Hear that cold-start tick-tick-tick that fades as the Hemi warms? That’s not lifter chatter. It’s exhaust slipping past a warped manifold or a broken stud, a problem that’s dogged Ram 1500 owners for years. Most call it a recall. It isn’t. The real NHTSA recall (19V-757) covered EcoDiesel EGR coolers, not the Hemi’s leaking manifolds. … Read more
Traffic slows. The Pathfinder bucks, revs spike, and the dash lights up like a warning flare. This SUV’s had two major transmission eras, and neither inspires confidence. The R51 (2005–2012) blew radiators and mixed coolant with ATF, earning the nickname “Strawberry Milkshake of Death.” Then came the R52 (2013–2020) with a CVT that slipped, overheated, … Read more
Short drive. Burnt oil smell. A wisp of smoke near the cowl. Most call it a rear main or pan gasket. Usually wrong. The leak starts in the valley, where Jeep buried a plastic oil filter housing that warps with heat and drains oil down the block. Some leaks get fixed free for life. Others? … Read more
A built-to-last Tacoma fires up with a cough, ticks for a second, then settles in. But the coolant smell and lazy shift that follow feel less like legend and more like the start of a repair bill. Tacoma’s reputation rides on reliability, but every generation hides flaws. Some leak. Some misfire. Some melt their turbos. … Read more
First frost hits, and the Ram squats overnight. The dash flashes “Service Air Suspension,” the compressor wheezes like it’s on life support, and by morning, the truck leans hard to one side. That’s the Active-Level four-corner air suspension (SER) starting to fail, cold air, trapped moisture, and wear pushing it past its limit. It reads … Read more
2007 TrailBlazer stuck with no reverse? 2021 can’t shut off thanks to “Shift to Park”? Same nameplate, totally different beasts. The first-gen SUV runs a truck-tough 4L60-E that eats clutches and sunshells. The newer unibody trades guts for code, CVTs, and 9-speeds plagued by solenoids, sensors, and signal loss. Gen 1 (2002–2009) is mechanical and … Read more
Oil light flickers. A hollow knock echoes. Then the RPMs cap at 2,000, and the car limps home. This isn’t random; it’s how the Forte’s engine failure story usually begins. The defect’s no outlier. Nearly 1.7 million Kia and Hyundai vehicles carry the same fragile rod bearings, and the Forte’s right in the middle of … Read more
Cruising at 70, then it slams into 1st, your stomach hits the wheel before the tires chirp. That’s not “rough shifting.” That’s the defect that triggered a federal recall on the F-150’s 6-speed. Two separate transmission failures stalk this truck. The 6R80 can downshift to 1st without warning thanks to a failing speed sensor. That … Read more
Revs spike, the car hesitates, was that a downshift or a warning shot from the gearbox? The Accord’s transmission history is patchy, and not just in one era. Some years roast clutches, others cook fluid, and newer ones can stumble without the right software tune. Three failure patterns stand out. Late-’90s and early-’00s V6s were … Read more
Code P1326 hits. Power drops. Hyundai’s tripwire just fired. That limp mode isn’t a glitch; it’s meant to stop your engine from seizing or catching fire. Two threats triggered recalls. One’s inside the Theta II engine, where leftover metal shreds the bearings until the crank locks up. The other’s in the ABS module, a fire … Read more