Auto Repair Articles

I have a 1995 Ford Mustang GT. I Drive it everyday and today It just cranks and cranks and smells like fuel. Has been running fine with no problems what so ever. I change the oil regularly and perform regular maintenance. It has about 142,000 miles on it and about 12,000 on the spark plugs, wires, cap and rotor. It seems to be getting plenty of gas but no spark. What could be my problem?

Response:

The most common reason for this would be the spark trigger in the distributor. You can replace it yourself if you feel comfortable removing the distributor. If you do not, have it replaced for you at your local repair shop. You can either have the entire distributor replaced or just the trigger inside the distributor.

MONTEREY, Calif. — Ford Motor Co. is giving a $50 Ford gift card to buyers of the 2011 Ford Fiesta who have had to wait longer than expected for their vehicles to be delivered.

Ford spokeswoman Angie Kozleski confirmed that the company was giving the MasterCard gift cards to customers who ordered the new Fiesta, calling it “a token of our appreciation for their patience.”

Ford couldn’t disclose how many cards it is distributing, but said retail customers who reserved or placed an order for the new Fiesta would receive one.

Fiestas have been slow to get to dealerships after a hurricane that hit Mexico in June crippled rail lines used to ship vehicles made at Ford’s plant in Cuautitlan, near Mexico City. Ford has sold 4,377 Fiestas this year, including 3,349 last month.

“We’ve got about 6,500 to 7,000 in transit to dealers. In a couple to three months, we ought to have the availability to support the kind of demand you see in a B-car category,” Ford sales analyst George Pipas said in a conference call with journalists last week.

Kozleski said Fiestas have been delivered to Ford dealerships in every state in the continental United States.

It’s unclear the extent of the shipping delays. But at last week’s unveiling here of the 2012 Mustang Boss 302, President of the Americas Mark Fields acknowledged that the rail lines used to ship the cars were still damaged.

Buoyed by the Wrangler and the redesigned 2011 Grand Cherokee, Jeep brand sales rose 19 percent in July, pacing Chrysler Group to a 5 percent gain for the month.

It was the automaker’s fourth-straight monthly increase. In February, Chrysler ended a streak of 25 consecutive monthly sales declines.

Ram brand truck sales climbed 11 percent in July, while Dodge remained flat and the Chrysler brand dropped 11 percent from a year earlier. Three vehicles set sales records for the month: the Dodge Challenger, Journey and Ram Chassis Cab.

Overall, Chrysler Group’s car sales fell 2 percent, while truck sales were up 7 percent. Trucks continue to dominate the Chrysler mix, accounting for 75 percent of the automaker’s volume and outselling cars – 70,349 to 22,964.

Chrysler spokesman Ralph Kisiel declined to say what percent of the 5,407 Grand Cherokees sold in July were outgoing 2010 models versus the 2011 version, which is just hitting showrooms in volumes. The company put a number of incentives on the departing model to make way for the redesigned edition.

Ram full-sized pickups remained the biggest seller at Chrysler, with 20,138 units in July. That was up 14 percent over July last year, when the automaker had just exited bankruptcy. The Jeep Wrangler was the second biggest seller at 10,043, up 121 percent. The Chrysler Town & Country rose 18 percent to finish third, at 8,083

General Motors Co. plans to bring back mild hybrids next year, said Larry Nitz, GM executive director of hybrid and electric powertrain engineering.

GM discontinued mild hybrids after 2009 when the closing of Saturn left the carmaker with the technology on just one vehicle, the Chevrolet Malibu sedan, Nitz said. It had been available on the Saturn Vue crossover and Saturn Aura sedan as well.

Nitz, who spoke on the sidelines of the seminars here yesterday, said a new, more powerful system will be available in the third quarter of 2011 on at least one mid-sized sedan in North America and one in China.

He declined to name the vehicles, but he said the first-generation mild hybrid system was available in China on the Buick LaCrosse. He wouldn’t discuss the price of the option.

