QH Auto

QH Automotive's DRIVABILITY INFORMATION

Have you ever felt like you and your auto repair professional do not speak the same language? Is it a clunk or a clank? A whir or a whine? Is it jerking or is it hesitating? When we drive our automobile, we use our senses - sight, smell, hearing, and feel. When something starts to go wrong, one of our senses will usually detect something different. Problems usually occur in two different ways, they either do it continually or intermittently. If something happens and it does it continually, then it probably requires immediate attention. Take your car to your service provider immediately before more damage is incurred. If you do not have a service provider that you trust, then bring it to QH Automotive at 226 West Avenue I. The second type of problem, the intermittent one, is more difficult to find. If the technician cannot duplicate the problem, then he cannot verify if it is fixed or may not be able to find it.

When you notice a problem with your automobile, you can save valuable time by finding out what it is doing, when it is doing it, where it is doing it, and under what conditions. This can be done while you are driving it. It is very helpful to be able to duplicate the problem for your service provider. The next most important thing to do is learn how to describe what the car is doing using the same language as your service provider. We are going to list things that are often noticed by using your senses while driving. We will describe it as you would notice it and give a word a service advisor or technician would use to describe it. Then you and your service provider can "talk the same language". Use the following terminology to either fill out the drivability worksheet or to talk to your service provider.

Get PDF to fill out.

SMELL

GASOLINE

EMISSIONS

Smell of gasoline like when filling your gas tank.

Heavy and continuous sulfur smell, like rotten eggs.

ANTI-FREEZE/COOLANT

BURNING OIL

Sweet, musty, steamy smell. Usually accompanied by under hood steam or slimy film on inside of windshield.

Heavy, thick smell possibly joined by smoke from under hood or car.

ELECTRICAL

OVERHEATED BRAKES OR CLUTCH

Acrid smell, like burnt toast or burnt plastic.

Burning material smell, like burning rubber.

OVERHEATING ENGINE

Hot, metallicy odor usually joined by anti-freeze/coolant smell.

SOUNDS - HEARING

KNOCK

CLUNK

Like knock on door.

Like closing a heavy door.

CLICK

RATTLE

Retractable ballpoint pen.

Rock bouncing around in a can; baby's rattle.

BOOM

GRIND

Thunder clap in the distance; Space Shuttle landing.

Electric can opener; garbage disposal.

RUMBLE

HISS

Rolling thunder; bowling ball rolling slowly down alley.

Tea pot just before it whistles; sound of snake.

ROAR

GROWL

Lion; waterfall.

Mad dog!

SPIT

SQUEAK

Drops of water hitting very hot skillet.

Sneakers on wood floor; noisy door; bedsprings.

WHINE

WHISTLE

Mosquito; dentist drill.

Tea kettle boiling; toy whistle.

VISUAL - SIGHT

AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION LEAK

POWER STEERING LEAK

Usually red, could be brown if burnt, definitely oily.

Could be red, clear, or brown if contaminated, definitely oily.

GEAR OIL - MANUAL TRANS OR AXLE

ENGINE OIL LEAK

Light brown to black, heavy and thick in consistency.

Usually dark, definitely oily feeling.

WATER

BLACK SMOKE

Clear, evaporates - usually no stains.

Usually out tailpipe - dark and black.

WHITE SMOKE

STEAM

Billowy, lingering smoke, could have bluish tinge.

White smoke that dissipates quickly.

ABNORMAL GAUGE READINGS

WARNING LIGHTS

A gauge on instrument panel that reads different than usual.

Lights on instrument panel that come on or flicker.

ANTI-FREEZE/COOLANT

Light and thin, usually leaves stains - could be green, yellow, purple, orange, or pink - could even be rusty!

HANDLING - FEEL

WANDERS

PULL OR GRAB

Vehicle feels like it wants to go where it wants when trying to drive straight - requires frequent steering corrections to maintain direction.

Used to define feel when braking. Vehicle moves left or right when braking. Pull is more gradual; grab is more defined and wants to move steering wheel in direction of pull.

SHIMMY

VIBRATION

Rapid side-to-side motion felt in steering wheel.

Shakes - can happen at any speed.

PULLS

BOUNCY

Vehicle moves left or right when steering wheel is released.

Takes a long time for up and down motion to stop after going over bump or dip.

BOTTOMING OUT

EXCESSIVE PLAY IN STEERING WHEEL

Suspension moves to end of travel. Heavy thud felt - like a clunk but more suppressed.

Must turn steering wheel excessively before vehicle responds.

HARD STEERING

LOW BRAKE PEDAL

Hard to turn steering wheel, especially when parking.

Pedal must be pushed unusually far before brakes engage.

SINKING BRAKE PEDAL

BRAKES FADE

Vehicle starts to brake then eases up and pedal must be pushed more. Sometimes sinks while sitting at a light.

Must push harder on pedal to have same braking effect. Severe cases can cause vehicle to not stop - felt especially on long down hill runs.

PERFORMANCE - FEEL

PINGING

SLUGGISH

Sharp, rapid, metallic knocking noise with engine running usually worse on acceleration.

Less power or slower response than normal, won't accelerate as fast as normal. Loses excessive speed up hills.

MISSFIRE

CUTS OUT

Jerking sensation felt when driving - can be mild or feel like it is cutting out when severe. Sputtering out tailpipe when idling.

Temporary loss of power, feels like engine quits at sharp irregular intervals - usually worse under heavy load.

HESITATES

SURGES

Momentary lack of response when stepping on gas pedal, may cause engine to stall.

Engine or vehicle speeds up and slows down with no change in gas pedal.

DEISELING

STALLS

Engine continues to run after ignition is turned off. Engine usually shakes and can make knocking noise.

Engine stops running, can happen at idle or while driving.

ROUGH IDLE OR ROUGH RUN

Engine runs unevenly, shakes.

Wow! What a lot of stuff! Thank you for your patience. If you accurately fill out the following printable worksheet and bring it in to QH Automotive when you are experiencing a problem, we will take 10% off the labor (up to $50!)