#2639: Honda Habitat
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35:16
Car
Volvo 240
A Volvo 240 is an older Volvo model that’s famous for being tough and straightforward. Here, they’re talking about a 1992 one that has a weird problem when starting and shifting—like it doesn’t want to run smoothly right away.
Term
starved for gas
“Starved for gas” means the engine isn’t getting enough fuel at that moment. When that happens, the car can run rough or even stall until it’s getting the right amount of fuel.
Term
automatic
An automatic transmission shifts by itself. This car also seems to require the brake pedal to be pressed before it will shift, which is why the driver’s actions affect whether it stalls.
Term
idle air control
Idle air control is a device that helps the engine idle when it’s cold. It lets in a bit more air so the engine doesn’t stall and can warm up properly.
Term
intake manifold
The intake manifold is the engine’s air distribution box. It routes air to the cylinders, and parts mounted under it can affect how the engine idles.
Term
throttle
The throttle controls how much air the engine gets. When it’s cold, the car can add extra air around the throttle so the engine can idle without dying.
Term
coolant temp sensor
The coolant temp sensor tells the car how hot the engine is. When the engine is cold, the car uses that info to add fuel and manage idle so it runs smoothly.
Term
fuel injectors
Fuel injectors are electronically controlled valves that spray fuel into the engine in precise amounts. When sensors indicate cold conditions, the engine control unit increases injector pulse width (how long the injectors stay open) to add more fuel.
Concept
choke (equivalent)
A choke is an older cold-start trick that helps the engine run when it’s not warmed up. The idea here is that modern idle air control does a similar job electronically.
Part
sticky caliper
If a brake caliper is “sticky,” it may not let go of the brake pads after you stop braking. That can make the brakes rub a little all the time, which can wear things out faster.
Part
pads
Brake pads are the parts that squeeze against the brake disc to slow the car down. If the brake isn’t releasing properly, new pads can still end up rubbing.
Part
disc rotors
The disc rotors are the metal discs the brake pads press against. If the pads have been rubbing or wearing unevenly, the disc surface may need attention so the brakes work smoothly again.
Term
good cut on the discs
A “good cut” means the brake disc surface was cleaned up properly. If it wasn’t done right, the brake pads may not seat well, which can cause noise or uneven braking.
Car
Buick Regal
The Buick Regal is a mid-size car made by Buick. The 1991 model is an older car from the early 1990s, typically used for regular driving. It’s being mentioned because the speaker has that specific year and model.
Term
zero speed
They’re using “zero speed” as a clue. If the noise goes away when the car is fully stopped, it usually means the problem is happening only when the wheels are turning.
Term
tread separation
Tread separation means the rubber on the outside of the tire is starting to come loose from the rest of the tire. As the tire spins, that loose section can rub and make noise, and it can also feel like the car is jerking over certain spots.
Term
plies
Plies are the internal layers inside a tire that help it stay strong and keep its shape. If the tread is separating, those layers can move and rub, which creates noise as the tire turns.
Car
1986 Honda CR-X
The 1986 Honda CR-X is a small Honda hatchback from the 1980s. Here it matters because the owner wants to store it for two years and make sure it still runs when they return.
Car
Honda Civic
A Honda Civic is a common, everyday compact car. Here they’re talking about a 1997 Civic that makes a loud, intermittent noise from the back when driving downhill and turning.
Concept
intermittent noise
An intermittent noise is a sound that comes and goes. Since it doesn’t happen every time, it’s harder for a mechanic to figure out what part is causing it.
Company
Honda dealer
A Honda dealer is the official Honda service shop. They’re saying they can’t fix or diagnose the problem unless they can hear the noise themselves.
Term
spring noise
“Spring noise” just means a sound coming from the suspension area. If a spring is damaged, it can make loud, noticeable noises when the car moves.
Part
coil spring
A coil spring is the spring in the suspension that helps the car absorb bumps. If it breaks, the suspension can start making loud noises and feel wrong over the road.
Term
suspension check
A suspension check is an inspection of the suspension components (springs, shocks/struts, bushings, and related hardware) to find wear or damage that can cause noises or poor handling. It’s often done visually and by checking for play or obvious failures.
LIVE
Hello and welcome to Car Talk from National Public Radio with us, Click & Clack, the Tappet
Brothers, and we're broadcasting this week from Bugsy's big and tall shop here at Car
Talk Plaza.
Yes, and we have clothing issues to discuss.
You may recall that months ago, we announced that we needed a new Car Talk t-shirt.
Oh, that's right.
