r/AskMechanics

What could be the fault? Tried pulling it slowly didnt work. Could the mechanism be broken? If so, how do i get to it in order to fix it or replace it?

So i have a bit of a odd scenario i wanted to share and get some ideas from the community before I message the dealer with my concern. Sorry for the ramble, my brain is kinda scattered right now! Thank you in advance!

I bought a gen 3 Prius Alpha 2013, 190k miles, originally imported from Japan. When I drive, i can feel a slight rhythmic ticking/knocking sound coming from the front passenger side (left side of car). Cabin fan is off. This sound does not come on cold starts. The engine turns on and sounds okay. The sound/shake starts after Ive been driving (on battery and engine) for 10-15 mins and is most prominent at low RPM. Imagine that you're waiting at a traffic light and need to go, or while driving the hybrid battery drops low and the engine turns on so you only press the accelerator enough to maintain the speed. Steering wheel doesnt shake but i can feel the car shake a bit when this happens.

Another thing to mention the sound/shake doesnt happen instantly after the engine switches on, it happens maybe a couple of seconds after.

We noticed this on our way back after driving for about 200 kms after coming off the motorway. Driving on the highway it wasnt noticeable as it is on low RPM. (maybe due to sound/vibration from the outside?) But i think we got less mileage tho - with 25 liters (the cheap UK petrol) we got approx 285 miles? is that okay? Should I put higher quality petrol?

Anyway I looked far and wide on google and the 2 most common issues reported in forums and reddit were EGR and Head gasket (rip). The dealer said they got the EGR service done (no receipts) recently. But i'd still like a way to test it if possible. Ill confirm when them when exactly they got it done.

I thought that the rattle sound might be a fan hitting something (doesnt explain the shake) but i turned on maintenance mode and sat in the car for about 2 hours. No rattling sound whatsoever. I even went out front and waited for the radiator fan to cycle twice and no sound from it. At the same time I turned on the cabin heaters to HI with the hopes the hybrid battery fan might kick in but turns out the fan is under the drivers seat - not where the sound is coming from (glove box side passenger). After our long highway drive, I even put the car in maintenance mode and had someone press the accelerator to check for white smoke. I took a 30 second video, the first half without the flash you cant really see much smoke and with the flash you can see a very small amount of smoke however i dont know if white colour is the flash or smoke. It's not cloudy. I will do this again in day time, but honestly there wasn't much smoke. At the end of the 30 second video a small water drop fell from the exhaust. Maybe thats why there not much smoke? if there is a gasket issue maybe its super early stages so only a small leak? Note the engine was already hot after a long drive so no condensation (maybe). We also checked the coolant level and will check at a later date to compare. Today after letting the car idle for 2 hours, i checked under the exhaust, no water droplets, i might let it idle again and literally sit there and watch.

Ive ordered a head gasket leak test kit so will try that tomorrow when it arrives. Btw this is probably a seperate issue but the AC doesnt work, might need a re-gas. Only sharing this JUST INCASE they maybe linked but doubt it?

Is there anything else I can test? Any ideas on what I should look for or do/test/inspect before messaging the dealer to get this checkout.

Thank you in advance. If i missed something I will edit this.

This was asked in the Lexus sub:

https://www.reddit.com/r/Lexus/s/41mTaeRnzr

Lexus apparently recommends 60k or 6 years. The owner is nowhere near the mileage but is over the age.

I don’t understand why age matters on a plug. If it’s not being driven, the electrodes aren’t being worn down.

Is there a cement or glue between the ceramic and metal that dries out?

I dropped off a 2019 SUV for AC repairs last week at a place recommended by my car warranty company. There were some red flags, car suddenly ready a week earlier, they "waived" $100 off my diagnostic fee (adjustor later said they just dropped one of the two diag fees that were on my bill) and charged for stuff the adjustor had to fight them to remove. I was, according to some book standard being quite over-billed and was being asked to pay $200 more than my deductible for work that should have been 100% covered.

Well I got the car back and I noticed the next day there is a very clear cigarette burn hole above my passenger side window. I know it was them, I don't smoke and the only other person in my car is a toddler ( I also noticed they messed with the carseat).

I have to call them tomorrow and I'm not sure what to expect or what's reasonable here. It was a smoke free car before this, and now there is very visible burn damage.

