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.
Can You Drive With a Bad Clutch Pack? You can usually move a vehicle a short distance with a failing clutch pack, but you shouldn’t: it’s unsafe and can quickly turn a repairable problem into a full transmission failure. If driving is unavoidable, limit it to a brief, low-speed trip to a nearby shop and …
Did Henry Ford Invent the Car? No. Henry Ford did not invent the car; German engineer Karl Benz is widely credited with creating the first practical automobile in 1885–1886. Ford’s lasting achievement was transforming automobiles from luxury curiosities into affordable, mass-produced goods through the Model T and the moving assembly line, a change that reshaped …
Paintless Dent Repair: The Hidden Drawbacks Car Owners Should Know Paintless dent repair (PDR) can be fast and preserve factory paint, but it isn’t a cure‑all: it struggles with cracked paint, sharp creases, panel edges, stretched metal, and inaccessible areas; it can risk paint cracking or “high spots,” depends heavily on technician skill, may require …
How long are road trains in Australia? In Australia, road trains are typically 36.5 metres (Type 1/double) to 53.5 metres (Type 2/triple) long on approved routes, with limited operations—mainly in Western Australia and parts of the Northern Territory and Queensland—allowing longer “quad” combinations of about 60 metres under specific permits. These limits vary by jurisdiction, …
Which cars have a 7‑speed manual transmission? Only a handful of production cars have ever offered a 7‑speed manual: chiefly the Porsche 911 (select 991 and 992 models from 2012–2024), the Chevrolet C7 Corvette (2014–2019), and a few limited-run Aston Martins (notably V12 Vantage S/AMR, V12 Vantage V600, and Vantage AMR). These gearboxes are rare; …
How Many Miles Can You Go Past Due for an Oil Change? Most modern cars running synthetic oil can tolerate being roughly 500–1,000 miles past the recommended interval once, provided the oil level is adequate and there are no warning lights or symptoms; aim to change it as soon as possible. Pushing much beyond 10–15% …
What 1% Oil Life Remaining Really Means When your dashboard shows 1% oil life remaining, it means your engine oil is at the end of its calculated service interval and an oil and filter change is due now; it’s generally safe to drive a short distance to a service shop, but you should avoid extended …
Is a salvage title always a bad idea? No—buying a salvage-title vehicle isn’t always a bad idea, but it carries higher risks and responsibilities. With meticulous vetting, strong documentation, and a deep discount, certain salvage or rebuilt cars can be smart buys; without those, you risk safety issues, insurance or financing headaches, and poor resale …
Brake Pads vs. Rotors: How to Tell Which One Is the Problem If you hear squealing under light braking, see thin pads (about 3 mm or less), or get grinding, it’s likely your brake pads; if you feel a pulsing brake pedal or the steering wheel shakes during moderate-to-hard stops at speed, your rotors are …
What Is the 30-30-30 Rule for Brakes? The 30-30-30 rule is an informal brake “bedding-in” guideline: perform about 30 moderate decelerations from roughly 30 mph (around 50 km/h), with about 30 seconds of cooling between each stop. This helps establish an even transfer layer on rotors/discs and properly mates brake pads to friction surfaces, improving …
What Is “Good Condition” for a Used Car? A used car is in good condition when it has a clean title, verifiable maintenance history, no structural damage, no significant fluid leaks or rust, healthy brakes and tires, a smooth cold start and idle with no warning lights, a straight-line, quiet test drive, and it passes …
Five Steps to Jump‑Start a Car, Safely and Correctly The five steps are: prepare the cars and turn everything off; connect the red clamp to the dead battery’s positive terminal, then the other red clamp to the good battery’s positive; connect the black clamp to the good battery’s negative terminal, then the other black clamp …
Why turbochargers are sometimes called “illegal” Turbochargers themselves are not illegal, but a turbo installation can be illegal on public roads when it violates emissions and noise limits, tampers with required pollution-control equipment, lacks the approvals or certifications your jurisdiction demands, fails safety/inspection rules, or isn’t disclosed to your insurer; in motorsport, certain classes also …
What the Inside of a Flowmaster Muffler Looks Like Inside most classic Flowmaster mufflers you’ll find welded steel baffles and chambers—often with triangular “Delta” plates—that route exhaust through S-shaped paths to cancel sound waves without fiberglass packing; newer Flowmaster lines like FlowFX, by contrast, use a straight-through perforated core wrapped in acoustic material. In practice, …
What Are the Major Components of an Alternator The major components of a typical automotive alternator are the rotor (field coil), slip rings and brushes (where used), stator windings, rectifier (diode bridge), voltage regulator, pulley, bearings, cooling fan(s), and the housing with electrical terminals. Together, these parts convert mechanical energy from the engine into regulated …