And the old one had yellow rings on the armpits.
Yeah, that's true.
And actually, what we said was we needed a new t-shirt design, so we asked all six of
our listeners to send us ideas for the Car Talk t-shirt the next generation.
Man, did we get entries.
Oh, yeah, we got how many?
Must be what?
Five or six.
Actually, I don't know how this happened.
We got hundreds, maybe thousands of submissions.
Some of them, if you don't forget what we said, you don't have to be an artist.
Just send us a little sketch or give us an idea of what it should be.
And we went through every single one of them.
And after many hours of cappuccino, biscotti, quinoa, all that stuff, we picked what we
consider the best five ideas.
And since like four of them were just descriptions of t-shirts, we had to commission our staff
artist, Mitty Van Gogh, to render them as art for us.
And then you can view these finalists right now at our website, thecartalksectionofcars.com.
More than view them.
I mean, you can help us pick the best one.
So if you want to help pick the next great Car Talk t-shirt, one that you're very old
station.
Be careful about using the word great.
Well, if you want to pick the next Car Talk t-shirt, we have had some great ones, though.
Man, we've had some stinkers.
We've got some stinkers, yeah.
But if you want to pick the next one, the one that your very own station may try to
flog to you next spring in exchange for about a hundred bucks, just go to thecartalksectionofcars.com.
Check out the five finalists and cast your vote for the t-shirt idea that you like the
best.
Oh, hate the least.
Vote early and vote often.
Indeed.
And don't forget, this isn't just some little web poll.
No.
I mean, there's a lot at stake here.
I mean, the winner of this contest is going to get it.
Are you ready for this?
It's a life altering prize, a gross of Car Talk t-shirts.
Well, that's life altering.
The old ones.
Lots of them left over.
No, you'll get, the winner will get a gross of his or her design.
And when he gets the package, you'll say, oh, that's gross.
Anyway, you can vote at thecartalksessionofcars.com and may the least offensive shirt win.
In the meantime, if you've got a problem with your car or anything else, your spouse, your
boy or girlfriend, et cetera, you can call us at 1-888-CART-TALK, that's 888-227-8255.
Hello, you're on Car Talk.
Oh, hi.
This is Paul from Canton, New York.
Hi, Paul.
Where in New York is Canton?
Canton.
Do you know where St. Lawrence University is?
No.
Is it on the St. Lawrence Seaway?
Uh, it's close.
It's about 20 minutes from the St. Lawrence Seaway.
Oh, so it's way, way up there.
Way, way up.
Oh, you camp drum.
Uh, about an hour north of Fort Drum.
An hour north?
Yeah, between Fort Drum and Malone, about halfway between Fort Drum and Malone.
Oh, wow.
I didn't think there was anything.
There are roads north of Fort Drum.
Well, there are things north of Fort Drum.
Well, I'm calling about my sleigh, really.
You're calling about your sleigh.
Yeah.
All right, what's up?
No, actually, it's my wife's car.
She's wanted a Volvo, an old one, for a long time.
So we bought a 92-240.
And often when you start it, just for a little bit after you start it, it acts like it's
starved for gas.
You know, you've got to put your foot on the brake in order to shift.
It's an automatic.
In order to shift, you've got to have your foot on the brake.
And while you're doing that, it stalls.
While you're doing that, it stalls.
And, you know, quite often, I either started in neutral or started with my foot one foot
on the brake and one foot on the gas.
And as soon as you get into, you know, you get it in gear and back up and then go forward
a little bit, it's gone.
It's fine from then on.
Live with it.
Live with it, man.
Live with it.
Really?
Well, why spend money on a little problem like that?
Well, I don't know.
It's annoying.
Oh, no.
Save the money for like the trailing arm bushings and the control.
All the other things that need to be done.
You know, I'm sort of getting a little bit annoyed at the people who are looking for perfection.
I mean, if I had a car that worked 99.9% of the time, I'd be so thankful I'd be done
with my knees.
I mean, I don't know.
There are people who just can't live with any imperfection.
I don't know if that's okay.
Paul is willing to live with imperfection.
Well, I don't know whether that's me or not.
No, no.
No, no.
Honestly, you don't have a great car.
Thank God my wife is not like that.
Thank God.
I'd be out in the street in two seconds.
You'd be sleeping in the garage.
Oh, you would?
Oh, I am sleeping in the garage.
Well, just the curiosity.
What is it?
Oh, let's just discuss from the academic standpoint, not that you're going to fix it,
because I strongly recommend that you not fix it.
Okay.
