In this episode, Ron Ananian, The Car Doctor tackles one of the most important questions in car ownership: when is it time to fix it, and when is it time to let go?
Mary Beth from Kentucky calls in with her 2011 Honda CR-V facing multiple issues — a clogged catalytic converter, transmission fluid loss, and power loss uphill. Ron helps her weigh the costs, the reality of CVTs and turbos in today’s market, and how to shop smart while staying safe. He also stresses the importance of trusting a shop that’s equipped for modern vehicles — scan tools and all.
Then, Jeremy in Maryland shares a close call after a faulty aftermarket battery leaked acid onto his sister’s Chevy Cruze, risking major electrical damage. Ron uses the moment to underline why professional parts and proper liability matter more than ever — especially with today’s high-tech vehicles and start/stop systems.
Plus, guest expert Spiro Morogiannis of BG Products joins to talk summer car prep, from often-overlooked driveline fluids to the carbon buildup dangers of GDI engines. He offers practical, shop-ready advice on what really keeps your car road trip–ready — and what dealers still get wrong about lifetime fluids.
Takeaways:
-
Why “fix or replace” starts with being honest about your budget and goals.
-
Not all CVTs and turbos are created equal — pick your brand carefully.
-
Even “lifetime” fluids need changing.
-
How a battery failure can become a safety issue.
-
BG’s take on real-world summer maintenance — from fuel injectors to differentials.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
You're listening to Ron and Nanian The Car Doctor, nationally
recognized auto expert trusted by mechanics, weekend wrenchers and vehicle
owners alike. Ron brings over forty years of hands on
experience and deep industry insight to help you understand your vehicle.
Join the Conversation live every Saturday from two to four
pm Eastern by calling eight five five five six zero
nine nine zero zero. That's eight five five five six
(00:25):
zero ninety nine hundred, your direct line to honest answers
and practical advice. Looking for more, visit cardoctorshow dot com
for past episodes, repair tips, and Ron's latest insights, and
be sure to subscribe to The Car Doctor YouTube channel
for exclusive videos, real repair footage and more. Now start
your enginies. The Car Doctor is into garage and ready
(00:48):
to take your call.
Speaker 2 (00:49):
Let me start off by saying hello, and I hope
you're having me a great weekend. We're happy to be
here with you, and I want to point out also
down around the bottom of the hour, Spureau morgianis is
coming buy from BG Fuel Systems. Spiro is coming in
more to really talk to us about getting your car
ready for summer. We thought this being a holiday weekend,
everybody's driving and you know, did you notice it used
(01:12):
to be I was saying this to someone the other
day that did you notice that? You know, TV used
to put somebody on and they would talk about getting
your car ready for summer and getting your car ready
for long trips, and we used to talk more about
getting your vehicle ready. There's less and less place as well.
We do it, but that's who we are. I'm just
surprised that nobody else really talks about this anymore. But
(01:32):
yet you see more and more cars broken down on
the side of the road, it seems so Sparro will
be coming by, give us some pointers on you know,
let somebody else yell at you for a while about
how to take care of your car. So we're gonna
do that where It was always a good time with Spirow.
I enjoyed talking with him. But right now, let's do
what we'd like to do best. As I always say,
let's open up the phones and go talk to Mary
Beth in Kentucky. Mary Beth, welcome to the Car Doctor.
(01:53):
I'm Ron and Andy, and how can I help Hi?
Speaker 3 (01:56):
Ron, thanks for taking my car you're welcome. I'm a
kind of at a cross right now. I've got a Honda
to eleven CRV. It's about two hundred and sixty five
thousand miles on it, but it's getting to the point
where needs some major repairs. I had the catalytic converter
change three years ago and got another sixty five thousand
miles out of that, but now they're telling me it's
(02:17):
dunked up and needs to be replaced again. In my car,
I noticed it doesn't really have a lot of get
up and go. I have to really try to get
up a hill, and once I can get up the hill,
then it'll kind of pick up and go. But it's
kind of reving a lot too, like maybe it's having
a hard time getting a gear. And then also the
transmission fluid is going out of it, so we ended
(02:40):
up adding about two quarts of transmission fluid to it.
So I have a feeling what I thought was oil
leaking out has always been transmission fluid. So my problem
is my car said be fourteen years old in September.
Now is it really worth doing the repairs at this
point point in it? And when I talked to my
(03:01):
mechanic talked about getting a new car. The last thing
he said to me was, do not get a CBT
or a turbo? Well, pretty much everything has that on it.
I feel like I can't go with the new Honda
CRV because it has both a CVT and a turbo.
And I do know that Honda's got parts that they
can fix the CBT a little bit easier than other brands,
(03:25):
but it still scares me that it's got the turbo
on it too. The only two cars that I can
see that do not have CBT or the UH turbo
is a Rare four or a mos To c X five. Okay,
as far as cars that I'm interested in, So.
Speaker 2 (03:43):
You did You did that really well, all in one breath.
I was listening.
Speaker 3 (03:47):
Good.
Speaker 2 (03:48):
You ever come to New Jersey. You can sit and
talk to Kathy. What I want to say is, first
of all, I agree, I think it's time to replace
the eleven because out of everything you said to me, Mike,
concern is why is the catalytic converter? It sounds like
it's clogged up, you know? Is the engine burning oil?
Is this car using oil at all?
Speaker 3 (04:07):
I was loosed about a quarter every four thousand mile, right.
I was trying to change that by getting the oil changed,
you know at you know three or four thousand mile.
Speaker 2 (04:15):
Right, Well, the issue there is so it's got an
oil consumption issue. That's not terrible at two hundred and
sixty thousand miles. So the catalytic converter when it was replaced,
was it an aftermarket cat or an oe Honda cat?
Speaker 3 (04:28):
No, it was an aftermarket right, So, and I also
had the rear one changed out like last year.
Speaker 2 (04:33):
So three years, three to five years is typical aftermarket
cat life. It's and that's just partly because of the size.
It could also be due to the age of the vehicle,
the engines not one hundred percent. So you know, let's
let's let's let's go forward, right, It's this is a
this is a classic case of what if if the
transmission failed and it sounds like it's having its problems
and it's five grand to put a trans in that
(04:53):
vehicle or four grand to put a trans in that vehicle,
would you do it?
Speaker 3 (04:57):
No?
Speaker 2 (04:58):
No, So we're done. So now we've I got to
go find another car. Just about everything today is going
to be CVT in turbo. Your mechanic is absolutely one
hundred percent right. Would I stay away from it? No?
I would be very picky though, on whose brand I
would purchase. All Right, you know, I think you're in
the right ballpark with Honda or Toyota. I don't think
(05:19):
you can go wrong there. The other vehicle that I, well,
I used to like, I don't know if I like
them as much anymore. I still think the Ford Escape
is a great product. I still see some problems with
some of the other product line that Ford has out,
but I think the Escape has really earned a good reputation.
So I would look closely at that. Are you purchasing
this new or you're going to buy something two to
(05:40):
three years old.
Speaker 3 (05:42):
Part of the problem is when you look at something
that's two or three years old, that the price is
just about the same as buying a new YEP.
Speaker 2 (05:49):
That's fair.
Speaker 3 (05:49):
I'm the type of person I keep my car till
I run it to the ground.
Speaker 4 (05:52):
Right.
Speaker 3 (05:53):
So now, my far before this was also Honda CRB
that I got two hundred thousand miles and ten years
out of, but that ended up getting in an accident,
and so I couldn't take it anything further than two
hundred thousand miles.
Speaker 2 (06:06):
So let me poling.
Speaker 3 (06:08):
With the CBT and halving the maintenance every thirty to
sixty thousand miles. We've got to have the fluid all
flushed out.
Speaker 2 (06:14):
But that's you know what, Listen, there isn't a vehicle
out there today where trans service isn't isn't critical like that, Okay,
And that's and that's just that's just that's just part
of the animal now. So I think just as important
a question. And you're asking all the right questions and
thinking all the right things, Mary Beth, more so than
most people. I gotta tell you is talk to your mechanic.
What's he most comfortable working on? What is he gear between?
Speaker 3 (06:38):
He's pushing kiya, kiya, kiya. And then when I was
leaving it, his son was like, do not get a kiya. Yeah,
I'm not let me conflict it.
Speaker 2 (06:46):
Yeah. Kia, you know, Kia and Hyundai. I both lump them.
I lump them both together. To me, they were a
great four to six year vehicle. I don't I don't
see a longer lifespan than that. And that's just listen,
everybody's got a different experience.
