r/automotive

Is anyone experiencing issues with rockauto website, or is it just me?

Does anyone know what's happened to Dual Brand Automotive?

Are they still trading?

Their unit looks abandoned.

I’ve narrowed it down to either a 2015 Toyota rav4 with 135k miles on it 12k asking price but it has had an accident when it was on 10k miles with 2 previous owners. It does have awd. My other choice is a 2014 Mazda cx5 touring with 122k miles on it asking price is 12k one previous owner but no awd. Whats important to me is longevity and reliability with the least amount of expensive repairs, I live in a place where it snows and I like to go fishing and hunting I drive on gravel roads but not to much I mostly stick to paved roads.

Hello, this is my first post here, so I apologize if this isn’t the right sub to post on. I’m considering options for a career at the moment and cars are something that interests me.

I don’t have a huge background in cars, I didn’t grow up in a mechanic family or anything. I did manage to get an award back in grade 11 for transportation technology despite performing badly in high school, so I’m confident about this field because it seems more natural to me. I have also done coop in a collision centre for half a year, so I did get to experience what it would be like to be a mechanic, which was pretty cool.

I would like to work in a company that tunes and modifies cars, like HPA Motorsports or Brabus. These places sound fun to work at, although I’m not sure what role I’d be interested in specifically.

What kind of education and experience should I pursue to work at these companies?

Assume it has to deal with normal daily-use mess: wet shoes on the floor, pet hair working into the seats, and boxes or gear rubbing around the cargo area. You get exactly one factory-installed protection item and that’s it—floor protection, seat protection, cargo-area protection, or something else you think deserves the slot. What are you picking, and what real-life mess made that one more important to you than the others?

Hi all, the title says it all, I was out of town for 3 months, she was driving perfectly before I left, I came back to dead battery. Called AAA, installed a new battery, didn't crank, it was quiet, towed it to the nearest mechanic (Pepboys) and they installed a new starter. Now it is making some noise but it wouldn't start. Is there any known issues that could cause this after sitting? I have a video of it as well. Thank you!

Wondering why when you buy a new car, you pay for all the equipment on the car only to have the car manufacturers charge you a monthly subscription to use it. I think if they are able to charge you, you should have the option of not having the equipment installed in the 1st place. Example GM OnStar. With all the Lawyers we have and that’s a lot, I think they should start a class action lawsuit!!!

Im helping out my grandma who’s in a sticky situation where she has a 2025 vw Taos 5k miles and now she needs an engine replacement. Now the VW dealership found metal shaving in the oil pan and is declining the repairs claiming that since the oil change was done at a Sullivan tire they believe they ran the vehicle without oil at certain point in time. Now the vehicle was taken for an oil change on Thursday and Friday afternoon on the highway started having engine failure. Worst part of this all is both places are pointing fingers at each other one claiming it had to have had an engine defect before and the other claiming it was ran without oil. Need help and any suggestions anyone has on this matter thank you all Reddit users.

We have a ‘24 Infiniti QX80 with video screens in the headrests. Any idea what we need to get them to work? They work with HDMI but I know there’s a way wirelessly but how?

My back isn't great. Doing alot of sit ups hurts it. Squats hurt it. Anything abs or legs really. Also might be because my form sucks for squats. Idk. Probably is my form. I can totally compensate for squats by lifting my heals anyways. And get some knee pads.

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But is being a mechanic hard on you back?

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Also how do I learn at home right away before deciding?

Would getting a model engine to take apart and put back together be reasonable to start? I live in an apartment so can't get an actual engine.

Also, do you guys know of any model cars that are fully put together with all the part like a model engine?

Vyprala jsem omylem klíč k autu Seat Leone . Hned jak jsem na to přišla, jsem ho vyndala a vytáhla baterií. Co můžu udělat dál nebo v jak velkém jsem problému?

My daughter has a 2020 Sentra with 120,000+ miles that won’t start and has a big host of other problems.

Back when it was running, a Mechanic said it may need a new transmission. I don’t know why for sure as my kid brought it in. She got a new car and was going to sell it but got busy and never got to it.

Now our mechanic said it probably needs a starter but he’s not even sure. He thinks it’s junk since it needs transmission, starter, tires, brakes, windshield and who knows what else.

A couple questions since I never dealt with junking a car before. Should I call more than one junkyard to see if prices differ? There aren’t any near us so they have an hour or more drive to get it.

It has a new good battery she bought trying to get it running. Will junkyards likely give us any extra for the brand new battery? Or any less if we sell that ourselves on Facebook Mp?

Thanks for your advice.

Why do car manufacturers still make us buy and install aftermarket dash cams?
I really think dash cams should come factory-installed in modern cars, just like backup cameras and parking sensors.
A built-in system could:
Record front/rear footage automatically
Save video to the car’s built-in storage or cloud
Record while parked
Automatically save footage when an accident is detected
Integrate with the car’s infotainment/app
Avoid messy wiring and aftermarket installations
Potentially reduce insurance fraud and help with accident claims
Cars are becoming more technologically advanced every year, yet we still have to stick a $100–$300 camera on the windshield and run cables around the interior.
Just a thought — what do you guys think?

What’s the most important part of a car in order for it to drive?

Hi all, I haven't really posted on reddit so apologies if this post seems weirdly written. I recently managed to get a 2023 iX3 and I'm slightly worried about fire risks for EVs that BMW has announced, as well as, other EVs having caught fire in the past. The numbers only seem to be growing.

Is there any way to prevent or protect my car against these potential fires? Anyone got suggestions or already has something installed that deals with the worries I'm currently having.

All suggestions are greatly appreciated, even if its not EV specific (I also have a pretty old F80 that could use some protection for peace of mind).