Hi guys I’d like a bit of advice if possible please.. so bought a Peugeot 208 last year privately (£2,200.. 100k mileage) ,looked good ran good for like a week then the dashboard lit up like a Christmas tree and basically got scammed, just failed the MOT and been told to scrap it as not worth fixing. Gutted is an understatement! I have seen a Skoda Fabia 2016 104k mileage,4 previous owners for £5300 but private sale again,I really can’t afford to get stung again to be honest so what do you guys think? It has had 10 MOTs,failed 2 but passed the last 3 with all advisories carried out and no advisories on the last one. I’m worried about the mileage and the amount of previous owners and not being that into cars I have no one to ask to go with me so any advice here would be greatly appreciated TIA

I have a 2014 Subaru Forester (non-turbo) with about 206,000 miles. It recently started chugging and struggling to get up to speed on the interstate, so I decided to replace the spark plugs (they had never been changed).

After replacing all four plugs, the car now drives perfectly fine while moving. However, when I come to a stop (red light, stop sign, etc.), the RPMs drop really low (around 200 RPM) and the engine stalls.

I tried doing an idle relearn, but the car won’t stay running long enough to complete it—it dies within about 5 minutes.

Any ideas on what could be causing this or what I should check next?

Hey y’all,

I’ve got a 2016 Kia Soul that’s been giving me problems for a while now and I’m trying to figure out if it’s even worth fixing.

Here’s what’s going on:

- Multiple misfire codes (P0300, P0301, P0302 before)

- Rough idle and sometimes stalls

- Burning oil (no visible leaks)

- Have a P0420 code as well that’s been on for a year or so.

- Replaced ignition coils and spark plugs.

- ECM was checked and said it’s fine

Appreciate any help with that since I don’t know what to do🙏

With engine bay fuse 21 connected the draw is anywhere from 400 to 800 mA. With it removed it’s 60 mA.

I removed the radio. Draw was still high. I also completely unplugged the aftermarket auto start module. Draw was still high.

The auto start hasn’t worked in a while and the Bluetooth doesn’t work.

No interiors light are on when the door is closed. Also, with the doors closed there’s no door open light on the dash.

Please share your ideas.

Thank you,

Michael

Hi everyone,

I have a Haval H2 and I’ve been dealing with an overheating issue that I’m trying to diagnose before spending a lot of money.

Here’s what happened step by step:

- The car started overheating suddenly, and the temperature warning light came on

- I checked and found that the radiator fan was not working

- I replaced the fuse, and the fan started working again

- After that, the overheating improved temporarily

But now:

- The car overheats again after about 20–30 minutes of driving

- The radiator fan IS working when the temperature rises

- The coolant level is normal (no visible leaks)

- The engine oil looks normal (not milky)

- The coolant also looks clean (no oil contamination that I can see)

I took it to the dealership, and they told me there is oil and coolant mixing and gave me a quote of around 3000$. They recommended replacing many parts including:

- Oil cooler

- Head gasket

- Radiator

- Thermostat

- Hoses and other cooling components

But I’m not convinced because:

- I don’t see any clear signs of oil/coolant mixing

- No milky oil or oily coolant

- The issue seems more like overheating under load rather than immediate overheating

My questions:

1. Could this still be an oil cooler or head gasket issue even without visible mixing?

2. Does this sound more like a thermostat, radiator blockage, or weak water pump?

3. What should I check or replace first before going for a major repair?

I’d really appreciate any advice before I commit to such an expensive repair.

Thanks!

The check engine came on on my 2010 Mazda 3, shortly after the Automatic Transmission light came on. I shut my car off, when I started it again just the check engine light was on. The next day, I was driving at about 55km/h and the car jerked and the AT light came on. Again, the light went away after shutting it off. Scanned it and it shows P0753 code.

Anyone have a similar experience? Was it the transmission control module? Or just a solenoid?

Hi everyone,

I recently purchased a 2020 Vantage - clean title, clean PPI, and under extended warranty by the previous owner.

I’ve observed a strange aspect - sometimes, intermittently, when I’m stopped at a red light, the idle of the car will start surging and starts fighting the brakes. It almost starts moving forward despite my foot heavily pressed against the pedal.

Since it’s under warranty, I took it to Aston and after looking into it for a week, they were unable to reproduce the issue or diagnose what’s causing it. I obviously am skeptic to drive it given that it’s a safety hazard.

Has anyone here faced this before and what are my options considering it’s under extended factory warranty?

TIA