Speaker 4 (06:58):
You know what.
Speaker 2 (06:59):
The question I would ask your mechanic though, is is
he geared up? Could he handle working on a new Honda?
Is his scan tool updated to that? And does he
have more than one scan tool? And I think that's
a fair question for everybody's mechanic. What what what is
that shop geared towards? What do they have the ability
technology wise to work on if they if they trot
(07:21):
out this, you know, one scan tool and go here
it is this is what we use. Yeah, that's not enough.
Most shops today, in my opinion, needs somewhere between three
and five different scan tools. Some of the bigger shops,
some of the more technologically advanced shops are going to
have upwards are seven or eight. It's just it's just
part of the process. It's just what we have to
do now.
Speaker 3 (07:42):
And another question to me then my understanding with the
M four maybe the mods just C X five. I
thought they were stealed transmissions that were lifetime, so you
didn't never had to fool with the transmission fluid? Am
I wrong? Yeah?
Speaker 2 (07:58):
I don't. I I've never I've never found a transmission
that was technic. I guess there might be one or
two out there. Somebody's gonna write me a letter and
tell me I'm wrong, because they love to do that.
But I've never seen a transmission that can't be serviced.
Everything has quote unquote lifetime fluid in it. Talk to
any manufacturer, all right, but in the real world, we
(08:19):
typically change Toyota WS fluid at the fifty to sixty
thousand mile mark. We change Honda CVT fluid at the
fifty to sixty thousand mile mark. Some of the Hondas
we're doing every thirty. Some of the Hondas are required
by Honda to be changed every twenty to thirty. It's crazy,
but you know, this is what we're dealing with. This
is the product that's out there right now, so there's
(08:41):
not a lot you can do to get away from it.
Speaker 3 (08:43):
Somebody said, the reason why they're doing these turbos and
the CBTs is because everybody's screaming they want more fuel efficiency,
and this is how they're answering that. So it sounds
to me like if I don't, if I do get
a car without the CBT or the turbo, that I
can at least maybe feel like I'm driving something that
(09:04):
I feel like I can get my mileage and my
years out of it. And one thing I'm scared about
the c X five is I heard an earlier caller
talking about that electric start. And my husband is deaf,
and I do not trust that he would hear any
bells or whistles going off if he's coming in the
house and got something else on his mind and leaving
(09:24):
that car running in the garage. We know two people
now that have passed away from accidentally leaving their or death,
but left their cars on in their garages and didn't know,
and you know, the house ended up filling up with
the carbonoxide. So I'm kind of leaning more towards the
Red foard than the the MASDA Seex five. Just reason.
Speaker 2 (09:48):
Yeah, I like listen, it's it's it's no secret. I
always look at culture of repair, and I think Toyota's
got a very good culture of repair where they tend
to want to try and help their customers and people
that purchase the vehicles and try to take care of them.
So you know, if you can find a RAFT four
that fits your needs, by all means, all right, by all.
Speaker 3 (10:08):
Means question, what about hybrids? I'm scared of the hybrid
in the battery.
Speaker 2 (10:12):
I don't think I don't think you're a hybrid customer.
I really don't. No, well it's not that you're not, no, not,
no offense intended. You're not a technology person, all right,
you're not. You know, you're not somebody that wants to
deal with you know, the complications of a hybrid if
and when it fails, having to get it repaired, having
(10:32):
to deal with the dealership, and you got to ask
your mechanic, and you deal with hybrid. I think I
think you're a good old fashioned you know, get in
the car, drive at nuts and bolts, which is great.
I'm kind of there with you because at the end
of the day, all these cars do is go from
point A to point B, and I just want to
get there safe and sound. So I think the raft four,
if that fits your other ticks your boxes by all means.
Speaker 4 (10:53):
Do that.
Speaker 2 (10:54):
Good luck to you, Mary Beth. Let us know what
you end up doing. We're always curious to hear. I'm
running ny in the car. Doctor. I'll be back right
after this. Let's go to Maryland and talk to Jeremy. Jeremy,
welcome back, sir. What's going on today?
Speaker 5 (11:08):
Oh? Not much? Appreciate you having me. I stuck a
battery on my sister's twenty twelve Chevy Cruise, and about
a day later, I was crawling underneath it, as I
often have to with that car with one hundred and
fifty thousand miles, and man, it's like something was leaking.
(11:28):
I was cursing the shop that had just done some
work on it, and I was like, man, you can't
get good help all this. And then I realized it was.
I went to wipe it off with some paper towel
and the paper towel started to dissolve in my hands,
like that ain't good. And it turned out this the
(11:51):
new battery from you know, Advance Auto. Like I don't
know if you've ever encountered it. I was just curious
if you have. It was just ching acid like crazy,
to the point where it even like started to soften
and melt in electrical connectors that are underneath.
Speaker 2 (12:06):
Yeah, internal internal short in the battery.
Speaker 5 (12:10):
Bummer. Man, I've never really sucked. They can give me
a new one the next day, you know. But I'm like, man,
I hope you know God all it really causes damage, no.
Speaker 2 (12:19):
Causes damage, And you know, you start looking. There's certain
car models out there where they put and this is
the manufacturer's fault where they'll put the main engine controller
or a body module right next to or underneath the battery.
Speaker 5 (12:32):
Yes, sir, yes.
Speaker 2 (12:34):
Brother, what's next? Like wow, you know you can so
it's it's just so important.
Speaker 5 (12:41):
But you know, this is started, it started to melt.
The main transmission connector is right underneath it.
Speaker 2 (12:48):
Right right, well, and this is all this all comes
under the heading of you know why you don't take
your parts to a to a parts house or to
a mechanic and say here, put them in, because the
mechanic is then libel. You know, you did it on
your own, so you're okay, you understand the implications of
of of what happened and why, and you solved it.
And that's that's that's rightfully correct. It's this is one
(13:10):
of the reasons why somebody wants to bring me parts
or any shop as far as I'm concerned, should be
answering the same way. It's the liability, and it's it's
it's always the liability from a place you don't expect it.
You know. One of the one of the worst crimes
in this industry is and I'm not I'm not lecturing you, Jeremy,
(13:31):
don't misunderstand me. Is is the preconceived notions that people
have on how auto repairs should come off because their
father told them this way, or their their uncle who
used to be in the business. And you know, this
business always keeps you on your toes. There's always another
thing coming around the bend that makes you look and
go huh, you know. And I'm still having had days
(13:55):
fifty three years in so it's it's been a long
string and trip. As the saying goes that, you've got
to worry. You know, what if that vehicle, what if
you hadn't noticed it?
Speaker 5 (14:06):
And man, I'm telling you, my sister would have been
out driving somewhere in the middle of the freaking night,
and then you got nothing.
Speaker 2 (14:13):
Right right, you know, And and that's and that's another
concern too. I was gonna and let me I'm gonna
interject here if I can put this on top of
your call, and I know you won't mind. I've got
a letter here from Mica up in Maine. He's asking
me about start stop technology and it's it's sort of
it rides with what you're saying when you get in
your vehicle. When I get in my vehicle and it starts,
(14:34):
I want to know that it's going to stay running
until I physically turn off the key. I want, I
want that safety and security thing. Your sister's and her cruise,
you know, at night, after eight o'clock it's dark. You
want to know that she's on the road in a safe,
sound vehicle. I got a letter here from Micah where
he's talking about start stop and what do I think.
I'm not a fan of start stop just for that reason.
(14:55):
Imagine your sister is in this vehicle and it's a
start stop vehicle and the battery fails and she pulls
up to a traffic light on a on a in
a dark, deserted road or a rural area, and the
car shuts off, expecting it to restart thirty seconds later
when the light changes, and it doesn't because it's a
bad battery. Then what do you do?
Speaker 5 (15:14):
Or like some bad neighborhood, right, or.
Speaker 2 (15:15):
Some bad neighborhood, and you know that becomes an issue.
So you know, all this technology is great, And this
is right in line with Mary bethrom Kentucky who just
called right, all the technology is great until it isn't
and and and then who pays the piper and at
what cost? I still think cars were you know, the
(15:37):
original intention of an automobile was point A to B
basic transportation. After that, travel at your own peril. And
I don't know that we need all the bells and
whistles that we have on these vehicles, because we surely
have have pushed vehicles to the point where the price
tags are just insane.
Speaker 5 (15:58):
I was, well, and that's why she just had a
bunch of work done to it is like two thousand dollars.
