r/AutoMechanics

My maintenance light has been on but just now I have my first message which says
“Check hybrid system stop the vehicle in a safe place”
How bad is this? I’m broke (literally) and I work non working bus hours in Olympia.

Can someone give me any info on what to expect?
I would really appreciate all info

Hybrid light system light on

My car is a 2012 Prius with 201,000 it just hit this week

Hi People of the internet,

I recently went for an MOT for my Smart Fortwo 2026 model, which failed, due to "emissions unable to be completed, likely to be exhaust leak rear"

Now, ive been quoted £329.40 to replace the "silencer, exhaust box, the guy says theres many names for it"

1. Is this a fair price for a replacement silencer on the smart car
2. if they replace it, and it still fails who eats that me or them?

Just trying to figure out if im being stripped up lol.

Any answers on this would be greatly appreciated!

Cheers,

Hi everyone,

I'm completely stuck and could use some help. I replaced the cabin blower motor on my 2008 Honda Civic FK3 2.2 i-CTDi and had to unplug the accelerator pedal to do it. I forgot to plug it back in before reconnecting the battery and switching the ignition on. I realized afterward, reconnected the pedal, but now the car is acting up. I can communicate with my scan tool now, but I'm getting DTC B1168, Gauge Control Module Lost Communication with ECM/PCM Engine Messages, and I can't clear it. It comes back immediately. The engine currently won't start, the MIL comes on with ignition, and the fuses I've checked seem fine. I'm planning to check ECM power, grounds, and CAN wiring next, but could powering the car up with the accelerator pedal unplugged have caused this? Has anyone seen B1168 happen from something other than a real ECM comms or power issue? Any advice or common failure points would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Hello all! I have a 2018 Chrysler Pacifica with around 130k miles. Recently, I have been having trouble with these codes: P000A 'A' Camshaft Position Slow Response (Bank 1), and P0394 Camshaft Position Sensor 'B' Circuit Intermittent (Bank 2). The car drives fine, but seems to go into limp mode when the engine light turns on (it drives well after resetting codes).

I used to have issues with a misfire, which disappeared now. One cylinder, the computer did not say which, seemed to turn of completely when the engine was on high RPM, and then only turn on after restarting the engine.

The only fix I've done in this part of the engine as of yet is replace both cam sensors. There was a big vacuum leak which was causing some of the issues, but both codes still show up after fixing it.

Any ideas what could be happening? Please feel free to ask if you need more info. Thanks!

Omg someone please point me to the right direction im having this weird car issue for the past 3 months. “Engine warming wait to start”. MY CAR WONT START , Got my grounds checked. Got my battery, starter, and alternator tested they came back fine. It happens so randomly 1 day it can be fine no problem , or the next day it can happen every time i exit the vehicle I’m scared i’ll be stuck somewhere . i have gotten stuck . I replaced my key fob thinking my car couldn’t read my key. That didn’t help. I just bought a crankshaft position sensor. Waiting on my camshaft and oil pressure sensor. Or should i just go buy a new battery and starter??? Im ready to give up on this damn car sb helppp ugh HOW TO GET THIS TO STOP??

The OBD port on my Aion UT suddenly stopped outputting voltage, so the OBD scanner won't work. It was working fine before (though I did frequently plug and unplug the scanner), and there are no signs of a blown fuse or any warning lights. Does anyone know the likely cause? If it is a blown fuse, where is the OBD fuse located on the Aion UT?

Hi everyone, I’m having an issue with my 2014 VW Polo TSI BlueMotion.

The engine warning light flashes only during a cold start. The engine vibrates/shakes, and the RPM is slightly higher than normal. After around 20 seconds, the RPM drops back to normal, the warning light goes off, and the engine runs smoothly. It only happens on cold starts; once the car is warm, it drives perfectly.

I’ve already replaced the fan belt, ignition coil, and spark plugs, but the problem is still there.

Has anyone experienced this issue or knows what could be causing it? Any advice would be really appreciated. 😭

I’m in Massachusetts and have a 2011 Honda Accord with about 135k miles. I’ve been going to the same mechanic for years and years. They’re a small, family-owned business with only two locations in my area, and I’ve generally trusted them and had a good relationship with them. I’m genuinely not trying to trash the shop or accuse them of doing bad work — I’m trying to figure out what would be fair here.

Here’s the timeline:
June 2024: The shop replaced both my battery and alternator.
December 2025: The alternator they installed in June failed. They replaced it under warranty.
Now, August 2026: That replacement alternator has failed too.

