Car Owners Facing Repair Headaches
14 posts since Jul 2026, all from r/MechanicAdvice.
“I have a 2009 Toyota Tacoma 2WD and a shop diagnosed my steering intermediate shaft as broken. They quoted me: Labor: $387.34 Part (Toyota OEM 45220-04010): $574.18 Is this a reasonable price for this repair? Has anyone replaced the intermediate shaft on their Tacoma? Also…”
“Car: 2007 Toyota Corolla. So, I bought this cheap ValuPower walmart battery in 02 of 2017, and just this week it has "died." I mean.. kind of.. it seems to be eager to power everything except the starter motor. So last Sunday, I drove the Corolla to my destination, and there…”
“Hello all, I'll put my quick question here and give the full story below. A trusted and experienced mechanic advised that I need a new "inside steering column assembly" and he's quoting me $4,300. I've read an old battery could cause this (mine's 4.5 years), but the mechanic…”
Many car owners are experiencing frustrating issues with vehicle repairs, including misdiagnosis by mechanics, unexpected battery failures, and persistent mechanical problems like engine misfires and steering alignment. These experiences often lead to distrust in repair services and concerns about the quality of work performed.
SOURCES (14)
“Hello all, I'll put my quick question here and give the full story below. A trusted and experienced mechanic advised that I need a new "inside steering column assembly" and he's quoting me $4,300. I've read an old battery could cause this (mine's 4.5 years),…”
“Does this ball joint look shot? Or still ok? submitted by /u/Not-Not-Oliver [link] [comments]”
“Got tires at mavis and did an alignment. My steering wheel was to the right a bit when going straight so I asked them to fix it, which was no biggie. They did the alignment again and it’s not to the left about 10 degrees. Is it worth going back a third time or just getting it done somewhere else? submitted by /u/Conmanisbest [link] [comments]”
“I have a 2009 Toyota Tacoma 2WD and a shop diagnosed my steering intermediate shaft as broken. They quoted me: Labor: $387.34 Part (Toyota OEM 45220-04010): $574.18 Is this a reasonable price for this repair? Has anyone replaced the intermediate shaft on their Tacoma? Also, would it be worth buying the genuine Toyota part myself and having the shop install it? I found the part cheaper elsewhere. Just trying to make sure I'm not overpaying before I approve the repair 😭 submitted by ”
“2015 Acura TLX 3.5L Base automatic 188k miles. I replaced my steering wheel as my original leather wheel was tearing. Installed it and had no issues outside of the wheel being off center. I DID accidentally pull the wheel out with the connector still on the clock spring (forgot I had plugged it back in) but put everything back together and it worked just fine. It was a tad crooked after first install so I took the wheel off and reseated it. This threw a bunch of codes at me. I followed the Acura”
“Thoughts on the alignment, needed one to pass the Maryland state inspection. Wheel was crooked slightly when I bought the car and hasn't changed even after an alignment. Car drives straight but I'm not familiar with how good the before and after changes are. The shop mentioned they did it twice and couldn't get it perfect. General Info: 2019 Toyota Avalon: 35k miles. Taken to dealership for post purchase inspection and the only component of the suspension I need to fix is the front s”
“So my friend has a 2019 Volkswagen Tiguan with under 100k miles. He seems to think his starter has gone bad because the car will not turn over without a jump pack or a donor car. I told him, sounds like the battery. He said nah, brought the battery to autozone and they confirmed the battery is fine… not that I trust them to adequately explain anything. I said dude your car will not start if you have a bad starter. Doesn’t matter if you have the entire New York City electrical line attached to th”
“2014 dodge challenger sxt I’ll speed it up, got new control arms in front, both sides, got an alignment, at pepboys, car drove smooth, but steering wheel was off center, which bothered me, I told them , gave the car to them again, wheel still off centered and this is the paper they gave me. Someone told me It looks fake, I wanted an unbiased POV. Car doesn’t lean or anything steering wheel is just to the left a BIT while going straight, when it’s supposed to be in middle. submitted by  ”
“https://preview.redd.it/qpf8iqvppubh1.jpg?width=1980&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=598f062145c59bc9d80bd5940266534ead2c4583 2019 Volkswagen Tiguan with 53,000 miles. Was driving it last week when the engine started misfiring upon accelerating on the highway until I pulled off the next exit and felt like the car was dying. Ended up getting to my destination fine but when I tried to drive it to the shop a few days later it started misfiring again so I pulled over and called a tow to be safe.”
“Car: 2007 Toyota Corolla. So, I bought this cheap ValuPower walmart battery in 02 of 2017, and just this week it has "died." I mean.. kind of.. it seems to be eager to power everything except the starter motor. So last Sunday, I drove the Corolla to my destination, and there were no indications whatsoever of an imminent battery issue (no starter struggling to crank or anything like that.) After being done with my shopping, I tried to start the car, and.. nothing.. no crank, there's”
“Have a 2018 Chevy Malibu LS 1.5L with a turbo 118k miles. Was driving to visit family in lousianna, drove great there, however on the way back about 35 miles from my house in Florida, my car suddenly went sluggish went into limp mode with a check engine light. About 8 seconds later the entire engine stalled. I managed to pull over to the side of the road, and everything was working. Radio, power windows, lights, and dash were working. No overheating on the temp gauge. AC was also working but was”
“Here's before and after, car is an 2000 acura integra gsr, so I unfortunately have 0 caster adjustment unless I go the washer route. Just wondering if this is a crazy left to right difference. submitted by /u/thefightingpie [link] [comments]”
“looking for advice from Mercedes owners/techs. I have a 2022 Mercedes-Benz GLC300 and I’m replacing the main battery with a Costco interstate AGM, H7/94R A couple questions: \*\*Are Costco/Interstate AGM batteries a good alternative to the original Mercedes/Varta battery?\*\* If the specs match — AGM, H7/94R, \~80Ah, \~800 CCA — is there any downside vs going OEM? Or is OEM strongly preferred for these cars? \*\*After replacing the battery, do I need to reset/register the battery in the BMS?\*\*”