But I told her, I was like, you know, if
you get another year out of that, you're already ahead,
you know, right.
Speaker 2 (16:07):
Yeah, because look at the price of cars they've the industry,
I think, And I know we're way off topic here,
but I know you, Jeremy, you and I enjoyed yacking that.
I really think that they have pushed the price of
automobiles to the point where it's, you know, a new
vehicle is out of reach of the average consumer. And
(16:27):
some of these cars are just are just phone numbers.
A friend was showing me his new Cadillac CT five
XT five, whatever the heck it is, the four door
Fancy one hundred and twelve thousand dollars Cadillac. Oh yeah,
you know, and the least payment is only eighteen hundred
dollars a month for three years. And I went, are
you kidding me?
Speaker 5 (16:48):
A mortgage payment?
Speaker 2 (16:49):
Ah? God, no, it's not even a mortgage payment anymore.
But that's a whole nother that's a whole other problem.
But you get my point so well, and listening, I'm
glad you caught it, you know, wash the frame down,
get it, hit it with a bunch of good water
and scrub it all off, and you know, and obviously
I'm sure you were wearing gloves and safety protection.
Speaker 5 (17:06):
Do what's that first?
Speaker 2 (17:08):
Yeah? Uh yeah, that's and there's and there, you know,
and if you want, you can get designer jeans if
you just touch your pants now after you touch the water,
because that'll put holes in it faster than.
Speaker 4 (17:19):
You know what.
Speaker 2 (17:19):
So be careful. Jeremy, always interesting and always great phone calls.
Always a pleasure to talk to you, sir. Hey, coming
up next, Spirit Morianas from BG Fuel Systems. Is your
car summer ready? What are some of the things you
can do to get it there if it's not, And
just a good general fun conversation. Always a good time
with Spiro. I'm running any in the Car Doctor. We'll
be back right after this. One of my favorite subjects
(17:43):
is talking about cars, obviously, but summer's here and with
it comes summer road trips and it becomes a case
of have you done enough? And I thought it would
be fun to reach back out to Spiro Morianis. He's
from BG Products. He's a training man manager. Spiro is
always fun to talk to. I always enjoy having our
conversations together, and we've brought them back today to talk
(18:05):
about that and other things. Spiro, Welcome back to the
Car Doctor, sir. It's a pleasure.
Speaker 4 (18:09):
Hey, thank you for having me. It's an honor.
Speaker 2 (18:11):
Summer's here. Uh, summer road trips right there, right around
the corner. And if you were going to talk to
the listeners today and tell them, you know, what should
they do to get their vehicles ready for summer travel.
I've said it more than a few times, and now
it's your turn. What do you think? Spirou?
Speaker 4 (18:27):
Oh gosh, thank you, I love the question. You know
something something we do in training? Oh gosh, whether it's
with end users or shops technicians, we always train in
to and advise the guys, like you know, every every customer,
everybody drives their car differently. You know, you and I
drive our cars differently. Some people may have more highway commuting,
some have stop and go. But with summer summer here,
(18:47):
there's a lot more road trips, a lot more miles
put on cars. So my my advice I always give,
especially to the listeners, is you know, make sure your
oil's changed. Obviously, your tires are checked for tread for
you know, for pressures. But request a multipoint inspection when
you go into your shops if they're not automatically doing this.
And the reason why I really put emphasis on that
(19:08):
is again, every car is driven differently, but this way
it gives you a real time health report on your vehicle,
so you know, you may have and I tell them,
you know, please check our transmission, fluid check for cool
acidity check, you know, again, check the vitals to make
sure that we are good to go for the next
three four months of summer travel. And because that inspection
is going to really tell the honest truth of what
(19:28):
that condition of that vehicle is and what and what
it needed and whatever is recommended, I'd say proceed at
that point in time. That way, you're really tailoring it
to what that specific car needs. So outside of and
basic maintenance oil changes, you know, making sure everything's working properly.
This is a great way of being proactive and maintenance
to make sure you've got a summer trouble free.
Speaker 2 (19:47):
Driving vehicles have gotten better, right would you agree with that?
Speaker 5 (19:51):
Yes?
Speaker 2 (19:51):
Yes, and they continue to get better each and every year.
They really do. So people say, well, you know, I
don't need a tune up. There is no such thing
as a tuneup anymore. But that's not really true because
it's yeah, okay, we're not adjusting points anymore, and carburetors
have been gone for forty years. My question kind of
leads more towards there's other things, right, There's there's fluids,
(20:12):
there's services, you know, but yet people overlook things. What
are some of the most commonly overlooked items you think
that people aren't maintaining.
Speaker 4 (20:20):
Gosh, this is a great question. There there are actually
two categories that what I've seen stand out above and
beyond the rest by a long shot, the first one
actually being driveline and differential services. Believe it or not,
you know how many folks out there are driving you know,
trucks and SUVs that have either rear differential or if
it's a four by four, it's going to have you know,
a couple of differentials and a transfer case. And it's
(20:43):
funny because these these systems are so simple to service,
they can oftentimes be serviced faster than the regular oil
change because they're just their accessibility under the vehicle. And
so I you know, I tell folks, you know again,
if you're you're hauling your towing, you're driving humid weather,
you have any kind of weight on a vehicle, that
system needs attention also. And just again in our training
(21:03):
is what we always like to talk about is just
like you come in to have the engine oil changed
as routine maintenance, there's other systems on the cars that
also need periodic oil changes as well. And the differentials,
the transmission, those are no exception to that. So again
on the truck and suv side, hands down differential services
and again they don't take a lot of fluid to do.
They take maybe ten minutes to service most of those units.
(21:26):
It's one of those things that can be done during
an oil change and are definitely recommended, especially with today's
modern systems to make sure there's always fresh fluid in
those systems. The second one outside of drive line is
actually fuel system services. We actually kind of touched a
little bit on this, but so what For years and
years and years you had your corroborated vehicles, you had
(21:46):
fuel injected vehicles with port fuel injection, which is a
very simple but very efficient technology. These last oh gosh,
i'd say mostly in the last fifteen years, but especially
in the last five the majority of vehicles on the
road are what they call gasoline direct injection. So it's
an amazing technology. You get better power out of a
smaller engine, way better fuel economy than we've ever had.
(22:08):
But the byproduct of that is carbon build up in
the fuel system and on the air intake system, especially
the intake valves. So where people in years past hadn't
been recommended these services. Again, it's good to keep the
vehicle up and running, but now it's actually detrimental for
power economy and also to prevent larger mechanical failure down
the road to keep these systems working the way they're
(22:29):
supposed to. So those, I would say, really fuel system
services and drive line services are definitely the two biggest
overlooked items that I'm seeing in our industry.
Speaker 2 (22:39):
Why do you think the engines today still you know,
we've got all this technology right, not only can we
just go to the moon, we can go to Mars,
but we still can't make an internal combustion engine not
produce carbon. And you know why is that in this
day and age, can't we eliminate carbon? Isn't there a
way to do it?
Speaker 4 (22:57):
Absolutely? There is so in terms of creating it, initially
with combustion. It's an amazing thing. We you know, these
modern systems, believe it or not, are actually very efficient
at reducing carbon. However, you have other systems like you know,
your PCV system, your EGER system that actually recycles a
lot of the stuff that's that's in the actual system
and combustion back into the motor. And what we're also seeing,
(23:20):
and this is something that's not very discussed in the industry,
is oil evaporation. We're actually seeing with such high temperatures
these newer cars, your oil actually has a percentage it's
allowed to evaporate. And if you think about where those
oil vapors are traveling, they're going up through the system
and dumping right back into the intake, causing deposit formations,
and that's something that again with Portfield technology we never
(23:41):
messed with. We never had that challenge. So it's incredible
to see where that technology has gone. But how to
how to actually service it, and this is the part
that's incredibly convenient. There's kind of two ways to go
about it. It's something like a like a forty four
K or a very high quality fuel tank treatment will
do such a great job of keeping the injectors, the
(24:02):
piston tops, the combustion chamber, that part of the system,
the fuel side of the system working so well. And
then what we recommend doing is again periodically, especially with
GDIBG has an official recommendation of fifteen thousand miles, is
to actually have that full system service, not just the
fuel side, but the air intake side of stuff. And
that's what we call our air intake or induction service,
(24:22):
where it's also labeled as the Platinum service. This has
become such a major component to maintenance now that actually
Ford and General Motors now officially endorse this service to
be performed on their vehicles on an annual or bi
mileage based basis. When you're not doing a fuel service
in between. Because of just again such advanced technology that
gives us such great power and economy, it does need
(24:44):
routine maintenance to keep it performing like it was when
it was new, you know.