TLDR: Need suggestions for peace of mind for car fires

so long story short I had my battery replace in December 2024 at autozone. never had any issues with my car ever . I keep up with maintenance, never had a light on . None of that . Yesterday my car hesitated to start but eventually started after getting it towed. It was starting up perfectly fine with no issues so next morning i ran it up to autozone. Now this first location tested the batteries and said they both were bad . She stated they couldn’t replace the aux and needed a battery reset machine. After calling another location he said that exact model doesn’t need the battery reset machine. She said okay and was gonna swap the one out and she can’t do the auxiliary battery cause she don’t kno where it’s at . I told her never mind and went to another location . The next location had both batteries in stock and he got them pulled up , they were covered under warranty and he agreed to do the swap. As said my car was running good . Never no problem , nothing . He came out to swap the batteries and told me turn my car off . After he got done doing what he was doing he told me to turn my car on . My car wouldn’t start. There was no lights on . There was no signs of life . He took it apart a little and tried to find if there was a lose wire . Nothing was working . He than found 2 blown fuses . How that happened ? I have no idea . He replaced them both with new fuses and got everything hooked up . He told me to try to turn the car and nothing worked no matter what he did. He than told me he was gonna have to get it towed to AutoZone mechanic shop and they would look and see what’s wrong. AAA ended up coming and I told him every last thing that happened . He told me he was gonna go in and make sure everything is connected right . Upon the AAA man checking off rip he seen the top cable was missing . He thought he had missed the cable and it got stuck under the battery . We’ll be took it all apart and apparently the dude had doubled up and messsed up whatever he did he fried the entire cars computerized system . AAA tech went in and let them know exactly what happened and what was wrong . I got it towed to the mechanic shop and he said he can tell me 100% before he even diagnoses it that it fried the entire computer system … they offered that if I pay outta pocket for a rental they’ll 100% reimburse me . I’m not coming out of pocket one dime . this ain’t on me .

Now . I owe 14k on the car . I’m still making payments . I never had a problem ever . My credit is poor and I’m not putting one cent of my money down on a vehicle . This is 100% on them to make whole of the entire situation. I want them to pay off what’s left on my loan so I don’t have to pay nothing on a fried car , and I want a down payment on a car . My only loan options is Carvana right now . The down payment on a car is 14k. And that’s for a similar car just like the one I had that was up and running fine with no problems ever. I will be willing to keep paying a car note if they get me in one since I have no other options . As said to make whole they have to put me in the same situation I was in before their employee touched my car. Them paying off the loan won’t help NOTHING. I need a car. How should I go about this . This is all documented by the way. The AAA driver has already told the repair man everything he seen and what happened along with the AutoZone man. He is taking full responsibility.

I’m currently homeless and living out of the hondeezy, and I literally just started a new job and right before my first day the car just stops working. It’s messed up just about everything because it’s parked 12 miles from work so I have to sleep in grass ditches near by work and I can’t go and check on it so I don’t even know if it’s been towed yet. Anyway enough context here’s what’s going on. (I used ChatGPT to organize everything)

Here’s exactly what happened:

A few days ago it started cranking slower than usual.

It got progressively weaker until eventually it wouldn’t crank at all.

Now when I turn the key, I hear one very faint click from the engine bay and absolutely no cranking.

The dash lights stay bright and don’t dim when I try to start it.

Radio, lights, and everything electrical work fine.
I tried jumping it with another vehicle and it made no difference.

Battery is only a few weeks old (Group 51R), terminals are clean and tight, and the cables look fine visually.

It’s an automatic and I’ve tried starting it in Park.

I suspicion is the starter or starter solenoid because of the progression from, but I don’t want to spend money on a starter if there’s a good chance it’s something else.

What else should I be checking before

Could it still be a battery or cable issue even though it’s new and a jump didn’t help?
How would I rule out the starter relay, ignition switch, ground cable, or something else?
Are there any simple tests I can do with basic hand tools?

If there’s any information I left out or if a video of what it sounds like would help, let me know and I’ll upload one.

I really appreciate any advice. Right now I’m just trying to get the car running again without wasting money on the wrong part.

Some weeks ago, some clumsy idiot, which is to say yours truly, didn't put the oil filler cap back on the right way, and at some later time it popped off and fell away, presumably landing in the middle of the road. I've replaced it now, but now I've noticed troubling signs from the alternator, which recharges the battery fine when I drive, and when testing it in my garage at idle (via a multimeter and the battery terminals), it does produce adequate amperage (yielding 14.1 volts in the battery). But if I add an electrical load, the amperage drops significantly. With the lights on the output voltage drops to 13.40, with the AC on it drops to 13.10, and with both together the battery voltage reads 12.43.

Before and after a road test with no accessories or lights running, the battery voltage, with the engine shut off, read 12.45 and 12.70 respectively.

I should mention that on the occasion when I discovered that the oil cap was gone, that wasn't the first thing I noticed on opening the hood. What I noticed first was a considerable amount of oil splashed around the engine bay, although the dipstick didn't read low. I've cleaned that up as much as I could, but is it possible that some oil got into the alternator? Would that cause it to malfunction, and is there a remedy? Will any oil present eventually drip out and everything return to normal? If not, is there a way I can clean out the alternator, or at least make it less oily?

It wouldn't totally surprise me if it turns out I need a new alternator, considering the car's age, though the odometer reading is well below average.

ETA: It's a 2000 Nissan Altima that has about 119K miles on it. I should have mentioned that. (Thanks u/HannsGruber.)

I just recently bought a 1995 Honda civic lx with a manual transmission, it was engine swapped with a b16a3. I want to keep it a Daily but put more power into it so I was thinking of putting around 300hp if yall have any tips or useful advice or information. I want to actually build it so that it drives nice and not just looks nice.