A rough idle is one of those problems that is easy to brush off at first. Your BMW shakes a little at a stoplight, the RPM needle wavers, or you hear an uneven rumble while sitting in your driveway, and it seems minor enough to ignore for a few more weeks. The trouble...

If you own a BMW, you already know it is not a car you want to gamble with when it comes to engine heat. A failing radiator rarely announces itself with one dramatic moment. Instead, it usually shows up as a handful of small warning signs that many drivers brush off...

A whining noise or a clunk from underneath your Lexus is easy to brush off, especially when the car still drives fine on the surface. Most drivers do not think about their differential mounts until the vibration under acceleration gets bad enough to notice on every...

A transmission leak rarely announces itself with a warning light. Most Toyota owners find out the hard way: a dark, reddish puddle on the garage floor, a burning smell after a long drive, or a shifting pattern that suddenly feels off. By the time any of those show up,...

A rattle is one of those sounds that is easy to ignore, right up until it isn't. Most drivers notice it first at idle or over rough pavement, tell themselves it's probably nothing, and keep driving. The problem is that a rattle rarely fixes itself. It is usually a...

A worn control arm rarely announces itself all at once. Most BMW owners notice a faint clunk over speed bumps or a slight wander in the steering long before the problem becomes serious, and it is easy to write those signs off as normal wear from Oregon roads. By the...

A soft brake pedal, a puddle of fluid under your car, or a brake warning light on the dash all point to the same possibility: a leaking brake hose. Most drivers do not notice a slow leak until braking already feels different, and by then the fluid loss has already...

A rising temperature gauge is one of those warnings that rarely announces itself at a convenient time. Most drivers notice it while sitting in traffic on Highway 22 or pulling into a parking lot, and by then the question is no longer curiosity but urgency. BMW cooling...

A creak from the front end when you turn into a driveway, a clunk over a pothole on Lancaster Drive, or a visible crack along a coil spring during an oil change are all signs that something in your suspension has already started to fail. Most drivers do not notice...

A sudden drop in fuel economy is one of those problems that sneaks up on you. You do not notice it after one tank of gas. It is usually after a few fill ups in a row that you start doing the math and realizing your Acura is not going nearly as far as it used to on a...