Our general FAQ section provides clear answers to the most common automotive questions that apply to all vehicles, regardless of make or model. From understanding routine maintenance schedules and oil change intervals to learning about warning lights, smog checks, brakes, tires, and general car care tips, this category is designed to help every driver. Whether you’re new to car ownership or just want reliable advice, our general FAQs give you the knowledge to keep your vehicle safe, reliable, and road-ready.
What is the Car Wash scandal? Operation Car Wash (Portuguese: Operação Lava Jato) was a sweeping Brazilian anti-corruption investigation launched in 2014 that uncovered a massive bribery and kickback scheme centered on state oil giant Petrobras and major construction firms. It led to hundreds of criminal cases, multibillion-dollar corporate penalties, and the downfall or prosecution …
What “type of vehicle” means, why it’s classified, and where it’s used “Type of vehicle” refers to how a vehicle is classified based on its design and intended function—for example, passenger car, SUV, motorcycle, van, bus, light truck, or heavy goods vehicle—and this classification is used in registration, insurance, licensing, safety and emissions rules, taxation, …
How Many Types of Automobile Engines Are There? There isn’t a single fixed number, because “type” depends on how you classify engines; however, by power source, five main powertrain types dominate modern road cars: gasoline internal-combustion engines (ICE), diesel ICE, hybrids, battery-electric vehicles (BEVs), and hydrogen fuel-cell electric vehicles (FCEVs). Beyond these, engineers and enthusiasts …
Is the CVT gearbox any good? Yes—modern CVTs are good for everyday driving and hybrids: they’re efficient, smooth, and, from the right brands and generations, generally reliable. They’re less suited to heavy towing, sustained high-load driving, and some performance scenarios, and a few older designs earned the CVT a mixed reputation that lingers. What a …
How to Tell If Your Alternator Is on Its Way Out Signs your alternator is failing include a battery/charging warning light, dim or flickering lights, electrical glitches, whining or grinding noises, a burning rubber smell, and system voltage that’s too low or too high when measured with a multimeter. A healthy charging system typically shows …
Can You Still Drive With a Broken Brake Line? No—driving with a broken brake line is extremely dangerous and typically illegal. A ruptured line can cause a sudden or near-total loss of braking, drastically lengthening stopping distances even in vehicles with dual-circuit brake systems. If a line fails while you’re already moving, use engine braking, …
Why the UK Drives on the Left—And What “Left-Hand Drive” Really Means The UK drives on the left because of centuries-old customs from horseback travel that were later written into law in the 19th century; as a result, most vehicles in Britain are right-hand drive, with the steering wheel on the right. In everyday terms, …
How a TPMS Sensor Stays Powered A typical TPMS sensor does not recharge; most direct TPMS units inside the wheel are powered by a sealed, non-rechargeable lithium battery designed to last roughly 5–10 years through aggressive power-saving strategies, after which the sensor is usually replaced. Indirect TPMS systems, which infer pressure from wheel-speed data, have …
Who Still Makes Rotary Engines Today? Yes—rotary engines are still being made. Mazda reintroduced a production Wankel rotary in 2023 as a range‑extender generator in the MX‑30 R‑EV (Europe and Japan), and several aerospace and specialist manufacturers—such as AIE (UK), Rotron Power (UK), Austro Engine (Austria), UAV Engines Ltd (UK), Aixro (Germany), and Crighton (UK)—continue …
How much gas does AC use while parked Most gasoline cars use roughly 0.2–0.6 gallons (0.8–2.3 liters) of fuel per hour to run the air conditioner while parked and idling, depending on engine size, outside temperature, and A/C settings; larger SUVs and trucks often burn 0.5–1.0 gph (1.9–3.8 L/h), while hybrids typically average much less …
Is Tire Traction a Good Thing? Yes—adequate tire traction is overwhelmingly good because it is what lets a vehicle accelerate, steer, and stop safely. The nuance is that you want the right traction for your conditions: pursuing “maximum grip” with the wrong tire, at the wrong temperature, or with improper pressure can hurt safety, increase …
What Is the Hardest Drawing to Draw? There isn’t a single “hardest drawing”—difficulty depends on an artist’s training and goals—but hyperrealistic portraits and complex multi-point perspective cityscapes are widely cited as among the most difficult. Also notorious: anatomically accurate hands, foreshortened figures, reflective and transparent materials, and large crowd scenes with consistent lighting and scale. …
What locks do police recommend? Police typically recommend independently certified, high‑security locks: for UK homes, look for BS 3621 five‑lever deadlocks and TS 007 3‑star or SS 312 Diamond euro cylinders on PAS 24 doors; for U.S. homes, choose ANSI/BHMA Grade 1 deadbolts with reinforced strike plates and, ideally, UL 437 high‑security cylinders. For bikes …
Does Toyota use an assembly line? Yes. Toyota builds vehicles on moving assembly lines worldwide, but it does so using the Toyota Production System (TPS), which blends traditional conveyor-based lines with flexible cells, just-in-time logistics, and “jidoka” (automation with a human touch). In recent years, Toyota has also been piloting self-propelled final-assembly methods and other …
