On older Volvos, owners often dismissed ABS messages because the culprit was likely a faulty solder on the control module; no functioning ABS, but not harm to the car. However, ABS warnings should...
Car batteries are a wear item that gets replaced every few years. Hopefully you’ll change it before you get stuck somewhere with a bad battery, which is the leading cause for car breakdowns. Most batteries fail because of sulfation: a build-up of lead sulfate crystals. A sulfated battery can lead...
Our April AER race at Watkins Glen was cut short when the engine went "boom" and stopped running at about 100 mph through the esses. Many hours of "what the hell happened" later, we discovered that one of the rod bearings had failed, causing the rod to overheat and eventually snap in half. We...
I’ve been to plenty classic car shows that had sections devoted to my favorite marques, but I have never before seen so many ancient variations on a single brand until The Vintage visited my hometown this weekend. If your BMW isn’t rocking round (or popup) headlights, it’s probably too young for...
One of the simplest of things to keep up on your Volvo is its maintenance. Your Volvo requires regular routine maintenance to keep it in tip top shape, running efficiently, and to maintain its peak performance. It’s often realized that bringing your car to the dealership every 7500 miles can be...
Like it or not, there will come a time that you just won’t be able to drive your car. Maybe it's because you need to put it away for the season, or that you need to take care of other projects before getting back to your toy. Nonetheless, if you need to park your car for long periods of time, you...
In the winter I’d get this endless, annoying noise from the dash whenever I drove the 2004 Saab 9-3 Arc. It didn’t come back as much when the spring season warmed it up but it would still return at times. I figured out that it was coming from the trim right about the heating controls below the...
If you car begins to exhibit strange throttle behavior, lacks throttle response, or has surging power, the likely culprit is the fuel pressure sensor. It's very common for this sensor to get gunked up around 100k miles while some of the early sensors from 2004-2007 may fail prematurely due to a...
A few weeks ago I had a rear passenger unexpectedly break off the rear roof handle as he was leaving the vehicle. We all had fun with it saying he was trying to do a chin-up on the way out but we also were all surprised it broke off to begin with. None of us have ever seen something like this...
I recently found 2 of the 3 engine cover bolts to have stripped out threads on a 2004 Saab 9-3 Arc. The bolts no longer would bite and just kept spinning indefinitely. The bolts were fine but the threads inside the holes were damaged. One popular option to repair stripped threads is to use...
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