#2597: We're Part of the Solution
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Car
Toyota Camry
The 1998 Toyota Camry LEV6 is a reliable car that is comfortable to drive. It has a V6 engine, which means it has more power than the basic version.
Term
bumper-to-bumper warranty
A bumper-to-bumper warranty means that most parts of your car are covered for repairs, so you won't have to pay for many issues that come up. It usually lasts for a few years or until you drive a certain number of miles.
Term
light bulb
Light bulbs in cars are used to make things bright, like headlights and turn signals. Some bulbs have more than one part inside them to do different jobs, like showing when you're turning.
Term
filament
A filament is a thin wire inside a light bulb that lights up when electricity goes through it. Some car bulbs have two filaments so they can do two different things, like being a parking light and a turn signal at the same time.
Term
oil change
An oil change is when you replace the old oil in your car's engine with new oil. This helps keep the engine running well and prevents damage.
Term
detergent
Detergent in engine oil helps clean the engine by preventing dirt and sludge from building up. This keeps the engine running smoothly.
Part
alternator
The alternator is a part of the car that helps generate electricity. It keeps the battery charged and powers things like the lights and radio when the car is running.
Car
Chevrolet Astrovan
The Chevrolet Astrovan is a large van that can carry many people or cargo. It was made by Chevrolet and is often used for family trips or work purposes.
Part
4.3-liter V6
The 4.3-liter V6 is a type of engine that has six cylinders and is 4.3 liters in size. It's known for being powerful enough for vans and trucks while still being somewhat fuel-efficient.
Term
tune-up
A tune-up is when you do maintenance on a car's engine to make sure it runs well. This often includes changing parts like spark plugs and checking other important pieces.
Part
air filter
The air filter keeps dirt out of the engine. If it's dirty, it can make the car run less efficiently and use more fuel.
Part
spark plugs
Spark plugs help start the engine by creating a small spark that ignites the fuel. If they are old or worn out, the car might have trouble starting or running well.
Part
rotor
The rotor spins inside the distributor cap and helps send electricity to the right part of the engine. If it’s worn out, the engine might not start or run smoothly.
Part
distributor cap
The distributor cap helps send electricity to the engine's cylinders so they can fire properly. If it’s not working, the car might not start or run well.
Part
carburetor
A carburetor helps engines get the right mix of air and fuel to run properly. It's more common in older cars since newer ones usually use a different system called fuel injection.
Part
throttle body
The throttle body controls how much air goes into the engine, which affects how powerful the engine can be. It's an important part for making sure the engine runs well.
Term
gas cleaner
Gas cleaner is a special liquid you add to your fuel to help clean the engine and keep it running smoothly. It removes dirt and buildup that can cause problems.
Term
vacuum leak
A vacuum leak is when air gets into the engine where it shouldn't, which can cause the engine to run poorly or stall. It's like having a hole in a balloon that makes it hard to keep the air inside.
Term
compression test
A compression test checks how well the engine's cylinders are working. If they don't hold enough pressure, it can mean there are problems inside the engine.
Term
starting gear plate
The starting gear plate helps the engine start when you turn the key. If it's damaged, it can make a grinding noise and prevent the car from starting properly.
Part
flywheel
The flywheel is a round part in the engine that helps keep everything moving smoothly. It helps the car start and run without shaking or stalling.
Term
automatic transmission
An automatic transmission is a system in a car that changes gears for you, so you don't have to do it yourself like in a manual car.
Part
starter
The starter is a small motor that helps start the engine when you turn the key. It makes the engine begin to run by turning a part called the flywheel.
Term
Prussian blue
Prussian blue is a special dye that helps mechanics see how well gears fit together. It's used to make sure everything is working correctly.
LIVE
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Hello and welcome to Car Talk from National Public Radio.
With us, click and clack the tapping brothers,
and we're broadcasting this week from the mail division here at Car Talk Plaza.
My brother has a new philosophy that we shouldn't prepare anything for the show anymore.
Well, I mean, we usually do prepare by saying where we're going to broadcast from,
and then we have a little thing, a little ditty.
Yeah, we didn't have any ideas for today.
Yeah, well, yeah, well.
So it happens.
But we did have a pile of mail, and I have here in front of me,
if you notice, this is the opening of the show.
So I'm going to open a priority mail package,
and I have no idea what's in it, and whatever it is, we'll discuss it.
There's a letter.
Oh, geez.
Aromatherapy.
Really?
The air on drive, it's not a letter.
Oh, I love it already.
Look at all this stuff.
