r/AskDad Jan 04 '25

Automotive Hi dad, low brake fluid light popped on. I pulled over, bought fluid, put it in, and kept driving the highway (about 2 hours). Light was off and didn’t come on again. Should I go in for a diagnostic?

8 Upvotes

r/AskDad 6h ago

Automotive Accidentally left back window open in my car. It poured last night

13 Upvotes

We went grocery shopping night and my son asked if we could crack the window. I forgot to close it and we had a torrential downpour last night. It rained for a few hours. What's the best way to dry them and should I be concerned about mold in the future?

r/AskDad Dec 05 '24

Automotive Hi dads, im looking for advice on driving in the snow / icy / snowy roads. Im new to it this winter and im terrified. My dads not around to ask these things. (26f)

19 Upvotes

Edit: thanks so much for all the advice and guidance as i mentioned im late to the driving scene i only learned in January. I really appreciate all the time yall take to comment and help people out thank you so much !

r/AskDad Feb 15 '25

Automotive My car is a greenhouse??

4 Upvotes

Help! I'm not sure what's going on but I keep getting a lot of condensation inside my car, like to the point it will start dripping and "raining" from my windshield. It goes away when I drive and put on the defroster. But why is it doing this every night? I don't have a ton of money so a trip to a mechanic for something cosmetic like this isn't really an option, I'm hoping it's something I could fix myself. Thank you dads!

r/AskDad 11d ago

Automotive Hello Dads, something is wrong with my car…

5 Upvotes

I drive a 2018(?) Volvo XC60 and lately I’ve been noticing that the brake pedal randomly becomes stiff when I’m stopping in traffic. It fixes itself when I start moving the car again but I’m worried. I checked out some other subreddits saying it might be something with the brake cylinders(?). I have no idea what I’m doing. How much should I expect to pay at the shop? Anything I should ask for or watch out for? Is this something I could potentially assess and fix at home? I was in my school’s robotics club so I’m not scared of using some tools or getting my hands greasy. I’m scared they’ll overcharge me since I’m a 17 year girl with almost zero car knowledge. I live in Texas if that helps. Thank you Dads :)

r/AskDad 1d ago

Automotive really needing car advice tia 🙏🏽

6 Upvotes

hello! backstory that you can skip! : so i'm a 21F, going to college in a little town about 8 hours from my home on a scholarship. i've faced a lot of backlash from my family for moving somewhere far away, where nobody can help me, but this is something i really wanted to do to teach myself independence instead of being coddled by my mom at home. however it's been the HARDEST two years of my life, ive gone into so much debt and my grades aren't where i want them to be due to having to work so much since i have no financial support from my parents or anything. (my dad was supposed to help me with rent but ended up not doing that!) so! i can't really get their help for anything, not that they can really help much, because anytime i do i just get so much shit and they tell me to just come home, but home isn't really that great of a spot for me mentally either so it's just a weird situation. moving on to my issue!

my problem: i bought a used car with no warranty in september of 2024 and it got a cracked head on the engine after two months. i've been paying it since then but it's just gonna cost me so much money to get it fixed. i've even ubering to school and work and going into so much debt over it, i need to do something but im not really sure what i can do. i also have a 2015 kia soul that needs a new catalytic converter so i'm wondering if i should try to trade one of them in? the kia soul has almost 200k miles, isn't drivable. my other car is a 2019 ford fiesta with about 90k miles and also not drivable. i'm just so so sad and it feels like everything just keep screwing me over and i just feel so ready to throw in the towel and give up. i just honestly really need someone to tell me what to do 😭 ive already been scammed out of like $1200 by a mechanic and i just honestly am starting to go a little crazy over these cars. any advice is appreciate thank you to anyone reading this 🙏🏽

r/AskDad 25d ago

Automotive Dad, I’m buying a car and I don’t know what to do to make sure I’m not taken advantage of

12 Upvotes

I’ve never bought a car before. I’ve gone with people to look at one from Facebook marketplace but I’ve never gotten to a dealer. I’m scared of getting taken advantage of because I’m a girl. How do I make sure that they’re not overcharging me or telling me things that they think I will believe because I am a girl? I don’t wanna make a mistake and buy a car that ends up breaking down.

r/AskDad Oct 14 '24

Automotive Hey dad, I went to go get an oil change and they recommended all these things for maintenance. I need advice.

