Q: I drive exclusively on well-paved roads and live where it seldom snows. With 4-wheel-drive vehicles, all four tires, regardless of age, must be replaced if just one is damaged beyond repair. So why would I want to own such a vehicle? This happened to my son's less-than-one-year-old SUV, and it cost him a small fortune. And what do dealers do with the three good tires they remove since they cannot be put back on a 4-wheel-drive vehicle?

C.G., Center Valley, Pennsylvania

A: The tire dealers toss them out. You are welcome to ask for them back. You may want to keep just one tire in the event of a future one having about the same amount of tread that needs replacing. Then you may avoid buying four more new tires.

Q: My 2014 Chrysler has a red lightning bolt between backward parentheses. What could that be?

B.D., Wilmette, Illinois

A: When you start your engine, several warning lights will come on momentarily and then go out. This is called the bulb check or systems check. The icon you describe is for the electronic throttle control. Throttle cables have been replaced by drive-by-wire technology. If there’s a problem with the ETC the light will glow steadily.

Q: Great article on weak or dying batteries! Made me think of a question. Each winter I place my baby (2014 Toyota Tacoma) into storage. As there is no electricity available, I remove the battery then charge it up before removing it from storage in late April. This year I noticed my battery had a date sticker, 06/18, which made me think it might be time for replacing as it will be nearly 7 years old when time comes to fire it up again. My mechanic friend suggested that I can drive it until it was “bad.” Unfortunately, timing on that could also be bad. I don’t mind buying a new one but also just hate wasting battery life!

K.S., Aurora, Illinois

A: I get it. If your battery is getting weak and nearing the end of life, you don’t want to be stranded and yours is getting long of tooth. Many parts stores offer free battery tests.

Q: My wife has a 1999 Mazda Miata and the battery has gone bad. She doesn't drive the car very often and I suspect that is the problem. Mazda tells us that the battery is not rechargeable and needs to be replaced. This is the third one. Is there a battery for my wife's car that is like other batteries (in "big" cars) that can be recharged?

C.E., Virginia Beach, Virginia

A: Yes, there are many brands of normal batteries. But when you have been told that the battery is not rechargeable, they may have meant that the battery is shot beyond the ability to be charged. Not all batteries can be resuscitated.

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