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.
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
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.
Detonation
Mild to severe pings, usually worse underacceleration. Sounds like popcorn popping.
Dieseling
Engine runs after ignition switch is turned off. Runs unevenly and may make knocking noises.
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.
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.
Rough Idle
Engine runs unevenly at idle. Car may also shake.
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.
Spongy
Little or no increase in speed when accelerator is pushed down. Continuing to push pedal down will eventually give an increase in speed.
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
Bottoming
Suspension moves to extreme end of travel and hits compression bumpers. Feels like a heavy thud.
Brake fade
Stopping distance seems to increase- causing longer braking distance, similar to braking at high speeds
Excessive play
Steering wheel must be turned unusually far before vehicle responds
Hard steering
Vehicle difficult to steer, especially during parking situations or when first started
Low brake pedal
Brake pedal must be pushed unusually far to engage brakes
Brake pedal pulsation
Brake pedal fluctuates while brakes are applied
Pulls
Vehicle moves to one side when steering wheel is released
Grabs
Vehicle has a tendency to move right or left when brakes are applied; brakes engage suddenly when applying steady pressure to brake pedal
Shimmy
Rapid side-to-side motion of both front wheels felt in steering wheel
Sway/pitching
Mushy or spongy ride; vehicle takes a long time to recover from bumps in the road
Vibration
Vehicle shakes
Wanders
Vehicle meanders, requiring frequent steering adjustments to maintain direction
