Top 5 Repairs Every Car Owner Should Know But Not Try

A recent Haynes.com blog article about the Top 5 Repairs Every Car Owner Should Know offers some helpful advice on preparedness:

"Cars go wrong. It's one of the reasons Haynes exists: we're here to help home mechanics repair their vehicles. It doesn't matter how experienced you are; with a Haynes manual in one hand (either as a printed book or an online manual) and suitable tools in the other, you can carry out basic car repairs yourself at home.

The key point (aside from making a sale) of the Haynes blog article is this: understanding that when something goes wrong with your car, it is often fixable to the point where even the mechanically disinclined can find and possibly implement a solution through the guidance of a car repair manual specific to your car.

This is true in many aspects of DIY car repair. However, there is also something I like to refer to as "DIY Trying."

To paraphrase Master Yoda: "Try not. Do or do not. There is no try on this car repair."

No judgments here. We are all unique and possess our own individual strengths and weaknesses. The odds are that if you were not raised with tools as a kid at home, you may not possess DIY mechanical inclinations.

In other words, the torque wrench force might not be with you.

My point is that if you follow enough car repair advice forums, you will find a plethora of cases where the OP attempted a repair and failed because they undertook it without prior experience, sufficient knowledge, and guidance.

In these cases, "trying" only made matters worse and resulted in a bigger repair bill.

However, this does not mean that you cannot be prepared for an automotive emergency or non-emergency. At the very least, by perusing a repair manual, you will know whether a mechanic is handing you a reasonable estimate for a repair job, which is one of the biggest non-mechanic benefits of owning a Haynes manual.

Well…that and having easy access to torque values for your car's fasteners.

The Top 5 Repairs Every Car Owner Should Know…And Maybe Not Try

That said, here is a summary of the top 5 repairs you can expect with a different twist about those repairs―Real-world repair problems that may prevent or should discourage you from attempting.

Repair #1: Starting Issues

The Haynes blog does a good job of helping you identify the possible causes of a car not starting. For the mechanically disinclined, jump-starting an engine appears to be a reasonable first attempt at DIY and sounds simple enough.

Here's what can and does go wrong sometimes that I have seen on social media posts:

1. Failing to read the owner's manual on your specific model.
2. Connecting the jumper cables on the wrong posts in the wrong order.
3. Discovering your battery management system needs to be reset.
4. Frying your engine's ECM because you accidentally touched a jumper cable lead too close to the ECM while looking for good ground.
5. Reasoning that you should be able to jump-start a hybrid battery.

Repair #2: Check engine light is on

The Haynes blog guides readers toward the value of an OBD scan tool, a topic I have covered in multiple articles.

Here's what can and does go wrong sometimes:

1. Relying on a basic scan tool for accurate diagnosing without understanding that just because a trouble code is shown does not always mean that it IS the problem.
2. Firing the parts cannon based on what the scan tool indicates.
3. Not following a true diagnostic path or becoming confused when following a diagnostic path when your results take you in the wrong direction.
4. Spending too little on a scan tool.
5. Spending too much on a scan tool.

Repair #3: Weird noises

The Haynes Blog correctly points out that weird noises coming from your car are difficult to diagnose and treat:

Car noises can be notoriously tricky to trace, so it's always helpful to have someone with you to help narrow it down, especially if you need to operate the controls from the driver's seat to recreate the issue.

While it is good to have an idea of the possibilities behind the noise once you think you've identified where it is coming from, this has its inherent limitations.

The most common mistake of the non-mechanic is to "try" to treat the noise by firing the parts cannon at the problem until the problem goes away. A parts inspection should always back up a noise diagnosis before tossing what may otherwise have been a perfectly fine OEM part.

Repair #4: How to fix a flat tire

The Haynes blog offers two detailed fixes: a thorough step-by-step flat tire change procedure and the option of a fix-a-flat in a can solution.

Here's what can and does go wrong sometimes:

1. You cannot remove the lug nuts because the tech at the service center over-torqued them.
2. You cannot remove the lug nuts without damaging them because the lug nut wrench that came with the car is subpar in its fit and has too short of a handle, encouraging the car owner to attempt to use his foot for some added force.
3. The jack breaks on you because, like the lug nut wrench that came with the car, it is cheaply made and will not work without breaking unless its placement is perfectly centered on a level, flat, firm concrete surface rather than the side of a roadway.
4. The correct jack points were not used by the car owner.
5. Most fix-a-flat type car products do not work.
6. You get hit by a passing car while distracted bending over a flat tire.

Repair #5: How to replace squeaking wiper blades

Haynes rightfully points out that "This is one of the easiest car repairs to do yourself" and offers this useful bit of advice:

Before you remove the old blades, take a close-up photo of where they connect to the arm – this could be useful if the new ones come with a variety of adapters to fit different wiper arms."

Here's what can and does go wrong sometimes:

1. The owner lets the raised wiper slap down on the windshield after changing the blade, which has been known to sometimes be forceful enough to crack the windshield.
2. The owner improperly installs the replacement blade and the windshield gets scratched by the wiper arm.

The Customer States, "This Happened at Another Garage" Excuse Fails

For some of the worst DIY car repair attempts you can only imagine, here is an excellent video to show what can and does happen before a customer winds up having to be towed to the repair shop for help to fix their mistake.

Even trained mechanics sometimes can get a repair wrong: Be sure to check out this article titled "A Dealership Horror Story That Could Happen To You" for a little more balanced perspective.

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Timothy Boyer is an automotive reporter based in Cincinnati who currently researches and works on restoring older vehicles with engine modifications for improved performance. He also reports on modern cars (including EVs) with a focus on DIY mechanics, buying and using tools, and other related topical automotive repair news. Follow Tim on Twitter at @TimBoyerWrites as well as on Facebook and his automotive blog "Zen and the Art of DIY Car Repair" for useful daily news and topics related to new and used cars and trucks.

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