A website idea for mechanics to share knowledge on specific car models

General Discussion
1

I like the website Car complaints, because you can view issues with cars by the make, model, and year. (I think Repair Pal may be another website that shows problems with vehicles)

But I think it would be nice for there to be a dedicated website for mechanics to share tips for specific cars/car generations.

E.g. say I add a page for the 2006 Volvo S60. A mechanic with real world experience would visit and contribute this advice: “ignore the manual that says to never change the trans fluid; do it every 50,000 and check used cars for trans service history.”

Also my mechanic told me while he was changing the timing belt and replacing oil seals at 200k miles that he would check the cam hubs. Apparently those will leak oil when worn out and it’s good to change while in there. And sure enough the cam hubs on my car were loose and we replaced them.

So I would think on this theoretical website, there’s two sections at least: one lists issues that are common or rare by car model.

The next category has a maintenance schedule based on mechanics’ experience rather than just the car’s manual, and also integrates some preventative maintenance for the known issues above.
(For example, replacing worn cam hubs. Also Volvos need a PCV system check occasionally and replacement in regular intervals, not mentioned in the manual. Plus there is a banjo bolt that will break off and get sucked into the intake and damage engine, which Volvo should have recalled, but never did)

And the website can list people’s tips and photos for car services/repairs, or links to relevant websites with tips.

Real world advice like “this bolt is hard to take out, be warned.” Though there are plenty of forum posts out there on car repairs that are more detailed than repair manuals, having all the miscellaneous tips centralized on one website can make it easier to find them.

I would think this website would be a bit better than car complaints, as that website takes people’s problem reports, but it is not organized into a maintenance schedule to prevent those problems. Also, I noticed that the reports are likely from owners, not experienced mechanics, and the less popular car models consequently have less reports and look more reliable. And some are missing issues that the cars have. Volvo has no mention of banjo bolts breaking or PCV system service, for example.

2

What you describe is a car specific forum. Say, one for Mustangs, or Miatas or Volvos. Multiples of each exist. Some are more social and less technical. Some are very technical. I have found Mustang forums, for example, that are drag racing focused, others more track day focused. I own a Chevy Avalanche… out of production over 10 years… there are forums for this model.

All it takes is a call to Google to find them.

What you describe is a central point to connect them all. It may even exist. Google that.

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3

Sounds like it already exists. It’s called “Google” or maybe it’s “Yahoo”. Or could it be………wait for it………the internet?

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I belong to a number of chat groups where there is a separate area for the professionals versus the DIY type of crowd. Most of the threads are visible to all participants. One thing becomes clear quickly, the pros are not out to educate their competition and help them take away business or become more profitable… Occasionally you will see some old crusty pro try to help a newbie just starting out with some really beneficial advice. Sadly, many times they are young and too arrogant to accept it…

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I think a website such as that could have so many different opinions and wrong information to be pretty worthless . Just look at some of the wrong guesses this site gets.

6

It does become aggravating to offer suggestions to troubled DIYers who dismiss the help and often insult the intelligence of those who offer it.

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I mean, it has to be vetted as a wiki so knowledge isn’t approved until multiple people get it. I’m sure it would be more accurate than 1 YouTube video for example.

If there are reputable car forums, like this one, then this theoretical website could have a similar structure. Or even just be part of an existing car forum

8

Can you show me an all encompassing maintenance schedule for the 2006 Volvo S60? I’m not saying it isn’t found out from a Google search, but it’s kinda sporadic. And in a forum format, there is going to be tens of not hundreds of comments to sort through. If anything, couldn’t a maintenance schedule be written based on forum articles to take away the work of having to organize the information? Otherwise, every internet user will have to do that work over and over again to put together their own notes.

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Hey, the internet doesn’t have everything on it currently! If it did, we’d have no need for more websites. And Google changes constantly. If a website goes down, the results disappear. As new model generations come out, search for a certain year can yield other results.

And how come it’s not easy to find the banjo bolt defect for Volvos? Repair Pal says nothing: Volvo S60 Problems and Complaints - 26 Issues

This video shows the banjo bolt defect, how serious it is, and people in the comments with enthusiast k nowledge said the banjo bolt design is defective, and Volvo released a new version without recalling the old design.

10

Owners manual has that and the owner is allowed to do anything more often is it makes then sleep at night.