Speaker 2 (24:48):
To frame it and put it in perspective. And how
many of our listeners today are out there driving a
Ford Escape, a Ford Edge, a Ford Explore all GDI
engines and to to do to clean We'll say it
like this, to clean, just the injectors through the rail
only cleans. The injector only cleans the rail. It doesn't
(25:10):
do anything with piston top intake valci. You have to
do an intake fogging. You almost have to do it
two ways if you're going to do the whole process, right,
that's the point of what you're saying.
Speaker 4 (25:20):
Oh, absolutely, And I look at the I give the
medical analogies. Everyone understands those. It's like, you know, a
fuel tank treatment, and again you're addressing part of the system.
But it's like it's kind of like brushing your teeth.
You know, it's something you want to do frequently, often
every day for sure, in this analogy, but we're still
going to the dentist a couple of times a year
to have a deep cleaning done. And that's kind of
(25:40):
the analogy that we use on the air intake service.
You know, we want to keep things clean, but you
know what, sometimes we got to go back and really
make sure that stuff gets taken care of its entirety
to prevent larger issues from happening. So that's the analogy
I try to I try to correlate for folks just
because it's it's we can talk about injectors and distant tops.
Not everyone understands the way the systems offer, but in
(26:01):
that analogy, I hope that makes a lot of sense
for the use of the end users and the listeners.
Speaker 2 (26:04):
No, that makes perfect sense. And I just want to
point out real quick before we take the pause, that
you know, part of going back to the drive line services.
Part of why drive line services have become so important
is the sheer, quality, quantity or volume of fluid. The
average differential has less than a quart of fluid in it,
and after sixty thousand miles or fifty thousand miles or
(26:27):
even twenty thousand miles sometimes in some cases depending on
how it's used, that fluid is beat.
Speaker 4 (26:34):
Yes, you absolutely nailed it when you just said that
that is so much to ask from such a small
capacity of fluid. One hundred percent agree with you.
Speaker 2 (26:41):
Yeah, So it's just, you know, that's why we're talking
all of this. It's you know, the tune up is evolved.
The tune up has become looking at all the fluids
and all the systems of the vehicle. Hey, Spiro, we're
gonna pull over. Take a pause. When we come back,
I want to talk a little bit further with you.
I've got some questions. I want to know what the
BG lifetime protection is and why that's so important and
what makes that so unique to the industry. If you'd
stay put, I'm ronan Ani in the Car Doctor. All
(27:03):
my listeners, stay put. We'll be back right after this.
Thank you for coming back. Ronan Anie in the Car Doctor. Here.
I'm here with my special guest, Spira Morianisy is from
BG Products. He's one of the training managers over there,
and we're talking about getting your vehicle ready for the
summer summer road trips, fluids, fuel system service, the different
things that you do to take care of your vehicle
(27:25):
and go for longevity. Spiro. When we pulled away, we
had just finished up with our conversation about fuel system
cleaning and the importance of it and why GDI systems
and so forth, and we touched on BEG lifetime protection.
That's kind of unique in that you're the only one
of the few companies. I think you're the only company
out there that really offers something like that. And what
(27:49):
is that all about.
Speaker 4 (27:51):
BEG lifetime Protection. I love this because it's it's not
it's not something that a customer or an end user
has to go purchase or even actually register for. That's
the really the beauty behind it. BG is big about
rewarding people that use our products and services for preventative
maintenance with peace of mind. So the whole idea is, hey,
if you're able to start and keep maintaining your vehicle
(28:13):
the way that BG designs our program to take place,
you know, to service periodic systems, to do certain services
by certain intervals. We want to reward people with the
peace of mind and different coverage amounts just to say, hey,
thank you for maintaining your car. We want to keep
it on the road as long as possible, but sometimes
things happen. We want to make sure that people have
a peace of mind that go with it. The beautiful
(28:33):
part about this, and this is what I absolutely love
about lifetime protection we call it LPP internally, is just
you know, for sure, is that if a customer is
going to their shops getting their routine services done, let's
just say it's an MLA oil change service, and they've
continued it throughout the entire life of that vehicle. Let's
say let's say they're ready to change vehicles, they're ready
to you know, trade it in or sell to someone.
(28:56):
We're one of the few, very few out there that
actually that coverage is transferable to the next owner, which
is an incredible retention tool for you for vehicle values.
Things like that is and the only thing that's needed
for the actual proof of the services done is just
the actual work orders or copies of the ros where
those services have been performed and just that they're consistently done. So,
(29:17):
like I was saying, it's a lifetime coverage. It's as
long as people choose to maintain their vehicle on the
BG program, we have coverage for them. So it's it's
a very it's an incredible uh, thank you for maintaining
your vehicle program that we do.
Speaker 2 (29:30):
So what you're saying is if someone's maintaining we'll stay
with oil changes, right, they're doing BG oil change service right,
and they're doing it. If the vehicle gets to the
one hundred and eighty thousand mile mark and the engine fails,
there's coverage.
Speaker 4 (29:47):
Yes, absolutely. So there are certain components, like just like
anything else, there's there's what's what's included, and there's items
that are not included. But let's say we have you know,
a cam failure, right, or let's say there's an internal
you know, a lifter issue or something like that, there's
a there is going to be coverage on those components
because our job is to make sure that vehicle stays
as clean, as protected as as possible. But sometimes things
(30:09):
do happen. There are some exceptions, for example, if it's
a known industry issue or there's a factory TSB you know,
stating that there is a you know, it's a known
problematic or.
Speaker 2 (30:18):
Engine pattering, a pattern failure kind of exactly yeah thing,
But it's basically you're saying, if they do the maintenance, they're.
Speaker 4 (30:25):
Covered, yes, sir. And actually a really cool short story,
we just covered a motor Oh gosh, it's probably been
about seven eight months now with three hundred and forty
one thousand miles and he started using MOA back at
forty thousand miles years ago. And the failure that he had,
the customer was eligible for what they call Tier one
coverage and we paid up to four thousand dollars to
have that motor taken care of for that customer because
(30:47):
he did his part. And so again that was it
was wonderful to step in and help assist that shop
and just taking care of the taking care of the customer.
So they again we're all about rewarding people for doing
good maintenance on their vehicles.
Speaker 2 (30:58):
And there's that BG Life Time Protection sparrow. It's been
a pleasure, sir. If the listeners want more information, where
can they get it.
Speaker 4 (31:06):
The best place for consumers is BG find a Shop
dot Com. It give gives people a chance to type
in their zip code, their address and it pulls up
all the surrounding shops in their market and for shops
that are listening as well that need some support material anything.
Bgprad dot com is now our B two C excuse me,
B to B site. BG find a Shop dot Com
is our consumer facing B two C site.
Speaker 2 (31:27):
Cool Beans Hey, Sparrow, It's been a pleasure, man. I
always enjoy our conversations. We look at together again real
soon you have a great rest of the day.
Speaker 4 (31:34):
I appreciate that you as well. Thanks for having me
on today.
Speaker 2 (31:36):
You're very welcome. I'm Ron Any and the Car Doctor.
We're back right after this. I think one of the
mistakes that you know we're going to walk away from
this weekend show, and to mention it is we're lulled
into a full sense of security with modern vehicles. We
think that because they are made better and they are
that they last longer, which they do, that they require
(31:57):
less maintenance, which they don't. They still require I won't
say as much, but they still require a fair bit
of maintenance. Fluids filters are really important and critical and
that's part of the reason why we had Spiro on.
And you know, just to remind everybody, if you're looking
for a BG shop to find to get some BEG
services done, it's bgfindeshop dot com. But it's it's important
(32:19):
that you, you know, think of that vehicle for maintenance.
This is uh, you know, the weekend, everybody's traveling and
you know, we hope everybody gets to where they want
to be, and we don't see any hoods up on
the side of the road. It's just just an important
thing coming up on our YouTube channel. I should point
this out. I think it launches this weekend. There's a
good video coming up nine ford f four point fifty
(32:41):
talking a little bit about misfires and I talk lightly
quickly about how I diagnosed it and ended up being
a head gasket and how I solved it, and you
know some of the things where you show you a
little bit of a display they're using a scanner, and
just a light quick trip down diagnostic lane, so to
speak about how would you diagnose a misfire and some
of the things to look for, and you know, one
(33:02):
of the things that everybody seemed to overlook, and I
talk about it in that video that'll be up on
our YouTube channel tomorrow this weekend, whichever the case might
be one or the other, and you can find that there.
