June 12, 2021 • 35 mins
Ron starts this episode asking what does it take to get technicians into the auto repair field : takes a call on a BMW 325i that overheats when driven but not at idle : takes a call on an 07 Silverado and transmission maintenance : takes a call from a listener looking to buy older Volkswagens : talks about attitudes towards electric vehicles : takes a call on a 15 Nissan Versa with a check engine light and it won’t move
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Ron and Nanian, what is it about the radio show
that you just do joy so much? Because you sound
like you're really having a good ton And I'm glad,
you know what, I am having a good time. I
really enjoyed doing what I'm doing. It must be working
with me. It must be working with Tom. And I
only say that because I need a favor from Tom
and what they're given, because I'm working for the Car Doctor.
But the other one that was black, and that the
(00:20):
ground I've never seen. Yeah, and I've never seen one
that was black. To be honest with you, John, Welcome
to the radio home of Ron and Anian the Car Doctor.
Since this is where car owners the world overturned to
for their definitive opinion on automotive repair. If your mechanics
giving you a busy signal, pick up the phone and
(00:41):
call in the garage to orders are open, but I
am here to take your calls at eight five five
six and now he running. I was thinking what would
make people want to become moto mechanics, And maybe it's
the you know, the prestige, and maybe it's the money.
Not necessarily, but I think the money's gonna get there.
(01:03):
You know, we were talking about this yesterday when the
folks from Hunter Engineering came out. We were looking at
the new ADAKS system Advanced Drivers as Safety and and
talking about what does it take to get technicians into
the field, and we had the conversation that you know,
they'll go out to a trade school, a Lincoln Tech
or or or you know some U t I class
and and spend their twenties dollars on a two year
(01:27):
education or a year and a half education, whatever it is.
And then they've got to come out and they've got
to buy anywhere from thirty to fifty dollars worth of
tools in a toolbox of some magnitude or some size.
And that's to get into an entry level position in
a shop where we'll get you know, fifteen bucks an
hour and they're changing oil and and what are they learning?
And you know, I'm not saying this is in every case,
but it's just it just seems to be the image.
(01:51):
Then I was reading and I was on All Data
last night, All Data dot com. Uh, they come out
with a monthly news report. The folks at all Data,
they're so on top of it, and they've got an
article in there about Nissan and Chevrolet Electric Vehicle safety tips.
And this is written by Rich Deagle. He's the senior
automotive editor over there at all that and Rich opened
up with a question, can hybrid and electric vehicles be
(02:13):
dangerous to work on? Next sentence one word absolutely, And
I read further down and this is from Nissan that
talks about the Nissan Leaf. The Nissan Leaf debuted in
by December global sales total half a million, hundred and
fifty one thousand units were sold in the US along.
So it's a very good chance you'll see one of
these roll into your service drives talking to mechanics and
(02:36):
it talks about the high voltage and he said, there's
a warning they're associated with Nissan Lease. Touching high voltage
components without using the appropriate protective equipment will cause electrocution.
I don't know if I want to work on one
of those. I guess I do. But you know, um,
I think it's like Tom Ray walking up to a
tower with a transmitter, you know, and Tom has to
be aware of when he's walking up is he gonna
(02:57):
get electrocuted? It's it's a dangerous field, Tom, Yeah it is.
And you know it's responsible for part of this hair
do of mine. Yeah, yeah, I bet it is. I
you know it's it's but you know, is that going
to be attractive to a young person? To think about
the job is going to kill them? Uh? You know
in that sense, get electrocuted. It used to be, it
used to be just working on cars. And I don't
(03:18):
know if you know, it's just where are they going
to come from? Um? And then they talk about the
Chevy bolt. That warning for technicians wearing medical electronics. You
have to think about this right. The vehicle contains parts
that contain powerful magnets. If a person who is wearing
a heart pacemaker or other medical devices close to these parts,
the medical device may be affected by the magnets. Such
(03:40):
persons must not perform work on the vehicle. What if
you own that vehicle? What if you're driving that vehicle
and you've got a pacemaker? I wonder if that affects you.
UM some good information out of All Data. Find out
more at all Data dot com. Uh. Their monthly newsletter
is worth the price of admission alone. You know, Tom,
I didn't mention this, but when we were doing the
a DOS calibration is in the shop yesterday and this
(04:01):
isn't the fault of Hunter or Boss or anybody. This
is the way the vehicle is during the calibration is
required by the manufacturers. You have to turn on the
radar unit and send out the pulse so that the yeah,
and when this happens, well, you know it's funny, Well
that everybody that was in the room kind of new
instinctively as soon as I said, okay, it's time to
(04:22):
calibrate the radar, everybody kind of it was like that
moment analysis restaurant. We stepped away from the group w bench.
Everybody kind of just like part of the ways like
Moses in the Red Sea, and you know what the
you know what the power is in the main pulse
on that No, but it's it's it's something I've got
to look at and find out because now I'm wondering.
So I bet it can't be and somebody will send
(04:43):
me an email or a note somewhere along the way.
We can't be that stupid that we're gonna mount radar
detect radar emitting devices into the front of a vehicle
and then it's following the vehicle from behind in the front.
Are we being bombarded by radar no, that that we
couldn't be that dumb, could we? Bet we can't, Tom,
we can't it just it can't be that, you know
that crazy? Um, But if you can come up with
(05:07):
the approximate frequency in the power level, I'll I can
calculate the safe distance for you. No, I'm gonna I'm
gonna assume that that that the manufacturers and the government
is doing this right there, So lawyered up and legaled
up that it's got to be a percent safe except
for the part here where it talks about electrocution working
on Chevy's and Nissan. So, um, you just wonder, I
(05:28):
wonder if everybody is aware of that. I don't know, Hey,
this hour, if anybody calls up begging and pleading, we're
gonna go away. That book on the Iraq Porsches that
we've been talking about, written by Matt Stone. It looks
like a great book. I haven't even taken it out
of the plastic sleeve yet. Uh, color pictures throughout just
all the history of the Iraq races, Iraq Race of
Champions with portioned just be a great gift for Dad
(05:48):
for Father's Day. Were happy to give that away this hour,
and um, Also, someone needs to do is ask and
Tom has to have the right answers in the right question.
So I leave that up to Tom. Right now, let's
go over to Kurt in Arizona, O one b m
of you and an overheating problem. Kurt, Welcome to the
car doctor, sir. How can I help? Thank thank you? Ron.
I've got seven cars around my house, not including the
(06:09):
kids to come home from college to have their fix.
And uh, it seems like I'm talking to you every
other week. Yeah, you're you're you're a popular guy. Well,
anything I can do to help your brother, you know that.
So what's going on that this car's got two miles
on it? Um, just just just broken water, not not
(06:30):
for a BMW. I get rid of it, except for
I can take it apart now with my eyes closed. Um,
it's overhead overheating when it's driven, not when it's just idolate,
but when it's driven, it gets overheated. And I have
replaced the thermostats in the water pump, although as used
(06:56):
to always say, just because it's replaced doesn't mean it's
uh it's new, doesn't it it's good. My suspicion is
a water pump I've turned the heat on inside the
car and it's not pumping out heat in the car.
I'm just trying to figure out what what I should
look for a diagnosed Well, So, how did it start?
Was it one day? It just started overheating and then
(07:19):
you put parts in, or you put parts in and
then it started overheating. Which came first? Chicken or the
egg overheated? Okay? So I was driving it and the
the serpentine belt came off, So I think something throws
up in there. That's my That's why I think it's
(07:40):
the water pump. So you replaced the water pump because
the pulley was bad, the water pump was leaking or
what led you to condemn the water pumph? It was
leaking earlier on? Okay, And ever since that water pump
went in, it's been overheating. No, not ever since then.
(08:04):
It's it's gotten four or five months without it overheating.
