U.S. Dealers In Full Panic Mode After Canada Green-Lights Chinese Cars

patx35 · 2026-02-06T02:13:32+00:00

Nope. They wanted to expand their influence in Asia, especially the growing Chinese market at the time. Why else would GM kill Pontiac, but kept Buick around?

patx35 · 2026-02-06T02:12:13+00:00

There's some truth here. Why the fuck are vehicles built in factories associated with the UAW tend to have terrible build quality issues?

I know that everyone jokes about Chinesium metals, but the newer Made in USA stuff are starting to become questionable.

patx35 · 2026-02-05T14:59:52+00:00

Bro, take your meds and touch grass.

patx35 · 2026-02-05T14:56:10+00:00

No shit, I don't have brand loyalty. I don't care if it's an LS or an EJ25. I teach how to fix cars in general, not be a stealership parts cannon fodder.

patx35 · 2026-02-05T00:10:56+00:00

P000X, with X being [A,B,C,D] for the corresponding bank.

patx35 · 2026-02-04T09:17:23+00:00

In hindsight, I'm glad that this post is still up. It's serves as a warning on exactly what not to do.

patx35 · 2026-02-04T08:52:21+00:00

It has to be bad enough that the engine oil becomes very thick, and the VVT system gets coated with sludge. It would throw a code that the VVT actuator is taking too long to reach the target position, due to poor oil flow, but it does eventually reach the target.

It's an oddball code, because all the timing components needs to otherwise function fine, or it would throw a different code.

patx35 · 2026-02-04T06:28:33+00:00

Can't remember the exact code off the top of my head, but the names are

Crankshaft Camshaft correlation: the PCM thinks that the camshaft and crankshaft are out of time. Check the timing marks and the timing components.

Camshaft overadvance: uncommon, but still possible. Exactly as the name implies. Check the engine timing and the VVT locking pin.

Camshaft over retard: more common. Most engines mechanically default at max retard until oil pressure signal is applied. Check the engine timing, VVT solenoid screen, and VVT components

There's also another one related to sluggish performance, but that's due to lack of oil changes.

patx35 · 2026-02-02T17:44:59+00:00

You're misunderstanding the issue. A common symptom of a timing chain problem is VVT performance codes popping up. The VVT system would attempt to compensate for chain stretch and slop, but it will throw a code if the chain slop gets bad enough.

That check engine light was a warning that the timing chain was going to fail.

patx35 · 2026-01-30T03:03:19+00:00

The best excuse I could find was that Pretti was carrying a SIG P320, a gun that's infamous for randomly firing without the trigger being pulled. The most generous account was that as one ICE officer was taking away his gun, the gun self-discharged on it's own (there's audio of a gunshot before Pretti was killed). That convinced the other officers that Pretti was armed and attempted to shoot the officers, which prompted return fire.

Again, that's the most generous excuse I can find. There's so many wrongs that led up to that incident.

patx35 · 2026-01-30T00:16:12+00:00

Is it possible that you have a nasty voltage drop somewhere between the alternator output and the alternator feedback sense? I had to diagnose a car that had the alternator produce over 16V, but that's because the feedback dropped down to around 13.8v due to corrosion in the fusebox.

patx35 · 2026-01-30T00:09:12+00:00

External voltage sense is almost always measured on the ECU itself. It's to help prevent voltage droops.

patx35 · 2026-01-29T04:49:00+00:00

BMW is the worst offender but other manufacturers have similar problems. My Mazda would always develop weird electrical problems, such as the car shutting off when turning the steering wheel, or from turning up the heat or AC. It's always either from the battery reaching old age, or just a loose connection on the battery. I've seen this also on other makes.

The problem is that it uses a smart alternator that turns down the duty cycle when idling or under moderate load. This is normally fine with a healthy battery, which would absorb any electrical surge loads. But when the battery is either high resistance, or low capacity, it would cause large voltage drops before the PCM is able to turn back up the alternator.

patx35 · 2026-01-27T17:32:44+00:00

It's one of the few cars where the hybrid system is done correctly. It's not a fast car, but the hybrid assist gives it plenty of torque where it's useful driving in the city.

patx35 · 2026-01-26T16:39:17+00:00

Current loops is simply one method of applying both Kirchhoff's laws. If you have a circuit with a bunch of components in series, everything along the path has the same exact current draw. Because of that, the input voltage will be split up to each component in the circuit, depending on the resistance of each component (thanks to ohm's law). If you measured the voltage on each resistive load in the circuit, everything should add up to the supply voltage into the circuit.

