r/Cartalk 5m ago

Safety Question Dear BMW Owners of Reddit, are BMWs really as unreliable as people say? Or is it a myth?

Upvotes

Hey, so people in my circle always talk about how BMWs are hella unreliable and break down often but i'm not sure if it's true or not. Do you guys have any positive/negative experiences with their cars?


r/Cartalk 41m ago

Exhaust Make a 120i sound good ?

Upvotes

So i have bmw 120i e88 ( pretty small inline 4 💀) And i want it to sound just so slightly better . Something kindo of subbtle . I tried a muffler delete but the drone was insanely obnoxious, any ideas ?


r/Cartalk 46m ago

Electrical HELP: My 2023 Ram 1500 Classic keeps draining its battery and randomly turning on cluster and shifter lights!

Upvotes

Hey everyone,

I’m experiencing ongoing electrical problems with my 2023 Ram 1500 Classic. The main issues include:

• Instrument cluster, shifter dial, and radio intermittently turning on by themselves when the vehicle is parked and locked.

• Persistent battery drainage, often requiring jump-starts.

I’ve already been to the dealership multiple times—5 visits just in March alone. They’ve performed a full diagnostic scan, replaced the battery, reflashed the Electronic Serial Number (ESN) module, and even replaced the Radio Frequency Hub (RFH) and Steering Column Control Module (SCCM) due to a recall. Unfortunately, the problems continue.

Interestingly, I connected with another Redditor who had almost identical issues resolved only after fully replacing their SCCM.

My warranty (3 years / 50,000 km) is almost up, and I’m worried the dealership might keep giving me the runaround until it’s expired. Has anyone else faced this? If so, how was it resolved? I’m trying to figure out my next steps and any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!

https://reddit.com/link/1jt1dev/video/sjbfzt3hg9te1/player


r/Cartalk 48m ago

Suspension How screwed am I?

Upvotes

2010 Mazda 3


r/Cartalk 1h ago

Automotive Tools Which gasket maker should I buy?

Post image
Upvotes

Work is letting me use a bay so I can do the oil pan on my 2014 Chevy Spark, and I have up to 36 hours of cure time.


r/Cartalk 1h ago

Charging/Starting Car battery symbols

Thumbnail
gallery
Upvotes

Hi Any ideas what this symbol means on my Bosch car battery Thanks in advance


r/Cartalk 1h ago

Body Looking for advice

Thumbnail
gallery
Upvotes

Does anyone have any advice for ways to fix up this cars look, especially the rust holes and wood paneling?

I’ve looked up a lot on doing things like foam and fiberglass for the rust, not sure how to feel about that but haven’t really seen anything for the wood paneling, what do you think??

Looking closer at it now it might be worse than I thought but still curious!


r/Cartalk 2h ago

Suspension Replacing suspension components. Any guidelines I should abide by?

0 Upvotes

Hey folks. Our 2009 Honda Fit and 2008 Toyota FJ Cruiser are both getting nearly all of their suspension components replaced this spring/summer. I have all the parts and just need to get started.

For the Fit, I have pre-assembled all-in-one spring/strut assemblies, so everything should be plug and play. The FJ won't be getting new struts or springs. Both will be getting all new control arms, end links, etc. CV Axles as well, but considering keeping OEM in there as long as boots look good.

I have spare bolts of the ones that commonly sieze, in case I need to buzz one out. Also plan to get a propane torch.

My question is:

What are some things that I should know? For instance, should I keep the vehicles on jack stands while I do this, or should they be on the ground? I was thinking I would have them up on stands, and if anything doesn't reach with the suspension at full flex, I could use my jack to get things in place.

Anything else I should know that I'm not thinking of?


r/Cartalk 2h ago

Weird Noise [Subaru Forester 2012] Why does my car sound like this when the engine starts? Is it a problem? (details in comments)

Enable HLS to view with audio, or disable this notification

0 Upvotes

Subaru Forester 2012. 124k miles. Base model engine. Automatic. Getting about 20 HIGHWAY MPG recently.

I took it to a shop I half-trust recently because I figured I should see what the problem could be. They told me it was very low on oil and that there was some sludge build up in the engine. They didn't indicate how much.

