Anatomy of a Lemon

Lighting System

Faulty headlights can cause unsafe driving conditions, drain battery life, and may signify greater wiring or fuse box issues within the vehicle.

Symptoms: faulty headlights, faulty bulbs

Braking System

Noisy or squeeky brakes may indicate damaged brake pads, frame misalignment, or other issues that can cause lasting problems with the vehicle.

Symptoms: braking not responsive, not stopping properly, soft pedal, sudden pedal drop, sudden loss of brake pressure, loud brake noise

Engine

Check engine light, stalling, rough running, lack of power, noise, and fluid leak.

Transmission

Symptoms: hesitation, shuddering, slow acceleration, delay in shifting gears, slow down shift, vibration, high RPM

Powertrain

Symptoms: Check engine light, rough idle, lack of power, fluid leak

Ignition System

Car not starting, jump start needed, dead battery

Cooling System

Symptoms: Coolant leak, engine overheating

Suspension System

Symptoms: shaking, wobble, vibration, bouncing, rough ride, noise

Electrical System

Symptoms: electrical issues, car systems not operating normal, lights flashing on and off, parts not receiving power, faulty cords, drained battery, dead battery

Infotainment System

Symptoms: Bluetooth connectivity drop, phone connectivity drop, black screen, blank screen, green screen, unresponsive screen, frozen touch screen, distorted lines on screen

Parking Sensor System

Symptoms: faulty sensors, not sensing objects, sensing non-existing objects, sudden warnings for non-existing objects

Audio System

Symptoms: Sound Problems

Emission System

Symptoms: check engine light, fault codes related to emission control system, faulty EVAP, faulty catalytic converter

Exhaust System

Symptoms: excessive smoke, check engine light, black smoke, grey smoke, white smoke, blue smoke

Steering System

Symptms: hard to turn steering wheel, vibration, car pulls to one side

Anti-Lock Braking System

faulty ABS system

Automatic Emergency Braking System

faulty radar, faulty sensors, sudden braking for no obstacles

Air Conditioning System

not blowing cold, not blowing hot, dual climate not working

Body

uneven panels, misaligned panels, rust, damaged frame, water leaks

Paint

poor paint quality, peeling, defective paint

Fuel System

inaccurate gas left, poor mileage

Tire Pressure Monitoring System

warning lights or messages, faulty TPMS parts

Door Locks

does not lock or unlock, or stay locked, door do not open

Doors

doors not closing or opening properly, door become stuck

Seating System

faulty seat adjustment, movement, incline/recline, does not recognize person sitting or not sitting in seat, and noise

Interior

issues in accessories, parts, and covers

Seat Belts

does not securely lock, does not move, does not recognize being secured

Windows

does not open or close, rolls back up, rolls back down