Why You Can't Fix Your Own Car Anymore (The End of DIY)

[jeff of pa]

I don't know How True This is.
According to the comments it is True

 

[Centsless Detecting]

Yes and no. New cars are a pain to work on for sure. I for one will never own a new car. I have a fleet of 20 year old cars that I plan to keep fixing on my own.

 

[jeff of pa]

I drive a '96 Intrepid

It no Longer Has the Shine.
It's Extremaly Sunburnt

& Under 10,000 Mile on it.

But Every year around this Time I fear it won't Pass Inspection Any More.

I Take it in April For a June '97 Sticker.
hopefully !


I Believe that's a '21 Sticker so it lasted me 5 Years So Far

 

[Centsless Detecting]

Hey I would take a sunburned low milage car any time. I live in the rust belt so cars don't last up here. Just spent 2 months looking for a rust free low milage trailblazer and I found it finally. Should last me at least another 10 years. We only have emissions testing, no inspections although if we had inspections there wouldn't be anything older than 10 years on the road here 😬

 

[Centsless Detecting]

Here is something my brother and I picked up a few years ago. 1978 big block suburban from Texas. A little toasty but has 63k original miles. Runs and drives, we did new brakes and fuel system. Just need to tackle a leaking power steering gear box.

 

[pepperj]

Many modern vehicles, particularly luxury and European brands, have replaced traditional oil dipsticks with electronic measurement systems accessed through the dashboard display
. Major brands moving away from dipsticks include BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Audi, Porsche, and Mini.

If it doesn't have a dipstick I'm not interested in owning it.

 

[freeman]

It's true. Modern cars require a terminal/code reader to diagnose, fix anything or reset warning lights.

There are that many stupid modules being engineered in now that control specific areas of functions (eg: body module, safety system module) and these are reading numerous sensors. These all need to talk to each other through a CAN bus.

When the dash lights up like a Christmas tree due to the failure of some minor component and the car goes into limp mode it ain't 'just fix it at the side of the road' anymore.

In some cases new parts have to be 'exchanged' or ''coded in' via a terminal. Even doing your own brakes now may require a terminal to wind in the brake mechanism to allow replacement.

So it's buy a terminal. Some with all the required programming will run into multiple thousands of dollars.

But it gets worse, some manufacturers (Chinese) are putting blocks so only their proprietary diagnostics are able to 'talk' to the car.

 

[tamrock]

Here is something my brother and I picked up a few years ago. 1978 big block suburban from Texas. A little toasty but has 63k original miles. Runs and drives, we did new brakes and fuel system. Just need to tackle a leaking power steering gear box.

I had a Dodge (Mitsubishi) D50 pickup that had a serious power steering gearbox leak. I found an additive to pour in the reservoir and it stopped that leak really well for some time, but would eventually start to leak again. I would just add some more of that additive and it would again seal it up for a month or so. I can't remember what its called, but I believe I got it at NAPA. It was a great quick fix and kept that puddle of brake fluid from dumping out everywhere I would end up parking for awhile.

 

[DizzyDigger]

The wife and I just bought a new car, a 2018 Hyundai Elantra, and sold our older
2005 Elantra. The older car had 250k miles on it, and the only major component we
ever had to replace was the alternator. The maintenance I did on the 2005 was simple,
and thanks to YouTube I had very little trouble replacing brakes, etc., although the
drivers side headlamp was a PITA, it still only took about 15 min. to replace.

Our newer 2018 only has 42k miles on it, and it's my hope it's the last car we'll need
to buy. It's full of all kinds of computerized gizmo's, so I've got my fingers crossed
it all stays together right, as we can't afford to be having a dealer charge us up
the ying-yang for repairs.

I can [probably] still take apart and rebuild a small block chevy engine...too bad they've
done away with such things.

 

[jeff of pa]

I Can Understand I Wouldn't want a Neighbor With an Electric Vehicle sctrewing around thinking he's a jack of all trades.
those pieces of crap can explode and burn like Napalm !

But No I'll Never Own a New Vehicle in this lifetime unless it's A Japanese Tinkertoy that is easy to fix

 

[AstralDruid]

I agree 100% with this video...
But let me tell you,, here in Europe, it is far ,far worse..... We are under incessant pressure to buy EVs , non stop !!. Now we all know the EV is nearly impossible to fix on the drive at home,, so they are dragging the combustion engine down with absurd taxing !!..
I recently looked at a new Toyota Land Cruiser, all new tech, striving to get the best mileage and least emissions , for a big car...
73000 euros (pretty much same as dollars) ,, when you buy it 70000 euros in tax !! .... Doubling the cost !!! WTF !!
Because it has a combustion engine (hybrid or not does not matter) and because of the kerb weight...... what next ?? We are totally screwed over here, no way back from this level of dumb...
My 2018 VW has just been basically scrapped because of Turbo issues , which i know are sensor readings leading to limp mode.... Disaster... want to just go out and buy a Raptor or some sort of truck, but they are the same now and also have the taxes thrown at them ..... Bad times for motoring in the eco nightmare eurozone..

