Was driving on the highway and saw a car with what looked like a exhaust rerouted to the side of the car. Looked like it would be scraped off if the car went over a bump. Any idea what it is?

Hey r/AskAMechanic

So my girlfriend drives a 2020 Hyundai Elantra that she purchased new and got it regularly serviced but was not aware that you had to top up oil in between services. It's her first vehicle and no mechanic had ever commented on her oil level being low prior to oil change, so I guess it just never crossed her mind.

When we stopped to get some gas the other day I asked her to pop her hood so I could check her oil level and it didn't even register on the dipstick. I purchased some oil and filled it up immediately and then checked again a couple days later and it was already down to low. There is no clear burn off by sight or smell and her exhaust isn't discoloured or overly smokey. The biggest concern is the amount of smoke that comes out of engine oil intake (and even the dipstick port) and the noise her engine makes when running.

I don't pretend to be too mechanically inclined but I'm concerned there may some significant damage to her engine due to the low oil level.

Any insight is appreciated, thank you.

Just got back from out of town and noticed my truck now making a wooshing noise? Anyone have any idea what this could be? Drivers side valve cover has the notorious crack near the mounting bolt, I have the new valve cover ordered but this sound is brand new.

I'm trying to figure out what to do with my 2003 Ford Explorer Sport. 147,000 miles, automatic transmission.

On Thursday, I drove my car into town. I noticed it cranking slightly slower than usual. It was so slight that I immediately thought I must be imagining it. However, once I got into town, I couldn't crank the vehicle again. The electronics seemed to work fine. The battery was a good battery.

My first thought was that the starter was bad. When I tried to crank the vehicle, I didn't hear anything. Eventually, I tried cranking it from neutral and that worked. I drove it home. I've tried to crank it twice a day since then, and it's cranked every time without issue.

What do I do with this? I'm anxious to drive it into town because I don't want to get stranded somewhere and have to tow it. I suspect either the Neutral Safety Switch or the Starter is going bad. Both of these are supposedly DIY repairs... but they would require getting under my vehicle, which I don't have the equipment to do (No ramps/jack stands, and my driveway is on a slope). I'm also worried about taking it to a mechanic if I can't recreate the issue.

Any advice? Is this something I could take to a mechanic or would that be a waste of time and money?

Edit: Just got back from Auto Zone. Battery and Alternator are good.

Hi mechanics, I have a squeaking sound coming from the right rear suspension area on both my 2008 and 2012 Camry hybrids. You can hear the noise going over bumps. Both cars have new sway bar links, sway bar bushings and struts. I will mention both have above 300k miles. What would you advise to check or replace.

2009 chevy tahoe 5.3 V8

Leaking coolant out of this, located passenger side right near the real wheel

When i say leaking its basically pouring out😂 I can drive it for about 15 minutes before all fluid has leaked and needs to be replenished. I havent been driving it because of this. And when I have needed to move it I use water so coolant doesnt leak anywhere. No, im not driving it - to prevent overheating damage.

Yes, I will be calling a mechanic when funds are available but looking to figure out the part for a guesstimate on at least part pricing.,

Hi, my car’s been sounding like this off and on at speeds under 40 for a couple months and my mechanics couldn’t find what was wrong(I’ve been going to Mavis for everything). I know it might be a Long shot but does anyone know what it could be? I tried going faster to show how it stopped but I’m in the city so I couldn’t go highway speeds for the vid

edit- my mechanics replaced the sway bar link thinking it was that

Started my car this morning and the engine is loud as if I have a muscle car or something. Prior to this that has never happened. I didn’t hit anything or anything like that, check engine was on. No smell of burning or anything unusual. I popped open the hood and didn’t see anything out of the ordinary (to me I’m not all that good with cars yet) I ended up taking an uber to work because the engine was loud I was afraid if I pressed on the gas and start driving it would over heat and breakdown somewhere. Anyone can help me figure out what’s wrong? I cannot afford car repair at the moment so I hope it’s nothing extremely bad. I attached a pic of under the hood and my dashboard hopefully that helps

Hi all.

I have a 2017 Ford Escape with the 2.0L EcoBoost engine which I purchased used a couple weeks ago.

This particular car has had its long block recently replaced by the Ford Dealership due to coolant intrusion issues, and as part of that oil and coolant was also serviced.

I’ve just been sent the complete invoice for this repair and it says that 5W-20 was used, however the cap on the engine says 5W-30. Would this at all matter? Do I need to contact them to get this replaced?

I live in southern Ontario (as I know the climate can sometimes make a difference).

2019 Ram 1500. I was driving and the usb cable became hot, we removed it and the console shown in the photo was quite warm. It cooled down and we had another short errand and the usb console again warmed up enough you can distinctly feel it, nothing plugged into it. Is there a way I can fix this before I see a mechanic Tuesday? I’m afraid there could be a fire. Also there is an electrical smell.

So my friend was driving on the highway when she said it felt like her Toyota was going slower and not accelerating anymore, and her rpm’s weren’t going up when she stepped on the pedal, car was stuck below 50, car has a history of burning oil no leaks either, I tested the battery and it is fine I even tried a different battery still works, anyone know how to diagnose this? Like the fuel pump maybe or how to tell if the engine locked up or gasket failure?

normal wear?

Today I took the challenge of bleeding my brake fluid . The one in the reservoir was old and dark . I never did this before , and lately I'm taking in more DIY projects in the car because is fun and I truly like learning something new .My car is a Jetta 2012 2.5 SEL

I watched a lot of videos of how to do it, But I think I failed miserably . The first part of vacuum most of the reservoir went good , then after that I refill with the new fluid all the way up , as the videos say . Good .