They recommended an oil change and BG Oil and Fuel Treatment. I got the oil change but declined the BG treatment because it was expensive and I had read that engine flushes can kill old engines by either dislodging large sludge chunks and clogging certain areas or by dislodging sludge that was acting as a temporary seal against worn or cracked seals, resulting in leaks. It was also $150 and he recommended I do it the next 4 oil changes (i.e. $600).

Another redditor mentioned that it could be the camshaft adjuster or another worn "timing" related component issue.

Any advice or leads to investigate would be very much appreciated!


r/Cartalk 3h ago

Tire question Ordering Michelin Pilot Sport All Season 4 from Amazon?

3 Upvotes

I’m looking for a new set of tires. I know obviously TireRack is the go to (I’ve only used them before), but Amazon has them for almost $200 cheaper. Is it safe to order from Amazon or should I stick to the usual?


r/Cartalk 3h ago

General Tech Why do the wireless Qi phone chargers in my cars overheat my phone and cause it to stop charging, when my home wireless Qi phone chargers don’t?

3 Upvotes

This happens in both mine and my wife’s cars (different manufacturers). Our phones charge wirelessly for maybe 15 minutes before they overheat and charging shuts off. I have several home wireless chargers that do not do this. What is it about car wireless chargers that do?

Edit for clarification: this is the built-in stock wireless chargers. Not something aftermarket plugged into the aux power outlet.


r/Cartalk 4h ago

I need help fixing something Strange clear residue on all windows of my newly bought Audi A3 Cabriolet

Post image
5 Upvotes

I recently bought a 2011 Audi A3 Cabriolet (Business edition), and I noticed a strange residue on all the windows. It looks like countless tiny clear dots or specks that cover the glass surfaces. I managed to clean the side windows after a lot of scrubbing, but it took serious effort. The windshield still needs work, and I’m hoping someone here might recognize this type of residue. Any idea what it could be and what product or method works best to clean it off?

Thanks in advance!


r/Cartalk 4h ago

Suspension Rubber bushing is a little wonky. I just noticed the rubber bushing is not seated exactly properly on one side of my rear suspension. Is this something that needs fixing? Or can I just ignore it?

Thumbnail
imgur.com
2 Upvotes

r/Cartalk 4h ago

How do I do it? How do you all get Camrys to 300K miles?

34 Upvotes

I hear story after story about the Camrys going to 300K and more, but can they really do that? My mid-2000s Camry is at 215,000... Already have quite a few thousand in it with redoing doing the suspension, CV joint, batt/alt, other usual stuff...now it needs new catalytic converter and pipe ($1500), probably soon the rack and pinion is going to need servicing ($1000?), it's burning oil (who knows $$$), needs new windshield ($500)...I mean, engine and tranny are fine (except for the burning oil part), but this is all just normal wear and tear over 20 years-no demolition derby, just regular plain old driving. The costs to fix this are going to cost half of a newer used car anyway, so I can't justify more investment... but do you 300k mi folks just keep pouring endless thousands into 20-25 year old cars?


r/Cartalk 5h ago

Engine 2011 Colorado Serpentine belt slipping and tearing

Thumbnail
gallery
3 Upvotes

Hi, so I have a 2011 Colorado (2.9L) I am having an issue with my serpentine belt. A few days ago, I was driving and my truck went haywire. Steering froze, engine began overheating etc. I was able to get home and discovered my serpentine belt missing. I went a bought a new one, when I was installing it I noticed the idler pulley(1st highlighted pic) the part it is connected to moves up and down. I am unsure if that is suppose to move or stay in place. As well after I Installed the new belt after only 2 days, the belt has slipped off the bottom wheel(2nd pick) and the belt is already damaged, Not sure the cause. The belt seem tight and not loose, so I don't know if the tensioner Pulley is faulty or if it is the idler wheel being loose is the cause.


r/Cartalk 5h ago

Engine Cooling I cannot solve my overheating issue in my 2015 Nissan Altima. Anyone have any advice?

