Horse Chick

I'll preface this by stating I am car illiterate. I only learned how to take my car to the shop for an oil change this year, and I've been driving for four years. I'm that bad.

The first problem started at the beginning of June. My dad took the car in for a tune up, or something. Next time I got in it it was really loud. It sounded like those suped-up sports cars that people drive. It roars! I made a comment to my mom and she said it was fuel injectors and it should wear off. Three months later it's still there, and last time I talked to my dad he said the was no fuel injectors given(is that even a real thing?).

The second is slow acceleration. My care is not a powerful car by any means. 1995 manual, 4 cylinder(I know something! Look at me!). I don't know if it because I moved closer to the mountains and went from prairie to foothills so I am noticing the hills more, or if this is a progressive problem that is manifesting now. Even to accelerate on a flat stretch of road is slow, but if I have to accel up a hill if I'm not almost flooring it I am loosing speed. It might be related, but I'm not sure if my car is reaching the top of it's gears at the same point that it used to(Am I saying that right? The point where I would shift higher.) It may be that I am not used to the new sound it's making so that's throwing me off, idk...

Then the funny smell. I've been googling and a sulfur/rotten eggs smell is mentioned often. It's not that smell, more like a burning or something. It only occurs when I am acceling fast up a hill. There are two points that it happens that I drive regularly. One is going from a 50km zone, then a flat bit, then up a hill to a 100km zone. Normally I get to 80km by the hill, and with big trucks breathing down my bumper I try to get up faster and this smell comes. It's not terribly strong and goes away very quick. I tried turning off my AC/fan and it still came, but the vents were still open. The second spot is a much gentler hill and I usually don't have trucks bearing down on me so I take it slower.

Fuel efficiency seems about same, it takes me two weeks to empty usually. Last oil change was in June, and I'm due in a few hundred more, but last time I went it hardly needed to be changed, and my dad apparently used to let this car go a long time between changes with no detriment.

Help a girl out? At least give me an idea of what I should be looking for? I only need this car to make it through one more winter, then it can finally be retired.

ezone

A shop isn't just for oil changes......

There are some people and shops that are actually good at fixing cars and solving problems.
(FYI a Jizzy Lube oil change place is neither of those.)

Your post sure makes it sound like you need to figure out how to find a good shop and good mechanic.
Your car has a problem that needs someone smarter than a 5th grader to figure out.




Random parts replacement can get expensive in a hurry.

Some of us will actually listen to what a customer says (people tend to ask to have random tasks done because they don't know any better) and evaluate the car to see what it REALLY needs to fix the problem.


Barring scheduled maintenance, If someone walks in and asks for a tune up, I don't just go and do a tune up.
I ask questions.
I want to know WHY this person wants a tune up....because 95% of the time there is a real problem going on when someone comes in asking for a tune up. They just don't know how to approach the issue at the counter.

Sounds like mom and dad aren't car savvy either.

The car should have been back at the tune up place THAT SAME DAY. Something went wrong, apparently. (Or the poor running condition ruined the cat?) But you have waited "months", now you have no case.
Along those same lines, if that shop didn't bother to double check their work and test drive the car to make sure it is right before returning it to you, I wouldn't bother going back.

Why did your dad have this "tune up" done anyway? Did it run badly? Does it still run just as badly even after this "tune up"?


Efficiency "seems about the same" as what? Before when?
A random period of time has nothing to do with gas mileage.

Example: I have a truck, it has taken over 4.5 years to use 3/4 tank of gas.


------------------------------------------------------

My guesses:
Low power and smell, could be anything from misfire to catalytic converter to cam timing.
You didn't give enough detail to make a better guess yet.

Any codes in the computer?

Horse Chick

He took it in since I was moving out and taking the car with me(legally, it's their car). I had said it seemed like it was drifting a bit and the acceleration was off, but when he brought it back he said I was crazy and it was fine. Later, he said it sounded fine when he drove it away from the shop, but when I got in it the next time it was loud. I never communicated the change to him since I though it was to be expected.

Probably still not what you are looking for, but I used to drive it for 2hours a day, 5x a week and it would take a week to go to near empty. Now I'm driving it 1/2h, 6-7x a week, plus the short 5min commute to work, and it's roughly two weeks. I should dig out the owner's manual and see if it says in there what I should be getting.