Little bottles of things and things that take double A batteries.
Anything that takes a double A battery is all right in my book.
Well, I'll just read it to you.
Just plug it in, it says,
place the power of electronic aroma diffusion at your fingertips.
Reduce the stress and road fatigue.
Eliminate cigarette smells and unwanted odors.
Oh, that'll come in handy in your car.
Easily change scents or aroma intensity, and it's got a thing.
No, it is not a double A battery.
It pours into your cigarette lighter.
Well, I have been a big advocate of aroma therapy for a long time,
because have you ever been someplace where you smell something?
And you say, boy, that brings me back.
Brings me back.
Well, I don't know how it works.
The time I walked my dog in the dark or something like that.
Without a flashlight.
Oh, man, alive.
I've got it.
Well, next week we'll have to have a full report on these things,
because these, these promise to be, I mean,
the reduced stress and road fatigue.
All the one that I have here is called stress away.
This one might, what I have here is called Tommy away.
All right, baby.
Same thing.
But wait a minute, you plug this into what?
Oh.
Alas, you do not have a cigarette lighter on that.
Alas, I do not have a cigarette lighter.
Barbaric vehicle that you own.
No, I don't.
That's all right.
I'll just pour this stuff in my hair.
Oh, boy, if you'd like to call us about your car,
the number is 888-CAR-TALK.
That's 888-227-8255.
Hello, you're on Car Talk.
Hi, this is Judy.
I'm calling from Blue Ash in Ohio.
From who?
Blue Ash in?
Blue Ash.
Blue Ash, two words?
Two words.
Blue Ash, that's the tree.
Exactly.
Yeah.
Oh, I was wondering if there was some kind of chemical plant nearby.
Cincinnati is nearby.
Oh, that's like the whole town's a chemical plant.
What's up?
I have a 1998 Toyota Camry LEV6,
and about three weeks ago, when I started putting on the left-hand turn signal,
it went click, click, click, click, click, click.
So I called up the dealership, and they said, you have a light out.
Yes.
So I went out to the car, and I looked.
No lights are out.
Well, what happens when you put on the left blinker and look around?
What do you see?
The left blinker, it just goes click, click, click, and the lights are flashing fast.
So then my husband drove the car, and the left turn signal went click, click, click.
Perfectly okay.
Perfectly okay.
So the conclusion is it's you.
Well, possibly, then I went away, and he drove it for a while, and it seemed to be fine.
And then I came back, and I put my kids in the car and took them to daycare,
and my four-year-old weighs in on the issue.
Yes.
When daddy drives the car, this side, no kidding, a four-year-old kid was, wow.
Oh, yes.
When daddy drives the car, this side goes slow, and that side goes slow.
Mommy drives the car, this side goes slow, and that side goes really slow.
Oh, you're going to have trouble with this kid.
He's only four.
Give him a dope slap right away, straighten him up.
Well, but then the problem is he wanted to know why.
And so, of course, I have no clue.
So then I...
Because here's the answer, because mommy is electric.
That's right up there with those special mommy eyes.
So then I thought about it, and here's the thing.
When I drive the car, I have the headlights on all the time,
and my husband hates that.
He always has them off, and that's the thing,
because when I turn the headlights off, it goes click, click, click.
Really?
That's good.
Oh, I have it.
So then I called the dealership back up, and I told them this,
and they said they had absolutely no idea,
but I could bring it in for lots of tests,
and I could hear the guy creating the plans.
The thing going, kaching, kaching the cash register.
No, you're under warranty, and it's a bumper-to-bumper warranty you have,
and that does include the light bulbs.
Okay.
So no matter what it is, it's not going to cost you anything.
However, what it's going to take to fix it is a new light bulb.
I believe what's going on is that the parking light bulb,
which comes on when you turn the headlights on,
is the same bulb that operates the directional.
Okay.
And those bulbs have two filaments in them.
One for the parking light, and one for the directional.
And I think what's happened is that one of those bulbs is defective,
and the two filaments are touching.
Wow.
Yeah, I think so.
I think so.
So if you were to just take out the bulbs,
well, let them do it.
Okay.
Tell them to replace them until they fix the problem.
But now you've got it, because now the problem before was that
you were going to show up and it was going to work fine.
But now that you know what makes it do it,
then they'll see it at the same time when you bring it in,
and they'll fix it.
It's very easy.
Yeah, so what's happening when you have the headlights on,
you are short-circuiting one of those bulbs.
And they shouldn't really charge me for this?
Oh, they shouldn't charge you anything.
