Hot answers tagged

36 votes
Accepted

Brakes make a "POP" sound and then I can't brake

Yes. One of your brake pads on the caliper side of the brakes had been worn so far down it popped out of place. Now you are stopping using the caliper piston against the brake rotor. You will now have ...
14 votes
Accepted

When buying a new tire at car shop, they pumped the new tire and it popped loudly, is that normal?

This is absolutely normal. What's going on is they are seating the beads of the tire against the rims. In order to get them to do this, they have to over pressurize the tires a bit, which then allows ...
12 votes
Accepted

What is that sound?

It is the sound of the fuel pump priming and pressurizing the fuel lines, which is absolutely normal. VW likes to use the opening of the driver door to trigger fuel rail pressurization. In fact, one ...
  • 39k
11 votes

Brakes make a "POP" sound and then I can't brake

It sounds like the brake pads have either completely worn through or otherwise failed, your car is not safe to drive at all. In this case you will certainly need new pads on both sides and possibly ...
  • 1,586
10 votes

2003 Honda Accord - Intermittent no start/no crank

From personal experience, I'd replaced ALOT of these working at the dealership. It wasn't just the accords either, it was quite a few Honda and Acuras that used the same design and power delivery ...
  • 3,343
10 votes
Accepted

Ticking noise while idling that increases with acceleration

It sounds like a valve adjustment is required There are many items that can make a 'ticking' noise that is tied to the RPM of the vehicle. Having the sound match RPM's certainly gives a clue that it ...
  • 32.9k
9 votes

Minor boost leak and shrill tone at peak boost: hose clamp, gasket or blow off valve?

It is quite likely the work performed has introduced a subtle air leak that only manifests itself under high boost. Pressurizing the intake tract with the car off will help you identify the source of ...
  • 39k
9 votes

How can I be sure that a rod knock is actually a rod knocking?

When you start the engine and you hear the sound, does it sound better after the vehicle is warmed up? A rod knock will only sound worse (louder) as the engine heats up. It will not go away as the ...
9 votes
Accepted

Why is air buffeting worse for most cars with the rear windows than the front windows?

In the simplest terms possible, the windshield acts as a spoiler or fairing, pushing the air out and up as your vehicle gains speed. The air naturally will push back to be along the side of the ...
  • 9,035
9 votes

Dealership's service dept drove my car 19 km

I see this completely normal and not a cause of concern. The service advisor's explanation is certainly a valid reason, but they could have needed to drive the car for a total of 19kms for many ...
  • 944
9 votes
Accepted

Brake pads sliding (?) between reverse and forward?

Could be a couple of problems but most likely in my mind is that the calipers are not properly fixed to the caliper brackets or the caliper brackets are not properly fixed to the the wheel hub. I ...
  • 11.7k
7 votes
Accepted

When unidirectional tires are rotated, do they also need to be flipped?

Unidirectional tires should NOT be cross rotated. "Uni" implies one, as in one direction (nothing to do with singing). Radials in general should not be cross rotated. They start behaving as you have ...
7 votes
Accepted

Clutch dragging and making squeaking/grinding noise

If I am not mistaken the 2001 Yamaha Diversion has a clutch cable and does not have a hydraulic self adjusting clutch mechanism. This was my son's first motorcycle and we experienced similar issues ...
  • 32.9k
7 votes
Accepted

Hissing sound near brake pedal, stops on brake pedal press

That sounds to me like a vacuum leak. Most cars have servo-assisted brakes (the reason it's much harder to brake if the engine is switched off), which is usually powered by a vacuum line taken off the ...
  • 28.7k
7 votes
Accepted

2004 VW Passat B5 Peculiar Engine Noise

Diagnosing noises when you're thousands of miles away isn't going to be easy, but here are a few tips to help you out: remove the serpentine belt and run the engine If the noise stops, you know that ...
  • 39k
7 votes
Accepted

what could cause a scraping noise after tire rotation

After taking it back to the shop, the tech. diagnosed it as "the new back tire inside rim wheel weights are rubbing" (apparently they didn't rub when those tires were in the front). So rebalance the ...
7 votes

Weird "old"-sounding engine noise. What's the problem?

it sounds like valves Your valves are at the top of the motor under the black cover. They are reciprocating devices, they move in and out and are operated by a camshaft that is spinning at half the ...
  • 32.9k
7 votes

Weird "old"-sounding engine noise. What's the problem?

While @DucatiKiller is most likely correct, there is another possible reason for this noise, that being a leaking exhaust manifold. If the exhaust manifold is leaking at the head, it will make an ...
7 votes

Minor boost leak and shrill tone at peak boost: hose clamp, gasket or blow off valve?

I Believe It's a Hose Connection Point Unmetered air whether it's a negative pressure or positive pressure is bad. That being said, I find it interesting that losing some of the boost isn't ...
  • 32.9k
7 votes
Accepted

Loud squealing sound, only while driving (2002 Toyota 4Runner)

Sounds exactly like worn brake pads to me. Have you checked those recently? Brake pads actually have a wear tab on them like the one pictured below. This is designed to make noise (that chirping sound)...
  • 1,958
6 votes

Noise in stereo that changes pitch with engine RPM

For anyone who has similar issues I had a similar issue however I don't think it was exactly same. I tried the steps in the accepted answer with no success. Research on my own I tried different ...
  • 167
6 votes

What is making a noise under my steering wheel when car is not moving?

I would venture to guess that it is a completely random, and in no way threatening plastic trim piece/wiring harness/adjustment lever under the steering column that is rubbing or vibrating against it'...
  • 6,037
6 votes
Accepted

Citroen C4 Picasso - Whining noise when turning steering wheel

Based upon the information you've provided I can think of two things that may create the "medium frequency whirring" sound. 1. Low Power Steering Fluid When your power steering fluid is low the ...
  • 32.9k
6 votes

Noise during hard braking

Other than some excessive wear/tear on your brakes? Most likely not. Brakes are made to take some abuse. More than likely the ABS kicked in and was the noise you heard. They can sometimes seem a ...
6 votes

Loud squeaking - stops when braking

From your description, it seems the brake "squealer" has started to rub against the brake rotor. This is a tab which is attached to one of the two disk brake pads. When the friction material ...
6 votes
Accepted

Why does the fuel pump buzzing sound go away after a couple of seconds?

Most fuel systems have a pressure-switch. So when the power is first applied the fuel system is unpressurized. The fuel pump is then turned on to build up pressure so the engine can start. Once the ...
  • 11.7k
5 votes

'66 Dodge Dart made a loud CRACK, engine almost stalled. The second time it happened, there was a puff of black smoke

The car usually has trouble starting on the first try. It'll start and immediately stall. If it's warm out, I can pump the gas pedal once and it starts up fine. Otherwise, it might take a couple ...
  • 1,935
5 votes
Accepted

How can I tell which hub bearing is making a noise?

Since when a wheel bearing goes bad you can feel it more than you can hear it, and there usually isn't any deflection in the wheel itself until the bearing is pretty much shot, the way I usually check ...
5 votes
Accepted

Why do valve lifters get stuck? How come they unstick by themselves?

I found a great article out there on the interwebz which explains this very well (and confirms my line of thinking) for the BMW M62 engine. I'm sure the explanation is pretty much the same for other ...
5 votes

Clunking sound?

It sounds to me like the previous owner suspected an outer CV joint (which was my first thought when you described the problem) and changing it didn't fix the issue. I would double check that the ...

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