My battery was flat this morning because I left the dome light on all weekend, and the usual neighbor with jumper cables was not around. So I started comparing tiny lithium packs because I mostly need something for a normal dead V6 in the driveway, not a campsite power station or some miracle box. And he most annoying part is that every listing throws around peak amps like that number explains everything. Those who actually use these after a battery is fully drained, what matters more in real life: clamp quality, cable length, cold performance, or just keeping the pack charged on a schedule?

2005 lexus es330

had my timing belt done by a shop, i think he messed up the torque amount for the pulley, he said he didn’t. But it caused issues but i wanted an opinion

Got my timing belt done by a shop, month later i had my other mechanic working on my struts for my car, he pointed out that my timing belt sounded loud, like the bearing.

A few weeks later getting some other stuff polished off and he pointed it out again, this time stating my belt sounded very loud and i should seriously go back to the shop i had it done at, to have it looked at.

Went to have it looked at and the shop didn’t have time, went back a 2nd time and over 3 hours, he never even took the cover off

I felt funny having the shop look at it so i took it to my regular mechanic

I didn’t understand what was going in with it, but my mechanic took a look and explained to me that the shop messed up because of this

My belt was loose, and the reason my belt was loose was because my tensioner had failed and the reason the tensioner failed was because timing belt tensioner pulley bolt was apparently torqued too tight, which in result made it fused in one spot not working correctly with my tensioner as my car was running

My tensioner pulley was supposed to be torqued too 20lbs and apparently it was torqued to 68lbs

He also stated that with my water pump he didn’t use the correct sealant and used what’s called RTV which isn’t coolant safe, as well as that there is something called weep holes which are not supposed to be filled with RTV but the shop filled it with RTV anyway causing the holes to be clogged

My mechanic also had stated to me he was able to tell how tight it was torqued because when he tried to take it off with a wrench it wasn’t moving, so he decided to take a torque wrench to see how tight the pressure was. The bolt didn’t budge until 68lbs stating that’s how tight it was because of that

I told all of this to the shop and he told me, no those are guides those don’t matter if they are filled, for my water pump

he stated he didn’t over torque my parts and he did them to spec also stating it’s impossible to tell if something is over torqued with a torque wrench, let alone the exact pressure it might be

his answer to me. “parts fail, even if they’re OEM good parts, it doesn’t matter sometimes parts just fail”

My tensioner failed just because it was a bad part not because of his torque amount or any work he did on my car”

Is anything this shop mechanic saying true?

NOTE: i even asked the shop to show me how a torque wrench works, since he stated to me, torque wrenches only go 1 way they won’t be able to tell how tight a bolt is

I had a control arm go out on my 2000 Camry, I don’t have a torque wrench, but I also don’t have the money to get the car towed to a shop and have it fixed there. I’m just wondering if I can do the repair myself without a torque wrench

Had the death wobble for the first time on my way home and had to come to a complete stop for it to stop. Drove about 3 hours today and had the same thing happen. Noticed my truck was over heating, pulled over and put coolant in it since the tank was empty but the reservoir was full. Drove about another 2 hours and it over heated again, reservoir was empty. Put coolant in it, made it home but there is a small portion of the coolant missing.

Any ideas as to what’s going on? My fan has always ran when driving the truck so I’m wondering what the issue may really be.

2021 wrangler JL 3.6.

2014 f150 5.0

Hello, while adding transmission fluid to my Honda civic 2006, I accidentally spilt some onto this box.

It managed to drip all the way to the ground. I tried my best to clean it up with paper towels and a degreaser and it looks to be mostly dry now.

What I am worried about is that I was not able to reach further down to wipe up all of the spill and also do not know if there are more components down there to be wiped.

I know next to nothing about cars which is very bad and something I should improve on as a responsible driver.

But could someone please tell me if I managed to wipe all the way down to all possible compenents and also whether the degreaser I used it correct? I'm scared that the next time I drive something dangerous will happen.

I know these sound like stupid questions but any help is greatly appreciated!

Hi friends. A plastic water bottle cover clung onto my girlfriend's exhaust pipe while driving and the plastic seems to have melted on from the heat (idek how it managed to stay attached at freeway speeds). Does anyone know a way to get something like this off without damaging the exhaust pipe itself? Any advice would be helpful. Thanks!

Car specs: 2021 Rav4 XSE Hybrid

1988 Ford Ranger manual 2.3L: Please help me find my IAC! Why have I been looking for this thing for DAYS? :’) No background knowledge (30f) and desperately want to start to learn to work on my own truck. Got the tool, got the part, read that it should take maybe 30min to swap… “easy DIY” except AI is zero help with finding this thing. IS THIS IT? Blue circle.. Different shape but similar ends? The silver is obviously my new one.

