Motormouth: Auto-Hold isn’t dangerous

Q: I recently purchased a new Kia Carnival shortly after buying a Kia Niro for my wife. Both vehicles have a feature called Auto-Hold that allows me to remove my foot from the brake pedal once I’ve come to a complete stop. Neither my wife nor I have used the feature yet.

I have two questions about it. First, when I come to a stop and remove my foot from the brake, do the brake lights stay on? If not, couldn’t this be a safety hazard if the car coming up from behind doesn’t recognize that I’m stopped? Second, from a strictly mechanical standpoint, is it better to just keep my foot on the brake while stopped? Or is there something about the Auto-Hold feature that will cause less wear and tear in the long run?

A: Yes, the brake lights remain illuminated. And no, there is no advantage to keeping your foot on the brake pedal. There won’t be any more or less wear either way.

Q: A friend recently traveled to Africa and tried to rent a car. All they had available were cars with manual transmissions, which he had never driven. After failing to successfully drive it out of the lot, he was told he had to hire a driver. Although I have an automatic now, I grew up driving stick shifts, so I offered to teach him how to drive one. However, I haven’t seen one available to rent here in the States for years. Do you know where I can rent a car with a manual transmission?

A: I haven’t found any conventional car rental firms that offer manual transmissions. I base that on recently having tried to rent one myself. I guess the economics just don’t add up for rental companies to stock sticks.

Q: It was always my understanding that in many states, the law requires license plates on both front and back of a vehicle. However, most of the Tesla cars I see don’t seem to have one in the front. Is there special dispensation for Teslas or other EVs?

A: I have heard many excuses, including that the front plate blocks airflow to the radiator (EVs don’t have a radiator) or that the plate looks ugly (that could apply to many cars, including mine). There are no holes for a front bracket, but Tesla does supply brackets with peel-and-stick tape. Nonetheless, a lot of Tesla owners seem to be content to wait until they get a ticket.

Bob Weber is a writer, mechanic and ASE-certified Master Automobile Technician. His writing has appeared in automotive trade publications, Consumer Guide and Consumers Digest. Send automotive questions along with name and town to motormouth.tribune@gmail.com.