Q-Is there any minimum weight a passenger is expected to have for airbag protection? My wife is 135 pounds yet riding with me as a passenger, the “Passenger Airbag Off” light keeps illuminating, as if she is not heavy enough. Am I supposed to start feeding her to make her heavier so she can get proper protection in case of an accident?
—A.K., Northbrook, Ill
A-We do not suggest fattening up the frau. Take your car in to the shop to have the sensor system serviced.
Q-We have a 2004 Chrysler 300M that has just under 50,000 miles on it. We drive with our lights on during the day for safety and, without rhyme or reason, the lights will suddenly flash off and on for several seconds. The problem is very sporadic; it will go weeks or months without occurring, and then happen repeatedly for several days in a row. I did some research online and found a TSB for this problem. The fix was to remove the headlight switch connector plug and to actually remove and reinstall the plug several times to clean any corrosion off of the pins and then to finally reinstall the plug after applying dielectric grease. The lights seemed to be OK for a few weeks but they are flashing again. The wife is afraid to drive the vehicle at night. From all of the online complaints I have seen, this appears to be a problem plaguing the 300M as well as several other Dodge and Chrysler models.
—P.F., Chicago
A-We have heard a variety of reasons for this problem and a variety of fixes. Poor contact at the headlight switch connector due to very minor corrosion can be temporarily fixed by removing and replacing the connector as you say. The dielectric grease is supposed to keep air and moisture out. We would suggest a drop or two of Stabilant 22 contact enhancer, but it may be difficult to find a shop that has it. It is very expensive, but heavily relied on in the electronics industry. Another possible fix is to reflash the car’s computer. Finally, most headlight circuits are protected by a self-resetting circuit breaker instead of a fuse and it may cycle open and closed due to high current draw. This is one for a good technician to tackle.
Q-I’m getting at that age where I’m thinking of giving up driving. Everything I need is within walking distance. I own a 2000 Oldsmobile Intrigue that are no longer made. There are less than 35,000 miles on it. I know its 10 years old but it’s really a fairly new car. Should I be asking for the average book used car price or shouldn’t the mileage be something to be considered?
—D.W., Chicago
A-Use the book price as your starting point. We see them listed in the neighborhood of $9,000 (and less) advertised by dealers so you may want to start around that price. You can always negotiate down, but seldom up. The low mileage will make your car more desirable compared to a similar model with higher mileage.
Q-I have a 2002 Hyundai Santa Fe GLS with 103,000 miles on it. I have had wonderful luck with the car with little to no problems. I am wondering if I should buy an extended warranty on the car. All the warranties have expired once the car reached 100,000 miles. I plan on keeping the car for at least 2-3 more years. What is your feeling?
—S.P., Simsbury, Conn.
A-You will have to answer this one yourself, but allow us to offer some guidance. An extended warranty amounts to you paying now for some repair you may, or may not, need in the future. Consider the upfront cost versus what typical repair costs may be. Research the reliability of your make and year of vehicle. Keep in mind that the cost of parts for imports is often higher than domestic cars. Finally consider who is offering the warranty. The safest bet is the vehicle manufacturer’s but it is usually the most expensive. Next, comes the dealer’s, but you have to take your car there, and only there. The least safe is an independent company that may go out of business.
Q-My 2007 Toyota RAV4 with 30,000 miles started consuming engine oil (oil level lamp was on after 1,500 miles driven on fresh oil) so I went to the dealership and told them about it. They decided to make three oil consumption tests. After 700 miles the oil level was below the minimum mark. The dealer suggested to check the level every day and come back when it’s below the minimum. After three tests I was told that my car is consuming 1.1 qt. of oil every 700 miles and, “according to page 312 in the manual, this is the normal oil consumption.” I found thousands of RAV4 owners on the Internet complaining about the same issue. My coworker has the same oil consumption problem. I recently sold mine.
—D.P., Lincolnshire, Ill.
A-We have heard some complaints about high oil consumption with the very light 0W-20 oil and some synthetics. It may help to switch to 5W-20 oil. We are not aware of any recalls or factory campaigns for this issue.
Q-We’ve got a 2001 Honda Accord with about 68,000 miles on it. It has performed very well. The Honda dealer says we should replace the timing belt at what we consider a fairly large cost. (They say it will be a much greater cost if the belt goes). Is there anything in the driving feel which can predict to us the need for this replacement?
—L.S., Chicago
A-There will be no warning that the belt is about to go and if the timing belt breaks, there will be severe and expensive internal engine damage. But we think the dealer is jumping the gun by suggesting a replacement so soon. The published replacement interval is 105,000 miles. We would do it at 100,000 to be on the safe side.
Bob Weber is an ASE-certified master automobile technician. Send questions to Motormouth, via e-mail at motormouth.trib@verizon.net.