So the first time it's overheated right now, Okay. Water
water pumps are probably the most common failure for an
overheat while driving on that on that era vintage BMW.
Now that being said, the electric the electric cooling fans,
(08:26):
this car has an electric cooling fan. Right, the electric
cooling fan is triggered through a module. That's that's reading
cooling temperature. So if the thermostat is off, I've seen
it where the thermostat can create the overheat condition but
not all the time and be intermittent in random good
quality parts, Kurt uh No, I'd say a medium quality parts. Okay,
(08:53):
So you do you get? Do you have any Rallyoto
parts by you? I think you do. I think I
think you have a revolving charge there um in all
our conversations. So why don't you Why don't you venture
down to the O'reillyota parts and just for the giggles
and the peace of mind, see if they carry a
(09:13):
motor Red thermostat for that? All right? Um, you know
I have the utmost confidence in motor Red. They make
OE level parts, their their oequality and at least that
will eliminate the question of whether or not you know,
is the thermostat you put in there gonna last long
enough for the kids to enjoy it. I remind I
(09:34):
have a question for you. I want to know you
made out with the Mini Cooper Um, So that's that's
number one. Then number two before you take it apart
for the second time. All right. The fact that this
does this while driving and not while idling kind of
leads me away from the radiator. Although a two d
thousand miles and twenty years old, I would hope that
it's been done at least once, just on the basis
(09:56):
of time, because it's if I remember right, it's a
plastic radiators, a plastic side tank. Correct, it does have
a radiator in it. Okay, So the radiators out of
the way, then you know where the expansion tank is.
It's over to the driver's side with the cap okay, okay,
(10:17):
so when the when the car is warmed up, all right,
you should be able to bring engine speed up to
about rpm. There's a little there's a little coolant nozzle
inside that tank or I think of it as a nozzle. Basically,
you should be able to with the expansion tank cap off,
car warmed up, if you bring it up rpm, you
should see a stream of cool and shootout that expansion
(10:40):
tank to the other side. You know, it's kind of
you know, hoses the other side of the tank. If
if that's weak, if that's weak flow, you know, there's
no circulation there I've got to think the water pump
impeller is spinning on the shaft. Those usually were plastic impellers.
The old one plastic or aluminum? What was it? Do
(11:01):
you remember? The one I put in is aluminum. Okay,
so it might just be spinning on the shaft, but
least at least you'll know. Look look for circulation and
judge it by that stream. There should be a real
heavy stream coming out of that nozzle in the expansion tank.
If there's not, you've got some sort of a circulation problem.
(11:22):
All right. And when it doesn't have the heat inside
the car, isn't that a symptom of not having a
good water pump. Well, it could be a symptom of
a good water pump. It could be a symptom of
being air bound. It could be a symptom of a
head gaske at failure. So you've you've got the potential
for all three one thing at one thing at a time. Brother,
(11:43):
all right, okay, I replace this one at a time
so far. So well, you know, that's like Johnny Cash said,
that's what you're now earning the right to do one
piece at a time. Had you make out with the
mini Cooper. Did you ever put an engine in it?
I think you need must be thinking of a different Kurt, don't.
We had a we had a Curt with Mini Cooper
(12:05):
um and I thought that was you. Well, listen, maybe
I should find him and have him send it over
to you. You like working on cars, I do, but
I enjoy my seven two Chevy and my old military Jeep.
They're simple and easy. Yeah, very simple and easy. Well,
hang on to him, because cars aren't getting any easier.
So alright, let me run along here, Kurt, But do
(12:27):
those things. Call me back, let me know if I
can be of any further help. All right, kiddo, you'd
be well. I'm Ronny in the Car Doctor. We're back
right after this. Whether it's a little red Corvette or
you go. You've come to the right place to get
(12:48):
that car fixed. Ron and Ay in the Car Doctor
five five five zero nine zero zero. Now back to Ron. Hey,
let's cruise on up to Johnson City outside of Binghamton.
And talked to Andy about as those seven Chevy Silverado. Andy,
welcome to the Car Doctor or how can I help hi? Royn?
Thanks for taking the call. Yeah, so I was saying
that I got a two thousand seven I bought off
(13:08):
my buddy. It's got like eighty thousand miles on it.
It's not bad with the rust. I had an oil
undercoated the NH whatever. It was right for preventive, sure,
But as far as the training goes, what would you suggest?
I hear both sides like just draining the training fluid
replacing their back? Is there this back flushing? Well, we
(13:29):
don't like the we don't like the flush transmission. We
don't And really I think the proper terminology is we
don't flush coolant. We don't flush transmissions because at the
notes pressure and we don't want to disturb older systems
with a lot of pressure. We wanted to operate and
maintain within their own pressure, so to speak, respective of
whatever it is we're working on. You know, I would
(13:51):
if this is an eighty thousand miles the fluid ever
been changed? No? Okay? And what color is the fluid?
What does it? What does it look like? What does
it smell like? I really did check it out. Okay,
so look at it. You know, normal trans fluid on
that generation vehicle is is a nice, clear, clean pink.
It has no foul smell. To it. And now we're
(14:11):
gonna get into the you know, judge it by what's
the condition of the fluid, and we're gonna play the
game of when do you want it to fail? You know?
If it were me and mine and the fluid looked
like it had a reasonable chance of survival, I would
start with a drain and fill, dropping the pan. Looking
in the pan, you know, do I see any particular
Do I see any chunks? Do I see any parts?
(14:33):
You know? Which is always a big which is always
a bad sign. And sometimes you will listen over my career,
I've I've I've lowered many a trans pan and gee,
where that needle roller bearing come from? Oops? Yeah? Um?
But but and it leads me to my second part
of my commentary. When would you like to know this?
Do you want to know that the trans is about
to fail two minutes before you leave on the family vacation,
(14:55):
or do you want to see you can keep it?
Or do you want to know now so you can
keep an eye on it and judge it accordingly? You know,
And that's important, right, So I would start with a
trans drop, you know, drop the pan, lower the pan.
We don't drop anything in the automotive world. Um, I would,
I would lower the pan, change the gas could change
the filter, clean the pan, clean the magnet that should
be in there, okay, and put it together and then
(15:18):
drive it. You know, look at the fluid color before,
look at the fluid color after. Judge how the trans shift?
Does it shift any better? Does it change? Does it modify?
If it stays the same, great, And then and I
don't know, five eight, ten thousand miles, pick a number.
Let's do a fluid exchange. Let's find somebody that has
a fluid exchanger. We don't have to drop a pan
a second time, right, but we can because the pan
(15:41):
has already been done, the filter has already been done.
Let's just do a fluid exchange. Probably run upwards of
eighteen quartz trans fluid through that, and that'll get all
the old stuff out. And then see how that works.
Chances are you'll be successful, all right, I will. I will.
You know, I'm not promising, but I will tell it
to you like this and my long career, I think, um,
(16:03):
maybe I'm gonna say two. And the customers were all forewarned.
But those transmissions had operating faults. They had characteristics you know,
it was either a slip shift or a flare or
a clunk. Something wasn't right to begin with, and they
were trying to fix it by fluid replacement. And I'm
for that. I understand that, especially on an older vehicle,
it would be the logical choice. Before you spend four
(16:26):
to six thousand dollars on a trans overhaul, Let's try
a couple of hundred dollar service. Okay, um, you know,
do that. But let me caution you here too. You
know it's an O seven, it's fifteen years old. Let's
not just think about the trans. When was the last
time the transfer case fluid was changed? When was the
last time both front and rear action fluids were changed?
