# Caaarrrrssss! *shakes fist*



## Ciddian (Mar 15, 2006)

Of course! of course the car won't start. I -just- finished my shut down at work. I NEED to work and the car doesn't start!

I have taken lots of breaths, had a great walk to the sitters.. lol

and now I need you guys advice.

I have a 2001 sunfire 4 dr. It's been acting up the past two weeks. A whurrr sound in the front tires makes me think it might be bearings or something. Or breaks. 

The back breaks on this thing, drum breaks have always been a bit of a pain in the ass. Or the people I take the car too have no idea how to calibrate drum breaks. (plus everything is all rebuilt these days)

The engine has been a bit loud. I just got the oil done, and that stuff and everything was okay. 

Today the car will try to start, radio works, lights work but just will not turn over. It did this a week ago out at wonderland, Someone,  pulled my key out while the car wasn't in park and then tried to start it again while not in park.

It did eventually start after fiddling around with it, saying some prayers and stuff.

Now It just won't start. So it's not the starter, not the alt. so it would be the fuel pump right?

Do you guys have any idea how much that costs these days? 

Also, I am not smart. I never got CAA so I have a silly question. Which membership is really worth it? 

Basic is something like 60 bucks a year?

Thanks you guys for letting me rant/whine lol


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## damsel_den (Oct 31, 2011)

*Today the car will try to start, radio works, lights work but just will not turn over. It did this a week ago out at wonderland, Someone, pulled my key out while the car wasn't in park and then tried to start it again while not in park.*
my car was doing this It kept not wanting to turn over on occasion a few times , Then one day a few weeks ago I got in .. same thing lights , radio worked , no turn over .. so I shut it off tried it again , Nothing .. dead .. I call hubby freaking out ... he comes and after beating my starter ect with a hammer and that not being the problem.. he boosted my battery and started it ..he replaced my battery when he got back to the shop and its been fine , id check your battery


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## Ciddian (Mar 15, 2006)

Could be.... The mechanic was telling me the alternator was on its way out but I didn't have the cash for it. 

We replaced the battery maybe not even two months ago, it's bran new. I killed the car trying to help my dad one day. I think I had left the lights on.

I can't recall how much an alternator would be... 200 bucks or more?

Hopefully something easy! I am going to try the car again in a little bit after I talk with the mechanic. My neighbor is going to go insane on me if I try to start that car again. It's right by his window. LOL


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## Fishfur (Mar 4, 2012)

If the alternator is not working well, the battery is not always being charged properly when the car is running, so that might account for starting/not starting. If the battery is not being regularly charged when the engine runs, it may last a day or two depending what you're doing but then it's done. Starting in older cars might also be a problem with the ignition itself and that can be very intermittent at first, making it hard to diagnose. But the ignition can wear out with time, and if you happen to have a ton of keys on the key ring that will wear it out quicker. Ask me how I know .

Starter motors can lose a gear tooth and then, even though the motor turns over, if the spot with the missing gear tooth is just in the right, [or wrong ], place, it won't start. New starter motor in that event, sadly, is the only cure.

Front end noise can be a number of things. Shocks are a big one in an older car, mine just ran me $900. Shocks tend to groan when they are worn. Can also be other parts of the suspension, and can be wheel bearings.

Bad brakes can have symptoms like squealing or groaning when you apply them, pulsing in the pedal may mean the drum brakes are wearing out, or have uneven wear. You can get increased travel in the pedal, a soft, squishy feel to the pedal, or it just takes way longer to stop than it used to. It can even feel like the pedal is not going all the way down, as though it has a pop can stuck under it. Incidentally, if they can't get your rear brakes right, you need a new shop. Brakes are not rocket science, they are pretty darn simple. Any decent mechanic can do them in his sleep..[ well, not really, but honestly, if they can't do brakes, I would not trust anything else they did ] Drum brakes don't even get exposed to the the road like disc brakes, and typically, rear brake drums and shoes last at least twice as long as front disc rotors and disc pads do. Oh my, I have dated way too many car guys .

Actual tire noise, aside from just noisy tread, like some snow tires, isn't so common. But you should check the tire tread now & then then to see if the wear is even. If it is not, alignment is pretty cheap and saves buying new tires that cost so much more. Out of whack alignment will not necessarily show up as pulling, which is what I used to think was the main symptom, until I learned differently last year. Sometimes, the only symptom is uneven tread wear, but you won't see that 'til it's been out of whack for some length of time. If the tires are unbalanced, which can happen if one of those calibration weights gets knocked off, maybe on a curb, you'll feel that in the steering wheel or your butt in the seat, one or the other will vibrate once you get up to speed, but I forget which one is due to the front or the back tires being unbalanced.. sorry. Been too long since it last happened to me.

