Doug McAllister/Under the Hood:
Q. What is the best way to clean the inside of the windshield as I always have to clean inside probably more often than should need be?
A. Normally just some good glass cleaner and a paper towel do a fine job on the inside of the windshield. You may have to do it a couple of times to get it streak free.
If you are a smoker it can get pretty gunky and can be a pain to clean. If you are not a smoker and you have to clean the windshield a lot, you may have something going on with your heater core in the dash. If the heater is seeping a little coolant it can leave an oily film on the windshield that can be hard to clean. This should be taken care of because it is not good to breath and it can blow out all at once.
Q. I have a 2008 Hyundai Elantra and I notice that when the engine is warmed up and I stop the car at a red light or in my driveway, I hear this odd noise that has a frequency of about the same as the r.p.m.’s of the engine at rest. I can’t describe the sound in an email, but it sounds like a sharp-sounding chirping.
I called the shop manager where I bought the car and he said that sounds like the fuel injectors and not to worry about it. A couple days later I called another Hyundai dealership and the manager said just about the same thing. I finally went to my dealer and asked the service manager to listen to my engine.
He listened for several seconds and then looked around in the engine compartment. Then he actually put his ear on the top cover of the engine at both ends. When I told him what another dealer said, he agreed that was what is making the noise.
He said not to worry and if anything was ever to go wrong, I still have the long warranty protection and I’m well covered because it also only has 20,000 miles on it so far.
We do most local driving, shopping, etc. When I do drive south occasionally to my doctor in Western Springs, 22 miles away and back, or to any other distant town, the engine still does the strange chirping noise at idle after a driving speed of 60 m.p.h. The chirping does go away when I press the gas pedal lightly after any stops for red lights, etc. I just thought I would ask you to see if you’ve ever encountered such a symptom?
A. I have not encountered this problem in the shop yet and it is difficult to say what it could be without actually listening to it myself.
It seems two different service advisers came to the same conclusion after listening to the engine. I did try to find some pattern failures on our reference sites that would point to your symptom but could not find any.
I know the fuel injectors on some newer direct-injection engines can be a little noisy. You did not say what engine you have so I am not sure if this is what you are dealing with or not. I would ask them if this is a common problem with this car and what the fix is for it.
If you don’t get a satisfactory answer from the dealer, go directly to the Hyundai zone manager and see if you can get some satisfaction.
Ÿ Douglas Automotive is at 312 S. Hager Ave., Barrington, (847) 381-0454, and 123 Virginia Road, Crystal Lake, (815) 356-0440. For information, visit douglasautomotive.com. Send questions to underthehood@dailyherald.com.