Answering common car questions at blazing speed (so I can cover as many as possible in a short period of time)

Answering common car questions at blazing speed (so I can cover as many as possible in a short period of time) My Car Guru Podcast · Jul 15, 2026

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Term

spark plug replacement

Spark plugs are small parts that help your gas engine ignite the fuel. If they get worn out, the engine can run rough or not start as well, so replacing them at the right time helps keep things smooth.

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flush my coolant

Coolant helps your engine stay cool and protects it from corrosion. A coolant flush means you remove the old coolant and replace it so the system keeps working properly, not just a quick top-off.

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cooling systems

Your cooling system is what keeps the engine from overheating. Flushing it helps keep the coolant clean so it can do its job effectively.

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brake fluid

Brake fluid is the fluid that makes your brakes work when you press the pedal. If it gets old or contaminated, it can make braking feel weaker or less responsive.

Term

330 seconds of an inch

Tread depth is how much rubber is left on the tire. The host is saying that when the tread gets down to about 3/32 of an inch, it’s usually time to replace the tires because they won’t grip as well, especially in rain.

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tire pressure

Tire pressure is how much air is in your tires. If it’s too low, the tire can wear unevenly, especially on the outside edges, and it can also affect handling.

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uneven tire wear

Uneven tire wear means one part of the tire is wearing out faster than the rest. That can be caused by things like incorrect tire pressure, and it’s a sign you should check your setup so the tires last longer and handle safely.

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air pressure

Air pressure is how much air is in your tires. If it’s too high or too low, the tire doesn’t sit on the road correctly, leading to uneven wear and steering/pulling problems.

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four-wheel alignment

A four wheel alignment is when a shop checks and adjusts the angles of all four wheels. It helps the car drive straight and reduces uneven tire wear.

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front end alignment

Alignment is how the shop sets your front wheels so they’re pointing straight. If it’s wrong, your tires wear unevenly and the car can drift or pull to one side.

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circumference

Tire circumference is basically how far the tire “goes around” in one rotation. A new tire is thicker, so it can rotate differently than an older worn tire.

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differential

The differential is part of the drivetrain that lets the two driven wheels spin at slightly different speeds. If one tire is newer and effectively “rolls” differently than the others, it can make that system work harder.

Term

all season tires

All-season tires are made to handle a mix of weather—warm days, rain, and some cold. They’re not as specialized as summer-only or winter-only tires, but they’re a good “one set for most people” option.

Car

Ford Mustang

The Ford Mustang is a sports car that’s built for fun driving, usually with strong acceleration. When people mention it in tire discussions, it’s because the car can use the tires more aggressively than everyday vehicles. Good tires help it stay stable and grip the road.

Car

Chevrolet Camaro

The Chevrolet Camaro is a sports car made for driving fast and handling well. People talk about it when discussing tires because it can put more stress on the tires than a normal car. The right tires help it grip the road better.

Car

Chevrolet Corvette

The Chevrolet Corvette is a sports car built to go fast and handle sharply. Because it’s made for performance, it usually needs tires that can grip well and handle higher-speed driving. That’s why it’s often mentioned when talking about tire requirements for sports cars.

Car

Porsche 911

The Porsche 911 is a famous sports car. Here it’s just being used as an example of a car that would more likely use sport-style tires meant for warmer weather, not winter conditions.

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all terrain tires

All-terrain tires are designed for both regular driving and rougher off-road stuff like dirt or gravel. They usually have more aggressive tread so they can grip better when the road isn’t smooth.

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four wheel drive vehicles only

Four-wheel drive helps a vehicle get traction by sending power to all four wheels. The host is connecting that to all-terrain tires because those tires are meant for rougher roads and off-road use.

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wear sensor

A wear sensor is a built-in warning that tells you your brake pads are getting too thin. When the pads wear down enough, the sensor starts making a squealing or chirping sound so you know to get the brakes checked.

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brake rotor

The brake rotor is the spinning metal disc behind your wheel. When you press the brake pedal, the pads squeeze onto it to slow the car down.

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new pads

Brake pads are the parts that press against the brake rotor to stop the car. If they wear down too much, the brakes won’t work as well and they can start squealing.

