I’m sure you have other questions and information about “spy cameras” in rental cars. thank you. – invoice
invoice: You know how back in the day, when people used to travel by horse, you had to shovel snow from city streets? Well, that’s the story.
When the Internet first appeared, I remember thinking that it could be a great educational tool for all of humanity, that it would make all the world’s knowledge available to everyone at their fingertips. Instead, it provides a forum for all the knuckleheads in the world with all the knowledge and paranoid imaginations to find like-minded knuckleheads and spread their nonsense.
Well, let’s get back to talking about cars and leave the philosophical stuff to Tips from Eloise. There’s no truth to this, Bill. If a rental car company secretly records its customers, it would be violating all sorts of state and federal laws.
There is no device in the car provided by the manufacturer that allows the rental company to do this. And no respectable car rental company will install such equipment. There is no benefit for the rental car company. And the risks are enormous, from criminal liability to international embarrassment and loss of customers.
So, rest assured, Bill, neither your boss nor, perhaps more importantly, your spouse recorded what you last said in your rental car. Unless that Snoopy Alexa is listening.
Dear Car Talk: My 12 year old Prius V hybrid makes a loud rattling noise when I start the car and when I accelerate. It disappears after driving for a while.
Toyota dealers explain that this is to switch from EV to gasoline engine mode. Is this normal? Is there a way to get rid of the wobbling? People passing by can hear it too!
Thank you for your help. — Jane
Jane: Well, Jane, I’ll give you two answers. There are happy and sad answers.
The sad answer is that your head gasket may be leaking. Therefore, the gasoline engine may run rougher at first. And when the engine runs wild, it rattles everything around it.
Sure, it’s sad, especially for your bank account. But I don’t see that happening. The noise is most likely coming from the exhaust system.
All gasoline cars are equipped with a catalytic converter. And because these converters get red hot, there are top and bottom heat shields installed around each one. The heat shield is a thin metal sheet mounted a few centimeters away from the converter itself.
This is to prevent your car from catching fire if you park it on tall grass or a pile of dead leaves. A fire would definitely solve the rattling problem, Jane.
Anyway, as cars get older, and your 12-year-old Prius qualifies, the rivets that hold the heat shield in place can break or corrode. When that happens, that thin sheet of metal vibrates – either against the converter itself or against whatever it was attached to. Because of that–what? — A buzzing or rattling sound.
Also, when metal parts heat up, they expand and touch each other, so the rattling noise often stops after driving for a while. But it’s most noticeable when you start your car first thing in the morning when everything is cold.
If it’s not the heat shield, another part of the exhaust system may behave the same way. For example, if the exhaust hanger is broken, the exhaust pipe can rattle against the undercarriage, especially when the car is cold.
So leave the car at your mechanic overnight. If you start the engine when the ice is cold, you will hear a rattling noise. And you can immediately tell whether it’s an engine sound or an exhaust sound.
If he sends you flowers and a card, you’ll know it’s not the exhaust noise. Good luck, Jane.
Have a question about your car? Write to Ray at King features, 628 Virginia Drive, Orlando, FL 32803 or visit the Car Talk website to send us an email. www.cartalk.com.