I've driven a lot of Dodges in my life. One, a full size van, used to eat alternators for breakfast, I swear. Drove it 18 years, over 400 hundred thousand miles, not klicks. I must have put something like 40 alternators in it, but the majority of those were warranty replacements, thankfully. That van also had a 'dodgy', [ sorry, I cannot resist that pun] voltage regulator, also replaced too often. 
In short, [ sorry, again ] it just had a crappy electrical system, something Dodges of its era were known for. It also stalled frequently in wet road conditions. That van's slant six engine had its plugs and wires way down low where they'd get wet easy. I always carried a couple cans of WD 40, so I could spray the wires if it stalled in the wet, to get going again. Not good for the system but it worked.

If the alternator is not working properly, do get it fixed if you can, because constantly running the battery down does it no good, not to mention leaving you parked at inconvenient times.

I've been a member of CAA since I was 17 and there have been very few years it did not pay for itself. They will get you in if you get locked out, start it, tow it, whatever is needed. Be aware, they limit the number of calls now. 5 service calls per year per membership. That's because when folks started keeping cars longer, too many used the club instead of getting the cars repaired, so now they limit calls. I have one of the higher level memberships, primarily so that if I break down in London or Markham or some such place, I can still get towed home. They have 3 or 4 membership levels now, I think. Even the most expensive one is worth it if your car is getting older. Mine's a '98, another Dodge too. Fortunately, this mini van's been a really, really good vehicle for me, and I can't really complain about the repairs it has needed. Few have been anything other than pretty standard wear, and the ones that were are because I drive so little now, it sits too much, which is as hard on it as stop 'n go putt putt driving. Dealers classify it as 'hard service'. Still hasn't been that bad.

But they are worth it, in my opinion, because they are reliable, and offer some extras. Like if you have a battery that's just done in, they have new ones you can buy right there, just as good as you'd get anywhere else, decent price and they replace it right on the call, which means you don't have to go to the shop later, or worry it will die on you if you turn it off again before you arrive home. You have to be present with the vehicle to have CAA tow it for you, btw. They won't just go get it for you, like an independent tow truck will. But you also don't get stuck for highway hookup charges and mileage, which you will with an independent tow truck.

Also they have deals on travel insurance, discounts on things like hotel or car rental. They also have a list of approved repair places they will back up in case of a dispute, which is handy in case of argument over something. I like them better than any other club.


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## Flexin5 (Nov 12, 2011)

jess, does the car turn over? like trying to start and it just doesn't catch? if so then it's either one of two things, fuel or spark. 

spark meaning the ignition; spark plugs, cap, rotor, ignition coil. 

fuel: clogged fuel filter, fuel pump, or bad injectors (altho if 1 injector went bad it would still start, would just run like crap) A fuel pump job might be around the $200 area (that's for pump, labour) 

the wurr sound coming from the front sounds like wheel bearings to me; or tires. brakes normally have a squeeling sound. 

those cars have a common problem, the headgasket. and it's an expensive job, so much that when it goes the repair might be more than the car is worth sorry to say. to find out if it's going, just look at the coolant when the car is COLD and if it's a milky brown then the head gasket is gone, also alot of white smoke out of the tailpipe. 


there's a way to test the altenator, if you have a volt meter (i have one if your ever around my area) and while the car is running if you put the volt meter to the battery you should be getting around 13.5 volts with a good altenator. the lights will be on but if there's not enough amps when you go to turn on the car it'll do nothing, and you wont (or faintly) hear the starter going; but there's enough juice in the batter to work the radio and the lights. so it may be the altenator could be bad. 

as for CAA. get it. it's like $75 a year and 3 tows. it's worth it even if you tow your car once, becasue if you break down on the highway or in the middle of a road, if a cop sees you he makes you tow your car to clear traffic, expecially on the highway, and he gives the tow to the first truck that's on scene; you can expect to pay that guy like $400+ right then and there or he'll keep the car and rack up an even bigger bill for storage. not a situation you want to be in expecially in winter; hell if you're ever stuck, just call me and i'll come with my CAA membership and tow your car, doesn't matter which car they are towing, just that the membership owner is there.

if i go to the track (drag stip) with the fancy car, and it broke, my buddies and i would push it onto the street, and i would call CAA. they would tow my car alllll the way home from cayuga to toronto for free.

anyways, long post short, i think it's your altenator.