The shop was concerned about the repeated failures and brought in another mechanic to look at the car to see if there was an underlying issue causing the alternators to fail.
They told me they couldn’t find any underlying issue with the car that would explain the repeated failures.
They’re now ordering a nicer/higher-quality alternator rather than using the same type again.

Here’s where I’m struggling:
They say I’m about 5,000 miles past the warranty, so the alternator that was installed under warranty in December isn’t covered. They quoted me $608.42 for the repair after already knocking about $150 off the price.

I understand that the mechanic didn’t manufacture these alternators, and I’m not saying their workmanship caused the failures. If they checked the car and there’s nothing causing alternators to fail, it sounds like I may have gotten bad parts.

But I also didn’t select the alternator manufacturer or buy the part myself. I paid the shop for the repair, and they sourced and installed the parts. And I trusted them & the parts they selected.

They suggested that I contact the manufacturer. That’s where I’m confused. Since the shop purchased the parts through its supplier, shouldn’t the shop be the one dealing with its supplier/manufacturer about repeated defective parts?

I’m speaking with the manager tomorrow. I also want to ask to see the actual warranty terms. I had assumed that when the first alternator failed and they installed another one under warranty in December, the replacement alternator would have some warranty of its own. Apparently they’re saying the warranty continued from the original June 2024 repair instead of restarting with the replacement.

I really do like this shop and have been a customer for years, so I’m not looking to go in angry or blame them for something outside their control. I appreciate that they’ve already discounted the repair and are now ordering a higher-quality alternator.

At the same time, I’m having a hard time accepting that I should pay another $608 because two alternators supplied through the shop have failed, especially when their own investigation apparently found nothing wrong with my car that is causing the failures.

For mechanics, shop owners, or anyone familiar with parts warranties: What would you consider a fair resolution?

Is it normal for the warranty on a replacement alternator not to restart when the part is replaced under warranty? Should the shop be pursuing its supplier/manufacturer over the repeated failures? Would you expect the customer to pay $608 in this situation, or would you expect the shop/supplier/manufacturer to absorb more of the cost?

I just bought a used 2015 Honda civic from a dealership less than two weeks ago and I got a check emission system error, I took it to O’reily to scan it and I got code P0420, notably,
The report showed the code had , permanent, pending , stored status
The car passed smog test less than a month ago
also
PCM (PGM-Fi) Malfunction.
2. PCM Malfunction(Engine).Modulator-Control Unit Internal Circuit Malfunction
Fail-Safe Relay Stuck Off

The car was sold as is with a smog pass certificate from a month ago.
What are my options here , I talked to the dealership, they told me they will talk to the mechanic and see if they can fix it, hopefully they would. However, worst case scenario, what are my options ?
Do I file a complaint against them in the DMV and BAR and still pay for the fixes out of pocket ?
Are they under any obligation to fix it , since the issue is smog related and the other one with the brakes is safety related or the AS IS clause protects them still ?

Appreciate your answers

Hey guys, I need some help please. I have a 2001 Dodge Caravan SE 2.4L and my speedometer doesn’t work. The other gauges work fine so I assumed it was just a dead speedometer motor or something so I picked up a used whole instrument cluster up at a junkyard, swapped them out and same problem. So I returned the replacement cluster already then I learned these vans how their own diagnostic test on the cluster so I did it, held down the trip/odometer button on the cluster and the following happened: all of the gauges including the speedometer cycles through their test, all of them worked, speedometer moved through its positions. And the following codes came up
Sof 4.0
100.4
100.5
100.6
E Code End

At this point I’m not sure where to go from this, I’ve been talking to chatGPT even bought the premium because I thought we were close with the multimeter tests but in the end it just acted dumb. I don’t know too much about electrical but we found the 12V female pinhole and 2 grounds on the harness that plugs into the cluster if that helps anybody at all.

Thanks in advance if anybody can help out!

EDIT: Forgot to add that I hooked up an OBD2 and tracked live data while driving and the OBD tool showed my MPH on it.

My parents have a 2004 Toyota forerunner.

Recently they had and repaired an oil leak. The mechanic also said they need all new timing components due to the leak. There is “some” noise they hear now when driving the car.

All the rest of the car seems decent. My parents are considering fixing the timing components. The mechanic has given an estimate of $4775.

Can anyone chime in on if this is a close to good estimate? They live in a small town so I’m considering asking them to go for another estimate to drive farther out. They live on limited income so I want them to get the best for their money.

Thanks