No matter what it is, they're not going to charge you.
And if they do, you let us know.
I will.
And we will get vinegar bots to go give them a little visit.
All right, attitude adjustment.
See you, Judy.
Thanks so much.
Thanks for your call.
Good luck.
Bye-bye.
1-888-CAR-TALK, that's 888-2278-25.
Hello, you're on CAR-TALK.
Hello, my name is Ivan Zervigan from Miami, Florida.
Wow, nice name.
Zervigan.
Wow, that's good.
Is it Russian?
No, actually, it's from Spain.
But my first name, obviously, is...
Oh, Zervigan is Spanish.
Yes.
Where'd you say you were from?
Miami, Florida.
Cool.
So what's up?
Well, about three weeks ago, I went to get a simple oil change.
It was after 5,000 miles between oil changes.
And I got the oil change, and I came back 45 minutes later,
and they said that due to clumpy oil,
they have to put this special detergent in that cost another $15.
The oil change was $25, whatever.
And then I would have to come back two weeks later,
and do the same thing, get an oil change, and put in the same detergent,
then possibly two weeks after that...
The antidote.
What kind of a car do you drive, Ivan?
Okay, I have a 95 Camry.
How many miles on it?
It's about 65.
Okay.
And have you changed the oil in the last five years?
Oh, sure.
Every 5,000 miles, he says.
All right.
So in my humble opinion, there's a very, very high probability
that these guys are sleazeballs.
Right.
Yeah, they're trying to flim-flam you.
And you know the thing?
He had this automatic response that was kind of funny.
He was like, I'm not part of the problem.
I'm part of the solution.
And as I was waiting for my car to be done,
he said that to two or three other customers after me.
You know what?
I didn't know what was going on.
I think the MBAs have taken over auto repair.
They've taken over everything.
Yeah.
This guy going to Harvard...
I don't know.
Was he wearing a blue blazer?
He carry a spoon in his pocket.
Well, first of all, it's unlikely a 60,000-mile-old Camry had clumpy...
I don't know what the clumpy oil even is.
But I doubt that you have that condition.
Right.
Maybe it's you, Ivan.
Do you look especially stupid?
Well, maybe I've been known to...
The people have told me that.
Yeah.
I mean, people tell me that.
That's why I get stuck with all this stuff.
At least people try.
Because I just look stupid.
I look gullible.
Right.
And you may have looked gullible that day,
and that's why I was it.
Clumpy oil, clumpy oil.
I just sold my brother an oil tank for his basement.
He has gas heat.
But now he has 275 gallons of oil there, too.
You never know.
I mean, you might need it.
And the thing is, I have to fill the thing up
a couple of times every winter.
I don't understand it.
So you could be...
You could have that vulnerable look.
Right.
That special detergent look.
A special detergent look.
But the truth is that 25 bucks on oil change,
they ain't making any money.
I mean, we do oil changes at our shop,
and there's nothing that's nice about oil changes.
They're messy.
They're inconvenient.
You make no money on them.
You've got to dispose of the oil.
You've got to put the car up on the lift.
You've got to dispose of the filters.
You've got to dispose of the oil.
And then you park the car outside of doing this,
and somebody steals the radio.
I mean...
Right.
You know, so there's 25 bucks, they're losing money
on every oil change.
So they've got to send you the anti-clumping thing.
I see.
So they think that I could have a major problem
with the engine later on if I don't...
Sure, you could.
Sure, he would say that.
That was all part of the seminar he went to.
Don't forget, he's not part of the problem.
You're the problem either.
Right.
He's here to help.
I'm here to help you, you fool.
Right.
Never heard of clumpy oil, huh?
Yeah. Well, it just shows how far-eagerings
can carry some people.
That's right.
Right.
And oh, one more thing.
They said that...
I said, well, how could that have happened?
And he said that maybe...
Well, I told him I added oil,
because at one point the oil was a little low.
My oil, I came on.
So I went to the auto parts store
and I put some oil in it.
I put like three or four quarts in it.
And then he said that adding oil was very bad
because it makes the oil clumpy.
Yeah, okay.
Why were you adding three or four quarts of oil
to a relatively new car?
I don't know, because the oil I came on.
So, you know...
You may have overfilled it, I suspect.
You probably needed one quart.
Okay.
And you put in four.
Okay.
That can cause clumping, you know.
Oh, really?
It won't cause clumping,
but it could cause frothing.
Yeah.
That's another...
That's another call.
Next time you go, he'll tell you you have frothy oil.
Right.
They have a special frothy detergent.