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rotors turned

Turning rotors means resurfacing them so the brake pads can contact evenly again. Shops can only do this if the rotor isn’t too worn down.

Brand

O'Reilly's

O'Reilly's is a store that sells car parts. The host is saying that buying cheaper brake parts there (instead of the right factory-spec ones) can cause brake squeal.

Brand

Advanced Auto Parts

Advanced Auto Parts is another store that sells car parts. The point being made is that cheaper brake pads from places like this can squeal if they’re not the right type for the car.

Term

OEM pads

OEM pads are the brake pads that match what the car was originally designed to use. The host is saying that using the correct factory-spec pads helps prevent brake squeal and ensures proper braking feel.

Term

cold cranking amp ability

Cold cranking amps is a measure of how strong your battery is at starting the car when it’s cold outside. If the battery gets old, it may not have enough starting power, so the engine may crank slowly or not start at first.

Term

charging and discharging

A battery cycle is basically: it gets charged up, then you use it to start the car and run electronics, and then it gets charged again. Repeating that over and over wears the battery out.

Term

weak battery

A weak battery can’t supply enough power to start the engine. You might notice the car won’t start right away, or it cranks slowly, and then it may start after a moment.

Term

jump starting

Jump starting is when you use jumper cables to borrow power from another car so yours can start. If you connect the cables wrong, you can damage the car’s electrical system.

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jumper cables

Jumper cables are the thick wires you use to connect two cars’ batteries. Using cables that are too thin can make it harder to transfer enough power to start the car.

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new engine

A “new engine” can sometimes use a little oil at first. That can be normal during break-in, but if it’s excessive it may point to a problem.

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oil in 1000 miles

Some car makers say it’s okay if an engine uses a little oil over time. The important part is whether the amount is within what the manufacturer allows and whether it’s increasing.

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engine may die

If an engine is burning or losing too much oil, it can eventually cause major damage. Low oil means less lubrication, and that can lead to the engine failing.

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engine overheating

Engine overheating happens when the cooling system can’t keep the engine temperature under control. It’s dangerous because sustained high temperatures can warp parts and cause major failures.

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antifreeze

Antifreeze is mixed into coolant so it doesn’t freeze in cold weather and also helps protect the cooling system. If it’s old or contaminated, it can stop working well.

Term

overflow tank

The overflow tank is a small reservoir that holds extra coolant. Looking at it can tell you if the coolant looks healthy or if it’s time to service the cooling system.

Term

flushed

A coolant flush means draining out old coolant and putting in new coolant. If the coolant looks dirty or discolored, a flush can help the cooling system work better.

Term

blown head gasket

A head gasket is a seal that keeps coolant and engine gases separated. If it fails, the engine can overheat and the repair can be expensive.

Term

timing can be off

Engine timing is when the spark happens inside the engine. If it’s not set correctly, the engine can burn fuel less efficiently and run hotter.

Term

small leak

A small drip can be an early warning sign. If you ignore it, the leak can get worse and cause bigger problems later.

Term

transmission hesitation

It means your car doesn’t respond right away when it should shift or move smoothly. One common reason is low fluid or a leak.

Term

transmission fluid

Transmission fluid is the fluid that keeps the transmission working correctly and helps it shift. If it’s low, shifting can feel delayed or rough.

Term

refrigerant

Refrigerant is what your AC uses to move heat out of the car. If there isn’t enough of it, the air won’t get cold.

Term

AC leak

An AC leak means the refrigerant is escaping. Without refrigerant, the AC can’t cool, and it often needs both a fix and a refill.

Term

recharge your own AC

Recharging your AC means adding refrigerant so it can cool again. But if there’s a leak, it’ll lose refrigerant and the AC won’t stay cold.

Term

coolant protection

Coolant protection is how cold your car’s antifreeze can handle without freezing. If it’s rated for a very low temperature, your engine is less likely to get damaged in winter.

Term

premium fuel

Premium gas is a higher-grade fuel that some cars ask for. If your car doesn’t require it, you can usually use regular instead and save money.

