Too short to drive safely?
Q: I was initially excited to see a recent question posed by a short female driver until I realized her concern was about reaching her trunk hatch rather than about the injury that we shorties face if our airbags inflate. My feet don’t reach the pedals if I push my seat back to provide the recommended 10 inches for safety. Any recommendations for this? My life may depend on your answer! G.T., Glastonbury,
Connecticut
A: Carmakers calculate in a fudge factor for various reasons such as leaving room for expansion on hot days, parking on a steep incline, cooling the submersed fuel pump and so on. You should stop pumping gas when the automatic nozzle shuts off. If you overfill, you risk putting liquid fuel into the emissions control vapor storage canister. Replacing it costs you extra.
Q: We are expecting delivery of our hybrid Toyota Cross soon and looking forward to our first much more eco-friendly vehicle. We frequently use a plug-in cooler when out and about. We never leave it plugged in when the ignition is off. Do you recommend we stop using an accessory such as this when we start using our hybrid vehicle? We don’t want to do anything to muck up the electrical system. We’d definitely go back to blue ice packs right away before doing that!
S.D, Lombard, Illinois items. Just don’t exceed the maximum wattage rating. There are markings indicating the maximum wattage.
Q: I have a 2015 Dodge Grand Caravan that is in fairly good condition. It has a built-in CD player, and the disk will not eject. I don’t want to ruin anything, but it is boring listening to the same music all the time. Any suggestion that you might have would be greatly appreciated.
R.L., Las Vegas
A: There are several hacks to remove the CD. Slip something thin like a butter knife or, better yet, a plastic butter knife over the disk and push down ever so slightly while pushing the eject button. My favorite, however, is an oldie but goodie. Use needle nose pliers or tweezers to gently tug on the disk while pushing the eject button. Is the stuck disc a mix of your favorite oldies but goodies? Getting stuck is common with homemade copies that have stick-on labels making the disc too thick.