But I don't think I'd do anything.
Just keep changing...
Keep an eye on the oil, too.
And I'll put on my best treat-wise look.
Yeah.
I think one gas fill up out of three or four,
you ought to go to the full-serve island
and have them check your oil just for the heck of it.
Like, okay.
It doesn't hurt.
Yeah, and don't overfill it.
If you add...
Don't forget, if you add a quart of oil,
it takes a while before it shows up on the stick.
Right.
Like several minutes.
So, if you add a quart of oil,
stand there and wait a few minutes
and then check it to make sure...
Because if you just put two or three in,
when you do check it,
it'll be like way up on the stick.
And then what do you do?
Right.
Yeah, so...
So, but keep an eye on it.
Cool.
See you, Ivan.
Good luck.
Thank you.
Okay, now, Tommy, do you remember last week's puzzler?
Yeah, it was...
Bang!
Bang!
No, Frank!
Don't shoot!
No, no, that was our conversation before the show.
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The folks there made a great series of T-shirts
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if money can fix it, it's not a problem.
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Hi, we're back.
Listening to Car Talk with us,
click and clack the Tappet Brothers,
and we're here to talk about cars, car repair,
and not the answer to last week's puzzler.
The puzzler, as our regular listener knows,
is on summer vacation.
Listener?
Listener.
We only have one regular listener.
Well, I know we have-
Oh, regular.
We have more than one listener.
Yes, but we have at least one guy that's out there.
Yeah, that's dad.
Well, I didn't want to spoil it.
Yeah.
And it is our fondest hope that the puzzler returns
on the fall, refreshed, renewed,
and maybe even less stink old.
In the meantime, we're here sweating over a hot microphone,
trying to help the motoring public.
And speaking of helping the motoring public,
you may have missed our announcement last week
that as a public service to all the drivers on the road,
we are offering a free bumper sticker
that is designed to shape up mobile cell phone users.
It says, drive now, talk later.
Yeah, this was our compromise slogan
after NPR vetoed the first choice,
which would be, here it was.
I mean, it was a little long for a bumper sticker,
but I thought it put everything in perspective.
It was kind of a wraparound bumper sticker.
Would you drive better
if I stuck that cell phone up your keyster?
I thought that was nice.
It had a nice ring to it, so to speak.
Anyway, so if you want a free car talk,
drive now, talk later bumper sticker,
which I guess says it all,
just send the stamped self-addressed envelope to
bumper sticker.
Mm, good.
Car talk plaza, box 3500,
Harvard square, Cambridge.
Our fair city.
Matt 02238.
This is a public service of
Dewey Cheetah Ben-Hau and the cell phone industry.
Yeah, right.
You're right.
Sure.
I'm sure the cell phone industry
will be right behind us on this.
Well, they should be.
They should be.
They should be.
And they might even say it,
knowing that we don't have a snowballs chance
in hell.
Of having it right.
Of getting anything done.
They'd be paying lip service to the cause.
Yeah.
They wouldn't.
They would know that it would be
destined to fail.
Right.
And they'd say, well, these guys,
you know, they're right.
You shouldn't drive the car
and talk on the phone at the same time.
Pull over when it's time to talk on the phone.
They'll say, yeah.
We've always promoted that.
And they'll know.
Well, they probably, I bet you,
if you get your brochure from your cell phone,
I don't have a cell phone.
They tell you not to drive and use the thing,
because otherwise you'd sue them.
Yeah.
On the other hand,
all the stupid legislators in the country
don't have the guts to make it a law.
Except in Massachusetts.
Well, they do accept that.
Except that they're using their cell phones
while they're driving too.
Well, that's stupid then.
Well, of course.
Yeah.
Yeah.
When are you running anyway?
If you want more information
about this, by the way,
it's all on our website,
the cartalksectionofcars.com.
And even more.
And even more.
There's all kinds of stuff going on.
This is a real war.
Oh, this is a hot bed of activity.
This is war.
This is war.
And my brother is going to be in the trenches.
I got the helmet already.
Car talk.
That's 888-278-255, a lawyer in car talk.
Hi, this is Emily from New Marlboro, Massachusetts.
Hi, Emily.
Where's New Marlboro?
Um, it's about two and a half hours west of Marlboro.
Wow, what a suburb.
Yeah, I guess a bunch of people from Marlboro
Oh, secessionists.
Yeah, they just moved out.
When was it incorporated, like 1989?
Oh, no, 17-something.
New Marlboro, huh?
Boy, people got ticked off that quickly in Old Marlboro
that they left in a huff.
