Most frequent non motor oil related failure

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Hondas still so, or at least our '12 does.
Our older Subie has a needle while the newer one has only the blue light red light thing you mentioned.
 
Cooling system problems by a wide margin after that ignition and electrical issues. On engines that sit a lot or seldom used like some small engines eg snowblowers, lawnmowers and generators carb and fuel issues are high on the list but seldom in a daily driver vehicle unless it has a carb.
 
Originally Posted By: Chris142
Definatly overheating. When I went to drivers ed we were told to pull over asap if the gauge showed hot. People today think its ok to drive with the needle in the red instead of calling a tow truck..

I'd say 90% of the cars I see that got hot are cooked. People drive until the thing stops running.


In the last 20 years with computer-driven temp gauges they always ride in the same place. So they don't perk up a little on hills or in traffic. So they are BORING. So I grow to ingore them because there's nothing to watch.

My wife's HHR, in traffic last June, started dinging at me. Its fan motor locked up over the winter and was up to 230-240 degrees! If it hadn't started dinging I would have melted it down. I traded AC for heat and took the next exit, getting some ram-air action.

As for what kills cars around here, it's rust.
 
Co-worker had a SAAB 900 coolant failure which cracked the head between exhaust ports. Swore the temperature gauge indicated normal right up until the final failure.

I think he drove it with steam clouds coming from the exhaust, but it did make me wonder if a temperature gauge can indicate coolant temperature when there isn't any.
 
Originally Posted By: eljefino
Originally Posted By: Chris142
Definatly overheating. When I went to drivers ed we were told to pull over asap if the gauge showed hot. People today think its ok to drive with the needle in the red instead of calling a tow truck..

I'd say 90% of the cars I see that got hot are cooked. People drive until the thing stops running.


In the last 20 years with computer-driven temp gauges they always ride in the same place. So they don't perk up a little on hills or in traffic. So they are BORING. So I grow to ingore them because there's nothing to watch.



My wife's HHR, in traffic last June, started dinging at me. Its fan motor locked up over the winter and was up to 230-240 degrees! If it hadn't started dinging I would have melted it down. I traded AC for heat and took the next exit, getting some ram-air action.

As for what kills cars around here, it's rust.


I've been thinking it might be worth fitting a supplementary/audio alarm.
 
Why are all you guys assuming the "most frequent non-motor oil related failures" have anything to do with engines, or with vehicles at all? Ever heard of human failures, for example? They're very frequent.

My Subaru had a proper temperature gauge with a "real needle," as did both my other past cars. The one in the Chevrolet even worked with the ignition off.
 
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