mind you, and a week later I brought it back complaining of a new leak. My argument was that this new leak (substantial) suddenly occurred right after they did the work on the rear diff. Their argument was that a leak at the tranny had nothing to do with the diff work.

Now tell me if I am right, when rebuilding a rear diff. you have to drop/lower/swing down one end of the driveshaft. If so, then when they dropped the driveshaft it acted like a lever (crowbar)and cracked the bottom of the tranny case tail.

Oh man oh man I know that is what happened!

Now - how do you think I can get the dealer to cover this screwup?

Please post ideas!

Thanks edmunds for being the best! Love the new site - keep up the good work.

mitsu4

I own a 1991 Mitsubishi 3000 gt sl that sputters when under load at 2500 rpms. The car starts and runs great up to 2500 rpms then all hell breaks loose. The car begins to sputter and stall. If I depress the accelerator, the engine will run great again. The engine will rev up to 4000 rpms in "park" with no problems then above 4000 rpms, the same symptoms occur.

When I had the problem diagnosed, the local mitsu dealer says the codes are "embedded" which will cost me several hundred dollars to investigate further.

I have changed the plugs and wires. Now a friend says to change the coil pack and my problems will be solved. I have no idea what this will cost me or how involved this may be. Any ideas?

Any other ideas as to the problem?

Thanks in advance.

senator63

Last night I noticed a black rubber hose (about .5 inch ID) hanging down around the gas tank area. I examined the end to see if it was cut or broken. Nothing. In fact, it didn't look like it had been conected to anything. I traced its path to a flat object about a foot square that is placed under the gas tank about in the middle. The object has another hose on the opposite side that disapears up into the upper part of the chassis. The unconnected hose has a clip near its end that matches up with the frame rail that runs from to back on the side of the chassis. When I attach the clip, the only place for the hose to go is into one of the large holes on the rail. So thats what I did. But, what is it??

viking71

Hello. I just bought a 97 Riviera with 36,500 miles on it. My main concern is that it has a pretty major rumble or roar in the right rear that comes on at 30mph and seems to fade at 60mph. Could this be a tire or a wheel bearing? Could someone please give me insight on this?

Also, I'm wanting to go to Mobile One. Should I flush the engine first? There is a lot of mystery involved with lubricants and additives. One guy will tell you no and another will tell you yes... It gets confusing. I just want to take as good a care as possible as I intend on keeping this car for a long time. Any comments are much appreciated.

alcan

Raise the back of the car and check for any play in the wheel bearing. If not, switch the rear tires side to side and see if the noise follows it.
Re the switch to synthetic, check out the "Synthetic motor oil" topic. There are as many opinions as colours of Smarties. :-)

viking71

Thanx for the ideas. You may get a kick out of this I don't know: It turned out to be wind in the sunroof haha. I laugh because I've been sweating all the expensive possibilities for days since I picked it up...Sunroof noise I can handle.

I was on my way to the dealer today after I posted that message and noticed that everything was as quiet as a church mouse and was like, man! it's not gonna do it for the dealership. You know how those things go. Then I opened the sunroof and it started up, so I closed it and it went away and so on. Man was I relieved! Thanx again and I'll go check those topics.

lady_k72

Please someone help! I own a 1999 Kia which has 53000 miles on it. This is due to I drive quite a distant to work. I recently had an oil at the dealer( this is not my regular thing to do as the prices are quite high) and was informed by the dealer that my car had no oil and was knocking. The dealer changed the oil and said that I would need a new engine in my car cost 2500 dollars. This is based on what the service manager heard..no inspection was done on my car and I don't hear any knocking. But now seven days later my car is reading low oil when I check it. I had a complete stranger to check it just to verify. How is it possible to have no oil after an oil change? Now I am fighing with the dealer and Kia to get them to look at my engine. It is still under waranty and I am at a lost as to what to do next. Any ideas are welcomed

adc100

Over the years my 94 Corsica's rear brake drums have not been installed in their origional position. It is impossible to determine what that position is. Is this a problem? Is it worth or possible to have them balanced with the axle assembly? The car does have some noise although this may be my imagination. Can't really feel vibration/imbalance.