 

[Tnmountains]

Heck I just bought a new stove and the thing is trowing codes in the display! The old one worked fine.

 

[DizzyDigger]

Heck I just bought a new stove and the thing is trowing codes in the display! The old one worked fine.

Back in the good days they built stuff to last...not so much anymore.

When the wife and I bought our home here, we went out to a used appliance
dealer and bought a stand up freezer, and two fridge freezers. This was in
2003, and all three are still working well. I found a 70's era Kenmore dryer
that I've repaired a few times, but it's still doing a fine job.

Most of us here are old and wrinkly, but we still get the job done...therefore,
OLDER IS BETTER.

 

[pepperj]

 

[Centsless Detecting]

I had a Dodge (Mitsubishi) D50 pickup that had a serious power steering gearbox leak. I found an additive to pour in the reservoir and it stopped that leak really well for some time, but would eventually start to leak again. I would just add some more of that additive and it would again seal it up for a month or so. I can't remember what its called, but I believe I got it at NAPA. It was a great quick fix and kept that puddle of brake fluid from dumping out everywhere I would end up parking for awhile.

I thought about doing the same. Its a really bad leak, basically just pours out so it may not work. Gearbox seal kit is 30 bucks vs 300 for a new gearbox 😳. Gonna give the rebuild a try fist. Then maybe we can finally drive it more than just around the block. Its always been a project we got that wasn't running, driving or stopping.

 

[tamrock]

One job I had I had to buy my own trucks to use and they would reimburse me at $525. a month. I never bought anything new, because the miles I'd be putting on the vehicle was like 35k-45k a year. I bought this 1995 F150 with the 300ci inline six and 5 speed trans and two fuel tanks with 75k miles on it for $4k. I ran the hell out of it and the only time it ever went to a shop was for Walmarts cheap oil changes or up on a lift for new rubber. I fixed every other issue myself. Put a new alternator on it in a motel parking lot in Kemmerer, Wyoming which I had to wait a day for to be shipped from Salt Lake. The other time I was going up a mountain pass and the engine missed slightly as it was climbing up the steep pass. I thought when I get to Taos, New Mexico I'll hit an auto parts store and pull a spark plug. Sure enough the plug in front cylinder was fried. This is an image of what they looked like and that truck was still running fair enough. I once put new front brake pads on in the NAPA auto parts parking in Gunnison, Colorado. It had over 425k miles on it when I finally said it had enough. I'm always thinking about getting another one to put a cheap used pop top bed camper on and going on long road trips with a box of tools, quarts of motor oil and 20 gallons of spare gas on hand.

 

[tamrock]

I thought about doing the same. Its a really bad leak, basically just pours out so it may not work. Gearbox seal kit is 30 bucks vs 300 for a new gearbox 😳. Gonna give the rebuild a try fist. Then maybe we can finally drive it more than just around the block. Its always been a project we got that wasn't running, driving or stopping.

Its definitely has character. I would try the seal kit first if it was my problem.

 

[Prairie Gazingfox]

I drive a '96 IntrepidView attachment 2245658
It no Longer Has the Shine.
It's Extremaly Sunburnt

& Under 10,000 Mile on it.

But Every year around this Time I fear it won't Pass Inspection Any More.

I Take it in April For a June '97 Sticker.
hopefully !


I Believe that's a '21 Sticker so it lasted me 5 Years So Far

In Illinois, 1996 or older gasoline cars are not required to go to Emissions test. Well at least in Chicagoland that I know of.
I think this year they might move it to 1997

 

[newnan man]

Many modern vehicles, particularly luxury and European brands, have replaced traditional oil dipsticks with electronic measurement systems accessed through the dashboard display
. Major brands moving away from dipsticks include BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Audi, Porsche, and Mini.

If it doesn't have a dipstick I'm not interested in owning it.

If you ever need a dipstick I know several.

 

[DizzyDigger]

The other time I was going up a mountain pass and the engine missed slightly as it was climbing up the steep pass. I thought when I get to Taos, New Mexico I'll hit an auto parts store and pull a spark plug. Sure enough the plug in front cylinder was fried. This is an image of what they looked like and that truck was still running fair enough.

Had something of the same with our 2005 Hyundai. A few years back we thought the
transmission was going, as it wouldn't stay in OD. We just kinda lived with it for about
a year, and then I decided one day that it needed a tune-up, as it hadn't had one for
some 150,000 miles.

As I pulled the plugs it was quite obvious what the issue was...the electrodes on the plugs
(2 of 'em) were completely gone..right down to the ceramic, meaning the spark plug gap
was over 1/4 inch. I have no idea how that engine was still running. Replaced the plugs,
coils and wires and it ran like new...and the tranny issue was also solved, as it was simply
trying to run as best it could on such restricted horsepower.

That little engine impressed me enough that I had no hesitation about buying another Hyundai.