Right, yeah.
Or a conestoga wagon back in 1789.
And they said, well, and stay out.
Oh, maybe they were thrown out.
Oh, yeah.
Why would you name your town after the old one
if you were thrown out?
These are all weighty questions, Emily.
Only we had studied the art history.
That you can't answer them for.
What's on your mind, Emily?
All right.
Well, my question is not so much automotive
as it is an inquiry into the male psyche.
Oh, man alive.
Yes, indeed.
Well, I will defer to my brother in this regard.
He knows he's a psycho.
Okay.
And I can spell psyche.
Yeah, go ahead.
All right.
Well, I have this friend
and he will henceforth be known as Bob.
Okay.
Bob in quotes.
Yes.
Yeah.
Um, well, I was over at Bob's house a little while ago
and he was just mentioning to me that he had
kind of a problem with this car.
He wasn't really sure what was happening to it.
So eventually we made our way down to the garage
and we're just sort of poking around under the hood
and running the engine and oozing an eye
and over the fan belt.
Well, this is a new technique.
I always just try to get girls to listen to my stereo.
But hey, and it never worked.
This is good.
This is good.
And I know a little bit about cars.
I can see what's happening.
I know exactly what happened.
Well, you showed him up, didn't you?
You fixed this damn car.
Well, you have to wait.
Yes.
Oh, God.
Well, Emily, he was just wondering what was wrong with it.
And I said, well, you know,
I think it might possibly be your alternator.
And he said to me and he said, oh, no, no, no,
definitely not the alternator.
There's no way in the world that it could be the alternator.
So he takes it to a mechanic and I see him a few days later.
And I said, so, Bob, what was wrong with your car?
And he looks at me and then he looks down at his feet,
rather sheepishly and says, well, it was the alternator.
Cool.
Yeah.
And what happened after that?
Did you just change the subject immediately?
And was everything OK?
I did because I wanted, I felt like he'd been through enough.
Yeah.
OK.
Has he called since?
Um, I haven't spoken with him in about a week.
Yeah, I won't, I don't think you'll hear from him again.
Probably not.
Yeah, so what's your question?
You like Bob.
I mean, it's...
Bob's a nice guy, yeah.
Well, my question, basically, is why do men feel
that they have to be superior to women
and knowledges that women stereotypically
are not supposed to know anything about?
Like, for instance, cars and computers and professional sports.
I mean, this is an hour show.
I mean...
Come on.
You come and you ask us a question that would be quiet.
It has taken 30,000 years of Homo erectus
to even come close to being civilized.
And you come and you ask us just a little,
simple little question like this.
Holy cow!
How long will it take you to get here?
Oh, my God!
Yeah, I know this.
I mean...
How old are you, Emily?
I'm 18.
Oh, God.
Okay, you sound so much more mature.
More, so much older than that.
I was going to say mature, but I don't mean that.
I mean, you are probably very mature, but...
Wow.
Why do men feel that women don't have
knowledges of these things?
Males feel that they have to know
something about things mechanical.
It's just the way it is.
It all goes back to evolution.
I mean, if you think...
You have to go back to where we have all come from
because we have not finished evolving by a long shot.
If you just look back a little bit
into the animal kingdom,
whence we came, I think...
That's what science would have us believe.
And I think it might be true.
Then in the animal kingdom,
it is almost always the male of the species
which is the more powerful
and power in current society
has turned not from physical power necessarily
unless you live in Mississippi.
There goes that station.
We just did a bunch of promos for that.
We can't lose that.
All right, Alabama.
All right, Texas.
We're done for.
But in sort of semi-civilized society,
that has turned into knowledge.
Knowledge is power.
And so men feel as though
they have to continue this evolutionary legacy,
I suppose it is,
and be the more powerful of the species
and that turns into...
I can fix anything.
So it isn't just cars, it's anything.
It's anything.
Yeah.
And you'll soon find that out.
You're only 18 years old.
And after you've had two or three husbands,
you'll begin to understand
what the hell is really going on here.
Yeah, there may be some way to patch things up with Bob.
Maybe you can, you know, a plant.
It would be...
It would have to be very cleverly done.
I can hardly wait.
Yeah, it would have to be very deceitful.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Maybe you and your mother could work on it.
Have you discussed this with your mother?
Um, a little bit.
Yeah.
Yeah, but she's certainly got more experience than you.
Yeah, she is.
So I would have a long talk with Mommy.
Or I can give you the numbers of some of my ex-wives.
And they could tell you also.
