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What is wrong with your Vehicle?
Car trouble symptoms can indicate minor or major problems in your car. With this list you can learn to describe you vehicle symptoms and have more information to help a repair.
Possible Problem Smell
| Antifreeze or coolant leak |
Sweet odor, usually accompanied by steam from under the hood |
| Burning oil |
Thick, heavy odor, sometimes accompanied by smoke from under the hood or from the exhaust |
| Electrical short |
Acrid odor, like burned toast |
| Emission |
Continuous, heavy sulfur odor like rotten eggs |
| Overheated brakes or clutch |
Burning rubber odor
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| Overheating |
Hot, metallic odor usually accompanied by antifreeze/coolant odor |
Possible Problem Stains
| Axle leaks |
Black stains with heavy, thick consistency |
| Coolant streaks |
Yellow, green, pink, or orange stains that are lighter and thinner than oil |
| Crankcase, oil, power steering fluid leaks |
Brownish stains |
| Transmission oil leaks |
Reddish stainss |
Possible Problem Sounds
| Cuts out |
Temporary complete loss of power. Engine quits at irregular intervals. May occur repeatedly or intermittently, usually under heavy acceleration.
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| Detonation |
Mild to severe pings, usually worse underacceleration. Sounds like popcorn popping.
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| Dieseling |
Engine runs after ignition switch is turned off. Runs unevenly and may make knocking noises.
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| Hesitation |
Momentary lack of response as accelerator is pressed. Can occur at any speed. Usually most severe when starting from complete stop. May cause engine to stall.
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| Miss |
Pulsation or jerking that changes with engine speed. Exhaust has a steady spitting sound at idle or low speed. Not normally felt above 30 mph.
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| Rough Idle |
Engine runs unevenly at idle. Car may also shake.
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| Sluggish |
Engine delivers limited power under load or at high speed. Won't accelerate as fast as normal. Loses speed going up hills. Vehicle has less speed than normal.
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| Spongy |
Little or no increase in speed when accelerator is pushed down. Continuing to push pedal down will eventually give an increase in speed.
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| Stall |
Engine stops running or dies out. May occur at idle or while driving. |
| Surge |
Vehicle speeds up and slows down with no change on accelerator pedal. Can occur at any speed. |
Possible Problem Handling Issues
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Bottoming |
Suspension moves to extreme end of travel and hits compression bumpers. Feels like a heavy thud.
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Brake fade |
Stopping distance seems to increase- causing longer braking distance, similar to braking at high speeds
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Excessive play |
Steering wheel must be turned unusually far before vehicle responds
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Hard steering |
Vehicle difficult to steer, especially during parking situations or when first started
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Low brake pedal |
Brake pedal must be pushed unusually far to engage brakes
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Brake pedal pulsation |
Brake pedal fluctuates while brakes are applied
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Pulls |
Vehicle moves to one side when steering wheel is released
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Grabs |
Vehicle has a tendency to move right or left when brakes are applied; brakes engage suddenly when applying steady pressure to brake pedal
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Shimmy |
Rapid side-to-side motion of both front wheels felt in steering wheel
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Sway/pitching |
Mushy or spongy ride; vehicle takes a long time to recover from bumps in the road
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Vibration |
Vehicle shakes
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Wanders |
Vehicle meanders, requiring frequent steering adjustments to maintain direction
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