CarComplaints.com Reviewer Guide

Get help with...

• overview
• makes and models
• trim/engine/color
• category
• problem title
• solution
• cost & mileage
• problem description
• autoresponse email
• database structure

Complaints come in three flavors:

1. existing vehicle, existing problem (colored BLACK in the list)
2. existing vehicle, new problem (colored DARK RED in the list)
3. new vehicle, new problem (colored BRIGHT RED in the list)

Blacks are the easiest, because you don't have to check the make, model, category or problem group. All that has already been done - basically you're just adding that person's comments to the existing complaints about the same issue.

Dark reds are harder, because you're starting a new complaint group — you have to check to make sure the category is correct & the problem group has a good generic title. You also have to check to make sure there isn't already a problem group started for the same thing with another name, or in another category -- this is very important so we don't start duplicate problem groups. You don't have to check the make/model.

Bright reds require the most work, since you have to check everything — the vehicle info AND the problem group info. However you don't have to check for identical complaints in other categories (since it's a new vehicle, you're always adding the first complaint).

The color coding is only to help you when selecting complaints to work on from the list. When you're reviewing the individual complaints, any new information you should check shows up bright red.

Makes and Models (bright reds)

These need to be spelled correctly (especially "Chrysler"), & match model names that already exist for other years. Use Wikipedia & Edmunds when you're not sure.

• CONSISTENCY: It's important to match new makes/models up with vehicles already in the system (from other years) to be grouped correctly — watch for capitalization, spacing & naming. Some examples are Mercedes-Benz, LeSabre, Town & Country, truck model names from Chevrolet/Dodge/Ford.
• STUPIDITY: people spelling Hyundai or Expedition wrong, or putting down that they own a 2002 Plymouth Duster
• MODEL HELL: for simplicity....
  • move any trim level (LX, EX, ..) in the Model field to the Trim field, BUT...
  • Hybrids are ALWAYS their own separate model (Civic Hybrid, Esacpe Hybrid etc)
  • Models that share a common name but are significantly different get a unique model name. One good example is the Ford Explorer (SUV) vs Explorer Sport Trac (truck)
  • Subaru Outbacks are all Outbacks (not Legacy Outbacks)
  • All Neons are Dodge (not Plymouth or Chrysler)

Trim / Engine / Color

These are just stored for the individual complaints & aren't grouped together, so you don't need to check that they are correct for each vehicle.

TRIM: delete "None", "Base", and move any paint colors to the "Color" field.

ENGINE: fix any obvious typos — sometimes people hold down the SHIFT key too long & type V^ for V6, V* for V8.

COLOR: most people can type in the color of their vehicle okay.

Category (reds)

Only needs checking if it's a new problem. People like picking the wrong category. Some common corrections are:

• heater/AC for A/C related complaints. People sometimes pick cooling system (which is for radiator/thermostat/water pump problems)
• seat belts/air bags for anything to do with those systems, including warning lights.
• transmission rather than drivetrain if it's specifically a transmission problem
• windows/windshield rather than electrical for problems with power windows
• interior accessories rather than electrical for problems with anything you can touch or see inside the car (stereos, gauges, dashboard, ignition, controls, seats, interior lights, handles)..
• lights rather than electrical for problems with headlights, taillights or blinkers
• engine rather than fuel delivery system, unless they are sure it's a problem with the fuel delivery system (gas tank, fuel pump, fuel filter, fuel line).
• engine rather than electrical for problems where the engine turns over but won't start
• electrical rather than engine for problems where the engine won't turn over
• drivetrain rather than clutch, transmission or engine if they're not sure at all what the problem is (i.e. thumping noise). Drivetrain is everything between the transmission & the wheels — so the drive shaft, differential, axle & CV joints.
• miscellaneous - change most miscellaneous complaints to another category, whatever is most related to the gist of their complaint. Miscellaneous is mainly there to catch lazy complainers, or complaints like "this car absolutely sucks in so many ways", which is valid.

People also use steering & suspension interchangeably for stuff like ball joints. No idea what's more correct. Same with water leaks — body/paint or exterior accessories is fine.

If you're not sure, check complaints for other model years, or use the Problem Search ».