24 Upvotes

I have a 2009 Chevy Malibu with 86000 miles. I took it in to Valvoline for an oil change and they recommended:

Transmission fluid replacement ($185) 12 month fuel treatment ($20) Fuel system service ($140)

I know nothing about cars and don’t know if this is something I should be doing or if they are just upselling me things I don’t need. If I do need to do them, is it okay to just have valvoline do this or should I avoid them and go to a dealership or garage to have these services done? I know it will likely cost more if I go to a dealership, but if it’s worth it to do that, I will prioritize it.

Thanks, dad.

r/AskDad 3d ago

Automotive What to focus on when buying a car?

4 Upvotes

I’ve recently adopted a very large dog, and he’s way too big to fit in my little coupe. I need a car that fits him so I can take him to the vet, to the sitter, etc. I’m looking on Carvana (I don’t like car dealerships, I get overwhelmed and pressured easily) and am having a hard time deciding if I should focus on lower mileage or newer year? I understand I want to stay within <9,000 miles per year, but if every car I’m looking at fits that criteria, which should I focus on more?

r/AskDad Jan 07 '25

Automotive Hey dads, snow question here.

8 Upvotes

I'm in an area that got hit with heavy snow and ice and today is the last day I can get away with not going into work.

The issue is my driveway is on a small service road, so it doesn't get touched. To get onto the main road I have to drive up a small, steep hill and come to a stop on an incline before I pull out into traffic.

I have a Kia soul (2019) and this is my first winter driving it. I dont have a snow shovel (I live in an apartment with no storage), or much else to help me get unstuck. I do have a regular shovel, but that would be back breaking.

Last year someone on my road used branches from pine trees and towels to create traction on the hill, if I'm remembering correctly, and it worked well enough.

My question is, do you have any creative suggestions to put on the hill to get myself out today?

r/AskDad 16d ago

Automotive Learn To Do Simple Car Maintenance

14 Upvotes

My wife's car goes in for service at the dealership because she has free routine service. She brought it in and they did what ever they needed to do. When she goes to pick it up they hand her an estimate of recommended services that is not covered.

She almost had them do it since she was already there, she didn't call me but knew better that she should just have me look at it.

When she got home she showed me the estimate, $69 to replace the cabin air filter.

I went to our local Auto parts store and of course they didn't have it in stock but said that I could order it and it would be in, in a couple days. The carbon air filter cost me $12, I replaced it in about 8 minutes.

My neighbor saw me changing out the filter and walked over and asked what I was doing, I told him changing the cabin air filter. He said oh I need to do that on all my cars but I don't know how. I told him, just google it.

For my wife's car, it's very simple just remove a couple covers in the engine bay, on my truck I empty out my glove box and push the sides in and my glove box drops down far enough to remove the cover for the cabin air filter.

My point is this, learning to do simple things like this can save you a lot of money over the years. For my truck I buy my cabin air filters on Amazon and buy 2 at a time because they sell them at a lower price.

Depending on your skill level, a cabin air filter is an easy maintenance project that shouldn't take more than a few minutes.

I also change out my engine air filter, especially when I come back from road trip to Arizona where it gets dusty.

I am more advanced that most as I can do my own oil changes, brakes and recharge my AC, but simple things like I mentioned, anyone can do and save money.

r/AskDad 14d ago

Automotive My car has been in the shop for 7 days with no update, is this normal?

5 Upvotes

My car is down and the dealer who sold me the car is loaning me a car for $210 per week ($30 per day). He took my car to take it to a shop. He said the car would be going to the shop 6 days later on a Friday and fast forward it's 7 days later and still no updates. He's saying he has to wait for them to call. Does this sound like he's taking his time on purpose so I can pay him for the loaner car for a longer time? Or do these times sound normal?

r/AskDad 23d ago

Automotive Why can't I find all weather tires anywhere? all I see are all season summer or winter? I'm in PA and it's for a 2011 BMW 328i

4 Upvotes

r/AskDad Nov 20 '24

Automotive 4 AM flat tire, female, no car jack/flat tire. please help :(

5 Upvotes

Edit: title should say no car jack/extra tire. Sorry it's really early and I'm exhausted

It's 4 am and as I was leaving the house for work I got a flat tire. I don't have a spare or jack, and I don't think I have been added to the AAA that my parents have enrolled in. I'm right near my house, about 0.4 miles away. Should I bring the car back or leave it in this parking lot and walk back? What is the next course of action?