Thanks

alcan

If you hunt around you might be able to find a shop that still has on car balancing equipment. It'll balance the entire rotating mass.

adc100

.

Mr_Shiftright

I'm sorry but your post is very confusing. If your car is under warranty and the engine is in fact damaged, what's the problem exactly?

Why not go to another Hyundai dealer and ask them to check the engine and look for an oil leak if that's the problem? It sounds like you are operating on hearsay and friend's opinions...you need some facts before you can make an intelligent decision regarding your car.

buicklonglife

My car a Buick 1989 Lesabre is in perfect condition. Milage now is only 19,602!!
I only have a scrape mark,& it is above the the gas cap.
This mark is aluminum, as I back up into a police box.Can I get this off of my paint? What should I use to do this?
It has a slight impression mark, but the paint was not damaged.
Compared to the latest Buick Lesabre,You want my opinion?
Piece of junk, No steel bumper protection, lousy inside seats, interier back seats seating very uncomfortable,& the Padding is slim. Etc.
My car has ultra luxury, & plush car seats, front & back.
I just read, only the Volva, & Buick Limited have extra long life.
After you rack up 300,000 miles, it still passes the emission, & state inspection test on the engine,which in my opinion is the finest engine Buick ever built!
Of course you have to change the oil,& put in a new oil filter every 6,000 miles.
Besides that, inspect the air filter,& gas filter,if it needs replacing REPLACE IT!
I go to a GM Oldsmobile Shop every time my window inspection sticker expires, & replace what ever needs to be corrected, with a new GM part.
I had after 8 1/2 years my cars computer replaced, & just once, my drums turned down, & new front disc pads replaced plus the back drum brakes.
I pump my brakes, & glide to a stop,slowly, at a red light, & stop signs.
When I am going very fast, say 45 miles a Hour, I anticipate it for 2 blocks before I approach a red light,& take my foot off of the gas pedal,& glide to it, then when I am a half a block from the red light, I then start pumping my brakes.
The average CITY BRAKE life of a big car like mine is 10,000 miles
I will get double that, if I still keep this gem.
The new cars side door bumper guard is no more,& mine is a thick protruding V shape, wide protection guard, for those nuts out there who puts those dings in your car! They always walk away, when you are not there.
My car does have lousy milage, but so do the newer ones, for a big car like mine.
I FEEL SAFE IN MY CAR,as it WAS one of the best safty protection cars on the road!
Ok you Buick owners I had my say,lets hear from you now. JIM

wtwag1

my 97 seville sts sure has high oil consumption, what is "normal" I'm adding about 1 qt. per 1500 miles...

Mr_Shiftright

A quart every 1,500 miles is okay, and I'd consider it "normal enough", on the low side of "normal".

If you notice any sudden increase in consumption over the short term, then I'd have a cylinder leakdown test done, presuming there are no leaks of course. I myself only get "alarmed" when consumption drops below 1,000 miles per quart and continues to drop.....if the engine has high, high miles, then of course heavy consumption could be normal, due to internal wear.

jeild

i'd like to know how hard/easy it is to replace a bad alternator on a '92 mits eclipse (turbo). how much do these "rebuilt" alternators usually cost? is there any place on-line i can shop around at? what tools would i need to do the r&r? thanks for any info.

Mr_Shiftright

I don't know how much labor is involved, but I do want to warn you NOT to buy some cheap rebuild from a chain store...get a quality replacement, even if it means paying top dollar. There are lots of inferior rebuilt alternators on the market and they don't last very long.

