Problems seem to pop up periodically, sometimes with the cruise control, sometimes with the air conditioner. I never know if those things are going to work or not. Also sometimes turn signals will just stop working, but just briefly. Consumer Reports had these problems listed in their ratings, but I did not know that when I purchased the car. I have had the car since 2002, and it runs great, and gets good gas mileage {27 mpg}, and if not for the electrical snafus, I would be happy. I’ve had mechanics check it out and no-one can come up with a solution. Sometimes it is slow to start, when it is warmed up, but starts fine when cold. I do worry that someday, it just won’t start. Any ideas? Other than trading it in! Thanks, Evelyn
Before we move on,remove the postive battery cable and check the terminal for corrosion and acid leakage.Its is better to put vehicle data in the posts body and not depend on people picking it up from the tags.
I failed to put in the year of my car. It is a 1999, and I have had it for 7 1/2 years. These problems have been there since about 6 months after I purchased. In that time, my husband has had the battery cables off, has cleaned them at least twice, plus we recently put a new battery in. Maybe we should replace the cables. But one other thing. I have a good friend who owns 5 or 6 NAPA stores in our area. His daughter had a car identical to mine. He has access to a bunch of mechanics and no-one could fix her car. He finally just got rid of it. I cannot afford to do that. So any other suggestions? Thanks for your reply. Evelyn
I suggest you get a service manual and see how the items you mentioned are tied to power. There may be a common point of failure, possibly with the ignition switch or in the fuse area.
Thanks for your reply. I will try that.
A bad ground can cause these kinds of problems. I have fixed some Toyotas, Chevrolets and a Cadillac. On the Toyotas I disconnected the engine to body grounds and scraped the paint off at the connection on the body; all problems were solved. On the others, I made an extra cable and found a place on the engine to connect it and then connected to a fender bolt; problems were fixed.
Those electrical things have to ground somewhere permanently and not be left seeking a ground whenever they can find one. Yes, the starting problems were fixed too.
Thank You very much for your reply. At this point, I am ready to try anything! Evelyn