r/carproblems

Context, I drive an automatic 2000 Toyota sienna with 360k miles on it. It was a gift from my in-laws that they gave to us earlier this year after I totaled my car on black ice. They took very good care of it, my father-in-law used to work on cars and stuff so he would change the oil himself with thicker oil or something after it passed 150-200k miles or something like that (whatever’s better for the car idk) and he fixed up a bunch of the issues that they had grown used to before handing it over, like dash lights not working, seatbelts jamming regularly, etc, so it’s in much nicer condition than it would’ve have been if not for him.

Issue: this summer every morning before work when I go to start the car, the temp gauge is below C, and this isn’t the gauge being wrong either, because when the A/C kicks in the second the car is on it is COLD. Now if this was the only thing I would just chalk it up to it getting colder at night, and also I’m not complaining, I like immediate A/C. However, it gets a little concerning when my car is left out in the sun all day at work, let’s say it’s 90 degrees outside all day, and I come back to it at the end of the day (bout 10 hours later, I work 4 day weeks, 10 hour days) the interior of the van is at least 5-10 degrees warmer on the inside than outside (still 90 degrees) and the temp gauge is BACK DOWN BELOW C AND BLOWING COLD AIR INSTANTLY. So is this too good to be true or do I need to get this checked out??

Additional notes: There is seemingly not a single other thing potentially wrong with the car as far as I can tell, engine sounds and feels great, park brake works, brake pads feel good, like I can’t find a single other thing that could be wrong

About a month ago during a thunderstorm, my check engine light came on for the first time in a long time. I have a diagnostic tester that showed an issue with the coolant thermostat. The temperature gauge stayed normal and never ran hot. Before I had a chance to take it in, it went out. It was out for about a week or so until it randomly came back on to the same scenario. Again, after a few days it goes out for a week. This morning it came back on - same issue. Can anyone suggest a reason why a unit would randomly trigger faulty then good then back and forth? BTW, I had the coolant changed about 2-3 months ago. Also it may be irrelevant but it's a 2012 Nissan Altima.

Thank you for any input in advance.

This has happened twice now. All seems fine, I stop the car (braking). It stops, stalls, will not start. Put into park to start, won't start, and won't come out of park when I needed to roll it out of the way in a parking lot. Try pushing the button, nothing. Push without brake and it goes into accessory mode. Push again, goes off. Push brake, and start button, started fine. Had battery and alternator tested, they are fine. Thoughts? Anyone else experience this? One mechanic friend thought it might be the "crank sensor", whatever that is, but couldn't be sure unless it was currently failing. Intermittent issue, so I am afraid of driving it until resolved. Help? I hate to take it to a dealer, they are so expensive.

I am working on a 2011 Honda Odyssey EX. Almost 5 months ago, I replaced an inner CV boot clamp after noticing some grease leaking out of the boot. Today I happened to noticed much more grease had been sprayed from the same area. I haven't heard or noticed any issues with the CV axle or with steering.

Could the grease have escaped the boot because I replaced the clamp, or is it a greater issue that now requires rebuilding that CV joint?

Currently, the boot is still intact and the clamp is still holding strong (is it possible to clamp the boot too tightly?). I will be monitoring it to see if it is actively leaking grease

My husband and I are roadtripping 9 hours from Iowa to the UP Michigan and the check engine light came on. We had it inspected by a mechanic yesterday- they luckily squeezed us in last minute since we’re traveling but they aren’t able to fix until Monday with it being a holiday weekend. We have a 2021 Chevy Colorado, 60k miles. We stopped at an autozone and it came back as “B camshaft position- Bank 2 Exhaust Camshaft”. Then we went to the mechanic and he the VVT control solenoid needs replaced. He just had an oil change done 2 weeks ago so it’s not low however he did let it get to 0% for 100 miles. Stupid i know but he always gets it done before 15% and just put it off this time. Anyway question is do we stay an extra day here to have it fixed on Monday when we were planning to leave Sunday or will it be ok to drive 9 hours and fix it back home. The light was on for 4 hours of our drive on Thursday and then once we got to the mechanic he said it wasn’t on and it turned back on today again. The truck also is driving normal. Thanks in advance.