Trying trying to change spark plugs and cylinder one boot looks different than the rest. It’s a 1998 Honda Honda Accord.

2010 ford f150

I think I already know the answer but really, 2016 Honda Civic with the 1.5. Takes about 3.7 quarts, has right at about 4.2 in there... the level comes right to the top of the plastic on the stick, I haven't run the motor yet.

My husband attempted to do an oil change on my 2016 mazda cx9, the next morning I tried to back out of our driveway and i hit reverse and it went in reverse and then i put it in drive and it went into reverse, so then i tried to put it in reverse and it went into drive. I immediately put it in park and turned it off. I waited about 30 minutes and it went into drive correctly and i was able to park the vehicle in a perfect position but then when i put it in reverse to back it up a bit, it just stayed there, rpms did go up, but no movement.
he later called me to tell me he accidentally drained the transmission fluid and added the new oil into the old oiI. after learning this, i didn’t drive the car for two days, and he eventually added the amount of transmission fluid he drained and drained the motor oil and added the new oil. He drove it and checked the levels and everything was fine. We drove it the next day all day everything was good. I drove it to work and back and everything seems fine, i’m just hyper vigilant now on every little slight movement in the vehicle since my last vehicle (gmc acadia) went to shit, transmission definitely went out on me while driving. today he drove it to lawrenceville (we live in powder springs) and back home and everything was smooth. I’m just worried and nervous when i drive the car. My question is; will the car be fine?

So i got this car off facebook marketplace (RAV4 2010 toyota) the guy told me that the bulb was out, so i thought it was an easy fix, but when i looked the whole connector is gone? So the first 2 pictures are of the driver’s side that works but then the passenger side is just the connector which is the 3rd picture. I was told it’s aftermarket, but I can’t seem to find anything similar to the black cord on the first picture, is it something I have to wire myself?

I currently have a 2025 Ford F-150 XLT FX4 with a column shifter, I wanted to know if I could theoretically just plug and play the raptor steeringwheel onto my car to get the paddle shifters instead of having to shift up and down from the column

Hello everyone. Yesterday I bought a fairly new Fiat Ducato from 10/2024 with 2.2 Multijet engine and 179 HP. On the way home I noticed some strange noise in 5th and 6th gear once i remove my foot from the gas pedal. As soon as I just push the pedal for maybe 1mm, the noise dissappears.

When I use the clutch, it also dissapears with the revs going down.

The car has only 28.300km. Any ideas what might cause this?

changed the starter 2 times. both times it started up and ran drove it maybe a mile to test it. worked fine parked it. right after tried starting it up again and it feels like it wanted to but then just kept getting worse. took it to autozone because the battery is still under warranty. and they tested it and said it was good. i feel lost

(CHICAGO) ATTN Car Repair Experts!~ Looking for some advice!

My Acura RDX was stolen on August 26th, 2026, and thankfully recovered within two hours with minimal damage.

I started out incredibly patient as I was happy that there was minimal damage, but now am incredibly frustrated that my car was at the dealership for 4 weeks for only the following repairs:

Cargo Light Assembly (Light Assy, Cargo)

Garn, rr. (unsure)

Driver’s side glass replaced (glass, L. Fr. Door)

Headlight Assembly (Headlight Assy, R.)

Alignment

Diagnosis Theft Recover

WheelLock Replacement

This is pulled from the documents I had them email me when I told them how frusterated I was on Sept 23rd.

It was FINALLY moved to their outsourced body shop on September 24th, 2026, for driver's side door repair, and will be sent back to McGrath for a full detail upon door repair.

Is this a normal timeline for these repairs at a dealership? How would you approach the conversation with the dealership?

Would appreciate hearing your experiences and advice!

This piece was found Found under my 2013 ford fusion titaniam

I keep a portable lithium jump starter in the trunk because it feels like a simple bit of emergency insurance, but winter makes me wonder how much maintenance people actually do. A pack can show some charge and still be less useful after sitting through cold weeks, and I know I am not great about checking gear once it disappears under the cargo floor. So people who rely on one ir, do you bring it inside during cold snaps, top it off every month or two, or test it before a long drive? I am trying to set a routine before the first dead-battery morning makes the decision for me.

Just had my 2009 Mazda 2 1.3l serviced and the mechanic used 0w-20 when the specifications say to use 5w-30. I questioned him on it before he put it in and he insisted it’s fine and it doesn’t matter. I’m not sure whether to believe him.

Is it likely to cause any damage to my engine? Is it safe to use until next oil change or do I need to get it changed immediately?

I’d have to cut the plastic to install one. Any benefits being that the car came without one?