You might check over at the Coupe/Convertible/Sportscar board and post in the various Eclipse topics to find out the amount of labor involved.

ovlee

Recommendation, anyone?...... My friend sat in his new Avalon, identical to mine,with a wet green jacket on, and now his leather is GREEN behind the driver's back. I do not want this to happen to our car. What's YOUR recommendation for a good leather protection product???? Oldie

abraam

Hilow Sir,
Could you please respond to my question? It was my first and I'm still trying to do it right. What does the "mark" button do?
Will be back tonight.
Regards
Adriaan

Mr_Shiftright

here's the help info for the "mark" feature:

Bookmarks
If you find a message or discussion helpful, interesting or funny and would like to
"save" it, you may do so by using the MARK feature.
To save a message, click MARK next to the message. To save a discussion,
click MARK under the title of the discussion at the top of the screen. These
action will take you you to your personal Message Center page within Town Hall,
where your marked messages and discussions are saved. Next to the "marked"
message is a small text field where you can put in comments to remind yourself
why the particular message or discussion is important. Clicking "Set" next to the
text field makes the software remember the comment the next time your
Message Center page is displayed.


Mr. Shiftright
Host

abraam

Hello Mr Shiftright,

Thanks for you answer about the "mark" feature.
Could you please help me with the following? In the trunk of our 1990 Lincoln Town Car there is a contraption to get the antenna up and down. It doesn't anymore. We had this great car since last Nov. and had some repairs but this antenna baffles me. There is a clear plastic box, smaller than a pack of cigarettes, with electronics inside. Now I'm told this will be $175 Can. The world thinks Lincoln=$$$$. Thus it is no surprise that the wiring was changed so the antenna is always up when the ignition is on. This is no good going through a car-wash. I have the radio out to see if there is a connection that is live only when the radio is turned on but cannot find any.
Could you please tell me how and where to connect things or even how to run a wire to a switch on the dash (the way it used to be in earlier models?) to work things from there.

Thank you for your help
Adriaan
Toronto

Mr_Shiftright

Hmmm....well, if the wiring was changed at some point in the last 12 years, good luck finding it! I suppose you could take a test light and see which wire goes "live" at the antenna when you switch on the ignition. Once you locate that wire, you could break it and install a switch in that line...but then you'll have to somehow run it all the way to t he front of the car under the carpets, etc....not impossible, but a bit of a chore to do neatly.....the switch could then mount under the dash somewhere. Your radio should have a wiring diagram that is color coded to tell you which wire "used to" work the antenna....maybe it's not hooked up?

You know, you could always just have a stereo shop install a plain antenna that you push up and down by hand when you go to a car wash, like they've been doing for the 60 years prior to your car's manufacture.

3senough

We have an 86 Accord which was given to us. We were told that it had no problems before sitting in Texas for several years. I doubt any storage procedures were followed. Now it runs rough, idles around 2700 rpms. It will die at 2400 if the idle is adjusted downward. It wants to die at intersections. One place said it needed a tune-up. That made no difference, another said the carb should be replaced (parts and labor to be around $1500+) I am not sure if thoses figure are realistic or not. We don't know whether to put any money into it, to sell it, or to donate it. Would sitting like that cause that much of a problem that the carb should be replaced?

fritz1224

If a fuel stabilizer wasn't added to the fuel before sitting that long, the gas can deteriorate and cause gumming of the fuel jets. First try fresh fuel with a carburator cleaner added. If that doesn't work there are places that rebuild carburators and would be able to clean out any bad deposits.

chardonnay

After only one winter and very low mileage (500), my alloy wheels are pitted. This does not say anything good about the coating used on these wheels manufactured by ENKEI. If I was a daily commuter (4000 miles for the winter), the wheels would look like they had gone through a shot blast machine.
Any others with this problem so soon and have you had them re coated? From your experience, who manufactures the best quality wheels? I've had alloy wheels on two of my previous cars and nothing like this happened until after 5 or 6 years.

swivel

I just bought a 98 Av with 25K and the Toyota Extra Care Platinum warranty($790) which will give me 3 yrs or 50000 beyond original warranty.

Is this a good deal?

Has this paid off for anyone?

I have 30 days to get my money back if I decide I don't want it.

I'm worried that the fine print has a lot of subjective language that could allow Toyota to back out of covering.