Car

Nissan Armada

The Nissan Armada is a big SUV. The host is talking about what gas it should use and says their Armada runs regular unleaded without knocking sounds.

Term

regular unleaded

Regular unleaded is the cheaper gas most cars can use. The host is saying their car runs it fine—no knocking sounds and no engine harm.

Term

spark knock

Spark knock is when the fuel burns the wrong way inside the engine, often making a pinging or rattling sound. If it happens a lot, it can stress the engine, which is why the right fuel matters.

Term

middle grade gas

“Middle grade” is gas that costs more than regular but less than premium. If your car doesn’t need it, you’re often just paying extra for no real gain.

Term

check engine light

The check engine light is a warning that something in the engine or emissions system may be wrong. You usually need a scan tool to figure out what the code means.

Term

engine diagnostics

Engine diagnostics means using tools to read what the car is complaining about. Instead of guessing, a technician checks the stored codes to find the real cause.

Term

wiring

Vehicle wiring is the bundle of electrical cables that connects the car’s computers and sensors. If it gets damaged, the car can act weird or stop working, and fixing it can be a big job.

Car

Ford F150

The Ford F-150 is a popular full-size pickup truck. Here, the host describes a problem where a rat chewed through the truck’s wiring, which forced the vehicle to be taken apart to fix it.

Term

dash is out

“Dash is out” means the dashboard was removed. That usually happens when the problem is hidden behind it, so the repair takes a lot more time.

Term

Comprehensive insurance

Comprehensive insurance helps pay for damage that isn’t from a crash. That can include things like theft, vandalism, or animals chewing wires.

Term

speedometer

The speedometer is the instrument that displays vehicle speed to the driver. Its reading is tied to wheel rotation, so changing tire size can make the speedometer inaccurate unless it’s recalibrated.

Term

aftermarket chips

Aftermarket chips are non-factory electronic modules used to alter or reprogram vehicle control behavior. Here, they’re described as being able to reprogram the speedometer to match the new tire size.

Term

OBD port

The OBD port (On-Board Diagnostics port) is the standardized connector used to communicate with a vehicle’s computer for diagnostics and some programming functions. The host says the reprogramming device must stay plugged in for it to register the correct speed.

Term

Hey folks, welcome back to another edition of my car guru for those of you who are first

time listeners.

I am Lenny Lawson, a real live new car dealer on Gateway Ford and Gateway Nissan in Greenville,

Tennessee.

And I have been doing this, well not with those two dealerships but been in the car business

since I was just a youngin.

I actually started, well my first job was cleaning out the drain in the middle of the service

department at Lawson Chevrolet in 1972 I believe is when I got that wonderful job.

Little did I know that that was where of course all the refuse from cleaning or from working

on customers vehicles, oil, antifreeze, dirt and a lot of technicians actually spit in

that pit or that drain.

I found that out later when I watched them doing it, it was my job to keep that sucker

clean so that the liquids would run into the city sewer system.

Thank you dad for that wonderful job and then I was promoted.

I got to clean the bathrooms in the technician's locker room.

Those people aren't neat when it comes to the bathroom, sorry if you are one.

And then let's see, went to the detail shop where I started cleaning up cars.

That was fun.

I love cleaning up cars.

Buffing cars, a guy named Slip Hensley was the shop manager and he taught me how to buff

a car.

Back then we used a buffer that was powered by air and it was not one of these little

electronic jobs that they use right now with foam pads.

No, we used wool and you could easily burn the paint on a vehicle if you weren't careful

so he showed me how to do that and that's our selling cars then I went to college and

the rest is history.

I've been doing this for 48 years so I do have some degree of expertise when it comes

to the car business.

I have owned all or part of five different new car dealerships and when I did or was

involved in five different dealerships at the same time it wasn't what I call fun.

It was all about meetings.

It took me away from what I love the most and that was interacting day to day with customers

and helping them solve their problems and so eventually liquidated down to where I am

now and I'm very happy and I've got a lot of young family working for me and a lot of

other young people.

I'm the oldest guy in the building and that's just great.

So that's a little bit about me just for you people who haven't ever listened.

We are located in Upper East Tennessee I always say it that way.