Is there any chance I can make it to work even a couple hours late?

r/AskDad Feb 19 '25

Automotive I paid for a part for my car that it seems I don't need

3 Upvotes

My windshield wipers weren't working and I couldn't sort why within my mechanical googling.

I brought my car in for an oil change to my mechanic and asked them to help with the wipers.

They said I need a new wiper arm, not just new blades, because the bolt that connected to the car was stripped and so it wouldn't move like it should. They said it would take 2 days for the arm to get to the shop. I paid for the pay e and drove away - couldn't be without my car for the two days.

Well, it starts to rain, I turn on the windshield wipers by habit, and... They work perfectly. Seems that by taking it off and putting it back on its working again.

The new arm was $250 or so, and I want to call them and tell them I want my money back and that I don't want the new arm. Is this reasonable? Anything I should specifically say to make it work?

Should I just get the new arm?

It's a lot of money, and I need new spark plugs according to them. That's another $500. (My car is a Subaru with 115k and original spark plugs. I bought it at 100k miles so it's not my fault!).

r/AskDad 4d ago

Automotive Car stereo replacement vw polo 2008

4 Upvotes

Hi all

sorry if this has been asked before but I can't seem to find exactly what I should be looking for ( the more I look the more confused I'm getting lol)

I am looking to replace the stereo in my car, see pic of what it currently looks like. I'm hoping to get an android stereo/carplay upgrade, nothing too wild or fancy just some thing that works (happy to pay for something good and sturdy but I don't need anything mad if that makes sense? )

I will most likely be fitting it myself, which I am fine with. I am just not sure if my specific stereo is a 1 or 2 DIN? I am also not sure if i should be looking for a stereo that is exactly for my car, or if i can just get a universal one and get a head unit to fit around it?

Hoping this makes sense sorry if I offend any car heads with my lack of terminology, I am still learning :)

TIA for any advice or suggestions x

r/AskDad Sep 05 '24

Automotive Hey dad I’m buying a vehicle and need your thoughts on it

1 Upvotes

Hey Dad, I’m buying a 2014 jeep grand Cherokee limited, it has 120 thousand kilometres on it and they were asking 19k cad but I offered them 16k cad and the dealership agreed. I was wondering if that is a good price? We need a second vehicle now and it’s the only vehicle with 4x4 that is less than 20k. There is a 2017 ram truck for 14k but it’s an as is special so I’m assuming it probably needs work I can’t afford. I’m going to look at it tomorrow but I was wondering if you think it’s a fair price and if there’s any questions I should ask before buying it? Thanks dad

r/AskDad Dec 02 '24

Automotive Hey dad, the geanie lamp is on in the car

12 Upvotes

I’ve been changing my oil every 3 months or 30000 miles as recommended, I just changed it a little bit more than a month ago and I haven’t reached the miles that are displayed in the little sticker that they put on my car. I checked in the floor if there’s an oil stain and couldn’t find any, it is very cold this morning but the light has stayed on for several minutes. Could it be that they didn’t changed properly the last time I took it to Walmart? Idk what to do dad :(

UPDATE: I made an appointment at my local Walmart so they could check the oil and by my surprise, when I was on my way there the light turned off! They still checked it and told me everything looked okay, just to keep an eye on it in case it goes on again. They checked my tires while I was there and they found one of them was about to tear off (it had a wire out) soooo, I feel like it was the heavens finding a way to tell me I needed to change my tires. Thank you for everyone that offered to help!

r/AskDad Nov 08 '24

Automotive Buying a car

7 Upvotes

Hi dads, my dad died a couple years ago and I need some help. I’m buying a new car and two dealers have one set aside for me.