But I would just scratch Bob off
and just chalk it up to a learning experience.
Okay.
And read some evolution in books.
All right.
Yeah.
And Emily, uh...
And you knew the answer anyway, didn't you?
Yeah, probably.
Well, you get the prize for asking us
the weightiest question of the day.
Of the day of the century.
Maybe of the century.
And we'll work on an answer.
I wish there were a good one, but there isn't.
The answer is we're animals.
Okay.
Yeah, I'm sorry to have to break this to you.
I kind of had a...
You had an inkling, didn't you?
Emily, it's been a pleasure talking to you.
Oh, thank you.
Thank you.
Bye-bye.
Wow.
Talk about weightiness.
If my microwave oven broke.
Yeah.
My wife would say it's broken.
I'll take it someplace.
What would you do if your microwave oven...
Your wife said...
Right.
Well, that's the first thing you would do.
What's the...
Before you took it apart.
I hit it.
Hit it.
Right.
And that's the equivalent of hitting it with your club.
Exactly.
Right.
You grunt a little bit.
It's all fixed up.
And you'd whack it with anything,
but probably your hands
because you don't have your club at the ready.
Yeah.
And if that fixed it, you'd be a hero.
I... Yeah.
You pound on your chest like Tarzan.
Oh.
All right.
Look, we're going to take a short break.
We need it.
When we come back,
we'll tell you what to do
if you find yourself in urgent need of a puzzle.
Oh, it sounds painful.
Yes.
We'll be back in a minute.
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Hey for you T-shirt wearers out there.
All relatives of T-shirt wearers.
We just got a veritable shipload.
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if money can fix it, it's not a problem.
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Ha, we're back.
You're listening to Car Talk with us.
Click and Clack the Tappet Brothers.
And we here to discuss Cars, Car Repair,
and the know a new puzzler.
The puzzler is taking its annual summer hiatus.
Now if you're going through some sort of puzzler withdrawal,
aside from Xanax,
you recommend you head over to the Car Talk section
of cars.com
and feast on this week's archival puzzler
from the Car Talk Fine Puzzler Collection.
That consists of like four puzzles.
And by the way, and more importantly,
if you have a puzzler that you think we can use in the fall,
please send it to me here at Car Talk Plaza.
Box 3500.
Harvard Square.
Cambridge.
Our Fair City.
Mat 02238.
Or email me your puzzler suggestion
from the Car Talk section of cars.com.
The puzzlers do back in a few weeks.
And I'm starting to get the night sweat.
Okay, don't throw these little things away,
because these are the aromapads.
Oh, I thought it was part of the packaging.
I thought they were chiclets.
God.
Yeah.
All right, well, we're going to take a call 1-888-CAR TALK.
That's 888-227-8255.
Hello, you're on Car Talk.
Hello, my name is Gil McCann,
and I'm from Flint, Michigan.
Hey, Gil.
Hey, are you related to our sexual harassment director?
I don't think so.
Pat McCann.
He works for us.
Well, I don't know.
It might be in the jeans, I'm not sure.
It might be.
What's up, Gil?
Well, I've just acquired an 86 Astrovan.
It's got a 4.3-liter V6 in it.
And I did a tune-up on it.
It's a head of shutter.
What it has is when you...
It starts rather badly,
and as you drive it and you come to a stop,
and it's in gear, it shutters.
It kind of sits there and goes like...
And it does that the whole time you stopped?
Pretty much the whole time.
Unless it stalls.
Unless it stalls, then it goes...
If you then put it back in drive
after it's stalled and you've restarted it,
does it run smoothly then?
Not really.
How long have you had this thing?
I've had this about two weeks now.
Oh, okay.
And so it was like this when you bought it.
Yeah, the lady I got it from said
that it's been doing that since she owned it.
Which was two weeks before you got it.
Did you save the first sales sign?
You just scratched out the number, man.
I'm dusting that off.
So when you say you did a tune-up,
what did that consist of?
Put six new plugs in it and an air filter.
Yeah, air filter plugs,
the distributor cap and the rotor.
The wires appear to be pretty well new.
They look good.
And I did...
I pulled off the carburetor,
or not the carburetor, the injection carburetor.
Throttle body.
And it was filthy.
I squirted it out with some cleaner.
And I also put some gas cleaner in the fuel.
Yeah.
How long ago did you put the gas cleaner in the fuel?
What, a week?
Yeah, about a half a tank of gas is what I record.
Oh, half a tank worth.
Yeah, yeah.
It would be a miracle if gas additive fixed this problem.