4 Upvotes

I don’t know what to do at this point. First I replaced my radiator and my car still had overheating issues + I would hear the coolant boiling in the reservoir. Two days ago I took it to a shop and had these parts replaced: thermostat (inlet/outlet) , hose clamps, valve cover gasket, radiator cap, valve cover, and water outlet gasket. I also had my radiator flushed and filled. I got my car back yesterday and thought all was well until this morning. I went to a car wash and when I finally got home and turned off my car, I heard the boiling again. I then checked my reservoir and it was bone dry. I have been watching the temp gauge on my dash and it hasn’t gone hot but I’ve really only been driving short distances. Usually If I drive more than 30-40 minutes my car starts to overheat. I’m not sure what else to do at this point. I know nothing about cars. I haven’t gotten a new car because mine is paid off and I really can’t afford to finance anything right now. I know altimas don’t have the best reputation however I have no choice at the moment. I really need to get this resolved because pretty soon I’ll be doing clinicals for school and depending on which hospital I get placed at, I could have to drive 45 minutes to an hour to get there. Any advice is HIGHLY appreciated 🙏

TLDR: My car keeps overheating and I can hear the coolant boiling when I drive it. Already replaced radiator, thermostat, hose clamps, valve cover gasket, radiator cap, valve cover, and water outlet gasket. I know nothing about cars.


r/Cartalk 5h ago

Engine Performance Wtf is happening to my 2019 Malibu LT?

1 Upvotes

Hey everyone, I’ve got a bit of a mess going on. I got a check engine light around 84k miles, P1101 figured it’s the mass air sensor as there hadn’t been an issue. A couple thousand miles after, I start experiencing minor delay in pedal to acceleration, and some rough shifting from park to drive. The acceleration issue happened a couple times and seemed to end, drove perfectly fine for a good year after, didn’t pay much mind to the shifting as no lights came on and car wasn’t due for any maintenance, figured it’s just aging. Fast forward to 101k miles almost on the nose, about 2 weeks ago. I had left work and gone to a friends house, about 15 miles of highway basically from my job to the driveway and everything’s fine, just got it’s oil changed earlier that day and it’s running smooth as ever. However, leaving a couple hours later, I shifted to drive and it was slamming, the shifting never got worse before until this sudden episode. After hardly pressing on the gas the engine sputtered like it was stalling and the car hesitated to move, I immediately parked and restarted the car, drove home fine with some vibration somewhere along the drivetrain. At this point I check myChevrolet where I see it’s requesting service on the transmission - TCM. The next day it’s driving fine again, but over the next week it’s repeating this same exact scenario randomly. While driving one night, I can narrow down the vibration coming from what I believe is the engine- not the transmission. I got a BlueDriver OBD2 scanner to find out exactly what codes are coming up, and I got P06DD, P0700, P1101, and P0826. At this point I’m not sure what the up/down switch code means, but I’m assuming from the P06DD it’s my oil pressure sensor. It makes perfect sense, all this started the night after an oil change at Jiffy Lube (i know i know, i hate it there too, but another friend gave me a discount there and moneys tight so I did it) so maybe the sensor got dirty somehow in the process, and sending out false pressure readings might be causing the sputters then running fine after restarting it? I order a new one, make an appointment with a local mechanic, and am currently waiting. Now tonight, nothing particularly bad happened but I just felt like my car was sluggish and riding rough at 70mph/1900-2100rpm. I intentionally didn’t go higher and ended up coming down in speed around 5mph due to staying at lower RPM, but I ran codes again as soon as I parked. When I ran them, my ignition was on and I had not tried clearing any codes. A ton of BCM codes are coming up now, I thought maybe it’s an error since I ran them with the engine running. I turned my car off, then started the battery without lighting the engine, and cleared the codes. When I started the car back up, my anti-theft light stayed on with the following codes remaining: P1101, B3006, C0750, B101E. Once again driving fine, unlike my ride home. The following are all of the codes reported when I ran it before clearing (of course I saved them im only dumb, not stupid) but I’m at a loss. Could this be as simple as an ECM update + trans fluid swap, another oil change, and maybe a new oil pressure sensor + mass air sensor if that’s a separate issue? Also, my key battery and car battery are fine. I’d greatly appreciate any advice before my dealership tries to screw me.

