Auto Warranty News

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, a recall has been issued by Lexus for 214,500 2006-08 GS, IS, and LS cars.  Apparently, there has been corrosion within fuel pipes that has caused a leak.

Lexus discovered that specific ethanol fuels containing a low moisture content will make the pipes rust.  This can cause the indicator lamp on the dashboard to signal a malfunction, but this doesn’t occur in every case, which is why it’s necessary to have your car checked by a professional.  Lexus has notified car owners via email and will replace the parts that are affected at its dealerships, free of charge.

Unfortunately, you never know when your car parts will fail, which is why it’s so important to protect yourself with used car warranties.  After all, you don’t want to find yourself paying unnecessary repair costs.

Vibrations of the brake pads resulting in a high-pitched sound are what causes brake squeal.  The vibration happens when the pads aren’t insulated properly from the caliper.  The factory equips brake pads with clips, insulator shims, and even a backing made out of silicone that keeps the pad glued to the caliper.  This prevents vibrating.

Often times brake squeal happens when brake pads become too hard.  These surfaces that are hard and smooth rub together and produce a noise similar to nails on a blackboard.  If this is what is happening, you need to resurface your rotors and replace pads.  This should eliminate squealing.

Also, brake rotors should be resurfaced when brakes are being done.  If they aren’t squealing will result.  If brake pads are being replaced, resurfacing of rotors should be done with a finish that is non-directional.  This will ensure that brake pads will break in correctly.

When you hear brake squealing, act immediately.  Take your vehicle to a trained technician to ensure that your brakes are treated correctly.  Make sure that you have an auto warranty to cover any car repairs that you have done.  You don’t want to end up paying more than you have to.

Chrysler is making an effort to get back to usual business, now that it has its money from the bailout.  Although it has basically set its factories to “off,” the carmaker unveiled some brand new concept cars at the 2009 Detroit auto show.  And, underneath those dull displays there was a diamond in the rough:  the Dodge Challenger with a new trim level.

What is to be known as the R/T Classic, this new Challenger is going to be available in showrooms this February for a price of $33,280 including an auto warranty.  That price is $3,460 more than the standard R/T.  You can’t find these cars in dealers yet, however, if you’re getting antsy you can now order one.

The new R/T Classic steals many styling cues from the Challenger of the 1970s, which includes new racing stripes, badging of the original Challenger, as well as the original B5 Blue paint job.  In addition, all R/T Classics come with dual hood scoops that are functional.  The standard 18-inch wheels are replaced with 20s as part of the Challenger package.  On a standard R/T they are a $1,350 option.

Chrysler has experienced a sales decrease of 30% last year, and the carmaker has been damaged by the recession more than other carmakers due to its lineup of vehicles that is lackluster. The Challenger is definitely one of the carmakers largest sales successes with 17,423 sales in 2008.

Most people believe that SUVs are the safest vehicles on the road; however, recent test results show that midsize SUVs may not offer the best safety.  In fact, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety says that a lot of cars produced better results in crash tests than six midsize SUVs.

The SUVs tested were the Chevrolet Trailblazer, Nissan Pathfinder, Nissan Xterra, Ford Explorer, Jeep Grand Cherokee and Toyota 4Runner.  These vehicles were tested in a front collision at 40mph and a side impact.

All of these vehicles showed improvement since the last IIHS test.  In the instance of the front collision, five out of the six vehicles were rated Good.  The Trailblazer was rated Acceptable.

However, the results of the side-impact tests weren’t as good.  The Trailblazer and Grand Cherokee didn’t protect the torso because they are only equipped with standard side airbags to protect the head.  The Pathfinder, 4Runner, and Xterra had better performance with side impact because they include side airbags that protect the torso as well as the head.  However, cars had better ratings on side impact.

If you’re looking to purchase a midsize SUV, purchase one with high crash ratings.  For instance, the Ford TaurusX and Edge, Hyundai Santa Fe, Honda Pilot, and Subaru Tribeca are the highest rated midsize SUVs.  Although these SUVs are durable, it’s necessary to purchase an auto warranty to protect yourself from repair costs down the road.  After all, no vehicle is full proof.

Car dealers have haggled with car shoppers for years.  This practice has allowed salesmen to con buyers into buying cars and new car warranties, using all kinds of negotiating strategies.  But car dealers have paid for it by being known as untrustworthy.

Some dealers are changing their old ways by dumping haggling.  The eighth largest chain of dealers in America, Lithia Automotive Group, announced that they are going to make all 108 of their stores haggle-free within three years.

Toyota’s Scion has implemented a policy for no negotiation from its onset four years ago.  This has prompted dealers who sell Toyota vehicles to apply the one-price approach.