Unlike a full hybrid system, a mild hybrid system cannot propel a vehicle on electric power alone. It acts as a stop-start system, shutting off the gasoline engine when the car stops and then using the batteries to restart the engine when the accelerator is pressed again.

The motor also provides a boost during acceleration.

Nitz also said GM intends to make some of its own electric motors for hybrids instead of buying them all from suppliers.

He said the first GM-made electric motors will be produced in its White Marsh powertrain plant near Baltimore. He said they will be used on the next-generation Two-Mode hybrid technology, which will be an option on future pickups and SUVs.

Nitz called electric motors a core powertrain competency that GM must design and fully understand so it can integrate them into hybrids and plug-in electrics for peak fuel economy and performance.

He declined to reveal when the next-generation Two-Mode hybrids would be introduced. With a Two-Mode, a driver benefits at highway speeds from the electric motor, not just predominantly at starts and stops.

Nitz said GM will reintroduce mild hybrids on its mid-sized sedans with improved technology. They will offer about 20 percent better fuel economy than gasoline engines, he said.

Nitz said the electric motor is improved and the electronics and controllers are fully integrated with the conventional gasoline engine. The system will be wedded to GM’s Ecotech engine and a six-speed transmission capable of maximizing performance and fuel savings, he said.

When the mild hybrid was introduced in the Saturn Vue in 2006, it was bolted onto a four-cylinder engine and four-speed transmission not designed for regenerative braking. That mild hybrid produced a 15 percent improvement in fuel economy.

Sometimes you usually do not need to take your automobile in to the mechanic because you are able to figure out what is wrong on your own. When you know what’s wrong ahead of time you might save from possessing to do repairs that you don’t really need. One more thing is this will allow you to uncover a predicament earlier so it is possible to fix a minor challenge prior to it becomes a major issue.

Car repair tips are extremely looked for on-line. If you ever do a few of these items relatively auto repair generally you’ll be doing your self and your auto a really large favor.

The very first factor it is possible to do is inspect your tires. Take a tire pressure gauge and check to make certain your tires inflated to where they ought to be. Obtaining a correctly inflated tires will make you safer, your tires will last longer and your vehicle will become a lot more fuel efficient.

- Millions of electric-powered vehicles that would slash America’s dependence on foreign oil and cut carbon emissions would be put on the road under legislation approved by a Senate committee on Wednesday.

The legislation, passed 19-4 in favor, was one of several bills cleared by the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee that might be folded into a broader energy and climate bill Democrats are struggling to bring to the Senate floor.

The bill approved by the committee would pour nearly $3.9 billion over 10 years into selected communities to build infrastructure to charge electric cars, conduct research and provide incentives for consumers to buy plug-in vehicles.

The goal is to put the United States on a path to electrify half the country’s cars and trucks by 2030, which would cut U.S. demand for oil by about one-third.

“Passing this legislation will strengthen our national security and improve the air we breathe, while relying on our abundant and diverse electricity supply to fuel our cars,” said Senator Byron Dorgan, the bill’s chief sponsor.

A new bill that addresses climate change and renewable energy is a key priority for the Obama administration but time is running short on the congressional calendar with a scheduled August recess and congressional elections looming in November.

Senator Jeff Bingaman, who chairs the energy panel, said he was not sure if Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid would unveil his encompassing energy and climate legislation next week. The bill would be in trouble if the Senate does not pass it before the August break, according to Bingaman.

“It will be difficult to get a final bill to the president for signature,” Bingaman told reporters. “The earlier that the full Senate would act the better position we’ll be to actually get a bill to the president.”

Congress is scheduled to work through the first or second of week of August, and then recess until after Labor Day in early September.

Reid said on Tuesday he was still grappling for consensus among Democrats to forge a new climate and energy bill.