Anything I can tell you that would narrow it, or am I a lost cause?

I haven't noticed anything dripping underneath it, other than what I believe is condensation from the AC(clear, dripping from front right corner, no smell, watery consistency. Google agrees with me. :P )

Not sure what you mean by this?
edit: I was just cruising around Canadian Tire's automotive section and they mention 'Computer scan for codes'. Guess that's what your talking about, also guessing I can't get those myself.


Thanks for trying to help me.

ezone

Well if you noticed a big difference, then something happened. Right?

Did the car continue to do what you described above even after repairs? ("drifting a bit and the acceleration was off"----I have no idea what you mean about the "drifting", but I can probably figure out the acceleration complaint with a quick drive.)

Big potential problem I see here is the verbal communication through at least 3 parties, and of those 3 at least 2 are not car savvy. Nobody at the shop knows what YOU had a problem with.

Terminology misuse is a huge barrier (i.e. "drifting"??). I'm a very technical person, I describe these issues very differently from most other people, even the people I work with.

Ever play the game "telephone" as a kid? (google it) That's what a lot of car repair turns into, especially in a large shop. The complaint on the work order might be nothing like what the customer described.....which is nothing like what's actually wrong with the car. It's all up to the person you talk to to get the pertinent info collected. Many are too lazy.


IMO, the BEST way to communicate with the mechanic is to demonstrate the issue. Test drive with the one that will work on the car, SHOW them what you mean. (Make it quick though, our time is money! 5 minutes, no joyrides.)

After a test drive with you, I might better understand what you meant by "drifting". See how this works? (My idea of the word is probably not the same as yours. Let's all be on the same page.)


That's still no way to calculate gas mileage.

Check this out: http://eartheasy.com/article_gas_mileage.htm

Ummmm.....
You and your folks don't seem to be the DIY or hands-on types, based on what you have written here.
I sure can't assess the problem with the car from here based on the symptoms and info given.
Best I can tell you at this point is to seek out a professional shop with competent techs that can solve problems.
Seek carefully.

Please realize that most shops don't employ a full staff of top-gun talent. Many shops IMO just have no business being in business at all. Some should stick to things like tires and brakes, not attempt anything else. Ever.
Not everyone with a shoebox of tools and a uniform shirt can fix a car.

If you saw me in person, I'd probably be the last person you'd want getting in your car (THAT HOMELESS PERSON JUST STOLE MY CAR???), yet I'm quite capable of solving the problems.....if I can figure out what they are.
Right, AC drips condensation (clean water). That's absolutely normal.

As far as that goes, the AC uses quite a bit of engine power to run and you can feel it drag on the engine as you drive and when you accelerate. Turn the AC off while driving and you should notice the difference in engine response.

Check engine light, fault codes and data stored in the computer.
Any extra info that might help figure out the problem is what I was looking for.
Not sure if I'm doing any good here, but YW. HTH.


(Crap, that was a lot of typing.)

Horse Chick

I think the drifting was fixed, but really it was so minuscule. Drifting, meaning the car was pulling to one side. If I drove it straight, then stopped actively steering, the car would gradually move to the side of the road. Tires were good as I just had them checked with the oil change.

I'm not 100% sure if the acceling problem was sorted out then or not. Real helpful, I know. I'm inclined to say no, judging on how it is now.

No kidding.

I'm due for a fill up so I'll start doing that. Good thing to know.

That's what I'm worried about. I've been looking online, but I'm in such a small town that none of the shop have reviews online. I'm debating weather I should go with a chain like Canadian Tire, or a privately owned shop. I'll going to ask some coworkers and my land lord where they suggest.


I'll try without tomorrow and see what, if any, difference there is.

ezone

I usually tell people to stay away from chain stores. Their business models do not always involve fixing cars.....but there are a few that have good people working in them.


Ask everyone you know. You'll get a ton of different answers too.
Pay attention to who answers what though.....

Find the people that have had a problem car with a REAL head-scratching problem that actually got fixed right, ignore the people that have never had much more than oil changes done.

Post it on facebook?
Got any other Honda people you can ask?

Yelp?
IATN shop finder: http://autorepair.iatn.net/ (Not sure if this is available in Canada)