You are probably wrong thinking that you need to call a car repair service shop every time something is wrong with your car. For all you know, you can take care of the problem all by yourself. Take a look at four car trouble troubleshooting guides below and see if you can do a DIY this time.
The Car Radio Stopped Working
The car doesn’t turn on, but you can’t remember anyone else using it recently. There’s no one to ask or to blame. Here’s a question for you. Did you replace your battery lately and has never used the radio since then?
Battery replacement causes the voltage supply of the radio to be interrupted. This in turn can activate the anti-theft code of the radio. This is why if someone will take the radio, it will be useless. Without the code, the radio cannot be put to use again.
Go to the car’s glove box and search through the paperwork. If you find the code, that’s good. Otherwise, you’ll have to bring the car to its dealer and have it reset. Just make sure that you get the new code from them in case you will need it in the future.
Clattering Sound
The worst case scenario for this is detonation. Some people call this sound as knocking or pinging. This problem may be coming from the engine. It can be that the ignition timing is incorrect or the gasoline you are using is not suited. If you will leave the problem unchecked, you will be risking the engine.
The best thing that you can do is to switch to using fuel with higher octane content. Gas with higher octane has a better ability to resist detonation and has a better prospect of correcting the ignition timing.
Grinding Metal Sound
Try to picture in your mind a snowplow working on a pavement. It can be that the shoe material or the brake pad is already gone. That’s the worst possibility for the cause and it is very dangerous. Act immediately because the problem can cause the car to pull down to a side, or worse, crash. At the least, the grinding can destroy the drums or the brake rotors.
Just repair the brakes. Refer to the manual on how to do this.
You Want the Headlights to Shine Like New
Almost all headlights are made of polycarbonate material. This is because this material is highly resistant to scratch and is very durable. However, UV rays can degrade the outer layer of the covering overtime. Probably you are seeing something like there’s haze on the top of the headlights.
Use sand paper to scrape away the cloudiness. Be thorough in this step. When you’re done, the surface should be free of any yellowing and is rough and dull to the touch. Remove the scratches caused by the sandpaper with the use of a polish. Apply UV sealant afterwards. The sealant will give protection to your polish. Don’t use a low quality sealant if you don’t want to see the haze again in a short time.