What Is the Suspension of a Vehicle? The suspension of a vehicle is the system of springs, dampers, links, bushings, and control electronics that connects the body to the wheels to manage ride comfort, handling, and tire contact with the road. In practice, it absorbs bumps, controls body motions (like roll and pitch), keeps tires …
How an Odometer Calculates Distance An odometer calculates distance by counting how many times a vehicle’s wheels turn and multiplying that by the wheels’ effective circumference; modern cars do this electronically using sensor pulses, while older cars used mechanical gears, and some devices estimate distance via GPS. In practice, the vehicle’s control units translate wheel …
Do Heads-Up Displays Require a Special Windshield? In most factory-equipped cars that project the image onto the windshield, yes—a heads-up display typically needs a HUD-compatible windshield to avoid a dim, double, or blurry image. Systems that use a separate combiner screen or an aftermarket reflective film usually do not need special glass, but performance can …
Hemi vs. V8: What’s the Difference? No—“Hemi” and “V8” are not the same. A V8 describes an engine’s layout: eight cylinders arranged in a V. A Hemi describes a combustion-chamber design: a hemispherical (or near-hemispherical) shape in the cylinder head. Many Hemi engines are V8s, but a Hemi can have other cylinder counts, and most …
Which fuse is responsible for brake lights? In most vehicles, the brake light circuit is protected by a 10–15A fuse labeled STOP, STOP LAMP, BRAKE, or CHMSL, usually located in the interior (instrument panel) fuse box; check the fuse-box cover or the owner’s manual for the exact slot and rating. Some models split the circuit …
How Much It Costs to Fix a Vehicle’s Suspension Expect to pay anywhere from $150 to over $5,000 to fix a vehicle’s suspension in the U.S., with most common repairs landing between $400 and $1,500. Replacing conventional shocks/struts typically costs $450–$1,200 per axle, control arms $300–$1,000 each, and air-suspension repairs $1,200–$5,000 depending on components. Final …
What Is an Engine for a Car? A car’s engine is the power unit that converts energy into motion to move the vehicle. In traditional cars it burns fuel (gasoline or diesel) to create mechanical power, while in electric vehicles an electric motor performs the same role using electricity. In everyday language, people often call …
How many tires are produced in the world? About 2.4 billion new vehicle tires are manufactured worldwide each year as of 2024–2025. If you also count bicycle and other specialty tires, the total number of tires produced annually approaches roughly 3 billion. The exact figure varies with the global economy, vehicle sales, and replacement demand. …
What happens if you put salt in a gas tank Salt does not dissolve in gasoline, so dry salt typically settles at the bottom of the tank and may clog the fuel pump strainer or fuel filter, causing fuel starvation and stalling; if salt is introduced as saltwater (brine), the water can be drawn into …
Are Traffic Lights Controlled by Timers? Mostly no: while some traffic lights still run on fixed timers, most modern signals are controlled by sensors and software, coordinated across corridors, and increasingly adjusted in real time by adaptive systems. In practice, cities mix several methods—time-of-day schedules, vehicle detection, and centralized management—so a signal might feel “timed” …
Regular Braking vs. Regenerative Braking: What Sets Them Apart Regular braking converts a vehicle’s kinetic energy into heat using friction between brake pads and discs, while regenerative braking uses the electric motor as a generator to turn that kinetic energy back into electricity and store it—usually in a battery—reducing energy waste and brake wear. As …
How Traffic Lights Know When to Change Color Traffic lights change color based on a mix of preset timing plans, sensors that detect vehicles and pedestrians, and increasingly, real-time adaptive software that optimizes flow across corridors. In practice, modern signals decide when to switch using rules inside a controller, inputs from detectors (like pavement loops, …
How Often Should You Actually Wash Your Car For most drivers, washing your car every two weeks keeps paint, glass, and wheels in good shape; in harsh conditions like winter road salt or coastal air, plan on weekly washes and an underbody rinse after storms. If your car is garaged and rarely driven, once every …
Which Jumper Cable Goes on First? Safe, Step-by-Step Guidance The first connection should be the red (positive) clamp to the dead vehicle’s positive (+) battery terminal. Then attach the other red clamp to the donor battery’s positive terminal, connect the black (negative) clamp to the donor battery’s negative (–) terminal, and finish by clamping the …
How Much Does an Automatic Transmission Cost in 2025? Expect to spend about $3,500–$9,500 installed for a mainstream automatic transmission replacement in 2025, $8,000–$18,000 for luxury, performance, dual-clutch, or hybrid systems, and $2,500–$5,500 for a professional rebuild of your existing unit. Part-only prices range from roughly $1,800–$6,000 for remanufactured units to $3,500–$8,500 for new OEM …