Answers to your car questions
QUESTION
Can you please help me solve a car problem? My car is a 2011 Toyota and the door locks work only periodically when I use the remote. Some days the remote works well and other days, it does not lock the doors when the button on the remote is pressed. I would not worry about it if they only did not unlock the doors but sometimes, when I leave the car, I think that the doors are locked and they are not. Do you have any idea what the problem could be? I have been told that the entire power door locks need to be replaced which is costly and I am not going to do that. Any idea would be appreciated. Albert from Fergus
ANSWER
There are multiple things that could go wrong with the power door locks but I doubt that all the power door locks would be defective at the same time. I would first start off by replacing the battery in the remote to make sure that you are getting the proper power to the in car computer. If, after you have done tht, it is still acting up, contact me again and we will look for other solutions.
QUESTION
I brought my car in for a simple oil change and came out with over six hundred dollars in repairs. The garage told me that I needed the front brakes done and also that the right front tire had a bulge in it. I reluctantly told them to go ahead and do the repair because they told me that the car was dangerous to drive. When my own mechanic looked at the brake pads, he told me that the garage had ripped me off because he had checked the brakes over in December and they were just over half worn out at that time. They also had replaced both front tires for me with good used tires on that same date. Can you check this out for me and if they have cheated me, can you help me get my money back? Sheryl from Milton
ANSWER
I spoke to the garage that had done the repairs to your car and I have little doubt that they tried to rip you off as your own mechanic has suggested. I also understand that the garage, that replaced your brakes, showed you the worn condition of the brakes before they replaced them and that they also gave the front pads back to you, which you put in your car’s trunk. The one right front tire had a budge in it and the other tire was not in the best condition so they suggested to you that both tires should be replaced. According to your mechanic, who was not as forthcoming about the truth as I had hoped he would be, told me that you never showed him the front brake pads that were in your car’s trunk. I told him that the garage, that replaced your car’s two front tires, had offered to give the tires back to you so that you could take them back to the place where you purchased them from and you declined to have them placed into your car’s trunk. The garage still has the two old tires and your mechanic is not interested in seeing them. A simple oil change has found problems with your vehicle and you can now be rest assured that your car is safe to drive.
QUESTION
My car, which is a 2004 Malibu, has a problem in the morning with the steering. Over the winter, it has been very difficult to steer when first starting out in the morning but gets better as the day goes on. It is actually better when the weather is warm. This steering problem started last fall and has been getting worse as time goes by. One mechanic has told me that it is a power steering pump problem but another mechanic said that it is a rack and pinion problem. Another mechanic told me that it is both parts that will need to be changed. I am looking at over nine hundred dollars for the repairs but I would like your opinion first as to what I might be expected to change. Danny from Paris
ANSWER
Unfortunately Danny, all the technicians could be right about what needs to be replaced. I have seen situations on other cars where the mileage was high and where both the power steering pump and the rack and pinion needed to be changed to solve the stiff steering problem. That being said, I have also seen where just the power steering pump was defective and in other situations, only the rack and pinion was needed to repair the stiff steering. I take it that none of the technicians, that you have spoken to, have actually looked at the car so the first thing that I would do, before you panic about the cost of the repair, is to have a proper diagnosis of the needed repairs. You might also be surprised to find out that it is only a loose or worn out belt that powers the power steering pump.
PS: 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 or mail: Box 10019, Winona, ON L8E 5R1