(16:48):
You know. One of the things that I've learned over
the years, and he is and it's funny. People will
always ask me about transmission, engine oil and cooling. I
don't get. I don't get as nearly as many questions
about break fluid, differential axle, front rear axle, rear front axle,
and transfer case. It seems to be like a non
(17:08):
existent fluid in the public's mind. And the truth is,
drive line fluids all should be changed on a regular basis,
it promotes vehicle life. And the other thing to keep
in mind is you're looking for trans maintenance ideas. Make
sure the radiator is good, clean and clear. Make sure
that the front of the vehicle has no obstructions, that
airflow is good. And the reason I say that is
(17:30):
because how does the transmission fluid get cooled? Where's the
cooler in the radiator? Right? It's It's been shown that
a radiator that or a vehicle a cooling system that runs.
Oh I forget where the numbers were six to eight
percent hotter and maybe it'll reflect a little bit on
the gauge urating that much more heat to the transmission
and over time that can shorten the vehicle's life. So
(17:54):
maintenance is a you know, it's a combined effort, if
not any one singular component. And that's my point. I
appreciate the call, and you do those things, coming back
with more. I'm glad to help enjoy your new Chevy Silverado.
They're nice trucks. I'm running any in the card doctor
eight five zero zero. I'll be back right after this.
(18:46):
Welcome back need of the car doctor here at zero
who think your calls and answer your questions before this
hour ends. Tom, I'm gonna take the call, but I
want to talk about there's a recent survey from the
Pew Research instae to title electric vehicles get mixed reception
from American consumers and it talks about some of our
views of electric vehicles. Very interesting story. I'd love to
(19:07):
get the authors on maybe to talk to them and
see uh a little bit more. But right now, let's
go over and talk to Ross in St. Louis some
questions about purchasing older Volkswagons. Ross, welcome to the car doctor, Sir,
how can I help? It's Rosiel, but go we talk
to Mrnanian. Um. Yeah, I was in a few months
when the weather starts to get cooler and hopefully used
(19:30):
car prices come down. I'm planning. I'm hoping to buy
an older Volkswagen, you know, the fine cellarner cylinder engine.
But I hear that there are maintenance nightmares. Um, what's
your opinion? Volkswagen tends to be a higher cost to
repair vehicle. There is a there is a part's availability
(19:50):
issue on some of them. And yeah, you've got to
be a little cautious, but it sounds like you're gonna
do the work yourself. I mean, I don't mind doing
maintenance like smart changing to its changing the oil and
things like that, but even a starter or an alternator.
But you know, anything more than that, I wouldn't. I
(20:11):
wouldn't want to do like anything major. You know, how
how far back are we talking? We're talking a ten
year old vehicle, a fifteen year old vehicle. When you
say older Volkswagen, give me give me a year range, um,
anywhere from an O H to let's say a fourteen
And I'm thinking like a Jetta or a beetle Um
or even maybe even a rabbit. Let me ask you this,
(20:35):
If you're not going to do the you know, beyond
the normal service and maintenance work, who's going to do
with the dealer or do you have a Volkswagen specialist
in mind? Well, my next door neighbor he owned his
own shop. He's a he's a Volkdragon mechanic. UM, so
he would do it. UM. I just heard that they
break down a lot when they're older, and they're really
(20:56):
expensive defects. True on both counts, but then again, listen,
everything everything is expensive to fix. What do you drive
right now? Um? And oh seven Cobal Chevy cob Okay,
so that's Chevy Cobalt four cylinder, all right, So you know,
(21:16):
some different failures, some different repairs, some different maintenance. It
is comparing a biplane to a jet. In terms of
a Chevy to a Volkswagen. The Chevy is a simpler product.
The Chevrolet breaks in different ways than the Volkswagen. So
the question becomes, why are you changing from one to
the other. What's it about the Volkswagen that lights your fire? Well,
(21:40):
I've always been interested in purchasing one, and uh yeah,
I've just always been interested in on anyone. Right, So
then does it matter really what it's gonna cost. Here's
my here's my point, kiddo, all right, life is short.
If you've gotta if you've got to drive a Volkswagen
to have the experience, then it's something you need to do,
you know. And it's it's it's not going to be
(22:04):
stratos stratospherically more money than owning that similarly aged Chevy Cobalt.
It's gonna be a bit more. Can I tell you?
Is it? Is it? No? Because it really depends on
what it is you're buying and how good is the
guy working on it. And you know, to address that.
Have you talked to your neighbor and said, hey, if
(22:26):
I buy a Volkswagen, would you work on it? You know,
there's an old expression fences make the best neighbors. Maybe
he doesn't want that responsibility in that obligation, you know, yeah, oh,
he would work on it. He would definitely work on it.
He told me that, you know, when the plan, you know,
just things of the same thing I said about maintenance.
(22:46):
And they're being expensive, but they are think you know,
I mean they are. They are expensive. It's you know,
it's cost, it's cost per mile. But you know, listen,
there's just some things you have to do in life.
I woke up one day and said, I drove a
seventy two Monty Carlo all through college, put almost four
(23:08):
thousand miles on that car before I got rid of it.
And forty years later, I woke up one day and said,
you know what, I want another seventy two Monty carl
I went out. I went out and I found one.
You know what, I'm not sorry I did. Uh, you
just get to that point, how old are you? Well,
this will be even midlife crisis. Car. I'm fifty two, Okay,
(23:29):
So if you want this Volkswagen for another ten years,
you'll be sixty two going, which I had bought one?
You know, is it? You know I always look at life.
Am I gambling with the butter and egg money? Am
I gambling with the rent money? Am I taking money
away from my kids college? If the answer to all
those is no, and the family can go on, you
(23:51):
know what you deserve a little, Lauren? Are you deserve
to be able to smile? And you may You may
own that car for six months ago, God what did
I do this for? And then again you may in
that car for six months, and you may come out
of the house one morning wearing those you know, little
point the Italian racing shoes, the scarf, the goggles in
the hat. I mean, you know, it just it just
might be your thing, and it just might light your
(24:12):
fire and make you want to wake up every day
and go out and see the world right right. Cars
your therapy to a large degree, Cars your therapy. And
that's why, uh, you know, I'm I'm confounded by those
that just think they're transportation. Sometimes they are, but sometimes
they're much more than transportation. So um, just be aware
(24:34):
of that. Hey, listen, stay on the line. Tom just
gave me the high sign. Uh. Your love of Volkswagen
has prompted Tom to offer you the Iraq Porsche's Book,
written by Matt Stone. It's colored pictures of the International
Race of Champions Porsche nine eleven's the men who race them.
I think you'll really enjoy it. And who knows, maybe
your next car will be a Porsche after you get
tired of the Volkswagen. All right, all right, and thank you,
(24:56):
thank you very much. You're very welcome. Stay on the line.
Let Tom get your information and uh we'll we'll get
that right out to you this week. I'm not an
any in the car doctor. We're back right after this.
Lolocome back. We're on naming the car Doctor. Eight five
(25:18):
five five zero nine zeros. The phone number again eight
five five five six zero nine zero zero call leave
a message if we're not on the air. This shows
live on the network Saturday afternoons to to four pm
East Coast time. But Tom Ray can give you a
call back and put you in the next live que.
Just all you gotta do is leave a message. We're
gonna help you fix your car. That's the whole purpose.
Of this show. If you're new to us, we thank
(25:38):
you for that, and if you're old with us, we're
glad you stuck around. UM recent article from the about
the Pew Research Center that talks about electric vehicles, It's
tight electric vehicles get mixed reception from American consumers. By
Alison Spencer and Carry Funk, Americans are closely divided. The
article starts out with over the idea of phasing out
combustion engine vehicles by the year five, and many are
on the fence about whether they themselves would purchase a
(26:01):
chief alternative and electric car or truck. A recent Pew
Research report finds of the US adults support a proposal
to phase out production of gasoline powered cars and trucks,
while oppose it. My question is who did they ask? Right?
