clickandclack

How did crazy"Car Talk" brothers Tom and Ray Magliozzi get their start as the mavens of the motor world? Tom Magliozzi claims to have successfully avoided doing anything that looks like work for some time now, but it was a lot of work to get …Read More

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Click & Clack: Don’t fall for this song and dance

Dear Tom and Ray: I had a heater core on a 1999 Dakota Sport replaced, and I now have heat all the time without it being turned on. I was told that I was feeling heat from the engine because there is no insulation on …

Click & Clack: Check charging system of battery-eating Buick

Dear Tom and Ray: My 88-year-old mother has a 2005 Buick LaCrosse with 15,000 miles on it. It only gets driven to the grocery store, hair salon and church. But that has been the case for all six years she’s owned it. Now, in the …

Click & Clack: Leaky strut isn’t an emergency

Dear Tom and Ray: We have a 2009 Toyota Camry. When our local mechanic was checking the brakes, he noted that the left rear strut was leaking fluid. He informed us of the issue, and since the car was still under warranty, I took it …

Click & Clack: Trailer is not best option for moving

Dear Tom and Ray: My son is taking a new job in Sioux Falls, S.D., about 850 miles away from our home near Detroit. The old man promised to help him move, even if it wrecks his 56-year-old back. Here’s the issue. He has a …

Click & Clack: When good motor mounts go bad

Dear Tom and Ray: The Toyota dealer where I have my car serviced recommended that I replace the motor mounts. Since I had never heard of motor mounts breaking, except maybe in an accident, I declined. They claim the engine is jumping around and that …

Click & Clack: Pebbles in tire crevices won’t act as studs

Dear Tom and Ray: The other day I installed winter tires on my car (I have those tires on separate rims, so I can do this myself). Prior to attaching the wheels to the car, I checked the tires for any damage I might have …

Click & Clack: Higher rpms are less efficient

Dear Tom and Ray: A friend and I are having a running debate that I was hoping you two would be able to settle. We each recently bought ourselves pre-owned vehicles, and we both are members of the dying breed of drivers who love to …

Click & Clack: Owner regrets giving up his baby

Dear Tom and Ray: What went wrong with my baby? Years ago I owned my favorite car ever: a 1994 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme in triple white (white paint, white top and white leather). That car was amazing. The best road-trip car I’ve ever seen, it …

Click & Clack: Gliding on ice in neutral is never a good idea

GLIDING ON ICE IN NEUTRAL IS NEVER A GOOD IDEA BY TOM AND RAY MAGLIOZZI Dear Tom and Ray: My husband is 68, I am 72, and the following has been a lifelong argument. We have a small, graveled hill leading to our driveway. When …

Click & Clack: New cap could solve problem

Dear Tom and Ray: I drive a 2005 Honda Accord. Recently I started getting a “check fuel cap” message on my dash. When I checked the cap it was properly tightened, but the message kept appearing. I went so far as to remove the cap …

Click & Clack: Can dented tank affect gas gauge?

Dear Tom and Ray: I’m sending this anonymously because I don’t want my friends to know what a bonehead I am. I went out to the driveway to replace the rear brake shoes on my daughter’s 1998 Honda Civic EX. I positioned my floor jack …

Click & Clack: Switching oils is no big deal

Dear Tom and Ray: I have a 2009 Nissan Cube. I take the car to the dealer for oil changes. I always use synthetic, but at the last oil change, they put in regular oil by mistake. I drove the car for 3,000 miles and …

Click & Clack: Shop that messed up should pay

Dear Tom and Ray: My check engine light illuminated a few weeks after a Jiffy Lube oil change. I took my 2008 Subaru Impreza in to the dealer, and they pulled a shop rag out of my car (it was blocking two-thirds of the air …

Click & Clack: How to sell a car for parts

Dear Tom and Ray: I have a beloved 1998 Plymouth Voyager minivan with only 83,000 miles. It has new tires, and was recently serviced (new plugs, leaks plugged, tuneup, etc., for about $2,000). Last month, I had a bizarre accident and crashed the rear of …

Click & Clack: Turn signals can fail intermittently

Dear Tom and Ray: I currently have the misfortune of needing to drive a beat-up 1995 Volvo 850, which I share with my husband, who fancies himself an expert on cars. As a general rule, I try not to argue with him on any subject …

Click & Clack: Front-wheel-drive pickups on the way?

Dear Tom and Ray: Hi, guys! I’ve always wondered why there aren’t any front-wheel-drive pickups. I would think they’d be a nice alternative to more-expensive four-wheel-drive pickups, and a lot easier to handle than rear-wheel-drive pickups on slippery roads. Got any insights to offer on …

Click & Clack: Now you see it, now you don’t

Dear Tom and Ray: Driving down the road in my 1989 Nissan pickup, I smelled smoke. I assumed it was outside and rolled up the driver’s-side window and turned off the fan. Immediately, smoke came out of the heater vents. It was so thick that …

Click & Clack: Portable potties a new fuel source?

Dear Tom and Ray: When I was younger, I had a friend who had an early-’80s Pontiac Firebird. It was in rough shape, and it had the 305 small-block engine with a four-barrel carburetor. It never seemed to run smoothly, and it could have used …

Click & Clack: A case of fuel pump gone bad

Dear Tom and Ray: I live in Houston, and on a typical 104-degree day this past summer I took my son’s car to run some errands and stopped first to fill the tank. I then drove to my first stop, about 15 minutes away, and …

Click & Clack: Soon-to-be ex ratchets up value of mechanic’s tools

Dear Tom and Ray: My fiance is an auto mechanic working at a dealership. He owns his tools. Here’s the rub: His current marriage has not yet been dissolved, as they say, and his soon-to-be ex is claiming an excessively high value for his tools. …

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