This car has an electronic device called the idle air control, which is in this car
located under the intake manifold.
Yeah.
And its job is, when the engine is cold, that it basically allows more air to come in and
bypass the throttle and makes the injection throw in more fuel.
It makes it think that it wants more fuel because it sees more air.
And this coupled with the other sensors on the car like the coolant temp sensor actually
increased the flow of fuel from the injectors, increases the pulse to the injectors, and
makes the engine race.
Yeah.
It's the equivalent of a choke.
Yeah.
In the old days, you pump the gas a couple of times, you set the choke, you turn the
key and the engine ran at like 2,000 RPM so that when you did put it in gear, it didn't
stall out.
So, it sounds like yours is lazy.
Yeah.
Right.
It sounds like yours is lazy.
It may be dirty.
You may have to take, you have someone take it off and clean it.
Yeah.
But I, you know, like my brother said, I don't think I'd go look for trouble.
That's what it is.
Okay.
See you, Paul.
Good luck.
All right.
Thank you.
Bye-bye.
Bye.
1-888-227-8255.
Hello, you're on car talk.
I'm Wendy Ingolf.
Hi, Wendy.
Where are you from?
I'm calling from East Hampton, Mass.
East Hampton.
Where would that be?
It's out near Amherst, Massachusetts.
Way out of the woods.
Oh, yeah.
The outback, as we call it.
Exactly.
Well, you know, I'm beginning to see the wisdom in living in the boondocks like you.
Because I'm so sick and tired of the city.
Well, you know, it's interesting that you should mention that because your neighbors
are also interested in seeing you live in the boondocks and they've taken up a collection.
To send Tommy away.
Yeah.
Send Tommy to the outback.
Only five households have been canvassed so far and they've managed to raise a mere
$100,000.
But anyway, Wendy, what's, what's happening?
Well, I have a 91 Toyota pickup and it's two-wheel drive and the problem is in the front wheel,
started about a month ago, it sounds like it comes with front wheels, there's a vibration
noise.
Basically, only when I first start up in the morning, but that's not the only time it
happens.
And it goes with the wheel.
It kind of goes wong, wong, wong.
So, is it a vibration and a noise?
No, it's the same.
I mean, it's not, it's just the vibration is the noise.
And I started up and like when I drive out of the, it doesn't happen to reverse, but
when I go forward, I'm driving out of the, with my driveway and it happens for probably
200 yards and then it goes away.
And it happens if I'm going straight, it happens if I turn the wheel and then about
two or three weeks after it started happening, I was going 40 or 50 miles an hour on a road
and as I turned the wheel, it happened and as I straightened it, it went away.
But it didn't stay.
But do you feel anything or do you just hear something?
I just hear it.
I don't feel it.
You just hear it.
Yeah.
Okay.
And that's the noise you're going to say.
That's the noise.
That's it.
This is a new dance.
So if you speed up, it goes wong, wong.
Exactly.
If you slow down, it's wong, wong, wong, wong.
And I had my brother listen to it because it used to be his truck and of course it didn't
happen when he was with me.
And of course you haven't, anyone look at it except for your brother.
Right.
Well, I had the, well, I'm here feeling about, uh, in the June, I had the brakes done on
it and they turned the rotors and put new brake pads on.
And my father said, well, I think it's your brakes, but I'm not sure that's what it is.
I haven't taken it in.
And if you experimented with this thing, for example, can you tell us if you can change
or make the noise go away by touching the brake?
It does go away when I touch the brakes.
Oh, yeah.
Was that a good question?
That was an extraordinary question because it saved us the embarrassment of suggesting
that it was a wheel bearing.
Right.
Who was that brilliant man who suggested it might be your brakes?
That was her father.
Did dad suggested that?
Dad could be right.
He's right.
I think you have a sticky caliper.
And I think the fact that they put new pads in maybe worsened the problem.
Uh-huh.
The more the caliper may have been marginally acceptable when they put the pads in.
Maybe it was just starting to stick and they didn't notice it.
Have them check.
If it turns out the caliper's not stuck, have them rough up the pads and the disc rotors.
Maybe they didn't get a good cut on the discs.
Okay.
And you're getting a sound from that.
But it doesn't sound like anything too serious.
Oh, that's good.
See you, Wendy.
All right, thank you.
Thanks for calling.
Good luck.
Bye.
Okay, look, this is it for a gross of car talk t-shirts.
Think hard now.
Yeah.
Do you remember last week's puzzler?
Did it have to do with sleeping while standing up drooling and withdrawing stock options?
No, no.
