Answers to your car questions
QUESTION
I had a three hundred dollar chainsaw that I had just purchased, stolen from the trunk of my 2014 Buick. I did not notice that it was gone until I arrived home and looked into the trunk area. There wasn’t any damage around the trunk so I wondered how they got into the trunk, until I realized that you could open the trunk by the power trunk lock button, even when the ignition was not in the on position. This really annoyed me so I went to the used car dealer where I purchased the car and complained that I was not told about the power trunk lock and they just told me that all cars are like that. I reminded them that my 2008 Dodge did not operate like that and that the key had to be in the on position for the power trunk lock to work. I then proceeded to ask them if they could make the trunk lock work only when the key was in the on position and they told me that they could not do that because of the power lock wiring. Why would any car manufacturer have a set up where the trunk power lock would work when the ignition was not turned on? Others have told me that this power trunk lock problem can be easily fixed can it and if so, do you know anyone that can do it for me?
Bob from Oakville
ANSWER
Yes, it can be done and your salesman should have checked with the service department before he told you that the power trunk lock switch could be not be powered up in conjunction with the ignition being in the on position. This is a relatively simple rewiring of the power trunk lock switch and the good news is that the used car dealer is going to do this for you without charge. It is true however that most car manufacturers’ power trunk lock switches do operate without the ignition being in the on position and one should know this before they put valuables into the trunk area without locking the car doors. You did not say but I suspect that you did not lock your car because you did not say anything about how they were able to access the interior power trunk lock button.
QUESTION
I have a rattle in my car that I cannot find and after three trips to the dealer, they also cannot hear that rattle that occurs around seventy kilometres per hour. My problem in finding the rattle is that the rattle is not there all the time and the service department has looked the car over and has not been able to find any problem. On my trip to Toronto the other day, the rattle came and went between seventy and eighty kilometres. I am worried that something is terribly wrong with the car and it will soon be out of warranty and any fix will be at my expense. Is there anything that you can advise me to do at this time, other than to get rid of the car before something does go wrong?
ANSWER
Road and weather conditions can sometimes make it impossible for the technician to duplicate the rattle that you are experiencing with your car. I have seen times when a technician has spent hours looking for a noise in a car that they could hear but not positively detect where it was coming from. In that case, the noise in the car did eventually go away itself and no one ever did find out why or where the rattle was coming from. I am sure that if the technician has inspected the car on three different occasions, that they would have eliminated any possibility that the rattle was going to cause any type of drivability problem. If the noise is coming from the drive train, most technicians will do a stall test to see if they can duplicate the condition on which the rattle is audible. Maybe you can ask the service department to do that test and if there isn’t any detection of the noise that you are hearing, then I would not worry about any type of drivability problem but still monitor the rattle if it gets any worse. Make sure that you have made a work order out on the times that you did visit the dealer, just in case the noise is detected after the warranty runs out.
A HAPPY READER
Hi Dennis, I just want to thank you for your intervention with my car regarding warranty work at the dealer. My story did not get in the Spectator but after you spoke to the dealer, they bent over backwards to make sure that I was looked after and I thank you for that. The very fact that the dealer looked after my problem has made me assure them that they have my maintenance service for the life of the car. Keep up the great work!
Larry from Copetown To my readers: If possible, it would be appreciated if your emails would indicate the town, city or village that you live in. Please be advised that not all emails can be answered. Send your questions (be sure to include your address) by email to:: dennis.osullivan@cogeco.ca