There's the Tri-Cities of Bristol Kingsport and Johnson City and then you have little

towns like Elizabethan and a lot of people would call it Elizabethton.

I had to correct somebody yesterday he's a new Ford service rep just out of his training

and he says well I've got to go to Elizabethton Ford next and I said don't go up there and

say Elizabethton.

You've got to say Elizabethton.

You put the emphasis on the bath and then we have Rogersville which is not too far away

and then Greenville it's about 25 miles away from Johnson City on Highway 11E.

Now we serve communities just all over East Tennessee and in the country I remember a

time when 99.9% of our customers were from Green County and now that number is about

40%.

We get a lot from the Tri-Cities and from Morristown and that direction and some from

Knoxville not many come all the way from Knoxville but some do and we do a lot of

business in North Carolina, Southwest Virginia and then you have the occasional person that

finds something on the internet like the people that are in the finance office as I speak

they are from the big city of Traveler's Rest South Carolina which is right outside of Greenville

South Carolina one of my favorite little places to visit especially Main Street.

If you've never been to Greenville South Carolina you're from this area you want a cool place

for a husband and wife or a boyfriend or girlfriend as long as they are old enough

to go.

Main Street at Greenville South Carolina is a cool place.

Lots of nice hotels and lots of great restaurants and shopping and everything right there on

Main Street and you feel like you're in somewhere in New York City it's really cool.

Some place good in New York City.

Some tree-lined street with a lot of interesting stores.

So anyway that's my travel advisory for this particular show.

So yesterday we dove, well we dipped the toe into the mail bag and I had a customer, well

they've been a customer but they're a listener they said could you maybe cover a few more

things like this and this and this.

So I said okay I'll be happy to we'll just go ahead and do that because a lot of people

well quite frankly you spend a lot more time and effort maintaining your vehicle than you

do buying it.

Sometimes I wish people would spend more time in the purchasing process.

For a lot of folks it's just for the moment let's go buy a car or let's just go look

at cars.

Many times that turns into a sale for a car dealership because the cars are pretty, they're

prettier than the thing they're driving and the salesperson gets them into the process

and then they have to fight to escape and if they have good credit or decent or marginal

credit and they have the ability to buy a new car many times they'll leave in one and

then they get home and they say what did we do?

So what I'm going to do today is just I'm going to do like speed questions and even

speedier answers and we'll do that here in just a minute.

Okay this is a first I've never done this but I'm going to give it a shot.

Okay we're going to start with routine maintenance and here we go.

How often should I really change my oil?

Every 5,000 miles that's how often you need to change your oil.

If you change it any more often than that or less often then you are not doing your

vehicle justice.

Is synthetic oil worth the extra cost?

It is if you want to keep the vehicle a long time.

Can I go by the oil life monitor?

Yes you can if you don't care about your car.

When should I rotate my tires?

Every 5,000 miles so when you get your oil changed have your tires rotated.

How often should I replace the engine or cabin air filters?

When it looks like it needs to be replaced.

Now my wife makes me replace our air filters at our house every 30 days.

Should you do that in a car?

Probably not but I would look at it occasionally it's in your glove box.

Okay when should I replace my spark plugs?

Never.

Well if you get to 100,000 miles you probably ought to think about it or if your fuel economy

goes down and there's no other explanation and you're above 75,000 miles then spark

plug replacement is not a bad idea.

How often should I flush my coolant every 30,000 miles?

Flush your cooling system out.

That's one of the few things that you should flush out don't just drain and refill.

How often should my brake fluid be changed?

Never unless your owner's manual calls for it or if your brakes feel really spongy you

put your foot on the brake and it doesn't stop as good as it used to.

You could have gotten some contaminants in your brake fluid but only then it's usually

just something you add to.

Okay I drug my feet on that one.

Okay how much air should I put in my tires?

We covered this yesterday.

What it says on the door jamb of your vehicle.

The factory specifications not what it says on the side of the tire.

Okay how do I know when my tires need to be replaced when they're over seven years old

or they get down to about 330 seconds of an inch.

Bill Mead used to say why do you say thirty seconds of an inch?