And I think the next week we had another nine
f one fifty and I think that video is out
of production now when it's ready to be done, talking
(33:22):
about AC condenser replacement and some of the problems with that.
So we've got a couple of videos about four f
one fifties coming up. I just want to remind everybody
that it's still important to maintain your car. It's still
important to look at fluids and filters, and once again,
as always, I'm ronnin Andy and the Car Doctor. Good
mechanics aren't expensive, they're priceless. See you
You're listening to Ron and Nanian The Car Doctor, nationally
recognized auto expert trusted by mechanics, weekend wrenchers and vehicle
owners alike. Ron brings over forty years of hands on
experience and deep industry insight to help you understand your vehicle.
Join the Conversation live every Saturday from two to four
pm Eastern by calling eight five five five six zero
nine nine zero zero. That's eight five five five six
(00:25):
zero ninety nine hundred, your direct line to honest answers
and practical advice. Looking for more, visit cardoctorshow dot com
for past episodes, repair tips, and Ron's latest insights, and
be sure to subscribe to The Car Doctor YouTube channel
for exclusive videos, real repair footage and more. Now start
your enginies. The Car Doctor is into garage and ready
(00:48):
to take your call.
Speaker 2 (00:49):
Let me start off by saying hello, and I hope
you're having me a great weekend. We're happy to be
here with you, and I want to point out also
down around the bottom of the hour, Spureau morgianis is
coming buy from BG Fuel Systems. Spiro is coming in
more to really talk to us about getting your car
ready for summer. We thought this being a holiday weekend,
everybody's driving and you know, did you notice it used
(01:12):
to be I was saying this to someone the other
day that did you notice that? You know, TV used
to put somebody on and they would talk about getting
your car ready for summer and getting your car ready
for long trips, and we used to talk more about
getting your vehicle ready. There's less and less place as well.
We do it, but that's who we are. I'm just
surprised that nobody else really talks about this anymore. But
(01:32):
yet you see more and more cars broken down on
the side of the road, it seems so Sparro will
be coming by, give us some pointers on you know,
let somebody else yell at you for a while about
how to take care of your car. So we're gonna
do that where It was always a good time with Spirow.
I enjoyed talking with him. But right now, let's do
what we'd like to do best. As I always say,
let's open up the phones and go talk to Mary
Beth in Kentucky. Mary Beth, welcome to the Car Doctor.
(01:53):
I'm Ron and Andy, and how can I help Hi?
Speaker 3 (01:56):
Ron, thanks for taking my car you're welcome. I'm a
kind of at a cross right now. I've got a Honda
to eleven CRV. It's about two hundred and sixty five
thousand miles on it, but it's getting to the point
where needs some major repairs. I had the catalytic converter
change three years ago and got another sixty five thousand
miles out of that, but now they're telling me it's
(02:17):
dunked up and needs to be replaced again. In my car,
I noticed it doesn't really have a lot of get
up and go. I have to really try to get
up a hill, and once I can get up the hill,
then it'll kind of pick up and go. But it's
kind of reving a lot too, like maybe it's having
a hard time getting a gear. And then also the
transmission fluid is going out of it, so we ended
(02:40):
up adding about two quarts of transmission fluid to it.
So I have a feeling what I thought was oil
leaking out has always been transmission fluid. So my problem
is my car said be fourteen years old in September.
Now is it really worth doing the repairs at this
point point in it? And when I talked to my
(03:01):
mechanic talked about getting a new car. The last thing
he said to me was, do not get a CBT
or a turbo? Well, pretty much everything has that on it.
I feel like I can't go with the new Honda
CRV because it has both a CVT and a turbo.
And I do know that Honda's got parts that they
can fix the CBT a little bit easier than other brands,
(03:25):
but it still scares me that it's got the turbo
on it too. The only two cars that I can
see that do not have CBT or the UH turbo
is a Rare four or a mos To c X five. Okay,
as far as cars that I'm interested in, So.
Speaker 2 (03:43):
You did You did that really well, all in one breath.
I was listening.
Speaker 3 (03:47):
Good.
Speaker 2 (03:48):
You ever come to New Jersey. You can sit and
talk to Kathy. What I want to say is, first
of all, I agree, I think it's time to replace
the eleven because out of everything you said to me, Mike,
concern is why is the catalytic converter? It sounds like
it's clogged up, you know? Is the engine burning oil?
Is this car using oil at all?
Speaker 3 (04:07):
I was loosed about a quarter every four thousand mile, right.
I was trying to change that by getting the oil changed,
you know at you know three or four thousand mile.
Speaker 2 (04:15):
Right, Well, the issue there is so it's got an
oil consumption issue. That's not terrible at two hundred and
sixty thousand miles. So the catalytic converter when it was replaced,
was it an aftermarket cat or an oe Honda cat?
Speaker 3 (04:28):
No, it was an aftermarket right, So, and I also
had the rear one changed out like last year.
Speaker 2 (04:33):
So three years, three to five years is typical aftermarket
cat life. It's and that's just partly because of the size.
It could also be due to the age of the vehicle,
the engines not one hundred percent. So you know, let's
let's let's let's go forward, right, It's this is a
this is a classic case of what if if the
transmission failed and it sounds like it's having its problems
and it's five grand to put a trans in that
(04:53):
vehicle or four grand to put a trans in that vehicle,
would you do it?
Speaker 3 (04:57):
No?
Speaker 2 (04:58):
No, So we're done. So now we've I got to
go find another car. Just about everything today is going
to be CVT in turbo. Your mechanic is absolutely one
hundred percent right. Would I stay away from it? No?
I would be very picky though, on whose brand I
would purchase. All Right, you know, I think you're in
the right ballpark with Honda or Toyota. I don't think
(05:19):
you can go wrong there. The other vehicle that I, well,
I used to like, I don't know if I like
them as much anymore. I still think the Ford Escape
is a great product. I still see some problems with
some of the other product line that Ford has out,
but I think the Escape has really earned a good reputation.
So I would look closely at that. Are you purchasing
this new or you're going to buy something two to
(05:40):
three years old.
Speaker 3 (05:42):
Part of the problem is when you look at something
that's two or three years old, that the price is
just about the same as buying a new YEP.
Speaker 2 (05:49):
That's fair.
Speaker 3 (05:49):
I'm the type of person I keep my car till
I run it to the ground.
Speaker 4 (05:52):
Right.
Speaker 3 (05:53):
So now, my far before this was also Honda CRB
that I got two hundred thousand miles and ten years
out of, but that ended up getting in an accident,
and so I couldn't take it anything further than two
hundred thousand miles.
Speaker 2 (06:06):
So let me poling.
Speaker 3 (06:08):
With the CBT and halving the maintenance every thirty to
sixty thousand miles. We've got to have the fluid all
flushed out.
Speaker 2 (06:14):
But that's you know what, Listen, there isn't a vehicle
out there today where trans service isn't isn't critical like that, Okay,
And that's and that's just that's just that's just part
of the animal now. So I think just as important
a question. And you're asking all the right questions and
thinking all the right things, Mary Beth, more so than
most people. I gotta tell you is talk to your mechanic.
What's he most comfortable working on? What is he gear between?
Speaker 3 (06:38):
He's pushing kiya, kiya, kiya. And then when I was
leaving it, his son was like, do not get a kiya. Yeah,
I'm not let me conflict it.
Speaker 2 (06:46):
Yeah. Kia, you know, Kia and Hyundai. I both lump them.
I lump them both together. To me, they were a
great four to six year vehicle. I don't I don't
see a longer lifespan than that. And that's just listen,
everybody's got a different experience.
Speaker 4 (06:58):
You know what.
Speaker 2 (06:59):
The question I would ask your mechanic though, is is
he geared up? Could he handle working on a new Honda?
Is his scan tool updated to that? And does he
have more than one scan tool? And I think that's
a fair question for everybody's mechanic. What what what is
that shop geared towards? What do they have the ability
technology wise to work on if they if they trot
(07:21):
out this, you know, one scan tool and go here
it is this is what we use. Yeah, that's not enough.
Most shops today, in my opinion, needs somewhere between three
and five different scan tools. Some of the bigger shops,
some of the more technologically advanced shops are going to
have upwards are seven or eight. It's just it's just
part of the process. It's just what we have to
do now.
