Your questions answered: Can I leave a bike rack on my car?

Questions about leaving bike racks on your car, comments about safety systems, fines for unlocked cars and complaints about car specifications and feature this week in Your Questions Answered.

Got an automotive question but you don’t know where to find the information you need? Never fear, email us here at editor@carsales.com.au.

Hi, we’re about to go on holiday and we’re taking the kid’s bikes with us. We have a Toyota Kluger with a three-bike rack that connects to the towbar, so it’s a bit of a hassle to remove. What about if we're on holidays and the bikes are back at our air bnb? – Julie

Answer: Hi Julie. Rules and regulations vary from state to state and are in a pretty constant state of flux. As it stands, the answer to your question is no, it’s not true; you can have a rack mounted on your car even if it is carrying no bikes at the time (based on NSW legislation). The main issue is whether the vehicle’s taillights or rear number plate are obstructed. If they are, then you can (quite reasonably, in my view) expect to cop a fine.

If you’re using the bike rack a few times a year, it’s possible – and indeed advisable – to buy a lightboard, which replicates your brake lights and indicators and also provides an illuminated spot to mount a number plate.

On that note, too, a hand-written cardboard number plate replica is an absolute no-no. In NSW, an auxiliary plate is available for less than $50 via Service NSW, while in Victoria it’s permissible to reposition the car’s original plate so it can be clearly seen. Hope that helps!

G’day guys and girls, love the site. A mate told me that it's a fineable offence to leave a car window down when you're not in it, even if it's locked and parked in your driveway. That can't be true, can it? – Phil

Answer: Hey Phil, it’s absolutely true! And these rules apply in all states and territories (except for South Australia, oddly enough). The basic rule of thumb is that if you’re three metres away, then the car should be locked, engine off, windows up and the keys out of the vehicle.

That means if you’re at the service station, dropping the kids at school or ducking in for a coffee at the local, your car needs to be locked. And yes, this applies to a private driveway, as well.

If these conditions aren’t met, the fines vary from around $114 in NSW up to a whopping $2669 in Queensland for an unlocked, unoccupied car with keys in it.

There are small variances in the rulings; for example, having the windows cracked 2cm or less on a locked car (for ventilation, for example) shouldn’t attract a ticket in most state and territories.

I instead will have to buy an older vehicle and live with it; too many safety features and air bags in new ones. Save it for the self-driving cars. – Ron

Answer: Hi Ron; it’s absolutely your prerogative to buy whatever car suits your fancy. With the changes in the rules and regulations around passive and active safety features in new cars, new age tech can feel a bit daunting.

For me, though, additional safety content, particularly in a vehicle as ungainly and as unsuited to urban driving as a dual-cab ute, is a good thing. Lane-keep assist, rear cross-traffic assist, even frontal traffic assist helps to avoid or reduce the impact of collisions, and has undoubtably saved many lives.

Should we all drive with more attention and care? Of course. But not everyone does, and on your worst day you just might be thankful a shiny new HiLux has benefited from decades of research into minimising road trauma.

I really think the Australian automotive press needs to take to task Australian distributors of Japanese car manufacturers, in this case Subaru Australia. They are both betraying the design and product intentions of the Japanese car manufacturers and who are simultaneously paying little heed to the reasonable expectations of Australian car buyers and drivers.

This is what critical automotive journalism should be contending with in my view. You would be doing a service to both the manufacturer and the consumer. Perhaps your media relationships should extend beyond the distributors to the home country of the manufacturer. – Anton

Answer: Okay, I’ll bite… you’re annoyed by a wheel specification on a particular car that can be easily rectified by spending a bit more of your own money? Sorry to sound harsh, but you’re really shouting at clouds here.

Car companies – both importer and factory operations – spend a lot of time and effort on specifying models for a particular territory, with consideration given to current trends, previous sales data and the like.

Sometimes, too, the factory provides an importer with no choice but to accept the specification on offer for a particular variant in that particular time period and from that particular factory.

As for the interior, I hardly think it’s for any news outlet to call out any manufacturer for a particular colour choice. We should comment on functionality, sure, but if Subaru wants to offer a mint green and mauve leopard-print colourway, more fool them.

Besides, the tan interior you’re talking about may well come in a future model update.

The views stated in this advice column are advisory only. Questions may be edited for clarity and length.

Got an automotive question but you don’t know where to find the information you need? Never fear, email us here at editor@carsales.com.au.

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