Xuandy ( which I have no idea how to pronounce ) you do not have to reply to each person’s post . What you post is seen by eveyone.

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I didn’t realize that, I thought it would be easier to reply to each person individually. Sorry if I replied too much. P.s. the owners manual says nothing about transmission service, PCVservice , etc. The owner’s manual says to only change the transmission fluid at 100k if towing, so if owners followed that, they would ruin the transmission. Similar advice in a lot of other manuals. Volvo specific, they only say to check the PCV system, not replace, and there is no instruction to test the PCV for vacuum. So if owners didn’t change the PCV System, they could blow out their oil seals. (Notorious/common Volvo issue)

Also, a lot of manuals say to change oil at 7500 or 10k mile intervals, but most mechanics would recommend 5k or 3k. So the owners manual is not complete advice. They don’t talk about how oil is cheap insurance, or that you should check the cam hubs when changing the timing belt, etc.

If anything, having a user contributed version of the maintenance schedule gives power to people who don’t know better to know better. If not us, then the 16 year old first learning how to drive.

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Mr. Google found this for me in about 10 seconds… 7500 miles to 150K

and one from Volvo itself…

The owners manual IS complete advice. It was written by the people who designed your car and know best how to maintain it. You can always go with shorter intervals if you like.

While Jiffy Lube may want you back every 3K miles (because they make money on oil changes), few here would suggest that was needed with modern oils.

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Well, I apologize for the misconception. I guess everybody should do 10k intervals. But the point stands that Volvo says to never change the trans fluid unless you tow with the vehicle (see attached photo)

Why would they tell that to an owner who is supposed to be able to trust them as an expert? No trans fluid changes in 150k miles, while other vehicles with the same Aisin transmission recommend trans fluid changes. I can attest that skimping on trans fluid changes messed up the transmission on my car, though it is surprisingly not that bad compared to my last car, a Buick.

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Another example is from my previous car. The manual (which is from the year 2000, when the car was new) said to use Dexcool coolant only. But almost everybody online says to avoid Dexcool, since it becomes acidic and causes gasket failure. The manual is outdated as it’s in print, and I don’t believe GM ever revised it or sent a letter to owners saying not to use Dexcool.

14

You are making this way too difficult . Modern vehicle can survive longer oil changes ( 3000 is overkill ) . Most of them say xxxx miles or 12 months . Many new vehicles will put a notice on the dash that it is time to change oil or give a percentage value.

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It’s good to know, then. I was just saying there should be a website where mechanics offer their advice, and the cars owner can compare their advice to the manufacturers and choose.

Personally, I’d go with 5k. But if you guys go longer, good for you, why should I tell you when to change oil?

16

I didn’t really mean for this to turn into an argument, so let’s stop talking about it since it is. thanks for your input guys. I just wanted to point out sometimes the maintenance schedule in the owners manual isn’t right, at least for Volvo cars. But if you guys don’t believe me, it’s okay.

17

No, what they are stating is that it shouldn’t be necessary to change it unless one is towing. I don’t think that the word “never” is ever used in maintenance schedules.

I definitely agree with that!
For quite a few years, manufacturers have been in a virtual race to “prove” that their vehicles have the lowest maintenance cost, and as a result, they intentionally omit some maintenance procedures with the knowledge that failure of a particular component isn’t likely to take place during the warranty period. If it fails after the warranty has elapsed, it is the problem of the vehicle owner–not the mfr.

All I can tell you is that I change my trans fluid every 30k miles, and I have never had a trans problem or failure. By contrast, I know a couple of people who never serviced their trans, and they wound-up having to overhaul their transmission at ~100k miles–after their warranty expired.

Everything listed in a maintenance schedule should be treated as a minimum requirement. Doing more than the minimum can be very important, especially if somebody does mostly local, short-trip driving.

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Took all of .51 seconds.

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19

How would a Volvo owner know to search the internet for banjo bolt problems unless they already experienced the failure?

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20

Yes, it would be nice. But such a thing isn’t possible b/c it could be easily abused by someone with either an ax to grind, or someone promoting a particular product or brand. Conflict of interest problem.

Volvo banjo bolt problem? I can’t imagine how a banjo bolt failure problem would ever happen. Gaskets could fail I guess. It seems hard to imagine the banjo bolt itself would fail.

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