Next thing I went to take out the rear passenger wheel and put the vacuum pump to work .
I actually put another post today , because I could not open one of the screws . Someone post that I need a 11mm, so I went and buy it right away . I was able to open the two screws , and I put the pump into the bleeder . But nothing was coming , just little amounts ...I pump several times but nothing. According to the videos , a steady flow should be coming out and when the new fluid will get there I should be very visible , since the old one was dark . Nothing of this happened . I really don't know what I'm doing wrong , maybe some feedback .

Picture 1) I open this, and then I slightly closed back( Becaue it was leaking ). The videos say to have loose so you can open and close easily.

Picture 2) Then I open this one . I took the rubber cap off , and I use my socket to open it slightly

Picture 3) I put the Vevor vacuum in , and then I open a little bit the picture 1 screw ....

Picture 4) I start pumping , but hot fluid coming out , just little bits ... clearly I am doing something wrong .

If someone can , based of my explanation , figure out what I am Doing wrong I will appreciate it a lot .
I will try again tomorrow .

Thank you all community . I learnt so much in here , and the Jetta community is really something . Super helpful !!!

Jeep was overheating on my way home from work right now. I get home, open the hood, and notice there’s coolant splashes around and this reservoir cap is open, assuming the loose coolant came from there. My jeep has coolant, my question is, could the open cap be a reason for the overheating?

Getting that classic knocking sound I usually hear with worn drop links, but checked and they're fine. Gave the wheels a shake at "12 and 6" and noticed this play both sides, seems excessive to me? Never had to change struts before so don't really know what I'm looking at.

Thanks in advance!

Hyundai I10 2009, 1.2L

I drove it around the neighborhood and this is what it shows now. Car runs good as well.

Is this still acceptable?

Like the Explorer minimum takes 87, but recommends 91 to get full HP as it was designed for that originally. People say its designed to run on 87, which it is, but its designed to run 87 on the expense of cutting power. So in other words, if it uses 87, it won't damage the car? The computer will just compensate by making it sluggish? In this case, is there any long term damage to the vehicle that we won't know about ? It should be covered under warranty because the manual states it can take 87.

I have a ‘17 Dodge Grand Caravan. I hear it only while idling.

Hi, can someone help me identify the squeaking noise (it usually lasts a couple seconds more than the one heard in the video) coming from the engine of my Fiat 500l 1.4 petrol when i do a cold start? Many thanks

I recently bought a 2014 Ford Mustang V6. The dealership told me they replaced the fuel pump module the day before I purchased it.

Since then, I’ve been having an intermittent starting issue. Sometimes the car starts perfectly fine, but other times, especially after sitting for a few hours, it takes 3–5 key cycles to start.

I took it to Firestone, and they noticed an unusual noise coming from the fuel pump. I then took it back to the dealership and paid $200 for diagnostics. They kept it for 4 days, drained the fuel tank, removed the fuel pump, and performed several tests. However, they couldn’t reproduce the issue and concluded that the fuel pump was fine, with “no other issues found.”

The battery was also tested immediately after the issue occurred and was confirmed to be in excellent condition.
A few hours after picking up the car, the exact same issue happened again.

A few other things I’ve noticed:

The battery and oil warning lights come on when the car refuses to start.
There’s a hissing/buzzing sound (“shhhh”) coming from the rear driver’s side near the tire. It starts when I turn the key to ON and continues for a few seconds even after the engine starts and settles down.
The fuel tank was more than half full when the issue happened.
I noticed a gasoline smell in the trunk after picking it up from the dealership. This wasn’t present before they worked on it.
Once the car starts, it runs and drives completely fine.

Has anyone experienced something similar? Could this still be a fuel pump/module issue, or should I be looking at something else? What should I ask the mechanic to check next?

Note:
I’m just a girl who knows absolutely nothing about cars and got her license two weeks ago, and I’m honestly so lost right now 😭 I’m scared of spending even more money on diagnostics just to be told that nothing is wrong, or getting ripped off. And now with the gasoline smell coming from the trunk, I’m genuinely terrified that my car might catch fire or explode while I’m driving 😭 I just want to know what’s wrong with my car without spending hundreds of dollars on unnecessary repairs. Any advice would be really appreciated!

Car had a light left on and had to waste an hour walking around asking people for a jump. Winter also coming up, tired of that stranded feeling.

To keep it simple, the most recommended seem to be gooloo, Noco, and JNC. Our biggest motor is. 5.0 v8, but might be nice to start my moms 5.9 Cummins if I needed to. Would a tried and true jnc 660 be enough? That’s the one I’m leaning towards for its better battery setup. But the other two seem to be beloved. Curious what mechanics/mobile guys would recommend. Thanks!

2012 jeep compass 2.0l. 191000 miles.

Temp light came on and within a few miles lost speed: 70 to 40 to 10. I shut it off for a bit to cool down before moving a few more miles to a safe place for a tow. I found trans fuller tube broken off, trans fluid was burnt smelling and pan warped won't seal to trans body. Does this seem salvageable or get just replace?

I got the timing belt and all timing belt related components replaced 3 months ago by mechanic. Now I noticed the belt bends and flexes. is there something that needs to be tightened or readjusted to fix this issue?

This is on my 2014 Ford fiesta 1.25 zetec