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## darkangel66n (May 15, 2013)

Yep like I always tell my son, if it has wheels or boobs it is trouble. I am having a similar problem with my 2000 Camry. Every once in a while I just will not start. Nothing happens when I turn the ignition. Battery was just replaced as it would drain at random times for no apparent reason. I think my problem my be my starter but this might work for you as well. When this happens I move the shifter through all of the gears. Automatic but I was told this will sometimes move the starter off a flat/dead spot and it usually starts after I do it.

CAA is worth way more then the money you pay in my opinion. I have used it for over 15 years and I find it the best investment ever. If you buy your gas at Husky you can use your card to save money on your membership so the more you drive the cheaper CAA becomes in the long run. Never tell them there is no insurance on the car or else they will not tow it. Made the mistake when my in-laws gave me a car. They drove it to the house and then when I was ready I needed it towed to the garage for its safety. Made the mistake when the guy asked what was wrong that I said nothing just towing it for a safety. Took some talking to get him to tow it. Also remember it will not tow you from an accident.


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## Spicoli (Dec 11, 2012)

If this is anything like my old sunfire, or grand am, it could be the security feature of the car not allowing it to start, leave the key in the on position for 15 minutes, wait for security light to go off and it should work. Shut off lights radio etc to not drain your battery. 

This only works if you turn the key and nothing happens, ie no noise like the starter isn't engaging but radio still works etc


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## Ciddian (Mar 15, 2006)

Hey Guys!

Sorry for the delay. Had a busy week.

Thank you so much for the advice! You all rock big time. Turns out that it was the fuel pump. The guy I have been going to for a while (Not the one I bought the car from) got it fixed within the day.

The tow was 75 bucks...only for 3Km. Totally going to get a membership. I have been in this situation so many times I think I will finally get it. Just makes me feel better anyways now that I have a toddler with me 99% of the time.

The pump was roughly 700. It was higher. @[email protected] O tried my best to talk it down because I just couldn't pay it right then. LOL It's always when the cash flow is low.

I have read about a lot of those problems during the past couple of days. I am lucky enough. *knock on wood* to not have too much going on with this car but I do know I really need to put away soon for something new. I really want a van like crazy.

They cleaned up the drums but it turns out that the adjuster thing on them have both seized which would make sense. The people we got the car from had no idea how to do them, which is why I didn't go back. LOL

I have to get the new break bits soon... The fronts are still loud, so I do want to say its a bearings. It's hard to tell but it sounds like its mostly on the right side. I did check the tires as well, they look pretty even and they are only a year old. 

The engine though is sooooo much smoother now. Makes sense. I had done the oil the week or two before and that usually makes things better but it was so rough. Now, its much much better. 

Thankies guys!

Hey are caravans as good as everyone says? There seems to be oodles around for a good price. I want to have the seats and the space to do camping again.


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## tom g (Jul 8, 2009)

*noise*

Wheel bearing noise is usally a growling noise fromm the frt.
What u can do on a clear road ...go to like where the factories are on birch or warden...
Accel the vehicle.....till the noise happens......
Then start to turn the car from right to left.......sort of like u are going 
Thru pylons on a slalom course.....u will notice the noise will 
Go away....when u go one way or another usually if u turn right and the noise goes away
Its the left bearing .....no load on that side...
Let me know if u want me to come by and drive it...
I deak with a parts place on birchmount called spark so when u are 
Ready we can price shop for best deal..at least when u are ready to
Do the work u won't have to worry about parts mark up
Cheers
Tom


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## Fishfur (Mar 4, 2012)

Well, my Caravan has been outstanding. I really cannot complain about it. It is a 98, bought as a demo with 7000 on it, and because I don't drive that much, still hasn't hit 90,000. I have heard that around about a 100,000 k you may be looking at a new tranny on many of them. Hope not, but that's at least four years away for me at this point if I keep it that long.

And in case you have not heard this, the very cheapest maintenance that you can do to have a significant effect on a car's longevity,so far as the engine is concerned, is regular oil changes. Cheaping out on them is a false economy, because dirty oil can do a lot of internal damage to an engine. I've started using synthetic oils, they do last longer and the van runs better with them. But any clean oil beats any old dirty oil, any day. Don't skip the oil changes. They're so worth it.