Once again, a struggling brand seeks to refine its obscure image
Once again, a struggling brand seeks to refine its obscure image

Ever since Infiniti was launched with mystifying advertising images of rocks and trees 21 years ago, Nissan Motor Co.’s luxury brand has been hard to pin down.

Vehicles such as its G37, the 2011 M sedan and the QX56 SUV turn heads and win praise in buff books. But while luxury competitors such as BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Audi and Lexus have soared in consumer popularity over the past decade, Infiniti has struggled to keep up.

Infiniti’s sales peaked at 131,401 in 2005. Last year they totaled 81,089.

The problem? Fuzzy brand awareness caused by more than a decade of sharing vehicles and marketing resources with its larger sibling brand, Nissan.

Ben Poore is on fire to fix this. As vice president of Nissan North America’s Infiniti Business Unit for the past year and a half, Poore’s mission has been to sharpen the brand’s image. His most visible initiative is a new campaign, “The Way of Infiniti,” which is scheduled to run for five years.

“Our brand has always been about performance luxury,” Poore says. “We’ve always been there, but we now have a very solid and interesting way of defining ourselves.”

Dealers add that Nissan needs to give Infiniti a broader lineup to match luxury rivals. Infiniti is expected to make several new product announcements next month — likely including a performance subbrand — to bolster its luxury credibility.

European car markets are heading for further pain as EU countries implement measures to tackle their financial deficits, a market researcher warns.
New-car sales will be hard hit this year and in 2011 as governments follow Greece and launch “swift and sustained” attacks on national fiscal deficits that will result in public sector job losses, wage freezes and cuts, cancellation of government-funded private sector contracts and tax increases, says J.D. Power Automotive Forecasting.
“Consumer confidence, which held up relatively well during the earlier phase of the Greek crisis, is now on a downward trajectory once more with negative implications for car sales,” the forecaster said in a commentary on a 6.4 percent fall in new-car sales in western Europe in June.
In Greece, the government’s tough cost-saving measures led to a nearly 40 percent decline in car sales last month. The effect of austerity measures in other European countries may not be as immediate as in Greece, but it will come — and will be felt most severely in 2011, according to the forecaster.
“The risks of a widespread fiscal consolidation are serious, increasing the probability of a double-dip recession in some countries,” J.D. Power says.
And in a dismaying prediction for automakers hoping the European market would finally return to sustained growth next year, the forecaster concludes that western Europe’s car market in 2011 is unlikely to be above its current prediction of 12.86 million units for 2010.

The steering wheel in my C220 squeaks when turned. This is coming directly from the steering column. Would a little WD-40 or some other spray product be safe to apply to the steering wheel or is there a possibility of shorting out the electrical in the column?

Response:
1) It’s best to remove the steering wheel and expose the bearing. If it’s a sealed bearing obviously oil isn’t the answer replacement is or live with it. In lite of WD40 I’d use a Lithium Spray Grease.
2) Turn the radio up abit until you can no longer hear the squeak. Or……make a listening stick or tube, stethoscope, and while someone is turning the wheel find the spot that squeaks. Then apply some white lithium grease to the area. Lithium grease does not change viscosity when the temperature changes. I’ve never owned or worked on a Mercedes, but there should be a u-bolt type clamp with a bushing or bearing in it that may be the culprit. This is what holds the steering column to the bottom of the dash.
3) WD-40 wont hurt your wiring a bit, so if you can get to your squeak in the steering column with that, go for it.

Is Jeep interested in doing a pickup?

Several times last decade, Jeep seemed on the verge of creating a compact or mid-sized pickup before bailing out.

But things may have changed now that Fiat is in charge.

“That’s a segment that I’m very curious about,” says Mike Manley, Jeep CEO. “I know it’s had a rough time here in the U.S., but globally it still seems to be an important sector.”

Manley is quoted in a story that appears at news.pickuptrucks.com.

The last Jeep pickup was the Comanche, produced in 1992.