I recently bought a used car (1999 mazda) and did an oil change on it for the first time. I found a couple small bits of what looks to be metal in the old oil.

I know metal in the old oil is a bad sign but should I be concerned by this amount? The largest piece isn't biger than 1mm.

I have no idea when was the last time the previous owner had done an oil change.

Hello, I have a 2011 accord ex-l 4 cyl sedan with 142k miles. The passenger side cv axle has started to make the classic knocking noise. What type of cv axle should I get? Here's the dilemma:

Aftermarket $60-$150 CV Axles on Rockauto, good budget wise but I have read extremely mixed reviews, from lasting as little as 500 miles to as much as 20k miles for both GSP and the Tracksomethingoranother brand on there.

OEM dealer axle assembly, I was quoted $1200 for one axle assembly from my local Honda dealer. Atp I might as well sell the effing car.

Raxles, I have heard mostly positive reviews but the occasional "boots are trash, will fail after a year" reviews. I have just put in my info, have to wait up to 2 days for a reply but the typical price seems to be $400-$600 for one axle assembly.

Junkyard, CV Axles at my local junk are going for $45+$10 core deposit which is insanely good for a used axle but I do not have the time, energy, tools, nor knowledge to even start thinking about taking out the axle.

Ebay or some big junkyard parts shipper, I believe these used cv axles run $200-$400 depending on what website is used but I run the risk of getting a very worn, or damaged, or defective cv axle and most likely a very annoying refund journey.

Money is tight, I can most likely do Raxles if I save up enough but OEM dealer is definitely off the table. I'm highly tempted to just go for GSP, install it, and make it future me's problem but I may not live long enough with a crappy axle so I really don't want to risk it. I feel unsafe driving with a failing CV Axle.

What should I do?

Edit: Forgot to mention I will be going to a shop and paying them to install it, which may be $300 for the labor alone.

So random no check engine lights
2016 gmc sierra 6.2 17300

Got into a wreck last week, not at fault. Body shop gave us a quote of $11,000 in damages before any hidden damages.
2020 Mercedes gle 350 with 85k miles

​

Yall,

Trying to get some thoughts or ideas before throwing money at the noise. 2016 Ram 1500 - Hemi 4x4 w/ 82k.

Experiencing a medium tone, not extremely loud(Ik this sounds stupid) " mmm mmm mmm mmm" sound while on the highway(55-75mph) Sounds to me like driver side front? Sound goes away if I press on the gas. Is really noticeable if cruise control is on around those speeds.

Running new Falken Wildpeaks AT4. Truck had Wildpeaks before as well, with same sound. Sound continued with new tire change.

Front / rear diff fluid was just changed (IDK condition of oil as it was done at dealer). Engine oil is changed every 4k. I Do have a slight manifold leak (driver side) passenger was replaced about 5k ago (BD Desiel) planning to do the same on driver.

Truck also has magnaflow muffler, but the sound was there on stock muffler as well.

Let me know your thoughts. I appreciate it

\-CAL

Icahn Enterprises will sell the Pep Boys auto-service chain to Mavis Tire Express Services for $700 million, the companies announced Tuesday.

The deal marks the withdrawal of famed investor Carl Icahn from a Pep Boys brand he bought a decade ago for roughly $1 billion, though he's keeping some real estate assets.

Mavis operates over 3,600 auto repair shops in the U.S. and Canada, including Midas, Tire Kingdom and Tuffy.

Adding Pep Boys will expand its footprint in the western U.S.

Hi everyone,

Recently bought a Honda Civic EK hatch and noticed a few spots that I'm unsure about. I've attached some photos.
I can see a couple of paint chips on the rear wheel arch and what looks like a small amount of surface rust around the door jamb seam.

One thing I'm particularly unsure about is the area near the top of the hatch opening/trunk jamb (in the second and third photos). It has a brownish line on both sides of the car, so I'm wondering if that's actually rust or if it's just seam sealer, factory adhesive, or something that's meant to look like that.

