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
Drop it into PARK on a slope, and the dash reads “P.” Shifter locks. But the Traverse slides. That roll isn’t driver error; it’s part of a transmission failure tied to multiple NHTSA recalls. From 2018 to 2024, the Traverse has been hit with two major transmission defects and a stack of service bulletins. One … Read more
The Rogue bucks, hesitates, then locks into limp mode. Sounds like a recall, right? Except Nissan never issued one, despite waves of CVT failures and a flood of lawsuits. Transmission trouble is real, overheating, shuddering, even full-on failure, but Nissan’s dodged a blanket recall. Instead, it leaned on quiet warranty extensions, legal settlements, and scattered … Read more
The door doesn’t open. The motor hums, but nothing moves. One second it’s family transport, the next it’s a rolling trap. Own a Dodge Grand Caravan? Sliding doors that jam, sag, or buzz like a worn-out drill are a known headache. Thousands have filed complaints. Some paid $1 200 out of pocket. Others didn’t get … Read more
From the rocker panels up, the truck looked clean. Underneath? Rot. And for thousands of Tacoma owners, that meant either a new frame or a check from Toyota. It started with a voluntary Customer Support Program in 2008 for 1995–2000 models, later expanded to 2004. Then came a 2016 class-action settlement targeting 2005–2010 trucks. Each … Read more
Oil’s disappearing long before the next scheduled change. The service writer shrugs, “Normal use.” But that dipstick might be pointing to something bigger. With Kia, it’s rarely simple. Some engines guzzled oil on the way to spinning rods and class-action lawsuits. Others, like the 2021–2023 Seltos and Soul, just got swept into a piston-ring recall … Read more