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## darkangel66n (May 15, 2013)

I have a Chevy HHR, smaller then a van, awesome gas mileage and still a ton of room for putting things in. Very reasonable price and a great little vehicle all around.


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## Ciddian (Mar 15, 2006)

I usually take my car to the midas on o'conner. Do you think they would use my parts if I bought them?

I have gone to a few 'buddies' of people and always get burned and I can't afford to have the car out of service for too long. 

Thx for the help Tom, as soon as I get some time I will try that out on the car. It doesn't take much to get the sound going, I don't have to go fast at all. I gotta see what bob would be comfortable with too.

Thx Fishfur  New tranny at 100k O_O Yike I hope that isn't the case. I guess too it really depends on how you drive. Give the car time to get into gear before taking off. etc. I used to be suuuuper guilty of slamming the car into gear and not waiting for it.

But then.... I never serviced the transmission either. I totally killed my first van, and airostar. Ran it on no fluids forever and it would take a long time before it could get into 2nd gear. Then it wouldn't change at all... lol

I was 17 and didn't have a clue about how to keep that van going. I ripped tires off the rims... got stuck out doing donuts... LOL I was bad bad bad.... 

How do you get your hands on a demo? Just ask around at the dealers?


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## Ciddian (Mar 15, 2006)

darkangel66n said:


> I have a Chevy HHR, smaller then a van, awesome gas mileage and still a ton of room for putting things in. Very reasonable price and a great little vehicle all around.


Oohhhh! Sure looks nice too! I don't know if I could find one in my price range but I will be looking out for sure. Thx DA


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## darkangel66n (May 15, 2013)

You can find an 06 for around 4 or 5 thousand. They were only made for a short period of time. 06 to12 I think. I love mine. Bought it with 55k on it and have 148 now with very few problems at all.


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## Ciddian (Mar 15, 2006)

I am going to make a note on looking for loaners or demos too for sure. My dad was just saying he always gets his as demos. Lord, really nice cars for very cheap.

I have always bought mine with cash in hand. I am not used to financing and stuff so I get really weirded out by the whole thing. Just never have 4-6k in hand. LOL who does anyways....

Financing isn't a bad thing right?


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## Tbird (Oct 5, 2009)

Hey Jess,

Its been a long time! Glad you got your car running ok. I know I'm a little ways away but I do know a few people out here if you ever need your vehicle looked at and or worked on. I also have a few contacts for car parts just let me know.

Just be careful with running too long with a bad bearing. I had that on my Tbird once and it definitely was not a fun or safe drive because I let it go too long.

Hope all is well otherwise!

Wil


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## Ciddian (Mar 15, 2006)

Hi Wil!!!!

Nice to see you still up and running  Yes I do want to get it done asap. It freaks me out and with the little one even more. 

the cost, (screw over more like it) lol as I am learning now for the pump has eaten any cash I had. I will def try and get it asap.

If you see anyone with a caravan with low clicks let me know! I can't really shop around anyways... but its always worth keeping an eye out.


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## Tbird (Oct 5, 2009)

LOL, ya I'm still lurking around. hahaha I'm usually on here reading posts. 

Well when you get a quote for the bearing let me know and I'll check with a buddy to see how much he would charge. 

I'll keep my eyes open for a caravan and other mini vans. Sometimes you come across that one deal that you just shouldn't pass up.

Hope everything else is going well!


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## Fishfur (Mar 4, 2012)

So far as I understand, dealers are only allowed to put up to 7000 Km on a new vehicle before it becomes a USED vehicle. If I have this wrong, do please tell me.

They must have cars to test drive, so once they put any real mileage on it, it is a demo. Any new car will have a few klicks on it, they have to drive it out of the factory, onto the trailer, onto the lot, in/out of showroom, but it won't be very much. 

They usually only have one or maybe two test drive, or demo, cars for the models they're selling. Often it will be fairly well loaded with options, which help sell them, and if one name model comes in several versions, they won't have a demo of every different one. Costs too much. 

They always want to sell their demo cars before they get to that 7000 limit because they have to discount so much more if it becomes a USED car ! It's just being there at the right time. And they do discount their demo's, especially if they are getting close to the limit, because otherwise people want one with no mileage instead.

After I got stuck with a Jetta that had a persistent, incurable squeak in the dashboard, I would not buy any new car unless I could drive the very one I'm buying before I sign the contract, for at least a bit, just in case it's got a quirk that will show up right away. 

