Thanks for all the responses to the Start button! My next concern is rust on the undercarriage. I am not a DIY'er so my options are : 1) after market rust coating (not a good one if they want to spray over 2) auto body shop that will take off the worse and maybe apply some rust prevenative 3) auto detailer 4) keep it dry and do nothing.

 

You have rust already, or just want to prevent it?

To prevent it, don't drive the car on salted winter roads. Wash undercarriage once a year. A couple times a year spray the rear wheel wells thoroughly. Wash out anything sand or dirt that can trap moisture.

As part of that process, remove the rear fender edge protectors, and clean them inside. Wash and wax painted surfaces, and hose down back side thoroughly. Then apply an anti rust grease to the edge protectors before putting them back on (or leave them off completely, if stone chips aren't likely in your area and driving).

If you want to go crazy, there are spray films for undercarriage, but these leave oily residue which attracts grime. The opposite of wanting a spotless undercarriage. But later if you wash it all off, perfectly preserved metal.

Reminds me of a story about a man from a remote tribe where there was no dental care. He somehow came to the city (maybe as part of a medical study or something, I don't recall), and his teeth looked awful. Caked with nasty stuff. They sent him to a dentist, and low and behold under all that nasty was perfectly preserved teeth!

So you just gotta decide which is more important. Preserving your chassis, or not driving around with the automotive equivalent of nasty teeth.

 

Next time you hit the start button, and it does nothing. keep pressing the button and give the shift knob a firm tap, ( like you were buzzing in on a game show) If the car fires up you may need a new starter. The easy explanation is the pinion is not traveling far enough to start the engine. It worked for me, hopefully it helps you out.

Tom

 

Tap shifter like you're buzzing in on a game show.

In medicine and in engineering, they have all these complex terminology and ways of describing things, in an effort to erase ambiguity. Something what ought to be easy can often read like a legal document.

Yet they are all beat by such poetic ways of describing something that are simple, to the point, yet entirely unambiguous.