And all over the country, independent dealers who carry various brands of domestic and foreign vehicles are teaching their employees to sell cars like the rest of the retail world.  In other words, cars come with a price tag and a smile from the salesperson.

This no-haggle method will make buying a car a more pleasant experience for consumers.  Now that people can look up a car’s base price online, they don’t have patience for haggling.  In addition, people are able to compare the prices of new car warranties online.

When your car needs basic services, such as an oil change, where do you take it?  Chances are you will go to a quick lube business, not your dealer.

However, Acura is striving to get back the quick-lube consumers by creating its Accelerate service program for Acura owners.  The concept is for Acura dealership service departments to start offering affordable, quick services that bring car owners back to the dealership.

Services will include tire rotation, an oil change, brake-pad checks, tread checks, air monitoring, a car wash and a vacuum for $38.95, and the whole thing will be completed in less than 47 minutes.

Acura says that more than half of the profits of a dealership come from service and parts, so it is smart to give car owners a reason to come to the dealer instead of the quick lube service joint.  This program will begin with select dealerships in Boston, Chicago, Atlanta, Dallas, Philadelphia and Los Angeles, but will be in all Acura dealerships by 2011.  Maybe this will encourage Acura owners to purchase an auto warranty and have their cars serviced more often.

Terms like geometric morphometrics and pareidolia aren’t generally important to people designing or buying cars, however they were significant in a recent study that found that people see faces when looking at vehicles, and typically they prefer ones that look powerful.

Pareidolia is an occurrence in which people actually see faces in various things from clouds to inkblots to cars.  A recent study was based on this concept and used geometric morphometrics to let participants rank vehicles on how they looked, using traits that are human like disgusted, sad or extroverted.

The results of the study confirmed that pretty much all people like cars that are powerful looking, like the BMW 5 Series.  Also, people tend to shy away from designs that are feeble-looking, like the Toyota Prius because they worry that they won’t be as sturdy and will require a good auto warranty.

Who knows if this research will determine the future designs of cars, but it might mean that we will see more big-mouthed grilles on the roads.

Over the last week there has been a story circulating on the Internet about the owner of a 2009 Nissan GT-R who couldn’t get his auto warranty to cover his blown transmission.  What was the problem?  He claims he turned off the stability control in order to use the vehicle’s launch control feature.  Making that mistake cost him about $20,000 in auto repairs.

Nissan is well aware of the story on the Internet, and it says that utilizing the launch control feature or turning the VDC off by himself wouldn’t void the auto warranty.  However, Nissan claims that when the two features are abused and lead to damage, the auto warranty becomes void.  The auto warranty includes normal stipulations about racing, modifications, as well as other changes that void new car warranties.

Nissan couldn’t calculate how car owners could use the vehicle, meaning how often it could be driven on a track or other difficult uses.  Other GT-R drivers have complained about the car’s transmission, but most of them attacked the author of the original story for not being a good driver.

The result of this story is clear for owners of GT-R owners: You shouldn’t drive your GT-R too hard if you don’t want to be the one to pay for it.

A recall has been issued by Kia for 6,680 of the Rondo EX and LX minivans from the model years 2008 and 2009.  According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, there may be a defective fuel pump for the four-cylinder 2.4-liter engine, which may not be able to get enough fuel effectively to the engine.

This could result in engine hesitation or failure of the engine starting correctly, which might endanger motorists if the problem gets progressively worse.  If the problem occurs, the check engine light coming on may alert drivers.

If you have a 2008 or 2009 Kia Rondo, Kia will replace your fuel pump free of charge.  Vehicle owners can also call Kia at 1-800-333-4542.  Taking care of the problem right away may save you trouble in the future.

Unfortunately, you never know when your car will fail, which is why an auto warranty is a must. However, listening for recall alerts can also save you from unnecessary car problems.

The AARP, which was formerly the American Association of Retired Persons, supports various goods and services and endorses them for their members; this includes auto insurance.  Recently, Bloomberg news reported some practices that appear to be pretty shady, in regards to their insurance endorsements.

Some members are actually shelling out double for insurance that is AARP-backed in comparison to what the price would be for another plan.  Why would AARP advise them so wrong?  When people pay for their vehicle insurance, part of the premium goes to the AARP as “fees” and “royalties”.  What this means is that AARP gets a cut of each payment before the insurer receives any payment, and since AARP has a large membership base, it’s a pretty lucrative business.

These so called “fees” have leaped from accounting for about 11% of the AARP’s revenue in the year 1999 to about 43% in 2007.  If this organization is intentionally coaxing its members to pay added funds for their insurance to get financial awards, that is definitely shady.  Especially considering all of the car costs that people have to pay these days, such as used car warranties and maintenance.