Q: R.K. from Chicago mentioned their 2025 CX-50 chimes when going over railroad tracks. I don't have that vehicle, but I know our Prius makes a beeping noise when the car encounters situations that seem like it is losing contact with the road (slipping on snow, big bumps, etc.). I'm not technical, but I've assumed it's the ESC (electronic stability control) telling me that it has lost contact with the road surface in some way.

D.P., Roseville, Minnesota

A: Wow. That must be some railroad track.

Q: Lemon oil (the pure kind) on a cotton ball removes nearly all sticky substances from nearly all surfaces.

C.Z., Holderness, New Hampshire

A: I investigated and found that you are right — including dashboards. And all this time I have been tossing the lemon twists from my martinis.

Q: I'm a longtime loyal reader and want to thank you for all your valuable advice over the years. My wife's 2018 Ford Edge (bought new in July 2018) has 27,000 miles on the original tires with good tread life left. It is garage kept. When is it time to replace your tires? Are we pushing it at 7 years?

F.W., Mokena, Illinois

A: The U.S. Department of Transportation doesn’t have rules for replacing tires due to age, but it does have some suggestions.

--Replace passenger car and truck tires every six years, regardless of wear.

--Replace all tires, including spares, after 10 years as a safety precaution.

--How can you tell how old your tires are? Look at the sidewall of your tire – there will be a code following the letters “DOT.” The final four digits, for any tire made since the year 2000, are the tire date code and represent the date of manufacture. The first two of these digits designate the week of the year the tires were made, and the final two digits are the last two digits of the year. For example, 0718 means the seventh week of 2018.

Q: After a recent service on our 2014 Highlander, they mentioned that the rubber dust boots on the front struts were torn. With 110,000 miles on the car, should these be replaced even though the car handles just fine? Also, can these be replaced without affecting the alignment? Love your column, I read it every week.

J.N., Las Vegas

A: Those dust boots help keep the plunger rod—the shiny rod--of the strut or shock absorber clean and free of nicks. There are probably more than 110,000 cars in Las Vegas running around without them. Eventually you may need to replace the struts, and they will come with new boots. Replacing the dust boots now could be expensive, but maybe no more than a pair of Lucchese boots.

Q: Regarding a few letters sometime back about the key FOB communicating with a vehicle when you don't want it to. One reader said it was wearing down the battery. A software expert said to place the key FOB in a metal box. I use an Altoids mint box. It works great and also prevents bad guys from picking up the code.

J.D., Oak Forest, Illinois

A: Altoids are so strong, they come in a metal box. If they are that strong, you can trust that the box will protect your key fob from hackers.

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