Mr_Shiftright

Well, by mentioning the word "fine print" you actually answered your own question. You need to carefully read your policy (it's not really a warranty, it is an insurance policy, and they are betting you WON'T have trouble and you are betting you DO--just like health insurance in a way).....anyway, you need to read your policy's EXCLUSIONS....what will they NOT pay for? Every extended warranty is different. For instance, what's the overheating clause...if you allow your car to overheat (by not stopping in the left lane on the freeway), does that get them off the hook for the engine? What subsystems may not be covered?

By reading the exclusions, and comparing them to more expensive or inclusive policies, you get an idea what your plan is "worth". Nobody can tell you what your plan is worth unless we know the exclusions, because the value is built around the exclusions.

thongyoi

I have Mazda Protege'93. I need a new muffler and think about bring it to Meineke. What do you think about it? I used to take to the local maintainance, but it's last only a year. Can anyone give me an advice. How much should I pay for it.

Mr_Shiftright

I'm not a big fan of muffler chains myself. While the one in your neighborhood may be perfectly okay, I think they tend to oversell the job. Get at least two opinions/estimates before you buy anything.

mssarah1

I have a compact 4-door car with unibody frame construction. I was rear ended at a high rate of speed causing significant damage. (But of course, not enough to total it out.) A portion of the frame in the rear of the car is visibly bent (among other damage). And both the passenger side doors do not open properly. The body shop is telling me that the door problem is due to "tension" from the portion of frame that is bent in the rear of the car, and that once that rear portion is fixed the doors will go back to normal. Is that correct?

As a side note, the driver who caused my accident is uninsured, so my insurance is footing the bill minus my collision deductible. And my insurance is not sending their own adjustor; they authorized the dealership to do their own assessment and estimate and then just go ahead and do the repairs. Is it just my paranoia, or does something about that sound fishy? Anything I should watch out for?

Also, is there anywhere you can get crash test data for rear impacts? I have searched through numerous sites that contain crash test data, but they only show frontal and side impact crashes. Does anyone even do rear impact crash tests? Should this information be available from the manufacturer?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Ms.Sarah

pks1

I own a 1.9L Escort 1994. I have a question . I am a Compact car fan so dont laugh that i want more performance. But I am lloking at a Dynomax Ultraflow Oval muffler. From what i have heard it sounds pretty nice. On my car a I have 1 7/8 inch pipes or 2 inch pipes so my question is if i but a muffler with a 2 1/2 pipe will that be bad if i install a pipe conversion from 2 to 2 1/2. Is that going to be bad for the engine. And by installing a Performance muffler what kind of risks may i run into with the engine. What kind of possible long term effects could that have on the engine.
thanx in advance

Mr_Shiftright

I don't see any risks but also I don't see that you'll get much benefit, since you still have a catalytic converter in the way. Mufflers can't "make" HP...in fact, the best muffler is none at all, if you want a little more power. Usually, any exhaust modifications are done in conjunction with other modifications. But it can't hurt, and maybe it'll sound better.

bobbyyea

85 mercury cougar 6 cyl 3.8liter,fuel injection stalls constantly when at red light or stop sign.Must drive with 2 feet.Has been stalling for awhile.Any suggestions on what the problem might be would be appreciated.TY

Mr_Shiftright

So, sounds like maybe idle is too low....can you adjust that easily? Also, check for vacuum leaks through hoses or manifold. And let's not forget basic tune-up specs and parts.

Go for the simplest fixes first...they are the quickest and easiest. Stay out of the computer stuff until you've run out of simple ideas. And don't get advice from ten people, you'll just get confused. Do what you can yourself, keep a record of what you've done, and then enlist the aid of one good shop and work with them. A good shop does not throw parts at a car until it is fixed. They diagnose it and take their time.

luanneo

Does anyone know how to access the front left turn signal to replace the bulb? My husband can't find the access, and we truly don't want to pay the dealer for such a small (but necessary) thing!

It's in a 1995 Lexus ES300.

Help?

Luanne