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Brakes
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Description
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Brake fade
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Stopping distance seems to increase, causing longer braking distance, similar to braking at high speeds
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Low brake pedal
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Brake pedal must be pushed unusually far to engage brakes
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Brake pedal pulsation
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Brake pedal fluctuates while brakes are applied
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Grabs
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Vehicle has a tendency to move right or left when brakes are applied; brakes engage suddenly when applying steady pressure to brake pedal
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Engine
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Description
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Cuts out
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Temporary complete loss of power. Engine quits at irregular intervals. May occur repeatedly or intermittently, usually under heavy acceleration.
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Detonation
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Mild to severe pings, usually worse under acceleration. Sounds like popcorn popping.
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Dieseling
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Engine runs after ignition switch is turned off. Runs unevenly and may make knocking noises.
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Hesitation
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Momentary lack of response as accelerator is pressed. Can occur at any speed. Usually most severe when starting from complete stop. May cause engine to stall.
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Miss
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Pulsation or jerking that changes with engine speed. Exhaust has a steady spitting sound at idle or low speed. Not normally felt above 30 mph.
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Rough idle
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Engine runs unevenly at idle. Car may also shake.
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Sluggish
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Engine delivers limited power under load or at high speed. Won't accelerate as fast as normal. Loses speed going up hills. Vehicle has less speed than normal.
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Spongy
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Little or no increase in speed when accelerator is pushed down. Continuing to push pedal down will eventually give an increase in speed.
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Stall
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Engine stops running or dies out. May occur at idle or while driving.
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Surge
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Vehicle speeds up and slows down with no change on accelerator pedal. Can occur at any speed.
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Steering & Handling
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Description
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Bottoming
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Suspension moves to extreme end of travel and hits compression bumpers. Feels like a heavy thud.
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Excessive play
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Steering wheel must be turned unusually far before vehicle responds.
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Hard steering
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Vehicle difficult to steer, especially during parking situations or when first started.
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Pulls
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Vehicle moves to one side when steering wheel is released.
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Shimmy
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Rapid side-to-side motion of both front wheels felt in steering wheel.
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Sway/pitching
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Mushy or spongy ride; vehicle takes a long time to recover from bumps in the road.
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Vibration
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Vehicle shakes.
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Wanders
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Vehicle meanders, requiring frequent steering adjustments to maintain direction.
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Odors & Stains
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Description
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Antifreeze or coolant leak
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Sweet odor, usually accompanied by steam from under the hood.
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Axle leaks
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Black stains with heavy, thick consistency.
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Burning oil
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Thick, heavy odor, sometimes accompanied by smoke from under the hood or from the exhaust
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Coolant streaks
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Yellow, green, pink, or orange stains that are lighter and thinner than oil.
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Crankcase, oil, power-steering fluid leaks
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Brownish stains
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Electrical short
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Acrid odor, like burned toast
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Emission
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Contigious, heavy sulfur odor like rotten eggs
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Overheated brakes or clutch
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Burning rubber odor
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Overheating
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Hot, metallic odor usually accompanied by antifreeze/coolant odor.
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Transmission oil leaks
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Reddish stains
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