Speaker 3 (07:42):
And another question to me then my understanding with the
M four maybe the mods just C X five. I
thought they were stealed transmissions that were lifetime, so you
didn't never had to fool with the transmission fluid? Am
I wrong? Yeah?
Speaker 2 (07:58):
I don't. I I've never I've never found a transmission
that was technic. I guess there might be one or
two out there. Somebody's gonna write me a letter and
tell me I'm wrong, because they love to do that.
But I've never seen a transmission that can't be serviced.
Everything has quote unquote lifetime fluid in it. Talk to
any manufacturer, all right, but in the real world, we
(08:19):
typically change Toyota WS fluid at the fifty to sixty
thousand mile mark. We change Honda CVT fluid at the
fifty to sixty thousand mile mark. Some of the Hondas
we're doing every thirty. Some of the Hondas are required
by Honda to be changed every twenty to thirty. It's crazy,
but you know, this is what we're dealing with. This
is the product that's out there right now, so there's
(08:41):
not a lot you can do to get away from it.
Speaker 3 (08:43):
Somebody said, the reason why they're doing these turbos and
the CBTs is because everybody's screaming they want more fuel efficiency,
and this is how they're answering that. So it sounds
to me like if I don't, if I do get
a car without the CBT or the turbo, that I
can at least maybe feel like I'm driving something that
(09:04):
I feel like I can get my mileage and my
years out of it. And one thing I'm scared about
the c X five is I heard an earlier caller
talking about that electric start. And my husband is deaf,
and I do not trust that he would hear any
bells or whistles going off if he's coming in the
house and got something else on his mind and leaving
(09:24):
that car running in the garage. We know two people
now that have passed away from accidentally leaving their or death,
but left their cars on in their garages and didn't know,
and you know, the house ended up filling up with
the carbonoxide. So I'm kind of leaning more towards the
Red foard than the the MASDA Seex five. Just reason.
Speaker 2 (09:48):
Yeah, I like listen, it's it's it's no secret. I
always look at culture of repair, and I think Toyota's
got a very good culture of repair where they tend
to want to try and help their customers and people
that purchase the vehicles and try to take care of them.
So you know, if you can find a RAFT four
that fits your needs, by all means, all right, by all.
Speaker 3 (10:08):
Means question, what about hybrids? I'm scared of the hybrid
in the battery.
Speaker 2 (10:12):
I don't think I don't think you're a hybrid customer.
I really don't. No, well it's not that you're not, no, not,
no offense intended. You're not a technology person, all right,
you're not. You know, you're not somebody that wants to
deal with you know, the complications of a hybrid if
and when it fails, having to get it repaired, having
(10:32):
to deal with the dealership, and you got to ask
your mechanic, and you deal with hybrid. I think I
think you're a good old fashioned you know, get in
the car, drive at nuts and bolts, which is great.
I'm kind of there with you because at the end
of the day, all these cars do is go from
point A to point B, and I just want to
get there safe and sound. So I think the raft four,
if that fits your other ticks your boxes by all means.
Speaker 4 (10:53):
Do that.
Speaker 2 (10:54):
Good luck to you, Mary Beth. Let us know what
you end up doing. We're always curious to hear. I'm
running ny in the car. Doctor. I'll be back right
after this. Let's go to Maryland and talk to Jeremy. Jeremy,
welcome back, sir. What's going on today?
Speaker 5 (11:08):
Oh? Not much? Appreciate you having me. I stuck a
battery on my sister's twenty twelve Chevy Cruise, and about
a day later, I was crawling underneath it, as I
often have to with that car with one hundred and
fifty thousand miles, and man, it's like something was leaking.
(11:28):
I was cursing the shop that had just done some
work on it, and I was like, man, you can't
get good help all this. And then I realized it was.
I went to wipe it off with some paper towel
and the paper towel started to dissolve in my hands,
like that ain't good. And it turned out this the
(11:51):
new battery from you know, Advance Auto. Like I don't
know if you've ever encountered it. I was just curious
if you have. It was just ching acid like crazy,
to the point where it even like started to soften
and melt in electrical connectors that are underneath.
Speaker 2 (12:06):
Yeah, internal internal short in the battery.
Speaker 5 (12:10):
Bummer. Man, I've never really sucked. They can give me
a new one the next day, you know. But I'm like, man,
I hope you know God all it really causes damage, no.
Speaker 2 (12:19):
Causes damage, And you know, you start looking. There's certain
car models out there where they put and this is
the manufacturer's fault where they'll put the main engine controller
or a body module right next to or underneath the battery.
Speaker 5 (12:32):
Yes, sir, yes.
Speaker 2 (12:34):
Brother, what's next? Like wow, you know you can so
it's it's just so important.
Speaker 5 (12:41):
But you know, this is started, it started to melt.
The main transmission connector is right underneath it.
Speaker 2 (12:48):
Right right, well, and this is all this all comes
under the heading of you know why you don't take
your parts to a to a parts house or to
a mechanic and say here, put them in, because the
mechanic is then libel. You know, you did it on
your own, so you're okay, you understand the implications of
of of what happened and why, and you solved it.
And that's that's that's rightfully correct. It's this is one
(13:10):
of the reasons why somebody wants to bring me parts
or any shop as far as I'm concerned, should be
answering the same way. It's the liability, and it's it's
it's always the liability from a place you don't expect it.
You know. One of the one of the worst crimes
in this industry is and I'm not I'm not lecturing you, Jeremy,
(13:31):
don't misunderstand me. Is is the preconceived notions that people
have on how auto repairs should come off because their
father told them this way, or their their uncle who
used to be in the business. And you know, this
business always keeps you on your toes. There's always another
thing coming around the bend that makes you look and
go huh, you know. And I'm still having had days
(13:55):
fifty three years in so it's it's been a long
string and trip. As the saying goes that, you've got
to worry. You know, what if that vehicle, what if
you hadn't noticed it?
Speaker 5 (14:06):
And man, I'm telling you, my sister would have been
out driving somewhere in the middle of the freaking night,
and then you got nothing.
Speaker 2 (14:13):
Right right, you know, And and that's and that's another
concern too. I was gonna and let me I'm gonna
interject here if I can put this on top of
your call, and I know you won't mind. I've got
a letter here from Mica up in Maine. He's asking
me about start stop technology and it's it's sort of
it rides with what you're saying when you get in
your vehicle. When I get in my vehicle and it starts,
(14:34):
I want to know that it's going to stay running
until I physically turn off the key. I want, I
want that safety and security thing. Your sister's and her cruise,
you know, at night, after eight o'clock it's dark. You
want to know that she's on the road in a safe,
sound vehicle. I got a letter here from Micah where
he's talking about start stop and what do I think.
I'm not a fan of start stop just for that reason.
(14:55):
Imagine your sister is in this vehicle and it's a
start stop vehicle and the battery fails and she pulls
up to a traffic light on a on a in
a dark, deserted road or a rural area, and the
car shuts off, expecting it to restart thirty seconds later
when the light changes, and it doesn't because it's a
bad battery. Then what do you do?
Speaker 5 (15:14):
Or like some bad neighborhood, right, or.
Speaker 2 (15:15):
Some bad neighborhood, and you know that becomes an issue.
So you know, all this technology is great, And this
is right in line with Mary bethrom Kentucky who just
called right, all the technology is great until it isn't
and and and then who pays the piper and at
what cost? I still think cars were you know, the
(15:37):
original intention of an automobile was point A to B
basic transportation. After that, travel at your own peril. And
I don't know that we need all the bells and
whistles that we have on these vehicles, because we surely
have have pushed vehicles to the point where the price
tags are just insane.
Speaker 5 (15:58):
I was, well, and that's why she just had a
bunch of work done to it is like two thousand dollars.
But I told her, I was like, you know, if
you get another year out of that, you're already ahead,
you know, right.
Speaker 2 (16:07):
Yeah, because look at the price of cars they've the industry,
I think, And I know we're way off topic here,
but I know you, Jeremy, you and I enjoyed yacking that.
I really think that they have pushed the price of
automobiles to the point where it's, you know, a new
vehicle is out of reach of the average consumer. And
(16:27):
some of these cars are just are just phone numbers.
A friend was showing me his new Cadillac CT five
XT five, whatever the heck it is, the four door
Fancy one hundred and twelve thousand dollars Cadillac. Oh yeah,
you know, and the least payment is only eighteen hundred
dollars a month for three years. And I went, are
you kidding me?