What you know? What are the age groups? And the
article then goes on to talk about how it's it's
(26:22):
the younger generation that's more for bringing in electric vehicles
versus the older which is opposed to it. But I
want to know, is everybody aware of the facts and
are we are any of us even aware of all
the facts. I don't even claim to know all the
information because everything I hear is yes, I get it.
You know, electric vehicles less pollution. But to phase out
(26:43):
the entire gasoline combustion engine family and bring out electric
I go back to where we're gonna get the electricity from.
It's just that simple. Where is this going to happen.
We've got an infrastructure problem in the country. We need
to build the electric grid up. We can't even do that.
Seems like the government can't get that to happen because of, uh,
(27:03):
you know, differences between the legislators. But you just say
to yourself, you can want everything you want, but how
does it happen? When does it happen? And it doesn't
seem to make sense. Seven percent of US adults, the
article goes on to say, say they currently own an
electric or hybrid vehicles vehicle. Most of these owners, sevent
(27:23):
of the seven, say they are very or somewhat likely
to seriously consider an electric car truck the next time around.
You see how they play with the numbers. Though seven
percent of adults say they own an electric or hybrid vehicle,
many of these owners seventy two, they make it sound
like it's a large number. Sev seven is about what
five So five percent of the populations say they are
(27:44):
very or somewhat likely to seriously consider an electric car
truck the next time around. But yet, like the idea
to phase out electric or to phase out guest Lene
engine by the year, the number is don't make sense.
Three in ten Americans, the article continues to describe themselves
as knowing a lot about electric vehicles. Well, there's a
(28:06):
good reason, so let's listen to the three in ten
who say they know more about electric vehicles and are
divided about their openness to going The electric vehicle group
at least are somewhat likely to consider an electric vehicle
purchase in the future. So three out of ten of
the three out of ten are somewhat likely to consider
a vehicle electric vehicle purchase in the future will say
(28:29):
they are not too or at all likely to do so.
Where are we gonna get the electricity from? Where we're
gonna get the lithium from where we gonna get the
infrastructure to support it? Um? I don't know. I just
these articles are written very deceivingly. My job's here to
just to report the news, but it is frustrating research.
Kathy is at it again. She's submitting articles again, earning
(28:52):
her pay. California startup now offers a full electric vehicle
battery in just ten minutes. Remember I told you about Oh,
I don't know, four to six months ago. I said
for the electric electric vehicle to actually make it, they
were gonna have to come up with a battery pack
that would allow you to pull into a gas station,
per se, or a charging station they swap out the battery.
(29:13):
That's what the article talks about. Maybe we'll get into
that a little later next week. Let's go to the phone.
Let's go to Blaine in Louisiana, a fifteen Nissan Versa
with a check engine line. It won't run, Blaine, Welcome
to the car doctor. How can I help it runs?
It just it doesn't. It doesn't go anywhere. It's like
I'll putting a drive reverse low. I mean, I don't
(29:36):
know what could be the problem, because I mean, it's
going fine. And then she parked it. Next morning she
gets up to go to work. It doesn't even move,
but the engine runs and the engine sounds normal. Yes, okay.
Is it possible that one of the drive axles popped
out of the transmission? Is it making any grinding noises
or anything. Yes, it's making like a little a little
(29:59):
it was like a little grinding noise, like a little
grinding noise. It sounds like either one of the drive
axles popped out of the trans or there's something internal
in the transit failed. That that that is a CVT
trans constant constant velocity. Let me let me tell you
the sun's gonna come up tomorrow and somebody else's Nissan
(30:20):
is gonna do the same thing, because it's a very
common problem. They do it all the time. They've they've
they've got their issues. Um, more than likely the trans
itself failed. How many miles are on it? Yeah, it's
ever put a trans in it? You're about though? Yeah,
(30:42):
just uh And I would at least have a conversation
with the Nissan dealer. I'm not saying it is. I
think it's out of warranty, but I thought Nissan had
extended the warranty on some of those up two hundred
and fifty thousand. Hence the reason for the you know,
the hence the comment for the you know how many
miles you have on it? But you know, at a
buck eighty it wouldn't be unusual. Uh. In New Jersey dollars.
(31:06):
I would estimate. I believe that trans is a forty
thousand dollar repair. Just just see you have. I had
some idea of walking in, but the fact that you
here that, the fact that you hear grinding isn't good. Yeah,
more more unlikely. A yeah, right, exactly, um exactly. So hey, listen,
you've got you got almost two or thousand miles out
(31:27):
of that when it did. All right, right, yeah, so
but that's the deal kid. Alright, sir, You're very welcome.
You have a good rest of the day. I'm running
any of the Car Doctor. We're back right after this
(31:50):
welcome back round Need of the Car Doctor. You know,
two repairs kind of stand out in my mind from
this week at the shop. And I should also point
that that we're gonna start to read parts some of
these on the website. Our Card Doctor show website is
just about ready for release, and we're kind of hashing
out the details again this week. One of the things
they want is they want a daily blog or a
(32:11):
weekly blog from me. And you know, they said, they
asked me, they said, what would you write about it?
And I don't know, what do you want me to
write about? And they said well, what do you think,
I said, you know what, I would write about the
things that go on in the shop, and maybe it'll
be maybe it'll be good for me. It a lit'll
be of an emotional moment. You know what are we
feeling in the shop? What's the insanity this moment, this point,
at this stage of the game, we had Honda pilot
(32:33):
came into the shop this week. It needed wiper blades.
How hard is this? Right? It just needs to to
wiper blades in the front and a pair of wiper
blades in the back. And unfortunately, the blade in the
front was fine. The blade in the back Honda decided
that when they catch it on the hook on the
back door, there's a little plastic tab that sticks off.
(32:55):
Nobody in the aftermarket makes a wiper blade for the
rear of a pilot with that tab, so it just
doesn't sit right. You'll wipe out the blatant short order.
And I looked at that and I said, look at
how they changed the profitability of a simple repair. Honda
is the only one that has that wiper blade. You
have to go back to Honda for it. They've got
(33:17):
you locked in. Yeah, the other way, I'll work, but
it won't work right and it won't last as long.
And I looked at that and I saw it. To me,
that's the fragility of auto repair. That's how they can
change things in an instant. They add one little hook,
one little bobble, one little something, and they make it
so unique. Only the manufacturer can sell that part. That
(33:37):
bothered me. And then on the on the jocularity side,
because you know, funny things do happen. Yesterday, we had
a blue Subaru we found in the park a lot
when we came in and no note, no keys, And
about twenty minutes after we opened, the owner called up
and said, hey, ron I I left my car, but
I was in a hurry. I've got to drop the
key back off. I've got a flat. The left front
(33:59):
tire is is losing air. And I said, yeah, no problem,
rich and he dropped off the key and we fixed it.
And before he called though, the phone rang and it
was Jill from Allendale, the next town over, and she said,
you know, I've got this blue super ru And I'm thinking, okay,
so this is the super Ruiner's car. Because I didn't
recognize who the cars was. Who's the owner was of
(34:20):
the car that was actually there. Got a little confusing,
and she said, my super Bru's got a flat and
I went, oh, yeah, no, I I know that. She's like,
how do you know that? I said, because I can
see it. How can you see it? I said, well,
you're the blue super U right. She goes yeah. I said, yeah,
you've gotta You've gotta flat on the left side. She goes,
that's amazing. She says, how do you do that? Well,
(34:41):
come on, I can see it. It's right there. She
goes right where it's right out front. She goes, no,
my car is not even there. I just you know,
I said, where's your flat? She goes the left rear.
I said, oh, well, this one's got the left front.
At least I know I've got something close going on.
Sis boom ba, sis boom bah. Right, yeah, the great
Johnny Carson sis boom bah. The sound that sheep may
just before it explodes. So um, just boy, talk about confusion.
(35:05):
And I drove home last night thinking what if this
is an electric vehicle? And they were all written, it's
did you change the module, which module, which car, which system?