That was Berman's last performance.
Hi, we're back.
Listening to car talk with us.
Click and clack the Tapper Brothers and we're here to talk about cars, car repair and elevators.
Vertical transportation, he calls it actually.
Rich Illing sent us this.
And then he says, okay, so this question isn't about cars, but rather a more stationary mode
of transportation, the elevator.
Now get this.
Now this is, I couldn't understand this letter.
Why do elevators work backwards?
Stick with me here.
We all know how an elevator works.
You get on at the bottom along with everybody else and the elevator rises and stops at each
floor where someone wants to get on or off.
Of course.
Right.
This works out fine unless you're the poor schmoll who works on the top floor.
Then you have to waste all your time on the elevator.
But who owns the elevator?
The building owner owns the elevator and who's on the top floor?
The most important tenants.
Of course.
These are not the people the owner should keep waiting in the elevator.
Sure.
I didn't think of this before.
The obvious problem is that elevators work backwards.
Instead of starting at the bottom and making stops on the way up, the up elevator should
zoom from the lobby to the top of the building.
Of course.
And then descend, dropping off workers on the lower floors on the way down.
The down elevator should start on the second floor and pick up workers on the way up.
Once it reaches the top floor, it would express from the top floor to the lobby.
Of course.
This way, the important tenants at the top of the building would not have to wait.
But he must be on the 87th floor or something.
He's getting ticked.
This is going to take some getting used to.
For instance, the fastest way to get from the third floor to the sixth floor would be
to hit the down button and catch the elevator as it collects passengers on the way up.
But the best part of this plan is that the goof on the second floor who's too lazy to take
the stairs will have to spend an eternity on the elevator.
I love it.
See, this is the kind of thinking that goes on.
Outside the box.
And as soon as they get this guy back in the box, we'll all be better off.
Did you get it?
Of course I got it.
It's actually brilliant.
I think it is brilliant.
I've thought of it myself actually.
If you're the guy in the penthouse, you want to get in.
All the riffraff that live on the second floor, the 20th floor are in there.
You want to be able to press the top floor and it prioritizes the top floor.
And they all say, what the hey?
And you say, hey, I pay more rent than anybody.
There you go.
Shut up.
And similarly, when he wants to go down, he shouldn't have to be picking up people all
the way down.
He presses down.
So if you want to go up, you go down.
If you want to go down, you go up unless you're in the penthouse.
You go up and down.
Now look, if you have something disinteresting that might distract.
Just kept my brother busy for two weeks.
That might distract my brother in a similar manner.
He'd love to see it obviously.
Just send it to us.
Send it to him specifically, not me.
Car talk plaza.
Mail for Tommy.
Box 3500.
Harvard Square, Cambridge.
Our fair city.
Matt 02238.
Of course, you can email us stuff from the car talk section of cars.com.
In the meantime, if you have a question about your car, I love it actually.
It's brilliant.
If you have a question about your car or anything else, give us a call at 1-888-CAR-TALK.
That's 888-227-8255, although you're on car talk.
Otis is working on this right now.
That's saying, why didn't we think of this?
Hi, this is David Lecture from Youngstown, Ohio.
Hi, David.
How are you?
Youngstown.
There's a big steel mill there, right?
Used to be, yeah.
Used to be.
They're all in Korea now.
Yeah, there you go.
There are no steel mills anymore.
No, you know why?
We don't need steel.
Too dirty.
Okay, so David.
Yes, sir.
What's up?
All right.
I have a 91 Buick Regal.
Yeah.
And a couple of weeks ago, it started making some funny noises.
What it was doing is as I was slowing down, I would start to hear this grinding noise.
And it would, as you'd slow down, the grinder would get slower, it would go...
Now, let me just ask.
Okay.
You're slowing down with your foot on the brake?
Yes.
With your foot not on the brake or both?
On the brake.
On the brake.
Excellent.
That is the right answer.
Okay.
And then as I would speed up, it would start to do it again.
I would go...
And then stop.
Yeah.
And also as I turned, I would get that same noise.
Yeah.
From a stop and you make a turn.
And you say the noise goes away at higher speed.
Correct.
But it might not really go away.
Mm-hmm.
I have a suspicion of what it could be.
Okay.
Oh, is it from your channel?
No.
What's channel?
I've got no stinking channels.
Playboy channel?
When it did make the noise and you were stepping on the brake and slowing, you had to have
been stepping on the brake.
It wouldn't make the noise unless you stepped on the brake.
Well, the car wouldn't slow down unless I stepped on the brake.
