Hi Austin, hope this mail finds you in great health.
Got some questions on my Honda currently at 62,000 miles:
1. Vehicle makes a hissing noise from behind (on and off, not all the
time) when accelerating or when trying turn — do not know when the hissing is caused. Looks like it is from the behind.
2. Pick up has deteriorated, should I change any transmission fluid?
3. Steering the vehicle has become much harder, any thoughts?
4. Steering wheel shakes when brakes are applied, not often, but very noticeable shake, when brakes are applied at higher speeds on freeways.
Looking forward for your responses.
Thank you,
Vic
Lastly changed radiator fluid at 45k miles, and not yet done the 60k servicing.
Hey there Vic,
The hissing noise could be coming from a vacuum leak under the hood somewhere. Open the hood with the engine running and look and listen for that hissing noise or any rubber hoses that might appear to be broken or not connected to anything.
Sometimes the air cleaner housing does not get re-installed correctly and this will produce a vacuum leak around the air cleaner/filter area. Double check to see if the air cleaner housing is properly fastened….some fast lube places are TOO fast and don’t do a good job of securing things.
This vacuum leak is probably responsible for your lack of power complaint too, so fix the leak and see if your top two issues are resolved.
The harder to steer complaint, could be due to low power steering fluid, so check and adjust the fluid level as needed first. I would also check the air pressure in the tires and inflate to the needed pressure, probably 32PSI.
If those items check out ok, I would probably want your mechanic to check the front end alignment and the front suspension for wear or looseness.
The shaking on brake application is due to “warped rotors” and you can learn more about that and how to resolve it from this link about brake rotors.
Blessings,
Austin Davis