If you're really lucky, Gil,
you have a vacuum leak,
which could account for just about everything you described.
And the stalling and the dead spot,
and the live spot, and sunspots, and everything.
And so if you're lucky that you have that,
and the only way you're going to find that
is to get something like a soda straw or a piece of hose,
you know, rubber hose, like vacuum hose,
and stick one end in your ear and just probe around.
And you may find a spot where you hear a hissing or sucking noise.
Get a listen, okay.
Now, one of the things you can also do
while the engine's running, cover up that throttle body.
Yeah, that way you won't find out where the leak is,
but you'll find out if you have a leak.
That should be the first step.
So as you choke off the air that's being sucked in
through the throttle body,
it will compensate for the air
that's leaking in someplace else, maybe.
And you may notice that things start to run very smoothly.
Okay, so if I sort of choke that off
and it picks up speed and runs smoothly,
I've got a vacuum.
Yeah, in which case you'll have to drive
with your hands on the throttle body.
Right, which will come in handy in the winter.
Which you can actually do in that vehicle.
Right.
Because the engine's next to you.
Assuming you don't have a cell phone.
So you can try that.
The other possibility is that there's a bad compression.
I didn't want to ask you how many miles are on this thing.
I'd say probably about 117,000.
Yeah, I mean in order,
I guess the things that could be wrong,
in order of thank godness would be the vacuum leak
because the cost to fix that might be almost zero.
And you would find that out by choking off the throttle body.
Great.
If you can't find an obvious vacuum leak
in covering up the throttle body doesn't yield some results,
then the next step is to do a bona fide compression test.
Okay.
You're going to have to bite the bullet and do it.
I mean, when you find out you've got 43 pounds
in number six cylinder, then you'll know without a doubt.
Yeah, that's it.
At least you'll stop looking for other things.
You'll stop looking for another vehicle.
Would I be able to have that detected,
sir, if I took it in and had to put on a computer?
Yeah, well, maybe.
Yeah, I mean, scanning the engines is not going to help,
but they can still, those guys have compression testers too.
And they can figure out what's wrong.
And you could do this yourself
and it would require that you buy a new tool
that you probably don't currently have.
Well, I had one till I loaned it out.
Ah, well, it's time to buy another one.
Yes, it is.
Good luck, Gil.
I appreciate that.
All right.
Thanks a lot, guys.
Bye-bye.
Okay.
Bye-bye.
1-888-CAR-TALK, that's 888-227-8255.
Hello, you're on CAR-TALK.
Hi, this is Loretta from Delaware.
Loretta, how are you?
I'm fine.
And before I ask you about the problem with my car,
I was on vacation in Maine
and I heard you guys were from Maine.
Yeah.
I heard a DJ on the radio that sounded just like you guys.
Well, everyone in Maine sounds like that.
We were on vacation and we have another job up in Maine.
We're moonlighting.
We were moonlighting up there.
We do heavy metal stuff.
Well, that's what I told my husband.
I know it's click and crack.
I know.
Yeah, you know, like transmissions.
We moonlight in Vermont.
Yeah, okay.
I've never been to Maine in my life
and I don't know what you're talking about.
Yeah, so what's up, Loretta?
What's your car problem?
I drive a 1988 Toyota Camry.
I bought it used and the problem came with the car.
What the problem is that when you turn the key,
you get a real high-pitched grinding noise.
Ah, yes.
And it takes two or three times, you know, before it'll start.
Yeah.
The mechanic said, look, you know,
you got some broken teeth on your starting gear plate.
Yeah.
Finally in February of 1998, we took it in and got it fixed
to the tune of $700.
And then a few months ago, it starts again.
Same exact sound, same exact problem.
I'm thinking the teeth are broken again.
Well, yes and no.
I mean, I'll tell you, yours is not the first case
of a Camry where the thing gets fixed,
the flywheel gets replaced,
and then a short time later, the problem returns.
And yet there are millions of these Camrys out there
without the problem.
Yours is an automatic transmission, right?
Yes.
Yeah, that seems to affect only the automatics.
But there are millions of them out there
that have automatic transmissions
that never have this problem
and have hundreds of thousands of miles on them.
So there may be some underlying cause for the problem.
That's what I asked my mechanic.
I said, what is causing the teeth
to break off of the flywheel?
I mean, the underlying thing that usually happens
is that there's a misalignment
between the starter and the flywheel of some kind.
So that when the starter engages,
when you turn that key, what happens
is there's a little gear that pops out of the starter
and it engages with the teeth on the end of the flywheel.
