Singles' Car Questions Tips & Advice thread (married folks can post too..)

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Ultimatum77

Guest
#61
#61
renewed_hope said:
Two months ago I purchased a 2016 Chevrolet Cruze and I absolutely love it. I call him baby and he gets 40 miles to the gallon Highway. I also have free WiFi and Onstar for two years, however I noticed a small technological problem with my Bluetooth. When I go and connect it, it immediately disconnects. I have this issue off and on and it's been happening more frequently and I want to know what could be causing it. Don't get me wrong I can live without it, but it is a nice feature to have :)
Click to expand...
You probably need a firmware update for your bluetooth/cd player on your car...the dealer may release a CD/DVD with instructions on how to do this.....or your phone may need to update it's firmware/android bluetooth....

Cruzes are nice cars, but they have had issues with water pumps failing at around 45-50k miles, so keep an eye on that...it may even be a recall but it's notorious, just search on google....

If you have onstar you can update the bluetooth....

GM Offers Owners Bluetooth Update Via OnStar | GM Authority

Or try this auto blog...

GM offers iOS 8-8.02 Bluetooth pairing help 4 iPhone 6/6+/5/5c/5S/4S with GM/Chevy/Cadillac/Buick | auto connected car news
 
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cinder

cinder

Senior Member
#62
Mar 26, 2014
4,329
2,361
113
#62
So here's a question I'm a little curious about. Went to get my oil changed, and they of course offer all of these other services, and one of the things they told me (and had a nice little strip that changed colors to prove it) was that there was a lot of dissolved copper in my brake fluid and that this could speed up corrosion in the breaking system. Is that something I should spend any time being concerned about?
 
zeroturbulence

zeroturbulence

Senior Member
#63
Aug 2, 2009
24,581
4,269
113
#63
cinder said:
So here's a question I'm a little curious about. Went to get my oil changed, and they of course offer all of these other services, and one of the things they told me (and had a nice little strip that changed colors to prove it) was that there was a lot of dissolved copper in my brake fluid and that this could speed up corrosion in the breaking system. Is that something I should spend any time being concerned about?
Click to expand...
Yes, I did a quick search and apparently it is a real thing. One can even buy those test strips on amazon. When the copper content is more than 200ppm (parts per million) its supposed to be time to replace the brake fluid.

This article below says a lot of cars can go 10 years without changing brake fluid and that changing every 2 or 3 years is overkill. So it depends on how many miles you have too. The owners manual should say when it should be replaced.

https://www.cars.com/articles/2013/12/does-brake-fluid-need-to-be-changed/
 
M

ManiaStar

Senior Member
#64
Nov 14, 2015
381
29
28
#64
I own a 2000 Mustang --- Atlantic Blue --- I take very good care of it. It currently has 67,000 miles on it and over the past 3 yrs, the acceleration and the gas mileage has been getting worse. I realize it's an older car but it doesn't have a ton of miles on it. I added a cold air intake and a new filter and stay fairly up to date w/ the oil changes. I say fairly bc I only drive the car btwn April-Oct and take it for an oil change once a year but, I make sure the car goes to the mechanic when needed so it'll stay running well.

I just bought a couple things for the acceleration issue (i don't know if that'll solve my problems as I didn't have to fill up yet but, was wondering if there was anything else I can try to do or add to the car to improve the acceleration again to make it as peppy as it used to be and if there's anything else I can do to improve gas mileage?

Gas mileage --- I had been averaging 23/24 mpg Usually -- It had been dropping to 17/18 mpg and I wasn't doing anything differently. The mechanic (I tried 2 different ones), couldn't find anything wrong w/ the car but, the gas mpg kept dropping. It finally leveled out as one of the mechanics told me to only take the car to Shell or Lukoil stations and, i don't knof if it was that or, idk, but, it leveled out and now I usually get 17-20 mpg depending if i'm doing city or highway driving. My car is supposed to get 21-27 mpg and nothing lower. I would just be happy to go back to getting 23/24 mpg. Any suggestions?
 
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Ultimatum77

Guest
#65
#65
ManiaStar said:
I own a 2000 Mustang --- Atlantic Blue --- I take very good care of it. It currently has 67,000 miles on it and over the past 3 yrs, the acceleration and the gas mileage has been getting worse. I realize it's an older car but it doesn't have a ton of miles on it. I added a cold air intake and a new filter and stay fairly up to date w/ the oil changes. I say fairly bc I only drive the car btwn April-Oct and take it for an oil change once a year but, I make sure the car goes to the mechanic when needed so it'll stay running well.

I just bought a couple things for the acceleration issue (i don't know if that'll solve my problems as I didn't have to fill up yet but, was wondering if there was anything else I can try to do or add to the car to improve the acceleration again to make it as peppy as it used to be and if there's anything else I can do to improve gas mileage?

