Vehicle Symptoms

When your car's air conditioner isn't cooling anymore — or worse, blowing hot air — it can make for an uncomfortable ride on a warm day. There are two basic types of problems you can experience with your car's air conditioning. Each one will have different symptoms, and different potential solutions.

It's freezing outside, and all you want is to get in your car and turn on the heat. You start it up and hit the heater. And you wait — and wait — but the heater just blows cold air. A lack of heat can be a symptom of a much larger problem. You could soon be facing failing parts or even a blown engine.

You leave your car for a few minutes — or a few hours, or a few days — and come back to find a puddle forming underneath it. That's probably not good. Maybe it's just water condensation dripping down, but odds are it's a sign of a fluid leak.

If your check engine light comes on, it can give you a feeling of dread. Is something about to go wrong? How much is it going to cost? Don't panic — let's look at why the light might be on and what to do about it.

There can be a variety of reasons why your vehicle is idling roughly. The downsides can be reduced fuel economy, poor performance, starting issues or potential major engine problems in the near future. It's best to try to diagnose and fix a rough idle before it gets worse — and before it gets expensive.

Brake noise is like fingernails on a chalkboard. Every time your vehicle comes to a stop, the brakes squeak, grind or squeal — it's so annoying. But more important than that, brake noise can indicate a serious safety problem that could affect your car's ability to stop.

Other than flashing red and blue lights, there might be nothing worse to see behind your vehicle than smoke. Billowing fumes almost always mean there's something seriously wrong with your car. But the color of that smoke might help you understand what type of repair can help fix it.

The traction control system uses a computer to detect whether one (or more) of the wheels has begun to slip and lose traction. Loss of traction commonly occurs in either snow or ice when a moving wheel hits a patch of ice and begins to slip.

When unwanted, unmetered air gets into the engine, it's called a vacuum leak. These leaks can create a lot of problems for your vehicle. Let's take a look at some symptoms of a vacuum leak, or you can jump ahead to some possible causes and solutions.