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Hyundai Sante Fe Tow Hitch Harness Fire Recall NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V181000 March 17, 2023 Hyundai Sante Fe Tow Hitch Harness Fire While Parked or Driving Certain 2022-2023 Santa Cruz, 2019-2023, Santa Fe, 2021-2023, Santa Fe Hybrid, and 2022-2023 Santa Fe Plug-in vehicles may be equipped with a Genuine Hyundai Accessory tow hitch assembly supplied by and available for purchase through Hyundai as a Port Installed Option (PIO), as a Dealer Installed Option (DIO) or through over the counter part sale. Certain tow hitch harness modules may develop an electrical … Read More
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Hyundai Palisade Windshield Wiper Failure Recall NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V180000 March 17, 2023 NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V180000 Hyundai Palisade Windshield Windshield Wipers May Fail Certain Palisade (LX2) vehicles are equipped with a windshield wiper motor that could function intermittently and/or become inoperable when impeded by the accumulation of snow and/or ice at the wiper arm. Intermittent or inoperative windshield wipers could reduce driver visibility while operating the vehicle in inclement weather, increasing the risk of a crash. Windshield wiper failure can reduce visibility, increasing the risk of a crash. Potential … Read More
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Charger won’t charge dead car battery Why a digital battery charger won’t charge your dead car battery Battery voltage is below minimum specifications Modern digital battery chargers run a series of tests on the dead battery before they’ll begin a recharging cycle. In most cases, a digital charger won’t even begin the charging process if the battery voltage is at or below 1-volt. This safety feature is designed to protect the charger and battery from damage due to overheating. In addition to the low voltage test, the charger will also … Read More
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Rick’s TOPDON AD800BT Scan Tool Review What is the Topdon AD800BT Scan tool? The Topdon ArtiDiag800 BT is amid-level diagnostic tool for advanced DIYers. It’s equipped with AutoVIN feature that automatically pulls up the vehicle’s VIN. It pulls trouble codes from the vehicle’s ECUs, provides resets, reads and graphs live data. It also provides 16 maintenance service functions, but that depends on your particular vehicle, so get more information from the seller if you want to know if the tool will perform a particular function on your vehicle. Use the … Read More
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How to calibrate your impact wrench for torque sticks A torque stick can’t work properly if you don’t first calibrate each stick to your impact wrench. Here’s how to calibrate your impact wrench for torque sticks. Set your impact to its lowest torque setting. Insert the torque stick and tighten the lug nut until the nut stop turning. Using a hand held torque wrench set to the carmakers’ recommended final torque, try tightening the lug nut with the torque wrench. If the handheld torque wrench immediately clicks without any additional … Read More
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Impact torque sticks — are they accurate? Here are the facts on impact torque sticks To be accurate, they must be calibrated to you impact wrench Most torque stick manufacturers recommend using the torque stick on the impact’s lowest or second to lowest setting. You must verify that your air or electric impact wrench is not over-torquing the lug nut. Using a high setting will still over-torque the lug nut and damage the torque stick Even when properly calibrated, using a torque stick is NOT a substitute for final hand … Read More
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Sway bar end link replacement cost Replacing the sway bar end links at a shop is not a complicated repair. It’s a bit cheaper if you replace sway bar end links at the same time you’re replacing the struts. So ask the shop for a combo price on struts and links. Example sway bar end link replacement cost for a  Subaru Outback There is nothing unique about a 2016 Subaru Outback. I picked this vehicle because the cost to replace sway bar end links on this vehicle is representative of … Read More
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Easy way to remove sway bar link Ball stud style sway bar end links can be a bear to remove if they aren’t designed with flats on the ball stud side. The flats are designed for an open end wrench to hold the ball stud while you remove the retaining nut on the other side. But some sway bar link manufacturers leave out the flats and instead provide a hex socket to hold the ball stud. That design can leave you very frustrated. Lisle tools made a tool to deal … Read More
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Spark plug indexing What is spark plug indexing? On some late model engines equipped with gasoline direct injection, it’s important for the open end of the spark plug’s ground electrode to not be directly facing either the fuel injector or the intake valve. Once fully torqued, the open section of the spark plug, where the center electrode can be seen, will be within the center of a 45° range of the injector and intake valve. This final positioning allows for “high ignitability.” How to install a spark plug in an … Read More
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The proper way to use intake valve cleaner Using intake valve cleaner the wrong way can damage your catalytic converter You’ll find lots of youtube videos and articles showing you how to inject upper intake cleaner into a vacuum line. Following those videos can cost you a lot of money because injecting an intake valve cleaner into a vacuum line creates an unmetered air leak that can overheat your catalytic converter and destroy it. Why injecting intake valve cleaner into a vacuum line is wrong on modern engines Most late … Read More
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