The Basics of a Camshaft: What It Is, How It Works, and Why It Matters A camshaft is the rotating shaft in an internal-combustion engine that opens and closes the intake and exhaust valves at precisely timed intervals, using egg-shaped lobes to convert rotational motion into the linear motion of valve actuation. In practical terms, …
Example of Thermal Degradation: How Heat Breaks Down Everyday Materials An everyday example of thermal degradation is overheated PVC wire insulation: when exposed to sustained high temperatures (typically above roughly 140–200°C without adequate stabilizers), the plastic begins to decompose, releasing pungent hydrogen chloride (HCl), discoloring from yellow to brown/black, and becoming brittle. More broadly, thermal …
What are the three types of injection systems? The three primary types of fuel injection systems used in internal-combustion engines are: single-point (throttle-body) injection, multi-point (port) injection, and direct injection. In brief, single-point uses one injector upstream of the intake manifold, multi-point places one injector at each intake port near the valve, and direct injection …
What Controls the Power Door Locks in Modern and Older Vehicles In most modern vehicles, the power door locks are controlled by the Body Control Module (BCM)—or a similarly named central electronics unit—that reads inputs from switches and key fobs, then commands the door lock actuators via relays or solid-state drivers; in some older or …
What cars did Plymouth make in 1975? Plymouth’s 1975 U.S. passenger-car lineup consisted of the compact Valiant family (Valiant, Duster, and Scamp), the intermediate-size Fury line (including a Road Runner option package on the Fury two-door), and the full-size Gran Fury, which was built primarily for fleets and police duty in the United States. In …
When NASCAR Stopped Using Carburetors NASCAR’s top-tier Cup Series stopped using carburetors after the 2011 season, debuting electronic fuel injection (EFI) at the 2012 Daytona 500. While “NASCAR” can refer to multiple series, the landmark shift occurred in the Cup Series, ending a carburetor era that began with the sport’s inception in 1949. What Changed …
How Much Does Half a Ton Weigh? Half a ton weighs 1,000 pounds (about 453.6 kilograms) in the U.S. short-ton system, 1,120 pounds (about 508 kilograms) in the British long-ton system, and 500 kilograms (about 1,102 pounds) in the metric system (half a metric tonne). The answer depends on which “ton” you mean—short ton, long …
Can you clean the inside of a muffler? Yes—but with important caveats. On most modern vehicles, the inside of a muffler doesn’t need routine cleaning, and aggressive methods (water flushing, solvents, “burn-out” techniques) can be unsafe or damaging. If you suspect a clog or internal failure, limited safe actions include draining condensation, clearing the factory …
What is the function of a recirculating ball? A recirculating ball mechanism reduces friction and wear in a screw-and-nut drive by using rolling steel balls that circulate through return paths; in automotive steering, it converts the driver’s rotary input into the linear motion needed to steer the road wheels with high mechanical advantage, smoothness, and …
How TPMS Sensors Know Which Wheel They’re On They don’t inherently know—each tire-pressure sensor broadcasts a unique ID, and the vehicle learns which corner that ID belongs to using one or more methods: low‑frequency (LF) triggers at each wheel, radio signal triangulation, correlation with ABS wheel‑speed data and sensor accelerometers, or a manual “relearn” procedure. …
Lost Your Car Title in Nevada? Here’s Exactly How to Get a Replacement If you lost your Nevada car title, you can request a duplicate through the Nevada DMV either online via MyDMV (if you meet eligibility rules) or by submitting the Application for Duplicate Nevada Certificate of Title (Form VP 012) by mail or …
What Is the Heaviest Car or Truck? The heaviest truck ever built is the BelAZ 75710, an off-highway ultra-class mining dump truck from Belarus that weighs roughly 360 metric tonnes (about 795,000 lb) empty and can reach around 810 tonnes (about 1.79 million lb) fully loaded. For road-legal trucking on public roads, Australia’s multi-trailer road …
The Anatomy of a V6 Engine A V6 engine is a six-cylinder internal combustion engine arranged in two banks of three cylinders forming a “V” around a single crankshaft; its core anatomy includes the engine block, two cylinder heads, pistons and connecting rods, a crankshaft timed for 120-degree firing intervals, valvetrain and timing drives, intake …
How to Determine the Right Drain Plug Size The size you need depends on the application: identify the drain type (vehicle oil pan, sink, tub, boat, etc.), then check the manual or parts catalog, or measure the old plug’s diameter and thread pitch with a caliper and thread gauge; when in doubt, bring the old …
How Long Does a Harmonic Balancer Last? Most harmonic balancers last about 100,000 to 150,000 miles (roughly 8–12 years), though some survive the life of the engine while others fail earlier if exposed to heat, oil, or heavy accessory loads. The part’s elastomer (rubber) core ages with time and heat cycles, so regular inspection is …
How to calculate the tongue weight of a trailer The fastest accurate way is to weigh your tow vehicle on a scale before and after coupling the loaded trailer (with any weight-distribution bars disconnected) and subtract the two totals; the increase is your tongue weight. Alternatively, use a dedicated tongue-weight scale at the hitch height, …