And if there's some misalignment there,
or the starter doesn't get out far enough to engage
and only engages like halfway,
then every time you start the car,
you chew up a little piece of tooth
until pretty soon there's not much left.
So I think it's a Toyota problem.
So in other words, my mechanic,
who I trust and love and have for 20 years,
is this something that he could fix?
Well, I don't think so.
I don't know.
Then the next time you have to do it,
I would go to a Toyota dealer and say to them,
hey, look guys, what's the story here?
I think you probably should do this job for nothing
because I mean, I bought this car back in 88
in good faith and I've now put in four flywheels.
You'll have to lie.
See, you've only put in one.
Xerox the repair orders.
Make it look like you had it done four times.
Take whatever repair order you have and,
well, even better, go in and have an oil change
done by a Toyota dealer in another town
and then throw it into your computer
and delete all the stuff that's on there
and put just right in replace flywheel.
Scan it in, you mean.
Yeah, scan it in.
People are a jake.
Well, it's better than making $20 bills.
We got to use this technology for something.
The $20 bills is easier.
I mean, you could make $700 worth of counterfeit bills
in probably 15 minutes.
Think it's a manufacturing defect.
I think it's, yes.
I think it's a manufacturing or some kind of design defect
and I think, as my brother says,
that the mesh of the starter gear and the flywheel
is not correct and that's what leads to the premature failure.
I mean, your mechanic could put a chemical.
We use this stuff called Prussian blue.
Doesn't say miracle on the bus.
Which allows you to see how the gears are meshing
when you put gear assemblies together
and he may be able to do that
and he may be able to Mickey Mouse something.
Like file a hole in the starter
so that he can actually move the starter
farther away or closer to the flywheel.
He may be able to affect some kind of a fix
that would even spare this flywheel.
Right.
And I mean, the dealer is the one more likely to know
if there is a fix
because he's the one who has seen more of these
than anybody else.
So the best of my knowledge, there is no fix for this.
No known fix.
As far as the bulletins go.
I mean, as far as Toyota is admitting to.
Well, maybe, maybe.
But they may have some secret fix.
They may have a secret fix.
But it would certainly be worth the call
to your Toyota dealer and tell them what's happening.
They may say, oh, yeah, we have a kit
that can fix that and you can go right in and get it.
Well, listen, I appreciate your help very much.
Good luck, Loretta.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Bye-bye.
Thanks.
See ya.
Well, it's happened again.
You've squandered another perfectly good hour
listening to Car Talk.
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not a slave to fashion Berman.
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Frau.
She has gone from a Freud line.
Last time we see her, she's a Freud line
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Oh, Frau.
Like Frau Bluka.
That's bad.
Our engineer is Dennis de Menesfoli.
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Known to the crossing guards and meaty skirts
is Huey Louie Dewey.
Thanks so much for listening.
We're clicking clack to tap with brothers.
Don't drive like my brother.
Don't drive like his brother.
We'll be back next week.
Bye-bye.
And now, here is Car Talk Plaza's chief mechanic,
Mr. Vincent Q. Bombat.
Hey, thank you very much.
Now, if you want a copy of this here show,
which is number 35, just pick up your phone
and call this number, 1-888-CAD-JUNK.
Now, what if I wanted, like, a t-shirt, Vinny?
What would I call?
A third draw on the left, right above your U-trial.
What does it matter with you, anyway?
No, no, I'm in a Car Talk t-shirt.
Oh, yeah, yeah.
You called the same number, the Shameless
Commerce Division at 888-CAD-JUNK,
or visit it online at the Car Talk section of cars.com.
Thank you, Vinny.
That was quite educational.
Come here.
Educate this, pal.
Car Talk is a production of Dewey
Tudemann Howe and WBUR in Boston.
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About this episode
Click and Clack tackle a variety of listener car troubles with their signature humor and wit. From a malfunctioning turn signal in a Toyota Camry to a perplexing oil change experience, the brothers provide insightful advice while sharing amusing anecdotes. They also discuss the quirks of male ego in car knowledge and the importance of proper vehicle maintenance. The episode is filled with lighthearted banter and practical tips, making it a delightful listen for anyone interested in automotive issues.
Original notes
Ivan was enduring an attempt to upsell him on a special oil treatment when he heard this doozy from the mechanic-turned-salesman: “We’re not the problem. We’re part of the solution.” We agree, if the solution he’s referring to is a sleazy soup of grease and jargon. Click and Clack wade through this and other messes on this episode of the Best of Car Talk.
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