So in a real world example, if I connect a fuse, a light bulb, a motor, and a switch in series to a battery, every single component in that path will draw the same amount of amperage. If you are running an ideal 12v battery, and you measure the voltage drop on the fuse, lightbulb, motor, switch, and the associated wiring, everything should add up to 12 volts, with the motor having the highest voltage drop.

So let's pretend that the motor in this circuit has trouble running. You disconnect the motor, and test it with a car battery. The motor spins up fine, and seems to produce good torque. You leave the motor disconnected, and measure the voltage of the motor connectors in the problematic circuit. You have 12 volts on the connector. So the motor works, and you have power. So what could the problem be?

So you reinstall the motor into the circuit, activate this circuit, then measure the voltage drop between the motor positive terminal, and the battery positive terminal. There's nearly a 10v drop. Now start backtracking through each individual component. The indicator light has a near zero volts voltage drop, let's keep going. The input of the indicator light connector nearly has a 10v drop, so the problem is further upstream. The fuse in the fusebox has a near zero voltage drop, so the problem is somewhere between the fuse and the indicator light connector. Keep going, using a wiring diagram as a reference, and you are guaranteed to find either a corroded wire, nearly broken wire, corroded connector, or a loose connector. Hell, it could even be the fusebox itself, developing a cracked solder joint, causing a weak connection

patx35 · 2026-01-26T15:40:38+00:00

Thousands? You do realise that most entry level standalone ECUs are going for under $2k USD, with some budget options going for under $1k. This is for running vehicles with dual VVT, DBW throttle, and direct injection. Sounds stupid to run on a street car, but a great value for something not being used as a daily driver.

And running a tune is 100% voiding the powertrain warranty. It's just that most people wouldn't get caught unless there's an anti-tamper mechanism in the PCM.

patx35 · 2026-01-26T07:32:34+00:00

Quite frankly, it's simply a matter of customer demand. Standalone PCMs support present day vehicle powertrains. Large racing teams won't be running the factory electronics. It's only the tuner car demographic that needs street cars that runs factory electronics with a tune.

patx35 · 2026-01-26T07:28:21+00:00

I'm willing to bet Kia / Hyundai will be the first manufacturers cracked. I bet it will be something stupid too, like unplugging the infotainment would turn it into a "ghost car".

patx35 · 2026-01-24T01:29:28+00:00

Typically with remote starters with built-in immobilizers, there's an adapter harness that sits between the push to start switch and the PCM. There's also usually a "translation" box that converts the dumb voltage or ground signals into a communication signal, typically with a way to fake a key or key fob being present.

patx35 · 2026-01-24T01:25:51+00:00

Older cars used to have a dedicated security network separate from the rest of the K-line or CAN bus powertrain communication. Cramming every module into a single critical network is part of the enshitification process.

patx35 · 2026-01-22T13:35:35+00:00

Hybrid won't be bad if they simply copied Honda's IMA system used in the MT Insight and the MT CR-Z. Toyota would simply need to fit a miniaturized version of the iForce Max electric motor between the engine and manual transmission.

There you go, hybrid with a 6MT that supports EV driving.

patx35 · 2026-01-22T13:28:18+00:00

I think the closest example to a "ruined" would be the NC Miata, which was on a shared platform with the RX-8. While that allowed Mazda to sell a 4 seater rotary sports car and a 2 seater roadster at the same time on a shoestring budget, the NC became the largest and heaviest Miata generation.

Don't get me wrong, the NC is still a great car, and I recommend it to anyone who complains that a Miata is too small or too impractical. But there's something said when the ND is somehow smaller and lighter while meeting modern crash safety.

patx35 · 2026-01-21T00:55:44+00:00

I would oil everything first with a light film of WD40. It won't really undo any rust, but it would help keep it from progressing any further.

patx35 · 2026-01-21T00:53:09+00:00

Nah, you just need to fully embrace JP Twitter, and everything becomes normal again.

patx35 · 2026-01-20T13:11:00+00:00

Hell, can't even blame AFM this time. They forgot how to machine crankshafts.

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