Think I can get some auto advice here?

[IF13]

Got a call this afternoon from my mother telling me that her car wouldn't start.

So I rush back home on my ninjette, scrubs still on, looking as if I'm some doctor rushing to the ER. I take a look at her car and I turn the key. I hear something turning, guess "churning" would be an appropriate term to define the noise. It's a low volume churning, nothing obnoxiously loud but it continued to churn for maybe a few seconds then the engine dies.

The check engine light and maintenance light is on.

I do it again, this time I press on the gas slightly. The motor finally stays on. I see a bit of white smoke come out of the tail pipe but that could be anything -- actually no it can't but I'm hoping it's nothing bad.

Any tips? This is one of the results I got off of google: http://autos.yahoo.com/maintain/repa...ques036_4.html

[Asspire]

year, make, model?

Is the check engine light on when its running?

Any previous issues with car?

Any repairs done recently?

When it did start, is it running rough or normal? was it dense white smoke? did smell funny?

How long did it smoke for?




Why isn't she riding a R6?

[cuong-nutz]

Originally Posted by Asspire

year, make, model?

Is the check engine light on when its running?

Any previous issues with car?

Any repairs done recently?

When it did start, is it running rough or normal? was it dense white smoke? did smell funny?

How long did it smoke for?




Why isn't she riding a R6?

Mileage as well would help.

How is the battery? alternator still good?

[Alex]

/moved to off-topic

[alex.s]

white smoke out the tail pipe means coolant leaking into the cylinder. the churning you are hearing is one of the cylinders failing to fire and pumping the water that is leaking into it from the blown head gasket through the exhaust valves, then the coolant vaporizes when it hits the hot header collector and comes out as white smoke.

she probably overheated it, warped the head, drove it for awhile, then blew out the head gasket.

[broilmebk]

^

[IF13]

Originally Posted by Asspire

year, make, model?

Is the check engine light on when its running?

Any previous issues with car?

Any repairs done recently?

When it did start, is it running rough or normal? was it dense white smoke? did smell funny?

How long did it smoke for?

Why isn't she riding a R6?

Engine light is off now, no previous issue, certified preowned, Toyota Camry '09, no repairs. Started today. No smell. Not dense white smoke. Smoke's actually gone. I'm short, 5'3", she's several inches shorter -- doubt she'd be able to ride an R6 lol

EDIT: Maintenance light still on though.

Originally Posted by cuong-nutz

Mileage as well would help.

How is the battery? alternator still good?

30K, I think? Battery seems fine. Alternator...I'm not sure. I don't know how to check for that.

Originally Posted by alex.s

white smoke out the tail pipe means coolant leaking into the cylinder. the churning you are hearing is one of the cylinders failing to fire and pumping the water that is leaking into it from the blown head gasket through the exhaust valves, then the coolant vaporizes when it hits the hot header collector and comes out as white smoke.

she probably overheated it, warped the head, drove it for awhile, then blew out the head gasket.

This is scary. But the car runs. No more noise or smoke. Any other alternatives?

[corksil]

How capable are you mechanically? Do you have access to tools -- have you ever taken a machine apart before?

I can't speak for these other peeps, but I can tell you how to diagnose the problem.

In a very specific order
-- remove each spark plug
-- pull the ECU fuse (location is in your owner's manual)
-- [this gets tricky] do a compression test on each cylinder. (if you don't know how to do that, google it.)

Removing the ECU fuse prevents the engine from starting/igniting/sparking -- if you have atleast 100psi on each cylinder after 7 cranks apiece, the engine does not need to be replaced.

[cuong-nutz]

Drive to Autozone and have them pull any stored codes. That would be a good start. You can get white smoke when some of cylinders are not firing and the exhaust smells of unburned gas.

[Asspire]

Before we start going nuts on ripping it apart, what engine does it have? Is it regular serviced at the dealer?

What was the temp when you had the issue(cold climate)?

Has the battery ever been load tested?

I highly doubt its a head gasket, or bad compression, these cars would throw codes if it was.

[IF13]

Originally Posted by Asspire

Before we start going nuts on ripping it apart, what engine does it have? Is it regular serviced at the dealer?

What was the temp when you had the issue(cold climate)?

Has the battery ever been load tested?

I highly doubt its a head gasket, or bad compression, these cars would throw codes if it was.

It's not regularly serviced at the dealer since we never really had a chance to do so. We only bought it two months ago. D:

Temperature...I suppose she was just starting it first time that day so temp was cold.

Battery has not been load tested.

Originally Posted by cuong-nutz

Drive to Autozone and have them pull any stored codes. That would be a good start. You can get white smoke when some of cylinders are not firing and the exhaust smells of unburned gas.

I'll start the car again. Before I do, I guess it'd be smart to check that the fluids are still there. The car hasn't been driven much but if its a gasket, I'm told the coolant can leak until it runs out.