The Jetta's squeak appeared within the first two days..sigh. Too late, though I have to give them credit, they really tried to fix it. Had that dash out five times, tried various padding and such. But it never went entirely away. I could only stop the noise by leaning on the dash hard with one hand.. hardly a safe way to drive ! Sold it less than a year later, took a real beating on the depreciation.


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## Ciddian (Mar 15, 2006)

LOL! I squeaks drive me up the wall. I can handle normal old car noise but there is a speaker in my door that makes a clicking sound as I drive. I am always playing with it, try to wedge it. I have half a mind to rip it out and throw foam tape under there.

thx so much for the demo info! Helps me so much.


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## Fishfur (Mar 4, 2012)

Happy to be of assistance.


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## AquaNekoMobile (Feb 26, 2010)

Hey Jess,

Sorry to hear of your car problems. We had a car not start as well for many times.  CAA is worth the ~$60/yr pricing but something to note they will auto renew the membership for you unless you tell them to stop the membership. 

How do I know this? We had CAA for a year but did not renew it thinking it expired but they auto renewed it and it came in handy as recently the car did not start and we needed it to be towed from the driveway.

Not sure about the other user mentioning about rolling thier sports car to the street in Cagaguta somewhere race track and CAA towing it back to Toronto. IIRC the basic CAA covers 10km tow coverage anywhere from were the car is stuck. We have the basic coverage just for the tow protection.

Something to consider, Canadian Tire has sales from time to time on thier car safety kits. Something like 40% off thier kits happens once in a while. So you can see some kit for $30 which comes with jumper cables, flashlight, some safety/useful items and a 1yr road side assistance packaged into the whole kit. I looked into that road side assistance a little a few months ago and IIRC they offer 10km towing anywhere from were your car is stuck or IIRC unlimited km towing to any Canadian Tire store.

Might be a good deal given you get a safety kit as well. If you already have a safety kit then take the roadside assistance for half the price of CAA when it is on sale and give the bag contents away.


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## AquaNekoMobile (Feb 26, 2010)

Anyone with experience with Car Help Canada? I have seen them on TV for many many years. Apparently they are about to celebrate thier 15th year on TV IIRC. Now that is some staying power. I have watched thier show on and off over about a decade. I like the back and forth caller interaction in the second part of the show where they have a mechanic (often times a specialist in a different area of the car. ie. electonics, transmission, ignition, etc) on to answer car problems. The mechanics seem to have a good visual in the head going as they can seem to communicate well picturing taking apart the car for your model piece by piece to help narrow down issues if you are going for a first help or a second opinion when asking them about something.

That show is live on CH24 City Pulse 24 on Sundays at 20:00. They have repeats around 01:30 at night 1-2 times a week. But Sundays is live.


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## Flexin5 (Nov 12, 2011)

AquaNekoMobile said:


> Hey Jess,
> 
> Sorry to hear of your car problems. We had a car not start as well for many times.  CAA is worth the ~$60/yr pricing but something to note they will auto renew the membership for you unless you tell them to stop the membership.
> 
> ...


sorry i was mistaken. i have the plus membership for $113/yr that gives you 4 tows up to 200km each. i snapped a cv shaft at the drag strip, pushed the car onto the street and called CAA, when the driver came i just said "i don't know man? the car just died?" lol towed it from cayuga to north york for free. easily a $500+ tow if i were to just call a tow truck.


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## AquaNekoMobile (Feb 26, 2010)

Yo Jess! Canadian Tire has a sale right now 30% off emergency car kits and the ones $20+ (on sale that is) have a 1yr roadside assist included.

http://www.canadiantire.ca/AST/browse/4/Auto/AutoSafetySecurity/EmergencyRoadKits.jsp

Sale ends tonight but in my experience Can.T will honor past sale pricing 1-2 days after it expires but you are pushing your luck if you ask for the past sale price ~3-4 days past (hit and miss in my experience. I got a past sale price 3 days after). Mind you my experience is at the Sheppard & Leslie location for that 3 days past sale. Other locations it seems will (when talking on the phone with other stores) honor you a day after the sale.

The cheapest of the emergency kits with road side assist is the emergency commuter kit. $20.99 on sale. Reg $29.99. 30% is not the lowest price but still not a bad deal I think. Lowest IIRC I've seen is 40% off on the kits.


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