Does that area look normal for an EK, or is it the start of rust?

Also, based on these photos:
-Would you consider this just minor surface rust?

-Is it something that should be repaired sooner rather than later?

Any advice would be much appreciated. Thanks!

so i scratched my car while parking not proud of it but im a new driver. how horrible is it? (its my parents car)

Hello,

I own a 2022 RAV4 with a power liftgate. In 2023, the right rear hatch was replaced after an accident. I have not gotten any other repairs or work done afterwards. Since the repair, the liftgate has occasionally had trouble closing. Yesterday, it became completely unresponsive and would not open at all.

I first took the vehicle to the Toyota collision center that performed the repair. They suggested I have the original Toyota dealership inspect it in case there was warranty. The dealership found that the rear hatch is not properly aligned with the body, causing uneven panel gaps. According to them, the misalignment is causing the hatch to contact the latch/sensor assembly too early, which is likely preventing the liftgate from operating correctly. They recommended having the body repair inspected and the hatch properly adjusted.

The collision center, however, says they did not work on the gate itself and believes the issue could simply be due to normal wear since the repair was completed three years ago. In addition, they feel the dealership’s diagnosis only described the symptom without identifying the underlying cause.

Does the dealership’s explanation suggest this is more likely related to the previous body repair, or could normal wear realistically cause this kind of issue? Also, my horn stopped working after getting the inspection at the dealership (it was still working the morning of the inspection). Could it be that due to their inspection?

I’m not familiar with automotive repairs, so I’m unsure how to proceed. Any advice on what my next steps should be would be greatly appreciated!

Scraped my 2018 Nissan Sentra SL against a pole today, and I'm trying to figure out how bad this actually is before I take it anywhere.

From what I can tell it looks like mostly scuffing/paint transfer with one deeper scratch line, no visible dent or crease. Does this look like a polish/buff job, or will it need repainting?

Vehicle: 2004 Chevy Tahoe Z71
Miles: 225,000

3 days ago it was running fine. Stopped at a stop sign and once the odometer hit zero it started shaking pretty bad. Suddenly had no acceleration and gas pedal was giving some push back. Suddenly it was fine, about 2 miles down the road I lost acceleration with a completely loose gas pedal, wouldn’t shift, flashing check engine light.

Had the codes ran and replaced the fuel pressure regulator. Ran fine for 2 days. Today, it all happened again once I stopped at a stop sign. This time though after I lost acceleration my wheel locked when I stopped and the battery light came on as well as check engine flashing. Check engine light will flash but will NOT stay on. It turns off and stays off til it struggles again. There’s no code to even run.

Ran the math at my own shop and found one tech was running 81% efficiency (flagged vs actual hours) without anyone noticing — that's real money leaking every week.

Built a simple spreadsheet to track it: daily log by tech/bay/RO, auto-calculated efficiency %, color-coded dashboard (green/yellow/red) so it's obvious at a glance who needs a conversation vs who's crushing it.

Not selling anything here, just sharing the framework in case it helps — happy to answer questions on how we use it for tech 1:1s. If anyone wants the actual file I can drop a link in comments.

Hello!

I bought a 2015 Honda Odyssey EX (named "Homer" - we're all having a moment now, aren't we?) new in December 2014. Since then, I've put few actual miles on it, and it spends a lot of time sitting in my outdoors driveway with weeks or even months between use. It has only 22,000 and change miles on it. I've tried to scrupulously take care of it, with synthetic Mobil oil changes every 5,000 miles or so, I've replaced the battery, brand new tires, cabin air filters.

I'm going to be taking a couple of long trips in late summer and I'd like to bring Homer into like new condition. I'm happy to take it to a good mechanic and tell them to perform the maintenance.

Having had the vehicle for 10 years, what maintenance should I do today if I want it to last forever, or as long as possible? There is nothing wrong with it now that I know of except some rubber lining to several doors than has come loose and needs to be refastened or replaced.

TIA.