It's gonna be fun. I'll running any in the car,
doctor reminding until the next time. Good mechanics aren't expensive,
they're priceless. Let's see you
Ron and Nanian, what is it about the radio show
that you just do joy so much? Because you sound
like you're really having a good ton And I'm glad,
you know what, I am having a good time. I
really enjoyed doing what I'm doing. It must be working
with me. It must be working with Tom. And I
only say that because I need a favor from Tom
and what they're given, because I'm working for the Car Doctor.
But the other one that was black, and that the
(00:20):
ground I've never seen. Yeah, and I've never seen one
that was black. To be honest with you, John, Welcome
to the radio home of Ron and Anian the Car Doctor.
Since this is where car owners the world overturned to
for their definitive opinion on automotive repair. If your mechanics
giving you a busy signal, pick up the phone and
(00:41):
call in the garage to orders are open, but I
am here to take your calls at eight five five
six and now he running. I was thinking what would
make people want to become moto mechanics, And maybe it's
the you know, the prestige, and maybe it's the money.
Not necessarily, but I think the money's gonna get there.
(01:03):
You know, we were talking about this yesterday when the
folks from Hunter Engineering came out. We were looking at
the new ADAKS system Advanced Drivers as Safety and and
talking about what does it take to get technicians into
the field, and we had the conversation that you know,
they'll go out to a trade school, a Lincoln Tech
or or or you know some U t I class
and and spend their twenties dollars on a two year
(01:27):
education or a year and a half education, whatever it is.
And then they've got to come out and they've got
to buy anywhere from thirty to fifty dollars worth of
tools in a toolbox of some magnitude or some size.
And that's to get into an entry level position in
a shop where we'll get you know, fifteen bucks an
hour and they're changing oil and and what are they learning?
And you know, I'm not saying this is in every case,
but it's just it just seems to be the image.
(01:51):
Then I was reading and I was on All Data
last night, All Data dot com. Uh, they come out
with a monthly news report. The folks at all Data,
they're so on top of it, and they've got an
article in there about Nissan and Chevrolet Electric Vehicle safety tips.
And this is written by Rich Deagle. He's the senior
automotive editor over there at all that and Rich opened
up with a question, can hybrid and electric vehicles be
(02:13):
dangerous to work on? Next sentence one word absolutely, And
I read further down and this is from Nissan that
talks about the Nissan Leaf. The Nissan Leaf debuted in
by December global sales total half a million, hundred and
fifty one thousand units were sold in the US along.
So it's a very good chance you'll see one of
these roll into your service drives talking to mechanics and
(02:36):
it talks about the high voltage and he said, there's
a warning they're associated with Nissan Lease. Touching high voltage
components without using the appropriate protective equipment will cause electrocution.
I don't know if I want to work on one
of those. I guess I do. But you know, um,
I think it's like Tom Ray walking up to a
tower with a transmitter, you know, and Tom has to
be aware of when he's walking up is he gonna
(02:57):
get electrocuted? It's it's a dangerous field, Tom, Yeah it is.
And you know it's responsible for part of this hair
do of mine. Yeah, yeah, I bet it is. I
you know it's it's but you know, is that going
to be attractive to a young person? To think about
the job is going to kill them? Uh? You know
in that sense, get electrocuted. It used to be, it
used to be just working on cars. And I don't
(03:18):
know if you know, it's just where are they going
to come from? Um? And then they talk about the
Chevy bolt. That warning for technicians wearing medical electronics. You
have to think about this right. The vehicle contains parts
that contain powerful magnets. If a person who is wearing
a heart pacemaker or other medical devices close to these parts,
the medical device may be affected by the magnets. Such
(03:40):
persons must not perform work on the vehicle. What if
you own that vehicle? What if you're driving that vehicle
and you've got a pacemaker? I wonder if that affects you.
UM some good information out of All Data. Find out
more at all Data dot com. Uh. Their monthly newsletter
is worth the price of admission alone. You know, Tom,
I didn't mention this, but when we were doing the
a DOS calibration is in the shop yesterday and this
(04:01):
isn't the fault of Hunter or Boss or anybody. This
is the way the vehicle is during the calibration is
required by the manufacturers. You have to turn on the
radar unit and send out the pulse so that the yeah,
and when this happens, well, you know it's funny, Well
that everybody that was in the room kind of new
instinctively as soon as I said, okay, it's time to
(04:22):
calibrate the radar, everybody kind of it was like that
moment analysis restaurant. We stepped away from the group w bench.
Everybody kind of just like part of the ways like
Moses in the Red Sea, and you know what the
you know what the power is in the main pulse
on that No, but it's it's it's something I've got
to look at and find out because now I'm wondering.
So I bet it can't be and somebody will send
(04:43):
me an email or a note somewhere along the way.
We can't be that stupid that we're gonna mount radar
detect radar emitting devices into the front of a vehicle
and then it's following the vehicle from behind in the front.
Are we being bombarded by radar no, that that we
couldn't be that dumb, could we? Bet we can't, Tom,
we can't it just it can't be that, you know
that crazy? Um, But if you can come up with
(05:07):
the approximate frequency in the power level, I'll I can
calculate the safe distance for you. No, I'm gonna I'm
gonna assume that that that the manufacturers and the government
is doing this right there, So lawyered up and legaled
up that it's got to be a percent safe except
for the part here where it talks about electrocution working
on Chevy's and Nissan. So, um, you just wonder, I
(05:28):
wonder if everybody is aware of that. I don't know, Hey,
this hour, if anybody calls up begging and pleading, we're
gonna go away. That book on the Iraq Porsches that
we've been talking about, written by Matt Stone. It looks
like a great book. I haven't even taken it out
of the plastic sleeve yet. Uh, color pictures throughout just
all the history of the Iraq races, Iraq Race of
Champions with portioned just be a great gift for Dad
(05:48):
for Father's Day. Were happy to give that away this hour,
and um, Also, someone needs to do is ask and
Tom has to have the right answers in the right question.
So I leave that up to Tom. Right now, let's
go over to Kurt in Arizona, O one b m
of you and an overheating problem. Kurt, Welcome to the
car doctor, sir. How can I help? Thank thank you? Ron.
I've got seven cars around my house, not including the
(06:09):
kids to come home from college to have their fix.
And uh, it seems like I'm talking to you every
other week. Yeah, you're you're you're a popular guy. Well,
anything I can do to help your brother, you know that.
So what's going on that this car's got two miles
on it? Um, just just just broken water, not not
(06:30):
for a BMW. I get rid of it, except for
I can take it apart now with my eyes closed. Um,
it's overhead overheating when it's driven, not when it's just idolate,
but when it's driven, it gets overheated. And I have
replaced the thermostats in the water pump, although as used
(06:56):
to always say, just because it's replaced doesn't mean it's
uh it's new, doesn't it it's good. My suspicion is
a water pump I've turned the heat on inside the
car and it's not pumping out heat in the car.
I'm just trying to figure out what what I should
look for a diagnosed Well, So, how did it start?
Was it one day? It just started overheating and then
(07:19):
you put parts in, or you put parts in and
then it started overheating. Which came first? Chicken or the
egg overheated? Okay? So I was driving it and the
the serpentine belt came off, So I think something throws
up in there. That's my That's why I think it's
(07:40):
the water pump. So you replaced the water pump because
the pulley was bad, the water pump was leaking or
what led you to condemn the water pumph? It was
leaking earlier on? Okay, And ever since that water pump
went in, it's been overheating. No, not ever since then.
(08:04):
It's it's gotten four or five months without it overheating.
So the first time it's overheated right now, Okay. Water
water pumps are probably the most common failure for an
overheat while driving on that on that era vintage BMW.