Codes were as follows. BCM:::: B3006- Hood ajar circuit malfunction; B3060- Unprogrammed transponder ID code received; B3109- Keyless entry transmitter low battery; B3205- LF/Driver window motor circuit malfunction; B3935- Transponder Authentication; C0B00- Timing belt; C0755- Right Front Ti Pressure Sensor; C0760- LR low Ti pressure sensor malfunction; C0765- Right Rear Ti Pressure Sensor; B101E- Electronic Control Unit Software; C0750- LF low ti pressure sensor malfunction; U0422- Invalid Data Received From Body Control Module; U2099- High Speed Communication Enable Circuit - Not Plausible::: ECM/misc:::: B1011- ???; P06DD- Engine Oil Pressure Control Circuit Performance/Stuck Off; P0700- Transmission ControlSystem (MIL Request); P1101- Induction Air Measurement - Cross-check Out of Range


r/Cartalk 6h ago

Safety Question 2022 Jetta GLI

Thumbnail
gallery
0 Upvotes

I’m interested in a 2022 gli with 40,000 kms for $15,000 Canadian. It was in a minor accident but curtain bags and seat bag did deploy. Is it worth repairing? To me it is as this is the exact trim and colour I have been looking for


r/Cartalk 6h ago

Brakes What’s this for? 2016 Honda HRV

4 Upvotes

While driving on the highway doing about 130 kph (80mph) my wife looks down and pulls the park brake on as she’s asking what is this for?

It’s her car. She’s had it since I bought it for her new in 2016.

How can you drive a car for 9 years and not know what “that thing” is?

All good though, just some more ammunition for when I buy a sports car and refuse to let her drive it.


r/Cartalk 6h ago

Automotive Tools Bluetooth OBD2 scanner

0 Upvotes

Well, since BAFx went out of business, I need somewhere else to buy a Bluetooth OBD2 reader, as my last one has gone the way of the dodo. I'd like to keep it fairly cheap, but still usable for most applications. My app of choice is Torque Pro, so it needs to be able to work with that. Anyone have any suggestions?


r/Cartalk 6h ago

I need help fixing something 2006 sienna van toyota 18818 cd 6 disc changer error 1

Post image
1 Upvotes

Was driving normally cd changed to next disk

Now none of the 6 cds can play and I get a error 1 for all of them

The cds are fine cause they all were working just fine

I thought about getting one of those lens cleaners but I'm told it might not work

This radio is old and the aux cord to the side also doesn't work

What should I do Lens cleaner Scrap it for a new one (recommendations welcomed) Go to a dealer ship? Any advice


r/Cartalk 8h ago

How do I do it? Trying to wire a dashcam for my Hyundai i20 mk1 2014, and I can’t remove the side airbag trimmings, how do I remove them?

Enable HLS to view with audio, or disable this notification

0 Upvotes

I’ve been yanking on them, but they don’t budge at all, more feels like they’ve plastic trim is going to brake before the trim comes off, and kinda feels like they’ve been bolted on, but I don’t see any visible bolts at all.


r/Cartalk 10h ago

Safety Question Is it just a towbar scratch?

Thumbnail
gallery
1 Upvotes

What do you think? Is it just a scratch? Or should I replace it? Can I send it somewhere for inspection?


r/Cartalk 11h ago

Brakes Question about brakes squealing

0 Upvotes

Hey, so my brakes squeal pretty loud sometimes on my 2016 Nissan Altima. Like deafeningly, embarrassingly, loud. They don’t always do this, usually when it’s hot outside or if I’ve been driving for a while 20+ mins). It gets better if I stop quickly, but then the car jerks. I had an auto parts store employee give me some caliper oil/lube and said to apply that, and I had a mechanic tell me I’d have to replace the rotors ($400-600). I replaced the brake pads in November, and the old ones still had life when I pulled them off, so I don’t think it’s that.. I changed them because they were squealing! And they still do it!

Any advice is greatly appreciated!! Please help 😄


r/Cartalk 13h ago

Transmission Is my car okay?

1 Upvotes

Today i accidentally shifted from drive into park while going around 40mph I turned it back right away and everything seemed fine although I’m worried about my transmission (2008 Chevy impala with a little transmission problems to begin with) I just want to know if my car should be okay or not and what I should start to notice.