Was there ever an instance where you took your foot off the gas and didn't step on
the brake and got the noise?
Okay.
Yeah.
If I was like coasting to a stop.
That was my question.
Okay.
Yeah.
I would still get it.
That's the better answer.
Yeah.
I think we can establish now that moving causes the noise.
That's right.
How long have you lived in that house?
So whether you were applying the brake or not, you got the noise.
And when you got to zero speed, the noise went away.
And when you got to some higher speed accelerating, the noise also went away, but may have not
gone away, may have been just undetectable.
Mm-hmm.
And I think you have a bad tire.
Really?
Yeah.
I think you have a classic case of tread separation.
Oh.
Yeah.
You're not firestones, are they?
No.
I'm just checking.
But if you have the tread coming apart, what will happen is that the plies of the tire
will rub against one another and you'll get this noise.
So every time you hit that bad spot, you'll get that er, er.
Take the thing on a very quiet road and drive it at five or 10 miles an hour, holding the
steering wheel only with the two index fingers.
And I think what you'll notice is every revolution of the wheel, of the tires, that you will
get a little jerk.
A little back and forth motion of the steering wheel.
And as you begin to pick up speed, you'll notice that that comes more frequently.
So initially you'll get an er.
Every time you get the er, you'll feel the wheel, just the steering wheel, that is, move
between your fingers.
Okay.
And that's going to tell you that you have a bad tire.
And get it fixed immediately because it could be dangerous.
Okay.
Good luck, David.
All right.
Thank you very much.
Thanks for your call.
Good luck.
Bye-bye.
1-888.
Oh, what is this number?
888-CAR-TALK.
That's 888-227-8255.
Hello, you're on CAR-TALK.
Hi, this is Kirsten.
Kirsten.
K-I-R-S-T-E-N.
I-N.
No, E-N.
E-N.
You're right the first time.
Where are you from, Kirsten?
Sweden.
No, I'm calling from Bethesda, Maryland.
Bethesda.
Bethesda.
Yeah.
So what's up, Kirsten?
Well, I'm about to move to Costa Rica.
I'm going to be in Costa Vo in a couple of weeks.
And I'm going to need to store my car for two years while I'm over there.
What kind of a car is it?
What kind of a car is it?
I have a driveway.
Thanks.
It's a 1986 Honda CR-X.
I don't have a driveway.
And it has 153,000 miles on it.
And I want to know what kind of questions I should be asking the storage guys so that
I know that my car will work when I get back from Costa Vo in two years.
Where are you going to store it?
Well, the government has a storage facility up in Baltimore.
Oh, the government is going to store it.
Yeah.
Oh, so they know what to do.
You don't have to ask them anything.
Ask them, what hours are you open when I come back?
Is it like a nine to five deal?
Can I come on weekends?
Got plumbers coming in morning?
Why are you going to Costa Vo for two years?
You some kind of a state department person?
Sort of like that.
Spy?
No, not a spy.
Well, she wouldn't be able to tell us.
I work in international development.
Spies.
International development.
Yeah.
Spy.
Anyway.
Is that like weightlifting?
No?
Are you going to visit like Sylvia Pajoli or one of that crowd?
I'm sure I'll run into her actually because my job will be as public affairs officer.
No, see that?
Say hello for us.
I will.
She won't admit knowing us.
No, no.
But she does.
You work for the same company.
We work for the same company, right?
Exactly.
And we met at the water cooler many times and talked about the game last night.
Oh man.
Sylvia's really into hockey, you know.
When you see her, ask her about the Rangers.
Anyway.
N86 Honda.
N86 Honda, yeah.
So are you going to Costa Vo for the money?
Is that it?
No, we do good work over there.
We do.
Yeah.
And so the government has this facility.
Do you know where they're going to store it?
I mean, is they going to just park?
They're going to store it in Costa Vo.
What is it?
I mean, for three years.
I mean, what does it mean store?
Well, I don't really know.
I mean, I haven't seen the warehouse myself.
This is the government that is doing something for you.
Right.
And you're going to ask them if they're doing it right.
Exactly.
And if they're not, you're expecting them to change it?
The government?
Well.
Do they do anything right?
Well.
No.
And do they change it?
No.
And they're going to do it for an 86 Honda with 153,000 miles on it?
What are you nuts?
Okay.
Let me put it this way.
If they don't answer my questions right, then I'll have to find alternative arrangements.
Oh, there you go.
A different country to move to.
I can't figure that out.
All right.
So let's find out.
Okay.
Is the facility, this is laughable, is the facility humidity controlled?