Now that being said, the electric the electric cooling fans,
(08:26):
this car has an electric cooling fan. Right, the electric
cooling fan is triggered through a module. That's that's reading
cooling temperature. So if the thermostat is off, I've seen
it where the thermostat can create the overheat condition but
not all the time and be intermittent in random good
quality parts, Kurt uh No, I'd say a medium quality parts. Okay,
(08:53):
So you do you get? Do you have any Rallyoto
parts by you? I think you do. I think I
think you have a revolving charge there um in all
our conversations. So why don't you Why don't you venture
down to the O'reillyota parts and just for the giggles
and the peace of mind, see if they carry a
(09:13):
motor Red thermostat for that? All right? Um, you know
I have the utmost confidence in motor Red. They make
OE level parts, their their oequality and at least that
will eliminate the question of whether or not you know,
is the thermostat you put in there gonna last long
enough for the kids to enjoy it. I remind I
(09:34):
have a question for you. I want to know you
made out with the Mini Cooper Um, So that's that's
number one. Then number two before you take it apart
for the second time. All right. The fact that this
does this while driving and not while idling kind of
leads me away from the radiator. Although a two d
thousand miles and twenty years old, I would hope that
it's been done at least once, just on the basis
(09:56):
of time, because it's if I remember right, it's a
plastic radiators, a plastic side tank. Correct, it does have
a radiator in it. Okay, So the radiators out of
the way, then you know where the expansion tank is.
It's over to the driver's side with the cap okay, okay,
(10:17):
so when the when the car is warmed up, all right,
you should be able to bring engine speed up to
about rpm. There's a little there's a little coolant nozzle
inside that tank or I think of it as a nozzle. Basically,
you should be able to with the expansion tank cap off,
car warmed up, if you bring it up rpm, you
should see a stream of cool and shootout that expansion
(10:40):
tank to the other side. You know, it's kind of
you know, hoses the other side of the tank. If
if that's weak, if that's weak flow, you know, there's
no circulation there I've got to think the water pump
impeller is spinning on the shaft. Those usually were plastic impellers.
The old one plastic or aluminum? What was it? Do
(11:01):
you remember? The one I put in is aluminum. Okay,
so it might just be spinning on the shaft, but
least at least you'll know. Look look for circulation and
judge it by that stream. There should be a real
heavy stream coming out of that nozzle in the expansion tank.
If there's not, you've got some sort of a circulation problem.
(11:22):
All right. And when it doesn't have the heat inside
the car, isn't that a symptom of not having a
good water pump. Well, it could be a symptom of
a good water pump. It could be a symptom of
being air bound. It could be a symptom of a
head gaske at failure. So you've you've got the potential
for all three one thing at one thing at a time. Brother,
(11:43):
all right, okay, I replace this one at a time
so far. So well, you know, that's like Johnny Cash said,
that's what you're now earning the right to do one
piece at a time. Had you make out with the
mini Cooper. Did you ever put an engine in it?
I think you need must be thinking of a different Kurt, don't.
We had a we had a Curt with Mini Cooper
(12:05):
um and I thought that was you. Well, listen, maybe
I should find him and have him send it over
to you. You like working on cars, I do, but
I enjoy my seven two Chevy and my old military Jeep.
They're simple and easy. Yeah, very simple and easy. Well,
hang on to him, because cars aren't getting any easier.
So alright, let me run along here, Kurt, But do
(12:27):
those things. Call me back, let me know if I
can be of any further help. All right, kiddo, you'd
be well. I'm Ronny in the Car Doctor. We're back
right after this. Whether it's a little red Corvette or
you go. You've come to the right place to get
(12:48):
that car fixed. Ron and Ay in the Car Doctor
five five five zero nine zero zero. Now back to Ron. Hey,
let's cruise on up to Johnson City outside of Binghamton.
And talked to Andy about as those seven Chevy Silverado. Andy,
welcome to the Car Doctor or how can I help hi? Royn?
Thanks for taking the call. Yeah, so I was saying
that I got a two thousand seven I bought off
(13:08):
my buddy. It's got like eighty thousand miles on it.
It's not bad with the rust. I had an oil
undercoated the NH whatever. It was right for preventive, sure,
But as far as the training goes, what would you suggest?
I hear both sides like just draining the training fluid
replacing their back? Is there this back flushing? Well, we
(13:29):
don't like the we don't like the flush transmission. We
don't And really I think the proper terminology is we
don't flush coolant. We don't flush transmissions because at the
notes pressure and we don't want to disturb older systems
with a lot of pressure. We wanted to operate and
maintain within their own pressure, so to speak, respective of
whatever it is we're working on. You know, I would
(13:51):
if this is an eighty thousand miles the fluid ever
been changed? No? Okay? And what color is the fluid?
What does it? What does it look like? What does
it smell like? I really did check it out. Okay,
so look at it. You know, normal trans fluid on
that generation vehicle is is a nice, clear, clean pink.
It has no foul smell. To it. And now we're
(14:11):
gonna get into the you know, judge it by what's
the condition of the fluid, and we're gonna play the
game of when do you want it to fail? You know?
If it were me and mine and the fluid looked
like it had a reasonable chance of survival, I would
start with a drain and fill, dropping the pan. Looking
in the pan, you know, do I see any particular
Do I see any chunks? Do I see any parts?
(14:33):
You know? Which is always a big which is always
a bad sign. And sometimes you will listen over my career,
I've I've I've lowered many a trans pan and gee,
where that needle roller bearing come from? Oops? Yeah? Um?
But but and it leads me to my second part
of my commentary. When would you like to know this?
Do you want to know that the trans is about
to fail two minutes before you leave on the family vacation,
(14:55):
or do you want to see you can keep it?
Or do you want to know now so you can
keep an eye on it and judge it accordingly? You know,
And that's important, right, So I would start with a
trans drop, you know, drop the pan, lower the pan.
We don't drop anything in the automotive world. Um, I would,
I would lower the pan, change the gas could change
the filter, clean the pan, clean the magnet that should
be in there, okay, and put it together and then
(15:18):
drive it. You know, look at the fluid color before,
look at the fluid color after. Judge how the trans shift?
Does it shift any better? Does it change? Does it modify?
If it stays the same, great, And then and I
don't know, five eight, ten thousand miles, pick a number.
Let's do a fluid exchange. Let's find somebody that has
a fluid exchanger. We don't have to drop a pan
a second time, right, but we can because the pan
(15:41):
has already been done, the filter has already been done.
Let's just do a fluid exchange. Probably run upwards of
eighteen quartz trans fluid through that, and that'll get all
the old stuff out. And then see how that works.
Chances are you'll be successful, all right, I will. I will.
You know, I'm not promising, but I will tell it
to you like this and my long career, I think, um,
(16:03):
maybe I'm gonna say two. And the customers were all forewarned.
But those transmissions had operating faults. They had characteristics you know,
it was either a slip shift or a flare or
a clunk. Something wasn't right to begin with, and they
were trying to fix it by fluid replacement. And I'm
for that. I understand that, especially on an older vehicle,
it would be the logical choice. Before you spend four
(16:26):
to six thousand dollars on a trans overhaul, Let's try
a couple of hundred dollar service. Okay, um, you know,
do that. But let me caution you here too. You
know it's an O seven, it's fifteen years old. Let's
not just think about the trans. When was the last
time the transfer case fluid was changed? When was the
last time both front and rear action fluids were changed?
(16:48):
You know. One of the things that I've learned over
the years, and he is and it's funny. People will
always ask me about transmission, engine oil and cooling. I
don't get. I don't get as nearly as many questions
about break fluid, differential axle, front rear axle, rear front axle,
and transfer case. It seems to be like a non
(17:08):
existent fluid in the public's mind. And the truth is,
drive line fluids all should be changed on a regular basis,
it promotes vehicle life. And the other thing to keep
in mind is you're looking for trans maintenance ideas. Make
sure the radiator is good, clean and clear. Make sure
that the front of the vehicle has no obstructions, that
airflow is good. And the reason I say that is
(17:30):
because how does the transmission fluid get cooled? Where's the
cooler in the radiator? Right? It's It's been shown that
a radiator that or a vehicle a cooling system that runs.