Problem Title (reds)

• GENERIC TITLE: change the problem title to something non-specific, that other people are likely to pick as well. This is vital to how Autobeef works. If there's an issue with what the person put down, look in the description for more information that you might be able to use to fix/improve the title. Here are some examples:

  bad	good	notes
  truck shakes like a leaf at 45mph	shakes while driving	45 mph is too specific, "like a leaf" is funny but not good search terms
  pulls to the right	pulls to one side	the right side is too specific, want to group complaints where it pulls to either the right or left side
  passenger side window quit	side window stopped working	too specific, "quit" is slang .. use "broke" or "stopped working"
  cylinder #4 needed replacing	runs roughly, loss of power	not many people would know right away that cylinder #4 was bad

• FRONT/REAR: In most cases, it's okay to keep "front" or "rear" especially for anything that wears differently or is an obviously different part (brakes, bearings, axles, doors, bumpers, windshields, seats, etc). But for some problems you should get rid of "front" or "rear", since for instance power windows typically use all the same basic parts — we don't want half the people reporting "front power windows failed" & the other half reporting "rear power windows failed".
• LEFT/RIGHT/DRIVER/PASSENGER: Almost always get rid of these, unless it really seems like there's something unique going on with one side or the other (rare!)
• NOT JUST A PART: The title should not be just a part name ("SRS light", "wheels" etc). Make sure the title describes a problem: "SRS light is on", "wheels fell off" ...
• SYMPTOMS, NOT SOLUTION: People like putting the end result or solution in the problem title, rather than what was happening when they noticed the problem. In most cases, change the problem title to the symptom. However, use the end result for major problems .. i.e. where the symptom is "tapping noise" but the end result is a $5,000 engine failure .. put "engine failure"!
• SEO FRIENDLY: Use common words that everyone is likely to search for. Delete unnecessary words like if the title starts with "the" or "my". Sometimes people try to fit too many words into the problem title & use abbreviations (trans., warr., dist.) ... use the full words instead. Common abbreviations are fine like A/C, PCV, ABS, SRS, EGR.
• CONSISTENCY: No big deal but try to make problem titles somewhat consistent with existing groups. Check complaints for other model years, or use the Problem Search.
• WHEN TO DELETE:
  • Anything where the problem has not actually occurred with their vehicle — they read about it in the news, or it happened to someone else, etc.
  • Problems caused by their own stupidity ("got into a wreck, replaced the engine, now it won't start"), clear cases of misuse or abuse, natural disasters.
  • Problems caused by custom work or aftermarket parts/accessories. Complaints about OEM (original equipment manufacturer) parts are fine.
  • Complaints about normal things that are to be expected, like "brakes wear out after 30,000 miles", "exhaust system fell off after 10 years" - use your best judgement, & if in doubt, add it. Anything to do with rust or paint problems is fine to add regardless of the age of the vehicle.
  • Anything like "can't find a wiring diagram for my Honda". Complaints about regular do-it-yourself service like "oil filter is hard to get to" are fine.

Solution (new only)

• GENERIC: change overly specific solutions to something other people will pick ("replaced thermostat" rather than "put in a new thermostat for $45").
• ACTION: Sometimes people write down just a part name ("flux capacitor"), but the solution should be an action ("replaced flux capacitor").
• NOT SURE: people like putting down "dealer is still working on it" or "no one can find a solution". Change all these to the "not sure" choice.

Cost & Mileage

Just make sure these are within reason.

COST: make sure if they're putting thousands of dollars for the repair, it's for something that sounds right — major engine or transmission work, etc.

MILEAGE: watch out for anything obviously impossible & wrong, like a fairly new vehicle with 300,000 miles. For older vehicles with very low mileage reported, check to make sure the "Occurred On" date is awhile ago.

