Car Talk: Ford Escape shakes at idle
Dear Car Talk:
My husband and I are both nurses, so we are trained to diagnose things. My husband is not only a great nurse but a fine backyard mechanic as well. But we have a problem with our 2015 Ford Escape that has us stumped.
When I stop at a red light, my car shakes violently, and the RPM drops below a thousand. When I put it in neutral or park, the shaking stops.
We took it to our mechanic, who hooked up a computer that showed no codes, no idiot lights and no warning light on the dash. They ruled out a bad motor mount and brake rotors being warped, and they cleaned the idle air-control valve. They are stumped, too.
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Car Talk: Can I get a nicer horn?
Dear Car Talk:
I’d like a car horn that emits a friendly little beep like, “Look up, you have a green light.” Or “Careful, bud, you’re about to back into me.”
Does such a horn exist? Something that doesn’t sound threatening, that lets people know I need their attention but I’m not angry? Connie
Aren’t you nice, Connie.
You’re absolutely right in identifying a problem that car horns only have one note, and it’s “HEY!!!!!!! JERK!!!!!”
Even when I try to tap the horn lightly, to let the guy in front of me know that he’s been sitting through half a greenlight cycle while texting with his mistress, sometimes it still comes out full blast, and I feel like I’ve overreacted. He also feels like I overreacted, based on the hand gesture he gave me in his rearview mirror.
Dear Car Talk:
My 2019 Alfa, with a 2-liter engine, doesn’t have a dipstick to check the oil level. Can I trust the oil level light on the dash? Thank you. Luke
You don’t have much choice, Luke. Unless you have a gastroenterologist in the family who doesn’t mind getting his colonoscope oily. I’m a bit old-fashioned, and I like having a dipstick, too. But it’s going the way of the roll-down window.
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