Speaker 5 (16:48):
A mortgage payment?
Speaker 2 (16:49):
Ah? God, no, it's not even a mortgage payment anymore.
But that's a whole nother that's a whole other problem.
But you get my point so well, and listening, I'm
glad you caught it, you know, wash the frame down,
get it, hit it with a bunch of good water
and scrub it all off, and you know, and obviously
I'm sure you were wearing gloves and safety protection.
Speaker 5 (17:06):
Do what's that first?
Speaker 2 (17:08):
Yeah? Uh yeah, that's and there's and there, you know,
and if you want, you can get designer jeans if
you just touch your pants now after you touch the water,
because that'll put holes in it faster than.
Speaker 4 (17:19):
You know what.
Speaker 2 (17:19):
So be careful. Jeremy, always interesting and always great phone calls.
Always a pleasure to talk to you, sir. Hey, coming
up next, Spirit Morianas from BG Fuel Systems. Is your
car summer ready? What are some of the things you
can do to get it there if it's not, And
just a good general fun conversation. Always a good time
with Spiro. I'm running any in the Car Doctor. We'll
be back right after this. One of my favorite subjects
(17:43):
is talking about cars, obviously, but summer's here and with
it comes summer road trips and it becomes a case
of have you done enough? And I thought it would
be fun to reach back out to Spiro Morianis. He's
from BG Products. He's a training man manager. Spiro is
always fun to talk to. I always enjoy having our
conversations together, and we've brought them back today to talk
(18:05):
about that and other things. Spiro, Welcome back to the
Car Doctor, sir. It's a pleasure.
Speaker 4 (18:09):
Hey, thank you for having me. It's an honor.
Speaker 2 (18:11):
Summer's here. Uh, summer road trips right there, right around
the corner. And if you were going to talk to
the listeners today and tell them, you know, what should
they do to get their vehicles ready for summer travel.
I've said it more than a few times, and now
it's your turn. What do you think? Spirou?
Speaker 4 (18:27):
Oh gosh, thank you, I love the question. You know
something something we do in training? Oh gosh, whether it's
with end users or shops technicians, we always train in
to and advise the guys, like you know, every every customer,
everybody drives their car differently. You know, you and I
drive our cars differently. Some people may have more highway commuting,
some have stop and go. But with summer summer here,
(18:47):
there's a lot more road trips, a lot more miles
put on cars. So my my advice I always give,
especially to the listeners, is you know, make sure your
oil's changed. Obviously, your tires are checked for tread for
you know, for pressures. But request a multipoint inspection when
you go into your shops if they're not automatically doing this.
And the reason why I really put emphasis on that
(19:08):
is again, every car is driven differently, but this way
it gives you a real time health report on your vehicle,
so you know, you may have and I tell them,
you know, please check our transmission, fluid check for cool
acidity check, you know, again, check the vitals to make
sure that we are good to go for the next
three four months of summer travel. And because that inspection
is going to really tell the honest truth of what
(19:28):
that condition of that vehicle is and what and what
it needed and whatever is recommended, I'd say proceed at
that point in time. That way, you're really tailoring it
to what that specific car needs. So outside of and
basic maintenance oil changes, you know, making sure everything's working properly.
This is a great way of being proactive and maintenance
to make sure you've got a summer trouble free.
Speaker 2 (19:47):
Driving vehicles have gotten better, right would you agree with that?
Speaker 5 (19:51):
Yes?
Speaker 2 (19:51):
Yes, and they continue to get better each and every year.
They really do. So people say, well, you know, I
don't need a tune up. There is no such thing
as a tuneup anymore. But that's not really true because
it's yeah, okay, we're not adjusting points anymore, and carburetors
have been gone for forty years. My question kind of
leads more towards there's other things, right, There's there's fluids,
(20:12):
there's services, you know, but yet people overlook things. What
are some of the most commonly overlooked items you think
that people aren't maintaining.
Speaker 4 (20:20):
Gosh, this is a great question. There there are actually
two categories that what I've seen stand out above and
beyond the rest by a long shot, the first one
actually being driveline and differential services. Believe it or not,
you know how many folks out there are driving you know,
trucks and SUVs that have either rear differential or if
it's a four by four, it's going to have you know,
a couple of differentials and a transfer case. And it's
(20:43):
funny because these these systems are so simple to service,
they can oftentimes be serviced faster than the regular oil
change because they're just their accessibility under the vehicle. And
so I you know, I tell folks, you know again,
if you're you're hauling your towing, you're driving humid weather,
you have any kind of weight on a vehicle, that
system needs attention also. And just again in our training
(21:03):
is what we always like to talk about is just
like you come in to have the engine oil changed
as routine maintenance, there's other systems on the cars that
also need periodic oil changes as well. And the differentials,
the transmission, those are no exception to that. So again
on the truck and suv side, hands down differential services
and again they don't take a lot of fluid to do.
They take maybe ten minutes to service most of those units.
(21:26):
It's one of those things that can be done during
an oil change and are definitely recommended, especially with today's
modern systems to make sure there's always fresh fluid in
those systems. The second one outside of drive line is
actually fuel system services. We actually kind of touched a
little bit on this, but so what For years and
years and years you had your corroborated vehicles, you had
(21:46):
fuel injected vehicles with port fuel injection, which is a
very simple but very efficient technology. These last oh gosh,
i'd say mostly in the last fifteen years, but especially
in the last five the majority of vehicles on the
road are what they call gasoline direct injection. So it's
an amazing technology. You get better power out of a
smaller engine, way better fuel economy than we've ever had.
(22:08):
But the byproduct of that is carbon build up in
the fuel system and on the air intake system, especially
the intake valves. So where people in years past hadn't
been recommended these services. Again, it's good to keep the
vehicle up and running, but now it's actually detrimental for
power economy and also to prevent larger mechanical failure down
the road to keep these systems working the way they're
(22:29):
supposed to. So those, I would say, really fuel system
services and drive line services are definitely the two biggest
overlooked items that I'm seeing in our industry.
Speaker 2 (22:39):
Why do you think the engines today still you know,
we've got all this technology right, not only can we
just go to the moon, we can go to Mars,
but we still can't make an internal combustion engine not
produce carbon. And you know why is that in this
day and age, can't we eliminate carbon? Isn't there a
way to do it?
Speaker 4 (22:57):
Absolutely? There is so in terms of creating it, initially
with combustion. It's an amazing thing. We you know, these
modern systems, believe it or not, are actually very efficient
at reducing carbon. However, you have other systems like you know,
your PCV system, your EGER system that actually recycles a
lot of the stuff that's that's in the actual system
and combustion back into the motor. And what we're also seeing,
(23:20):
and this is something that's not very discussed in the industry,
is oil evaporation. We're actually seeing with such high temperatures
these newer cars, your oil actually has a percentage it's
allowed to evaporate. And if you think about where those
oil vapors are traveling, they're going up through the system
and dumping right back into the intake, causing deposit formations,
and that's something that again with Portfield technology we never
(23:41):
messed with. We never had that challenge. So it's incredible
to see where that technology has gone. But how to
how to actually service it, and this is the part
that's incredibly convenient. There's kind of two ways to go
about it. It's something like a like a forty four
K or a very high quality fuel tank treatment will
do such a great job of keeping the injectors, the
(24:02):
piston tops, the combustion chamber, that part of the system,
the fuel side of the system working so well. And
then what we recommend doing is again periodically, especially with
GDIBG has an official recommendation of fifteen thousand miles, is
to actually have that full system service, not just the
fuel side, but the air intake side of stuff. And
that's what we call our air intake or induction service,
(24:22):
where it's also labeled as the Platinum service. This has
become such a major component to maintenance now that actually
Ford and General Motors now officially endorse this service to
be performed on their vehicles on an annual or bi
mileage based basis. When you're not doing a fuel service
in between. Because of just again such advanced technology that
gives us such great power and economy, it does need
(24:44):
routine maintenance to keep it performing like it was when
it was new, you know.
Speaker 2 (24:48):
To frame it and put it in perspective. And how
many of our listeners today are out there driving a
Ford Escape, a Ford Edge, a Ford Explore all GDI
engines and to to do to clean We'll say it
like this, to clean, just the injectors through the rail
only cleans. The injector only cleans the rail. It doesn't
(25:10):
do anything with piston top intake valci. You have to
do an intake fogging. You almost have to do it
two ways if you're going to do the whole process, right,
that's the point of what you're saying.