Originally Posted by corksil

How capable are you mechanically? Do you have access to tools -- have you ever taken a machine apart before?

I can't speak for these other peeps, but I can tell you how to diagnose the problem.

In a very specific order
-- remove each spark plug
-- pull the ECU fuse (location is in your owner's manual)
-- [this gets tricky] do a compression test on each cylinder. (if you don't know how to do that, google it.)

Removing the ECU fuse prevents the engine from starting/igniting/sparking -- if you have atleast 100psi on each cylinder after 7 cranks apiece, the engine does not need to be replaced.

Oh mah word. I literally have to read a guide for each step of this which does imply I'm not mechanically inclined. I mean I did fix my ninjette after the crash but most of it was cosmetic or something simple as the handlebars, controls, etc.

[IF13]

I'm wondering if there are any lemon laws that are still protecting me because this dealership isn't exactly the nicest one out there. I mean I suppose I can still get warranty service at other dealerships.

Only got the car from them because my mother closed the deal without my knowledge.

[Alex]

I don't think lemon laws are an option at this point, as it's a 4-year old used car. They are typically aimed at new cars with unfixable (within a reasonable time period) issues.

[alex.s]

sounds like it just had a hickup if everything is back to normal. maybe some **** got in the gas? maybe the spark plug is disgusting and barely sparking? if its in good service condition (clean oil, filters, fluids, plugs) and it had good clean gas... maybe not.

check the code, it will probably say a knock code or misfire code. a generic "oh **** the motors freaking out" code that unfortunately doesn't say much. but it might be something else. if its a generic oh **** code just put seafoam through the brake booster vacuum line and see if it happens again

[Asspire]

if its only a issue that occurred when starting, then most likely its power related. vehicle is low mileage, it shouldn't need plugs for quite some time. do a basic check:


check oil level and condition
have battery load tested ( since its a 2009, it probably original, and due for replacement)
check battery terminals, clean any corrosion off and make sure they're tight

the white smoke was probably moisture, if it runs fine and check engine light hasn't come on then its nothing major or a one time deal

[IF13]

Originally Posted by alex.s

sounds like it just had a hickup if everything is back to normal. maybe some **** got in the gas? maybe the spark plug is disgusting and barely sparking? if its in good service condition (clean oil, filters, fluids, plugs) and it had good clean gas... maybe not.

check the code, it will probably say a knock code or misfire code. a generic "oh **** the motors freaking out" code that unfortunately doesn't say much. but it might be something else. if its a generic oh **** code just put seafoam through the brake booster vacuum line and see if it happens again

I'll do this if it does indeed happen again. The engine light's off and I wasn't able to reproduce the sound or the smoke this morning when I brought it to the shop to get the battery and alternator checked out.

Originally Posted by Asspire

if its only a issue that occurred when starting, then most likely its power related. vehicle is low mileage, it shouldn't need plugs for quite some time. do a basic check:


check oil level and condition
have battery load tested ( since its a 2009, it probably original, and due for replacement)
check battery terminals, clean any corrosion off and make sure they're tight

the white smoke was probably moisture, if it runs fine and check engine light hasn't come on then its nothing major or a one time deal

I hope this is it. Actually, I was told the alternator's not giving enough amps and that by me slightly pressing on the gas, I was able to give it a boost or something to allow the engine to run.

Mom's been driving it since we got it out of the shop. Seems fine now. We got an oil change. So I definitely do hope it is what you say it may be, moisture...Maybe morning dew or something.

Thanks everyone. Also I checked the coolant levels, I'm going to go mark it where it exactly is so I can tell if it's gone down by the end of the week just to mke sure it's alright.

Again, thanks.

[IF13]

Originally Posted by Alex

I don't think lemon laws are an option at this point, as it's a 4-year old used car. They are typically aimed at new cars with unfixable (within a reasonable time period) issues.

I just read a .gov page that defined lemon laws for used cars bought from dealerships.

Had certain criteria like depending on the miles on the vehicle, the statuary warranty is 60-90 days or something like that.

[Alex]

Perhaps worth looking into; I think that the lemon laws vary at the state level, and aren't typically federal. Here's one link that came up in Google, with some basic information about NY's laws:

http://www.dmv.org/ny-new-york/autom.../lemon-law.php

[IF13]

Originally Posted by Alex

Perhaps worth looking into; I think that the lemon laws vary at the state level, and aren't typically federal. Here's one link that came up in Google, with some basic information about NY's laws:

http://www.dmv.org/ny-new-york/autom.../lemon-law.php

EDIT: Oh wait, no it's not. Thanks.

That's too long D:

Here's one: http://www.ag.ny.gov/consumer-frauds...law-fact-sheet

Just like sites that use .gov, makes referencing the page when the dealer doesn't comply a whole lot more effective.