Okay.
Is it secure?
Uh-huh.
Is it patrolled?
Will they have the car up on blocks or will it sit on the tires for five years?
How long are you going to be gone?
Two years.
Two years unless she's kidnapped.
Will they remove the battery?
Okay.
Will they plug the intake and the exhaust?
Uh-huh.
Will they shrink-wrap the car?
The answer to all these questions is going to be one giant guffaw.
And will they allow my brother to sleep in the car if his wife throws him out?
It's a really small car.
Yeah.
I mean, my suspicion is that they're going to park it.
Yeah.
They're going to do none of those things.
What you should do is ask them what they're going to do and get the list.
They must have a published list.
There must be document number NB713-4 if they're right to Pueblo, Colorado to get it.
Yeah.
So when you get that document, send us a copy.
Yeah, it would be interesting to know.
What the government regulations are.
Yeah.
For storage of vehicles.
Yeah.
I'll bet you they don't have any.
Oh, I bet they do.
They do.
I bet they do.
They do.
Don't forget, they store jet planes in the desert.
They store jeeps.
They own that stuff.
But they have the expertise.
They know what-
This is Kirsten's car.
They could care less, as the army says.
Oh, no, they're going to park-
I could care less, private man.
They're going to park us on the street.
They're going to park us on the street.
Oh, yeah.
And you're going to come back and get 750 tickets on it.
Oh, man.
What if they actually turn it on and keep it running?
How often should they do that, if that's their option?
For the whole two years.
No, that's one of the worst things you can do,
and this is one of the myths about cars that are sitting,
is to start the thing up for five minutes and shut it off.
It's the worst thing you can do.
Well, how long should, if they do that?
Oh, they've got to drive it around and all that.
You want to drive it every week.
You want to drive it five miles a week.
Yeah, fat chance.
Find out the regs, because I'd really like to know what they do.
They must have something printed.
But if they don't, at the very least write it down and call us back,
because I'm dying to know.
I'm serious, too.
Call us next week.
Okay.
We'll talk next week.
Thanks, guys.
Bye.
Okay, Tommy, it's time to do what we do every week at this time.
Pray for a policy.
No, that's what our listeners do.
We take a break.
And when we come back, are you going to have a brand new,
better-than-ever puzzler for a change?
How about a better-than-nothing puzzler?
So, back in a minute.
We're back.
We're listening to car talk with us clicking-clack the Tapper Brothers.
And we're here to discuss cars, car repair, and the new.
The new.
The new.
The new.
Folklore.
You.
Historic.
High caloric.
Metaphoric.
And sophomoric puzzler.
Really?
All of the above, yeah.
But is this the first new puzzler of the new?
Pre-season.
Oh, this is a pre-season warm-up.
Pre-season.
A warm-up gig.
And bear with me because...
Hey, of course.
Because it's my first at bat of the season.
Exactly.
We can't expect any home runs.
We can't expect much.
We never can expect a home run.
No, maybe a walk.
A walk would be good.
Because, don't forget, the other team is also first time, right?
All right.
Here it is.
You ready?
The listeners, they won't even notice if it's crud.
That's right.
Not puzzler sensitized.
Okay, go for it, man.
Here it is.
My wife and I were sitting at the kitchen table the other day, and she noticed there
was a deck of cards on the table.
And it was because the night before, I was teaching the boys how to play poker, trying
to win back some of the money that you keep borrowing from me.
And she says, ooh, I'd like to learn how to play poker.
Will you teach me?
Mm-hmm.
So I said, sure.
So I explained to her the ranking of the hands, i.e., a straight flush, or a royal flush,
rather than being the best hand and going all the way down to a deuce, the lowest hand
I guess you could have is no pairs.
No pairs.
No pairs.
And the lowest card.
And the lowest card.
Anybody else.
Yeah.
So she says, well, that's interesting.
So I've got all the cards face up on the table, and she says, let's play a game.
And she says, you pick five cards, and I'll pick five cards, and let's see who has the
best hand.
Mm-hmm.
And she says, well, that's pretty stupid, because I'm going to pick the royal flush,
and you're going to pick a royal flush, and we're going to be tied.
Oh, pick five cards face up.
We're looking at them.
Yeah.
And she says, well, she said, after you pick your cards, and you can draw cards.
Oh.
You can throw away as many cards as you want up to, including five.
And you can replace them all or replace 123 whatever number.
Okay.
Mm-hmm.
And so, I go first, I pick my royal flush, and I say, do whatever you want to do.
We're going to be tied.