Oh I forget where the numbers were six to eight
percent hotter and maybe it'll reflect a little bit on
the gauge urating that much more heat to the transmission
and over time that can shorten the vehicle's life. So
(17:54):
maintenance is a you know, it's a combined effort, if
not any one singular component. And that's my point. I
appreciate the call, and you do those things, coming back
with more. I'm glad to help enjoy your new Chevy Silverado.
They're nice trucks. I'm running any in the card doctor
eight five zero zero. I'll be back right after this.
(18:46):
Welcome back need of the car doctor here at zero
who think your calls and answer your questions before this
hour ends. Tom, I'm gonna take the call, but I
want to talk about there's a recent survey from the
Pew Research instae to title electric vehicles get mixed reception
from American consumers and it talks about some of our
views of electric vehicles. Very interesting story. I'd love to
(19:07):
get the authors on maybe to talk to them and
see uh a little bit more. But right now, let's
go over and talk to Ross in St. Louis some
questions about purchasing older Volkswagons. Ross, welcome to the car doctor, Sir,
how can I help? It's Rosiel, but go we talk
to Mrnanian. Um. Yeah, I was in a few months
when the weather starts to get cooler and hopefully used
(19:30):
car prices come down. I'm planning. I'm hoping to buy
an older Volkswagen, you know, the fine cellarner cylinder engine.
But I hear that there are maintenance nightmares. Um, what's
your opinion? Volkswagen tends to be a higher cost to
repair vehicle. There is a there is a part's availability
(19:50):
issue on some of them. And yeah, you've got to
be a little cautious, but it sounds like you're gonna
do the work yourself. I mean, I don't mind doing
maintenance like smart changing to its changing the oil and
things like that, but even a starter or an alternator.
But you know, anything more than that, I wouldn't. I
(20:11):
wouldn't want to do like anything major. You know, how
how far back are we talking? We're talking a ten
year old vehicle, a fifteen year old vehicle. When you
say older Volkswagen, give me give me a year range, um,
anywhere from an O H to let's say a fourteen
And I'm thinking like a Jetta or a beetle Um
or even maybe even a rabbit. Let me ask you this,
(20:35):
If you're not going to do the you know, beyond
the normal service and maintenance work, who's going to do
with the dealer or do you have a Volkswagen specialist
in mind? Well, my next door neighbor he owned his
own shop. He's a he's a Volkdragon mechanic. UM, so
he would do it. UM. I just heard that they
break down a lot when they're older, and they're really
(20:56):
expensive defects. True on both counts, but then again, listen,
everything everything is expensive to fix. What do you drive
right now? Um? And oh seven Cobal Chevy cob Okay,
so that's Chevy Cobalt four cylinder, all right, So you know,
(21:16):
some different failures, some different repairs, some different maintenance. It
is comparing a biplane to a jet. In terms of
a Chevy to a Volkswagen. The Chevy is a simpler product.
The Chevrolet breaks in different ways than the Volkswagen. So
the question becomes, why are you changing from one to
the other. What's it about the Volkswagen that lights your fire? Well,
(21:40):
I've always been interested in purchasing one, and uh yeah,
I've just always been interested in on anyone. Right, So
then does it matter really what it's gonna cost. Here's
my here's my point, kiddo, all right, life is short.
If you've gotta if you've got to drive a Volkswagen
to have the experience, then it's something you need to do,
you know. And it's it's it's not going to be
(22:04):
stratos stratospherically more money than owning that similarly aged Chevy Cobalt.
It's gonna be a bit more. Can I tell you?
Is it? Is it? No? Because it really depends on
what it is you're buying and how good is the
guy working on it. And you know, to address that.
Have you talked to your neighbor and said, hey, if
(22:26):
I buy a Volkswagen, would you work on it? You know,
there's an old expression fences make the best neighbors. Maybe
he doesn't want that responsibility in that obligation, you know, yeah, oh,
he would work on it. He would definitely work on it.
He told me that, you know, when the plan, you know,
just things of the same thing I said about maintenance.
(22:46):
And they're being expensive, but they are think you know,
I mean they are. They are expensive. It's you know,
it's cost, it's cost per mile. But you know, listen,
there's just some things you have to do in life.
I woke up one day and said, I drove a
seventy two Monty Carlo all through college, put almost four
(23:08):
thousand miles on that car before I got rid of it.
And forty years later, I woke up one day and said,
you know what, I want another seventy two Monty carl
I went out. I went out and I found one.
You know what, I'm not sorry I did. Uh, you
just get to that point, how old are you? Well,
this will be even midlife crisis. Car. I'm fifty two, Okay,
(23:29):
So if you want this Volkswagen for another ten years,
you'll be sixty two going, which I had bought one?
You know, is it? You know I always look at life.
Am I gambling with the butter and egg money? Am
I gambling with the rent money? Am I taking money
away from my kids college? If the answer to all
those is no, and the family can go on, you
(23:51):
know what you deserve a little, Lauren? Are you deserve
to be able to smile? And you may You may
own that car for six months ago, God what did
I do this for? And then again you may in
that car for six months, and you may come out
of the house one morning wearing those you know, little
point the Italian racing shoes, the scarf, the goggles in
the hat. I mean, you know, it just it just
might be your thing, and it just might light your
(24:12):
fire and make you want to wake up every day
and go out and see the world right right. Cars
your therapy to a large degree, Cars your therapy. And
that's why, uh, you know, I'm I'm confounded by those
that just think they're transportation. Sometimes they are, but sometimes
they're much more than transportation. So um, just be aware
(24:34):
of that. Hey, listen, stay on the line. Tom just
gave me the high sign. Uh. Your love of Volkswagen
has prompted Tom to offer you the Iraq Porsche's Book,
written by Matt Stone. It's colored pictures of the International
Race of Champions Porsche nine eleven's the men who race them.
I think you'll really enjoy it. And who knows, maybe
your next car will be a Porsche after you get
tired of the Volkswagen. All right, all right, and thank you,
(24:56):
thank you very much. You're very welcome. Stay on the line.
Let Tom get your information and uh we'll we'll get
that right out to you this week. I'm not an
any in the car doctor. We're back right after this.
Lolocome back. We're on naming the car Doctor. Eight five
(25:18):
five five zero nine zeros. The phone number again eight
five five five six zero nine zero zero call leave
a message if we're not on the air. This shows
live on the network Saturday afternoons to to four pm
East Coast time. But Tom Ray can give you a
call back and put you in the next live que.
Just all you gotta do is leave a message. We're
gonna help you fix your car. That's the whole purpose.
Of this show. If you're new to us, we thank
(25:38):
you for that, and if you're old with us, we're
glad you stuck around. UM recent article from the about
the Pew Research Center that talks about electric vehicles, It's
tight electric vehicles get mixed reception from American consumers. By
Alison Spencer and Carry Funk, Americans are closely divided. The
article starts out with over the idea of phasing out
combustion engine vehicles by the year five, and many are
on the fence about whether they themselves would purchase a
(26:01):
chief alternative and electric car or truck. A recent Pew
Research report finds of the US adults support a proposal
to phase out production of gasoline powered cars and trucks,
while oppose it. My question is who did they ask? Right?
What you know? What are the age groups? And the
article then goes on to talk about how it's it's
(26:22):
the younger generation that's more for bringing in electric vehicles
versus the older which is opposed to it. But I
want to know, is everybody aware of the facts and
are we are any of us even aware of all
the facts. I don't even claim to know all the
information because everything I hear is yes, I get it.