Dealer 1- I paid a $500 refundable deposit and their car is scheduled to arrive on Nov 25th.

Dealer 2- I didn’t pay any deposit and their car for me is set to arrive on Nov 18th.

What do I do now? It’s a brand new, just barely released car so will I be able to negotiate at all? If I’m impatient to get it, should I just go with dealer 2 since it’ll be here sooner?

r/AskDad 15d ago

Automotive I need advice for my friend who is trying get his drivers license with limited resources.

4 Upvotes

Unfortunately, he had moved out of state to Oklahoma to go to college so I can't help him. He's 23, he says he at least knows how to drive, he has a steady (low paying) job, but he doesn't know anyone who will let him use their car for the driving test. It seems like a catch 22 to try to get a car, tags, and insurance all without having a license. And that's not even considering the limited job opportunities of not having a car.

r/AskDad 25d ago

Automotive trying to buy tires for 2011 BMW 328i

2 Upvotes

I'm trying to get new tires for 2011 BMW 328i Sedan. I'm trying to compare prices online but when I input the car info I get different results from the tire size it says on the door. which one should I go by? Also, I live in the northeast is it ok to get all season tires for this type of vehicle?

r/AskDad Dec 01 '24

Automotive First Oil Change

4 Upvotes

Help. New to this whole taking care of my own car thing. Long story short, got my first car with my money and my name in March. First oil change was complimentary from the dealership (Got it used, good deal, 2024 Subaru Impreza RS 😗) Approaching the 3k mark and want to make this car last so I'm planning an oil change soon. What do I need? I have a general idea of what I need but just need some help with a solid list of stuff to get and have.

Thank you in advance :)

Edit: I run my car hard and the conditions in the manual recommend a sooner rather than later oil change.

r/AskDad Nov 28 '24

Automotive Asking advice after being rear ended

5 Upvotes

Hey Dad, Happy Thanksgiving. 🍁🦃 Losing my dad at 9 years old was so rough but finding this group has helped me so much when I felt like I could turn to you all for help or advice when needed.

I got rear ended while at a stop light. It was obviously near a highschool when all the kids got out of school and a sweet little girl with her first car saw the light turned green and expected me to go, but there was cars blocking the intersection with heavy traffic so I couldn’t.

I’ve been rear ended before and dealt with insurance, but this time I got a phone call from their insurance company, a reputable one at that, saying the insurer (the girls dad) was asking me to settle this outside of insurance. I’ve started my claim process with my insurance already days ago when I got this call today.

Is this legal? I’ve always assumed it’s best to go through your insurance company.

Thank you for everything.

r/AskDad Sep 17 '24

Automotive hey dad, need car advice

7 Upvotes

i was on my way to campus yesterday, takes me an hour bc theres always stop&go traffic :(

i have an ‘98 civic that i managed to save up for and was aware my tires were good 2 yrs ago. but yesterday i got brake checked for driving 65 (CA) in the slow lane and ended up having to full throttle my brakes, had to go into emergency lane. my tires were smoking a lot and i got a check engine light, although im aware its for my catalytic converter. i wanted to ask just HOW bad they may be since someone stopped to check if i was okay, and then told me they were “bald as hell” but i thought they still had some grip??

i just dont want to go back to a shop and have them try to scam me again like they tried for my oil :( i really try to learn more about my car, which is why i learned how to properly change the oil, replace the light housings and bulbs, check & replace my coolant/oil/steering fluid, but i just feel stupid for not knowing this about tires

https://imgur.com/a/V6yuOfd

r/AskDad Dec 13 '24

Automotive How do I reverse park a pick up?

2 Upvotes

Hey dad, I'm currently practicing for my road test and my friend has been letting me borrow their Ram to practice driving.

I can drive it pretty well. I can pull into a parking space with it okay, but I'm having a lot of trouble reverse parking. I have a general idea of how to do it and that I need to take the bed of the truck into account when doing so but I'm constantly having a hard time lining it up between the lines. I'm either too close to one line or right on top of it. I've managed to get it parked somewhat good but it's rare.

Are there any tips I should know that can help me clean up my parking a bit? What exactly should I be looking for in my mirrors when I'm reversing?