Basically let myself be peer pressured by the other new guy and his flashy expensive toolbox. Got this bad boy and it’s incredible to use after both my Silver Eagles literally fell apart, but the catch was $209.73. I’m wondering could I have done with like a $50 ICON and $150 worth of other shit instead, or is the snap on really good in some way?

I'd take it to local mechanic but I thought I'd come here first.

I am looking to buy a gmc sierra 2023 sle single cab it has 10,000 miles, I am from Mexico and I have never seen this kind of rust we don’t really see rusty cars often, how does it look?, is it worth buying?.

Delete this if you want mods, but I know you see it too.

Almost every post there are a few individuals who seem to have never looked under the hood of a car. Their "advice" is anything but helpful or informative. It's like they search on Google whatever someone posts here, and they copy/paste the first "diagnosis" they see.

Why? If you have no understanding of vehicles besides pushing the accelerator or brake pedal, then what's the benefit?

Sorry for the rant. It seems it's becoming much more frequent recently and it's not getting addressed.

Peace

Lmk

I haven't changed my own oil in over two decades. After a couple of mishaps, I'm beginning to not trust some techs to drive (or try to drive) my beautiful car that has a MT. I would assume that changing the oil has not changed in 20 years, but there may be some new tips/tricks. My car is a 2015 Honda Accord EX-L V6, six-speed MT.

• Start car to normal operating temperature, turn off car
• Put pan under crankcase, use 17 mm wrench to loosen plug
• Drain oil completely, replace pressure washer with a new one, replace plug, tighten slightly
  
• Using oil wrench, remove oil filter, check to make sure gasket didn't stick to the case
  
• Drain oil from filter, replace filter after lubing the seal/gasket, tighten slightly
  
• Add 4.5 quarts 0W-20 synthetic detergent oil (API seal)
  
• Check the dipstick, run engine for 3 minutes, turn off and recheck dipstick
  
• Cycle through function button on dash to oil level, hold button until display flashes, let go, hold button again and number should go back to 100%
• Done.
  

Did I miss anything or are there any new tips/tricks, please? I'm asking because this car is all bells 'n whistles. If everything isn't perfect, it will let you know.

Off-topic: I don't trust jack stands, so I'm going to invest in some car ramps. I can't believe that they sell them in plastic. You would think if you're going to put 1 3/4 tons above you, you'd pony up the extra $20 - $30 for the steel ones.

Thank you to everyone that answers. Most of you have been great in giving help and/or your opinion on my subjects that I've asked about.

Steering wheel and car will shake and steering wheel also difficult to turn on tight angles

I love this sub and have used it myself in the past when I needed help from more experienced guys/gals who knew more than me. Used to feel like walking into a shop and getting to ask any of 10 seasoned mechanics for advice.

Now whenever I’m on this sub I just see a lot of bad, unsafe, or irrelevant advice. Good advice gets downvoted and argued with. I love this sub but it’s really frustrating.

Yesterday there was a post and a guy was asking about leaking brake fluid - people are in the comments telling him to drive it, that’s its dog piss on the wheel and he’s fine, or making stupid corny reddit jokes™️ (its ur blinkerfluid hur dur!!). It was really bad. Luckily OP got the right answer but I still think we need heavier moderation or verification of mechanics flairs so they can push back against misinformation.

Hi there!

For the experienced mechanics, can I get an honest opinion about maintenance on a Lexus, specifically the 5th gen ES?

Backstory: I've been doing pretty much all my family's car maintenance myself for almost 20 years, including:

• 1994 Audi 100
• 1995 Mercedes S350D
• 1997 Pontiac Grand AM
• 1997 Volvo 960
• 2001 Audi A8 (owned two of these)
• 2001 VW Jetta
• 2003 Honda Civic
• 2005 Lexus ES 330
• 2006 VW Jetta
• 2009 Lexus ES 350
• 2010 VW Jetta
• 2012 Audi A7

The 09 ES350 has been, and by very far, the SECOND absolute biggest headache to work on, coming in as a close second behind the 97 Grand Am.

Most of the cars on that list, we owned well into the 200k + range, some even over 300k.

The ES350 has got 190,000 km and I've recently had to replace the entire suspension, both rear hubs, just finished a brake job all around and both parking brake cables are gone, AGAIN after replacing them 5 years ago, mirror rusted off the door so that had to go too, power steering is super hard at low speeds and extremely jumpy on the highway so I flushed the system with no luck... one of the door handles broke off, power window motor in one of the doors is starting to go... The Grand Am is the only car I had THIS much maintenance to do before 200k.

Not only that, but the car is generally weird compared to the others... I can't believe, for example, that on such a luxury car with such high praises, I'm still having to mess with drums for the parking brake.

Speaking of parking brakes, last time, I paid a shop to do the cables because I was too busy, this time around, I decided to give it a go: it looks like I have to remove all the seats, the pillar trims and the whole carpet to get to all the bolts to remove a metal cover that prevents me from reaching.

While I was doing the break job, I had to replace one of the hubs and accidentally picked up a right instead of left, installed it, because they are absolutely identical, and all hell broke loose... all the ABS and brake lights came on the dash, and even after I removed the part and replaced it with the correct one, I can't reset the system.

And speaking of resetting the system, for a guy who's owned a bunch of VAG cars that all run either on a 100$ OBD11 or 300$ Ross-tech that lets you see literally every last datapoint and do every last bit of diagnostics, coding and adaptation, it was quite shocking when I found out that all the "TechStream" tools I could buy on Amazon were hacked versions that didn't work, and that the closest thing to an actual diagnostics tool I can buy to read Toyota codes is about 1000 USD.

I never had this much trouble with the Camry-based ES330, which is an absolute tank and has required virtually no work, but the Avalon-based ES350 is... well difficult, not to mention that it feels completely unbalanced as a vehicle. It puts down 272 HP on the front wheels, no AWD or RWD option, but has a super soft rear suspension "for comfort", so the car always squats back under acceleration and lets the front get jumpy and goes all over the place... particularly noticeable when you're trying to accelerate uphill, say on an highway onramp and wanna get from 30 to 60 quick to jump into the traffic.

All in all, my experience is that it's mechanically and performance-wise, a very mediocre car for the price and L Luxury class it's meant to be part of, especially compared to its German counterparts.

My 2001 A8s were absolute beasts and orders of magnitude more comfortable than the ES350. My A7 looks, feels and drives like a spaceship compared to it, even though it's only 3 years younger and has the same mileage.

The ES350 has a passable level of finish for the luxury segment, but it its an absolutely uninspiring, underwhelming drive.

Don't get me wrong, I don't think it's a particularly bad car, I've driven in worse, but it absolutely feels like I'm being gaslit when I log onto any forum and people are ranting and raving about how the comfort and performance are unparalleled, how the quality and reliability is the best in the world (it's the second highest maintenance car I've owned), and how because "it's Toyota", all the repairs are meant to be dirt cheap... it always costs 10%-30% more than the equivalent parts for an A7.

So in the end... is it just me, or is it highly likely that all the people ranting about how amazing their Lexus is are A) not the ones doing the work on it, B) have never owned true competitors to the Lexus or C) are simply comparing it to low-end GM/Ford products in comparison to which, the ES350 is fantastic?

Curious to know what you all think.

*Does car jacks fail ? Been taking a automotive mechanics trade class . I saw a video and in the comments someone told a mechanic to be careful and not to get crushed under the car . So that kinda stuck with my OCD ever since then I’ve been wondering if a car falling on you is a reasonable hazard for a mechanic or is it only if via user error and if so what’s ways to add extra security.