You know, electric vehicles less pollution. But to phase out
(26:43):
the entire gasoline combustion engine family and bring out electric
I go back to where we're gonna get the electricity from.
It's just that simple. Where is this going to happen.
We've got an infrastructure problem in the country. We need
to build the electric grid up. We can't even do that.
Seems like the government can't get that to happen because of, uh,
(27:03):
you know, differences between the legislators. But you just say
to yourself, you can want everything you want, but how
does it happen? When does it happen? And it doesn't
seem to make sense. Seven percent of US adults, the
article goes on to say, say they currently own an
electric or hybrid vehicles vehicle. Most of these owners, sevent
(27:23):
of the seven, say they are very or somewhat likely
to seriously consider an electric car truck the next time around.
You see how they play with the numbers. Though seven
percent of adults say they own an electric or hybrid vehicle,
many of these owners seventy two, they make it sound
like it's a large number. Sev seven is about what
five So five percent of the populations say they are
(27:44):
very or somewhat likely to seriously consider an electric car
truck the next time around. But yet, like the idea
to phase out electric or to phase out guest Lene
engine by the year, the number is don't make sense.
Three in ten Americans, the article continues to describe themselves
as knowing a lot about electric vehicles. Well, there's a
(28:06):
good reason, so let's listen to the three in ten
who say they know more about electric vehicles and are
divided about their openness to going The electric vehicle group
at least are somewhat likely to consider an electric vehicle
purchase in the future. So three out of ten of
the three out of ten are somewhat likely to consider
a vehicle electric vehicle purchase in the future will say
(28:29):
they are not too or at all likely to do so.
Where are we gonna get the electricity from? Where we're
gonna get the lithium from where we gonna get the
infrastructure to support it? Um? I don't know. I just
these articles are written very deceivingly. My job's here to
just to report the news, but it is frustrating research.
Kathy is at it again. She's submitting articles again, earning
(28:52):
her pay. California startup now offers a full electric vehicle
battery in just ten minutes. Remember I told you about Oh,
I don't know, four to six months ago. I said
for the electric electric vehicle to actually make it, they
were gonna have to come up with a battery pack
that would allow you to pull into a gas station,
per se, or a charging station they swap out the battery.
(29:13):
That's what the article talks about. Maybe we'll get into
that a little later next week. Let's go to the phone.
Let's go to Blaine in Louisiana, a fifteen Nissan Versa
with a check engine line. It won't run, Blaine, Welcome
to the car doctor. How can I help it runs?
It just it doesn't. It doesn't go anywhere. It's like
I'll putting a drive reverse low. I mean, I don't
(29:36):
know what could be the problem, because I mean, it's
going fine. And then she parked it. Next morning she
gets up to go to work. It doesn't even move,
but the engine runs and the engine sounds normal. Yes, okay.
Is it possible that one of the drive axles popped
out of the transmission? Is it making any grinding noises
or anything. Yes, it's making like a little a little
(29:59):
it was like a little grinding noise, like a little
grinding noise. It sounds like either one of the drive
axles popped out of the trans or there's something internal
in the transit failed. That that that is a CVT
trans constant constant velocity. Let me let me tell you
the sun's gonna come up tomorrow and somebody else's Nissan
(30:20):
is gonna do the same thing, because it's a very
common problem. They do it all the time. They've they've
they've got their issues. Um, more than likely the trans
itself failed. How many miles are on it? Yeah, it's
ever put a trans in it? You're about though? Yeah,
(30:42):
just uh And I would at least have a conversation
with the Nissan dealer. I'm not saying it is. I
think it's out of warranty, but I thought Nissan had
extended the warranty on some of those up two hundred
and fifty thousand. Hence the reason for the you know,
the hence the comment for the you know how many
miles you have on it? But you know, at a
buck eighty it wouldn't be unusual. Uh. In New Jersey dollars.
(31:06):
I would estimate. I believe that trans is a forty
thousand dollar repair. Just just see you have. I had
some idea of walking in, but the fact that you
here that, the fact that you hear grinding isn't good. Yeah,
more more unlikely. A yeah, right, exactly, um exactly. So hey, listen,
you've got you got almost two or thousand miles out
(31:27):
of that when it did. All right, right, yeah, so
but that's the deal kid. Alright, sir, You're very welcome.
You have a good rest of the day. I'm running
any of the Car Doctor. We're back right after this
(31:50):
welcome back round Need of the Car Doctor. You know,
two repairs kind of stand out in my mind from
this week at the shop. And I should also point
that that we're gonna start to read parts some of
these on the website. Our Card Doctor show website is
just about ready for release, and we're kind of hashing
out the details again this week. One of the things
they want is they want a daily blog or a
(32:11):
weekly blog from me. And you know, they said, they
asked me, they said, what would you write about it?
And I don't know, what do you want me to
write about? And they said well, what do you think,
I said, you know what, I would write about the
things that go on in the shop, and maybe it'll
be maybe it'll be good for me. It a lit'll
be of an emotional moment. You know what are we
feeling in the shop? What's the insanity this moment, this point,
at this stage of the game, we had Honda pilot
(32:33):
came into the shop this week. It needed wiper blades.
How hard is this? Right? It just needs to to
wiper blades in the front and a pair of wiper
blades in the back. And unfortunately, the blade in the
front was fine. The blade in the back Honda decided
that when they catch it on the hook on the
back door, there's a little plastic tab that sticks off.
(32:55):
Nobody in the aftermarket makes a wiper blade for the
rear of a pilot with that tab, so it just
doesn't sit right. You'll wipe out the blatant short order.
And I looked at that and I said, look at
how they changed the profitability of a simple repair. Honda
is the only one that has that wiper blade. You
have to go back to Honda for it. They've got
(33:17):
you locked in. Yeah, the other way, I'll work, but
it won't work right and it won't last as long.
And I looked at that and I saw it. To me,
that's the fragility of auto repair. That's how they can
change things in an instant. They add one little hook,
one little bobble, one little something, and they make it
so unique. Only the manufacturer can sell that part. That
(33:37):
bothered me. And then on the on the jocularity side,
because you know, funny things do happen. Yesterday, we had
a blue Subaru we found in the park a lot
when we came in and no note, no keys, And
about twenty minutes after we opened, the owner called up
and said, hey, ron I I left my car, but
I was in a hurry. I've got to drop the
key back off. I've got a flat. The left front
(33:59):
tire is is losing air. And I said, yeah, no problem,
rich and he dropped off the key and we fixed it.
And before he called though, the phone rang and it
was Jill from Allendale, the next town over, and she said,
you know, I've got this blue super ru And I'm thinking, okay,
so this is the super Ruiner's car. Because I didn't
recognize who the cars was. Who's the owner was of
(34:20):
the car that was actually there. Got a little confusing,
and she said, my super Bru's got a flat and
I went, oh, yeah, no, I I know that. She's like,
how do you know that? I said, because I can
see it. How can you see it? I said, well,
you're the blue super U right. She goes yeah. I said, yeah,
you've gotta You've gotta flat on the left side. She goes,
that's amazing. She says, how do you do that? Well,
(34:41):
come on, I can see it. It's right there. She
goes right where it's right out front. She goes, no,
my car is not even there. I just you know,
I said, where's your flat? She goes the left rear.
I said, oh, well, this one's got the left front.
At least I know I've got something close going on.
Sis boom ba, sis boom bah. Right, yeah, the great
Johnny Carson sis boom bah. The sound that sheep may
just before it explodes. So um, just boy, talk about confusion.
(35:05):
And I drove home last night thinking what if this
is an electric vehicle? And they were all written, it's
did you change the module, which module, which car, which system?
It's gonna be fun. I'll running any in the car,
doctor reminding until the next time. Good mechanics aren't expensive,
they're priceless. Let's see you
Host
Ron Ananian
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