And she says, well, we don't always have to be tied.
I can beat you.
Really?
That's what I said, really.
And she says, let me go first.
Oh.
And she picks five cards.
Yeah.
I got it.
I think.
Okay.
Yeah.
She picks five cards.
And she beats me.
Mm-hmm.
What cards, what hand does she draw?
I like it.
Now, if you think you know the answer.
That's very good.
I think I do know the answer.
Write it on a postcard, or weave it into a hand knotted 10 by 15 New Zealand wool Oriental
run, and send it to, actually, I think it's 10 by 18.
Well, it's going to be in meters because of New Zealand.
No, I think the, well, they also use the metric system.
New Zealanders use the metric system.
Yeah.
Are we the only ones?
We're the only holdouts.
On the planet.
Yeah.
What arrogance?
What ignorance?
Even the English on which our system is called.
It's called the English system.
It's called the English system.
They don't even use it.
It's called the American system.
Everyone else has abandoned it.
Anyway, send it to Puzzler Tower, Car Talk Plaza, Box 3500, Harvard Square, Cambridge.
Our fair city.
Matt 02238, or, of course, you can email your answer from the Car Talk section of cars.com.
If you'd like to talk to us, or if you wouldn't like to talk to us, the number is 1-888-CAR-TALK.
That's 8882278255.
Hello.
You're on Car Talk.
This is Ginger.
Ginger.
I'm in Portland, Oregon.
What's on your mind, Ginger?
Hey, I have a 97 Honda Civic four-door, and I got really scared last weekend driving in
the car because about every other month when I'm driving down a hill and turning to the
right, I hear this very loud noise from the back, like, strong boing, and the car doesn't
do anything different, but this huge noise comes out.
Yeah.
You're sure it's coming from the back?
Well, I think so, and so does my husband.
Has anyone ever sat in the back to compare?
Only because noises can be elusive, you know?
The origin of noises can be elusive.
No, because it's so intermittent, you know, you can't predict it.
Yeah, it just sneaks up on you all of a sudden.
What was that?
Yes.
Also, if you were to drive down this same hill and negotiate the turn at the same speed,
you wouldn't necessarily get it every time.
Oh, she just said it happens every couple of months.
Well, maybe she's the only drives down this hill every couple of months.
Well, I've taken it into the Honda dealer now twice just for this particular issue,
and they say, well, sorry, ma'am, unless we can hear it ourselves, there's nothing we
can do.
And they say they've checked and it's fine.
Oh, really?
So you're not going to go for any of the headbrain dances that we might go with?
No, I called you guys because I figured you could really fix it.
Wait, isn't this big loud boing?
Yeah, very loud.
Sounds like a spring noise, doesn't it?
Yes, it does.
You know why?
Why?
It's what it is.
Well, it could be.
That's what I thought.
It could easily be a broken coil spring.
Broken coil spring.
Yeah, and they're hard to detect.
And on Hondas, we found that they almost always break right at the very end, at the
very last coil.
So unless you're really looking for it and you think they would be looking for it,
especially if you're told that it sounds like a what, broken spring,
maybe you didn't tell them that.
Can they see it when they just look under the car?
Well, they wouldn't necessarily see it because you've got to be really looking for it.
Well, I'll tell you, most Hondas techs are pretty well versed in spotting broken
springs because Hondas break springs quite a bit.
Yeah, but they did a suspension check last week.
Tell them to do it again.
They didn't do it right.
Well, assuming that they did it right, and I'm going to assume that they did
because I think any Hondas tech is going to know to look for a broken spring.
Any in the world in Portland, Oregon, don't forget they hardly have electricity out there.
Oh, come on.
We are an urban city.
Come on.
A beautiful urban city at that.
Yeah.
Oh, it's beautiful.
I can see three mountains today.
And I know which three they are.
And tell me.
Mount St. Helens.
Yeah.
Mount Rainier.
No.
And Mount Everest.
No.
You're close.
Oh, I forgot.
Kilimanjaro.
Before Mount Everest was discovered, what was the tallest mountain in the world?
The tallest mountain in the world before Mount Everest was discovered.
Oh, Mount McKinley.
Oh, it was Mount Everest.
They just hadn't discovered it.
It was still the tallest mountain.
Excellent.
All right.
Look, have them check the springs.
But I'm going to suggest that the springs are okay.
Okay.
And what you should ask them to do is to lubricate the bushings with a penetrating lubricant.
Okay.
Deeply penetrating.
Yeah, deeply penetrating.
Like our questions.
We use the stuff made by Worth.
