Others
Before Every Car Got a Third Brake Light, 343 San Francisco Taxis Had to Prove It Worked

A third brake light is remarkably easy to ignore. It sits in the rear window or above the tailgate, performs one job and receives considerably less attention than the lamps surrounding it. That ano

AutoExpert
Others
The Parking Brake Is Off, but the Red Light Stayed On. Check the Fluid

The parking brake has been released, but the red warning light remains on. The first reaction is usually to pull the lever again or press the parking-brake switch a few times. Perhaps the sensor

AutoExpert
Others
Your Car Will Not Leave Park. The Escape Route May Be Under a Tiny Plastic Cover

The brake pedal is down. The engine may even be running. Yet the gear lever remains planted in Park with the determination of a fence post. Pulling harder rarely improves the situation. It can, how

AutoExpert
Tips & Tricks
Your Brake Rotors Turned Orange Overnight. They Probably Did Not Wear Out Overnight

Wash a car in the evening and look through its wheels the next morning. The brake rotors may have turned bright orange. The change can happen quickly enough to feel impossible. The discs looked cle

AutoExpert
Others
Your Ignition Key Feels Trapped, but the Car May Only Need One Gentle Movement

The key slides into the ignition normally, but refuses to turn. The steering wheel feels almost solid. Trying harder only makes the key flex in a way no piece of metal that small should ever flex.

AutoExpert
Others
Your Brake Lights Will Not Turn Off, and the Clue May Be Lying on the Floor

A car sits empty in the driveway, engine off and doors locked, yet all three brake lights are glowing as though an invisible driver has a foot planted on the pedal. It looks like a wiring problem. Pos

AutoExpert
Others
Stop-Start Worked Yesterday but Refuses Today. Your Car May Know Something You Do Not

Automatic stop-start has a peculiar talent for irritating drivers both when it works and when it does not. At one traffic light, the engine shuts down the moment the car stops. At the next, it keep

AutoExpert
Others
Your Brake Pedal Started Fighting Back, but It May Be Trying to Help

There is no graceful way to discover how ABS feels for the first time. Something enters the road. The brake pedal goes down hard. Then, at precisely the moment when calm would be useful, the pedal beg

AutoExpert
Others
Your Turn Signal Started Clicking Frantically, and It Is Probably Trying to Warn You

A turn signal normally keeps a relaxed, predictable beat. Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. Then, without warning, it sounds as though someone has doubled the tempo. The arrow on the dashboard flashes furiously

AutoExpert
Others
Your Brake Pedal Turned Rock Hard With the Engine Off. Here Is What Happened

The engine is off. You push the brake pedal once, then again. Each push feels a little firmer than the last. After several presses, the pedal barely wants to move. That sensation can make it s

AutoExpert
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