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I was having a conversation with an elderly lady in the parking lot of the local supermarket today who was driving a 2018 Buick Encore. I asked her how she liked the vehicle and she said she really liked it....easy access/egress, easy to park, etc. It was an AWD model. She mentioned that her...

Three days ago my nephew did an oil change on the 2003 Camry in my garage. He was adamant that he would not let the local shop do it because they put the oil filter on too tight (had to get a special wrench to get the last one off). This morning he left the house to go to work and I walked out...

In checking the front end of the 2003 Camry it seems the passenger side CV axle has quite a bit of play in it. I've been chasing down a vibration that cropped up after remounting the all season tires several weeks ago. The tires have less than 10k miles and the shop said the balance was spot...

Ok guys... haven't posted in awhile and I need some opinions. My friend's neighbor (elderly woman in her early 80's) has a 1999 Chevy Lumina that she and her husband bought new. It currently has 60k miles and she is looking to sell it for $1,800. As I understand it, this was their "summer" car...

I just picked up a 2009 Toyota Yaris 5 speed and got a look at the brakes. The fronts appear almost new but the rears are shot...they need to be changed out now. I was just considering getting store brand drums and shoes and have no idea which . are better/worse. Pricing is comparable ( and...

The spring on the driver side of my nephew's 2003 Camry was found to be broken awhile back. In hindsight, we should have just replaced the spring but since the car had almost 90k miles at the time we decided to replace them and installed a set of Gabriel Ultra ready-struts. Since installing them...

I've only put 2,000 miles on the Kizashi in the last year (also had a Prius which I used for work and most running around before I retired and sold it...now using the Suzuki exclusively but obviously not driving much). The current fill is PP high mileage with a M1 filter. I was considering just...

HI all...I just completed the second of three drain and fills on my 2008 Honda Element with Redline D4. The vehicle has 87,000 miles and has only had 1 single drain and fill by the original owner at 60,000 miles (Honda DW-1...at the dealership). The vehicle shifts OK but I notice a delay in the...

Hi all...I just bought a 2008 Honda Element EX AWD. The vehicle is in great shape and runs well...one owner with a fair amount of maintenance history. At 87,000 miles it has only had 2 drain and fills for the transmission. I plan to do 3 back-to-back drain and fills as well as replace the inline...

I know that Valvoline totally reformulated it's full synthetic offerings in light of the new D1G2 requirements and see that the blend does not carry any of the new specifications. Is the current formula the same? Is it still a sodium-based add pack? I can't find a thing on here or the web...

Hi guys...just went in to look at my profile and noticed that I haven't posted anything in over 3 years (the rumors of my death have been greatly exaggerated...)! Fear not, I've been following the forum and "lurking" the whole time. I just purchased a 2003 Camry with the 2.4l for my nephew (his...

The blower motor in my Kizashi recently stopped working (luckily we're having reasonable weather here...not too hot or humid). After doing a little online research I figured it was the blower resistor (which I read is a notorious failure part in these cars and other Suzuki models). The resistor...

OK guys...if I wanted to do a Kreen cleaning on a vehicle, is it a better idea to add it to the oil (and maybe gas...voices here don't seem to be as sold on its benefits in the gas)does it matter how the vehicle will be driven afterward during the "cleaning process"? Is it better to put a quick...

A friend of mine recently purchased a 2008 Prius w/170,000 miles. The car was a 1 owner and was always serviced at a local Toyota dealer. He said the maintenance on the car was first rate with oil changes (Toyota brand 5W30 dino) every 4,000 miles and all recommended maintenance performed on...

The struts on the minivan are about gone...lots of bottoming and noise. I got about 60K out of the last ones (Sachs)but it's time to replace them. With 132K on the van I'm determined to see if I can run it to 200k miles before letting it go so I need to replace these. I was happy with the...

The local KMart is closing and they're "clearing it out". I took a walk through the store and headed over to the automotive section (of course) and bought a couple of Purolator synthetic filters (they were 50% off)that fit the 'ol minivan. I'm not particularly concerned which type of filter I...

I've finally used up my stash of PZ Ultra 5W30 (SN version) which I acquired at the local Wally Worlds in the area a couple of years ago (been using it in both the van and the car). At 128,000 miles the minivan has developed a slight drip on the rear oil seal (not much but a couple of spots on...

OK I'm desperate here and I know there are a couple of Villager/Quest owners on this forum. For over a month I've had a misfire on the van. When it started, it was an occasional sputter/miss which would quickly go away and the van would again run normally. The problem grew worse and the guys on...

The lady down the street will be 90 years old and is moving to an assisted living facility. She's selling her 2000 Ford Focus (which she bought new) and I'm interested in buying it. I know these were some of the most recalled cars EVER and Ford got some really bad press at the time. I've driven...

Hi guys...I recently received an estimate for replacing the timing belt on the Villager (115k miles and 15 years old...figure it's time). The shop shows an oil change after the replacement as "recommended" and includes the oil change in the estimate. I plan on having it done somewhere else and...