Speaker 4 (25:20):
Oh, absolutely, And I look at the I give the
medical analogies. Everyone understands those. It's like, you know, a
fuel tank treatment, and again you're addressing part of the system.
But it's like it's kind of like brushing your teeth.
You know, it's something you want to do frequently, often
every day for sure, in this analogy, but we're still
going to the dentist a couple of times a year
to have a deep cleaning done. And that's kind of
(25:40):
the analogy that we use on the air intake service.
You know, we want to keep things clean, but you
know what, sometimes we got to go back and really
make sure that stuff gets taken care of its entirety
to prevent larger issues from happening. So that's the analogy
I try to I try to correlate for folks just
because it's it's we can talk about injectors and distant tops.
Not everyone understands the way the systems offer, but in
(26:01):
that analogy, I hope that makes a lot of sense
for the use of the end users and the listeners.
Speaker 2 (26:04):
No, that makes perfect sense. And I just want to
point out real quick before we take the pause, that
you know, part of going back to the drive line services.
Part of why drive line services have become so important
is the sheer, quality, quantity or volume of fluid. The
average differential has less than a quart of fluid in it,
and after sixty thousand miles or fifty thousand miles or
(26:27):
even twenty thousand miles sometimes in some cases depending on
how it's used, that fluid is beat.
Speaker 4 (26:34):
Yes, you absolutely nailed it when you just said that
that is so much to ask from such a small
capacity of fluid. One hundred percent agree with you.
Speaker 2 (26:41):
Yeah, So it's just, you know, that's why we're talking
all of this. It's you know, the tune up is evolved.
The tune up has become looking at all the fluids
and all the systems of the vehicle. Hey, Spiro, we're
gonna pull over. Take a pause. When we come back,
I want to talk a little bit further with you.
I've got some questions. I want to know what the
BG lifetime protection is and why that's so important and
what makes that so unique to the industry. If you'd
stay put, I'm ronan Ani in the Car Doctor. All
(27:03):
my listeners, stay put. We'll be back right after this.
Thank you for coming back. Ronan Anie in the Car Doctor. Here.
I'm here with my special guest, Spira Morianisy is from
BG Products. He's one of the training managers over there,
and we're talking about getting your vehicle ready for the
summer summer road trips, fluids, fuel system service, the different
things that you do to take care of your vehicle
(27:25):
and go for longevity. Spiro. When we pulled away, we
had just finished up with our conversation about fuel system
cleaning and the importance of it and why GDI systems
and so forth, and we touched on BEG lifetime protection.
That's kind of unique in that you're the only one
of the few companies. I think you're the only company
out there that really offers something like that. And what
(27:49):
is that all about.
Speaker 4 (27:51):
BEG lifetime Protection. I love this because it's it's not
it's not something that a customer or an end user
has to go purchase or even actually register for. That's
the really the beauty behind it. BG is big about
rewarding people that use our products and services for preventative
maintenance with peace of mind. So the whole idea is, hey,
if you're able to start and keep maintaining your vehicle
(28:13):
the way that BG designs our program to take place,
you know, to service periodic systems, to do certain services
by certain intervals. We want to reward people with the
peace of mind and different coverage amounts just to say, hey,
thank you for maintaining your car. We want to keep
it on the road as long as possible, but sometimes
things happen. We want to make sure that people have
a peace of mind that go with it. The beautiful
(28:33):
part about this, and this is what I absolutely love
about lifetime protection we call it LPP internally, is just
you know, for sure, is that if a customer is
going to their shops getting their routine services done, let's
just say it's an MLA oil change service, and they've
continued it throughout the entire life of that vehicle. Let's
say let's say they're ready to change vehicles, they're ready
to you know, trade it in or sell to someone.
(28:56):
We're one of the few, very few out there that
actually that coverage is transferable to the next owner, which
is an incredible retention tool for you for vehicle values.
Things like that is and the only thing that's needed
for the actual proof of the services done is just
the actual work orders or copies of the ros where
those services have been performed and just that they're consistently done. So,
(29:17):
like I was saying, it's a lifetime coverage. It's as
long as people choose to maintain their vehicle on the
BG program, we have coverage for them. So it's it's
a very it's an incredible uh, thank you for maintaining
your vehicle program that we do.
Speaker 2 (29:30):
So what you're saying is if someone's maintaining we'll stay
with oil changes, right, they're doing BG oil change service right,
and they're doing it. If the vehicle gets to the
one hundred and eighty thousand mile mark and the engine fails,
there's coverage.
Speaker 4 (29:47):
Yes, absolutely. So there are certain components, like just like
anything else, there's there's what's what's included, and there's items
that are not included. But let's say we have you know,
a cam failure, right, or let's say there's an internal
you know, a lifter issue or something like that, there's
a there is going to be coverage on those components
because our job is to make sure that vehicle stays
as clean, as protected as as possible. But sometimes things
(30:09):
do happen. There are some exceptions, for example, if it's
a known industry issue or there's a factory TSB you know,
stating that there is a you know, it's a known
problematic or.
Speaker 2 (30:18):
Engine pattering, a pattern failure kind of exactly yeah thing,
But it's basically you're saying, if they do the maintenance, they're.
Speaker 4 (30:25):
Covered, yes, sir. And actually a really cool short story,
we just covered a motor Oh gosh, it's probably been
about seven eight months now with three hundred and forty
one thousand miles and he started using MOA back at
forty thousand miles years ago. And the failure that he had,
the customer was eligible for what they call Tier one
coverage and we paid up to four thousand dollars to
have that motor taken care of for that customer because
(30:47):
he did his part. And so again that was it
was wonderful to step in and help assist that shop
and just taking care of the taking care of the customer.
So they again we're all about rewarding people for doing
good maintenance on their vehicles.
Speaker 2 (30:58):
And there's that BG Life Time Protection sparrow. It's been
a pleasure, sir. If the listeners want more information, where
can they get it.
Speaker 4 (31:06):
The best place for consumers is BG find a Shop
dot Com. It give gives people a chance to type
in their zip code, their address and it pulls up
all the surrounding shops in their market and for shops
that are listening as well that need some support material anything.
Bgprad dot com is now our B two C excuse me,
B to B site. BG find a Shop dot Com
is our consumer facing B two C site.
Speaker 2 (31:27):
Cool Beans Hey, Sparrow, It's been a pleasure, man. I
always enjoy our conversations. We look at together again real
soon you have a great rest of the day.
Speaker 4 (31:34):
I appreciate that you as well. Thanks for having me
on today.
Speaker 2 (31:36):
You're very welcome. I'm Ron Any and the Car Doctor.
We're back right after this. I think one of the
mistakes that you know we're going to walk away from
this weekend show, and to mention it is we're lulled
into a full sense of security with modern vehicles. We
think that because they are made better and they are
that they last longer, which they do, that they require
(31:57):
less maintenance, which they don't. They still require I won't
say as much, but they still require a fair bit
of maintenance. Fluids filters are really important and critical and
that's part of the reason why we had Spiro on.
And you know, just to remind everybody, if you're looking
for a BG shop to find to get some BEG
services done, it's bgfindeshop dot com. But it's it's important
(32:19):
that you, you know, think of that vehicle for maintenance.
This is uh, you know, the weekend, everybody's traveling and
you know, we hope everybody gets to where they want
to be, and we don't see any hoods up on
the side of the road. It's just just an important
thing coming up on our YouTube channel. I should point
this out. I think it launches this weekend. There's a
good video coming up nine ford f four point fifty
(32:41):
talking a little bit about misfires and I talk lightly
quickly about how I diagnosed it and ended up being
a head gasket and how I solved it, and you
know some of the things where you show you a
little bit of a display they're using a scanner, and
just a light quick trip down diagnostic lane, so to
speak about how would you diagnose a misfire and some
of the things to look for, and you know, one
(33:02):
of the things that everybody seemed to overlook, and I
talk about it in that video that'll be up on
our YouTube channel tomorrow this weekend, whichever the case might
be one or the other, and you can find that there.
And I think the next week we had another nine
f one fifty and I think that video is out
of production now when it's ready to be done, talking
(33:22):
about AC condenser replacement and some of the problems with that.
So we've got a couple of videos about four f
one fifties coming up. I just want to remind everybody
that it's still important to maintain your car. It's still
important to look at fluids and filters, and once again,
as always, I'm ronnin Andy and the Car Doctor. Good
mechanics aren't expensive, they're priceless. See you
Host
Ron Ananian
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