Description

• MAKE IT READABLE: Mainly this just involves separating large complaints into readable paragraphs (hit Enter twice). When people type their complaint in ALL CAPS or all lowercase, don't worry about it. Just try to do a few quick things (~30 seconds) to make the complaint more readable.
• SPELLING ERRORS: feel free to fix typos and other forms of rampant American illiteracy especially for any good SEO terms. By SEO terms I mean words that Google will use to match up people searching, like "transmission" etc. People keep finding new ways of spelling "warranty"; they put "breaks" when they mean brakes; they misspell the make or model (especially Daimler/Chrysler, Chevrolet & Escalade). You can leave pretty much everything else (run-on sentences, awful grammar, etc) as-is to preserve flavour. Misspelled/typo'd words like "does'nt" or "teh" don't matter as much, but fix those too if you want to.
• TOO SHORT/NO DESCRIPTION: If their description is too short to the point where it doesn't make sense, copy or paraphrase the problem title as the first sentence of their description. And, you can also use/paraphrase their solution too. You can always expand their description a bit yourself, based on what you think the issue is..
• WHEN TO DELETE:
  • Delete REDS (dark or bright) if they didn't provide any good information, since that's a bad way to start off a new problem group. For BLACKS if they didn't write anything useful, that's fine — use the "too short/no description" guidelines above.
  • The problem has not actually occurred with their vehicle — they read about it in the news, or it happened to someone else, etc.
  • Problems caused by custom work or aftermarket parts/accessories. Complaints about OEM (original equipment manufacturer) parts are fine.
  • Problems caused by extreme events (flooding, tornado/hurricane, or after an accident) or gross misuse (racing, getting the car airborne, etc).
  • Anything vulgar, or personal attacks without details — see profanity guidelines.
• PROFANITY: Standard profanity is fine as long as it's not too extreme. Fuck, shit, jerk, asshole etc are okay as long as they are talking about a vehicle or dealership. It's even fine with me if they're talking about a person, as long as they provide details about why or what happened. Anything explicit or vulgar like the C-word is not okay.

Auto-Response Email

Mainly, be personable. Writing back is tricky because good luck accurately diagnosing problems online, & we're not mechanics. The checkboxes above the response box are:

• UNRESOLVED: check this if the person isn't sure what the fix is (like if the Cost To Fix is "not sure")
• NOT FIXED: check this if the person knows what needs to be repaired, but hasn't had the problem fixed (the Cost To Fix is "not fixed")
• SAFETY: check this if the problem seems to have safety implications
• LATE: check this if you're working on complaints that are over a month old. This is done automatically now.
• MODEL-SPECIFIC RESPONSE: canned responses for common complaints show up here. Pick one if it's appropriate to the complaint. This list of responses changes based on the make of the vehicle.

Some points to remember when adding your own response:

• SYMPATHIZE: people love to commiserate. Let them know if it's a common problem (good to provide a link), really strange & you've never heard of it before, or you think their teenager is using the family car for street racing.
• ASK QUESTIONS: especially if their complaint is vague, ask questions, more to get a better idea of the problem (hopefully they'll email back) than to start an actual dialog. Also ask questions that might point them in the right direction ("have you tried.....")
• NO SPECIFIC SOLUTIONS: unless you're sure of the solution, refrain from offering advice since if you're wrong, that just frustrates people. That said, there are lots of exceptions where it's safe to offer your opinion, i.e. when cheap OEM dealer brakes wear out prematurely, tell them they're getting ripped off at the dealer & brake parts at most independent chain stores are twice as good for half the cost...

Also try to put links in where it's a common problem so they're more likely to come back to CarComplaints after they get the email. Here are some sample comment responses I've used:

(rear doors not unlocking on Ford minivans)

Door handles are such a basic part you'd think Ford would have it designed right by now. I'd report it as a safety defect to http://www.safercar.gov

(rear end/differential problems on Ford trucks & SUVs)

We see this complaint a lot with a wide range of Ford vehicles. Most people don't even tow anything, & the rear end still fails. It's too bad really, things like this are destroying Ford's reputation.

(water leaking into the vehicle, also mentioned a problem with paint chipping)

Seems like a pretty common problem, although we don't have any other complaints reported for the 2002 Pontiac Grand Prix yet, there's a bunch of complaints for other GM models from previous years: http://www.carcomplaints.com/cgi-bin/search.pl?q=water+leak .. especially the 2001 Bonneville (5 complaints). Lots of people mentioned the spoiler leaking for that one. If you could, please report the paint chipping as a separate complaint, more people will notice it that way & it shows up separately in the problem graph.