Worth.
Okay.
Called HHS2000.
Well, can we do this at home?
You can, but you can't buy the stuff.
Oh.
Only sold to professionals.
It's very dangerous stuff.
You have to get a prescription for it.
I can't do that.
You can't buy it yourself.
And there are other penetrants, I'm sure, which are just as good.
I just don't know the names of any of them.
Okay.
But ask them if they have something that's like this and it's great stuff.
Okay.
And that's going to solve your problem.
Thank you so much.
See you, Ginger.
Okay, bye-bye.
Bye-bye.
That brings up an issue.
Why aren't there certain things that only a mechanic can buy with a prescription?
Well, there are certain things.
Like what?
Like HHS2000.
It's 44K.
I mean...
Unless they all have secret letters.
See, the thing is they would all...
It would lend more suspense.
Mystery.
Exactly.
I mean, you go to the doctor and he takes out that little pad and he stumbles some crap on it.
Yeah, and you know what?
Whatever he writes, the druggist decides what to give you.
The druggist looks and he says, you see...
You look a little pale.
You look a little pale again.
You need some erythromycin.
You can't read this guy's writing anyway.
You look like you need some erythromycin.
Well, it's happened again.
You've totally depreciated another perfectly good hour listening to car talk.
Our esteemed producers dug the Subway Fugitive, not a slave to fashion.
How long is he gonna get away with this Subway Fugitive thing?
Oh, they're gonna get him out of these days.
Oh, man, we're gonna get him.
Our social producers are Louis Cronin the Barbarian and David Don't Call Me Dave Green.
Our engineer is Tad Curry.
Our senior web lackey is Doug the Old Gray Mayor and our technical spiritual and menu adviser just back from his triumph at Slam Dunk at the Cape Ann Donut Toss.
His John Bugsy Lawler.
Slam Dunk.
Yes, Dunk. Get it.
Dunk Donut.
Get it.
Our public opinion pollster is Paul Murkey of Murkey Research, assisted by statistician Marge and O'Vara.
Our customer care representative is Haywood Jabuzoff.
Our director of new product repair is Warren T. Myfoot.
Our shop foreman is Luke Busy and our director of Firestone Tire Recalls is Ivana Michelin.
Our student consultant is Norm DePlume.
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The Car Talk musical director is Donna Imobile.
Our divorce attorney is Carmine Not Yours.
Our staff mediator is Sue First.
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The banker at Car Talk Plaza Poker Games is Nikolai Putin.
And our seat cushion tester is Mike Easter.
Our chief counsel from the law firm of Dewey Chiedemann Howe is Julio Stoe.
Known to the obnoxious mimes in Harvard Square as...
Thanks so much for listening.
Quick click and clack the tapper, brothers.
Don't drive like my brother.
Don't drive like my brother.
We'll be back next week. Bye-bye.
And now here is Car Talk Plaza's chief mechanic, Mr. Vinnie Eaglebots.
Thank you very much.
Now, if you want information on how to get a copy of this here show,
which happens to be number 38,
just head on over to the online store at the Car Talk section at Cars.com.
And what if I wanted information about something else, Vincent?
Like the best of Car Talk CD?
Would I go to the same site?
No, you moron.
You go to www.JanetRinoDoesPolarties.com.
Of course you go to the same site.
What are you, stupid or something?
You go to the Car Talk section at Cars.com.
You call 888 Car Junk.
Alright, thank you, Vinnie.
That was pretty well delivered.
Hey, deliver this, will you pal?
Car Talk is a production of Do-E-Cheat-Em-In-How and WBUR in Boston.
And even though Joe Lieberman says,
Oi-Vee, whatever he is, I'll say it,
this is NPR National Public Radio.
About this episode
A listener t-shirt contest kicks things off, with hosts joking about the prize and directing people to vote for the least offensive design. The show then pivots into car trouble: a 1992 Volvo 240 that stalls during brake-required automatic shifting, plus a deep dive into idle air control and cold-start fueling. Later, brake/steering noise gets tested with a brake-touch diagnostic, and the hosts diagnose a Honda “boing” as a likely broken coil spring. The segment closes with long-term storage advice for a 1986 Honda CR-X.
Original notes
Kristen is moving to Kosovo for a couple of years and has to leave her beloved Honda behind. She’s apparently so sentimental about the car that she wants Click and Clack to help her develop a list of criteria for choosing an appropriate storage facility. Does she expect snacks and play time for this thing? Or will four walls and a guard sleeping at the door be enough? Find out on this episode of the Best of Car Talk.
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