Gas mileage --- I had been averaging 23/24 mpg Usually -- It had been dropping to 17/18 mpg and I wasn't doing anything differently. The mechanic (I tried 2 different ones), couldn't find anything wrong w/ the car but, the gas mpg kept dropping. It finally leveled out as one of the mechanics told me to only take the car to Shell or Lukoil stations and, i don't knof if it was that or, idk, but, it leveled out and now I usually get 17-20 mpg depending if i'm doing city or highway driving. My car is supposed to get 21-27 mpg and nothing lower. I would just be happy to go back to getting 23/24 mpg. Any suggestions?
Click to expand...

Shell uses excellent grade gasoline...I personally like using it in my vehicle as it combusts better due to higher grade purity....places like racetrak, pilot etc (cheap gas stations) have lower purity standards and thus can cause gunk to buildup in your fuel system......

Use this fuel injector cleaner, it will help improve your acceleration/performance and potentially clean out all the gunk.....I used it after using cheap gas and my acceleration improved (don't know about gas mileage as I generally don't pay attention to it) but did notice my car has more get up and go when merging onto the highway after using this fuel cleaner......

http://www.valvoline.com.au/explore...als/additives/valvoline-fuel-injector-cleaner

Also not related to anything with mpg but since your car is over 50k if you haven't you should change the radiator hoses and put in new coolant....it will help keep your engine cooler and thus not waste fuel from excessive engine heat.....

the radiator hoses as they age tend to lose their rigidity and can clamp shut ( i had this on my car) and overheat the engine....once you replace the hoses with new ones the engine can get fed the coolant needed to keep it cool.....
hope this helps...
 
M

ManiaStar

Senior Member
#66
Nov 14, 2015
381
29
28
#66
Ultimatum77 said:
Shell uses excellent grade gasoline...I personally like using it in my vehicle as it combusts better due to higher grade purity....places like racetrak, pilot etc (cheap gas stations) have lower purity standards and thus can cause gunk to buildup in your fuel system......

Use this fuel injector cleaner, it will help improve your acceleration/performance and potentially clean out all the gunk.....I used it after using cheap gas and my acceleration improved (don't know about gas mileage as I generally don't pay attention to it) but did notice my car has more get up and go when merging onto the highway after using this fuel cleaner......

http://www.valvoline.com.au/explore...als/additives/valvoline-fuel-injector-cleaner

Also not related to anything with mpg but since your car is over 50k if you haven't you should change the radiator hoses and put in new coolant....it will help keep your engine cooler and thus not waste fuel from excessive engine heat.....

the radiator hoses as they age tend to lose their rigidity and can clamp shut ( i had this on my car) and overheat the engine....once you replace the hoses with new ones the engine can get fed the coolant needed to keep it cool.....
hope this helps...
Click to expand...
hmm --- i didn't know that about the hoses and coolant. I will try the fuel cleaner and those other 2 things. I'll let you know... at some point if it helps. I usually stop driving this car at the end of Oct but, as long as there's no snow or salt on the ground, I'll be able to continue driving it.
 
zeroturbulence

zeroturbulence

Senior Member
#67
Aug 2, 2009
24,581
4,269
113
#67
ManiaStar said:
I own a 2000 Mustang --- Atlantic Blue --- I take very good care of it. It currently has 67,000 miles on it and over the past 3 yrs, the acceleration and the gas mileage has been getting worse. I realize it's an older car but it doesn't have a ton of miles on it. I added a cold air intake and a new filter and stay fairly up to date w/ the oil changes. I say fairly bc I only drive the car btwn April-Oct and take it for an oil change once a year but, I make sure the car goes to the mechanic when needed so it'll stay running well.

I just bought a couple things for the acceleration issue (i don't know if that'll solve my problems as I didn't have to fill up yet but, was wondering if there was anything else I can try to do or add to the car to improve the acceleration again to make it as peppy as it used to be and if there's anything else I can do to improve gas mileage?

Gas mileage --- I had been averaging 23/24 mpg Usually -- It had been dropping to 17/18 mpg and I wasn't doing anything differently. The mechanic (I tried 2 different ones), couldn't find anything wrong w/ the car but, the gas mpg kept dropping. It finally leveled out as one of the mechanics told me to only take the car to Shell or Lukoil stations and, i don't knof if it was that or, idk, but, it leveled out and now I usually get 17-20 mpg depending if i'm doing city or highway driving. My car is supposed to get 21-27 mpg and nothing lower. I would just be happy to go back to getting 23/24 mpg. Any suggestions?
Click to expand...
Hi ManiaStar. Not driving the car for several months will cause the gas in the tank to degrade and gum up and turn to varnish and its pretty obvious to me that's whats causing the problem. The fix is easy...Get some of this Sta-Bil Fuel Stabilizer (about $10). They sell it at Pep Boys, Autozone and I think Walmart too. It will dissolve the gum and varnish in your tank. Its used for storing vehicles for a long time. You just pour the recommended amount in your gas tank and drive (but you don't have to drive for it to work).

https://www.amazon.com/STA-BIL-22214-Fuel-Stabilizer-oz/dp/B000B68V6I?th=1

22214front.jpg
 
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