Why don't you say on sixteenth I said because that's the industry standard.

That's tire talk.

If you don't like it then just go talk sports Bill.

That's what he does for a living.

Okay what causes uneven tire wear?

Tire pressure usually if your tire pressure is too low it's going to wear on the outside

edges of the tire.

If you have too much air pressure in your tires it's going to wear in the center.

Otherwise this causes an alignment problem where you need to have your front end alignment

done or a four wheel alignment every year.

Next question was do I really need an alignment?

Well if your vehicle is pulling dramatically to the right or to the left most roads are

graded to where they slope to the right.

If your vehicle is pulling to the left when you just kind of take your hands off the steering

wheel you've got an alignment problem that needs to be solved or the air pressures in

your tires are wrong.

That's the thing that you always check first.

Air pressure.

You got it?

Okay.

Okay let's see.

Can I replace just one tire?

Well you can but it's not recommended because a brand new tire versus all the other tires

have 30000 miles on them it's going to rotate at a different speed.

The circumference of that tire is different because it's brand new it's not worn.

That can put extra stresses on your differential.

So don't replace one tire.

Replace two.

Don't have to replace all four.

Just replace two if you have to replace just one because of a blowout or something like

that.

Okay.

What's the difference between all season touring and all terrain tires?

Well most cars come with all season tires from the factory.

Touring tires I'm not sure what that terminology means.

I think of a sport tire would be something like a sports car like a Camaro, a Mustang,

a Corvette, a Porsche 911.

These are typically designed for summer and spring and they're not for winter.

All terrain tires are more for four wheel drive vehicles when you go off road and plus people

think they look cool.

So if you want to look cool and you're driving a truck put all terrain tires on.

But all season is what most people get when they buy just about any new car today.

Okay let's talk brakes.

How do you know if your brakes are worn out?

Well they don't stop.

They don't stop as good as they used to.

You hear a constant squealing noise every time you put your brake on or just a chirping

noise when your brakes aren't on because that's the wear sensor that's touching the

brake rotor saying that you need to have your brakes checked and probably that you need

new pads maybe have the rotors turned.

Okay.

Why do they squeal?

Because you bought cheap pads.

You went to O'Reilly's or they got from Advanced Auto Parts.

You didn't put the OEM pads on there.

So you've just got to use the factory parts when it comes to safety items folks.

You don't skimp on being able to stop.

Okay how long should a battery last?

Oh 24 months to three years.

Beyond that they lose their cold cranking amp ability to start your car when it's really

really cold and the voltage starts to drop because they've just had so many charging

and discharging cycles and you've had drains on your battery and it causes problems.

So you know I'm going to replace my battery every three years at a minimum.

Okay.

Warning signs of a weak battery because the car won't start.

You turn the key it won't start initially and then it does start.

You've got a weak battery.

It may be because you left your lights on but it may simply need to be tested to see

how much the cranking power has degraded over time and batteries have gotten really expensive.

Of course everything has.

Okay.

Let's see can I damage my car by jump starting it incorrectly?

Absolutely.

Follow the owner's manual in that and make sure you have a good set of jumper cables that

are really thick wires.

If you go to buy jumper cables buy the most expensive ones that Walmart sells.

They're only about 59 bucks.

Don't buy the cheap ones.

Because if you do you'll regret it.

Okay.

Is it normal for a new engine to use oil?

We talked about this yesterday too.

You know some manufacturers say that a vehicle can use a quart of oil in 1000 miles and that's

normal.

That was like Honda and Toyota and Subaru.

You know they're probably not going to use that much but if they do they say it's normal.

So I wouldn't panic about it.

I'd just keep good records and I'd want them to write it on a repair order that this is

normal usage because at 75,000 miles your engine may die.

And I'd want to have some evidence if I wanted to get that taken care of.

Okay.

Why is my engine overheating?

Well that can be caused by a lot of things.

Usually coolant related.

The antifreeze.

The overflow tank is you can look at that and you can see the condition of your coolant.

If it's really brown it's not good.

Time to have it flushed.

That can cause it.

You can have a blown head gasket that can cause it.

Your timing can be off on the engine.

A lot of potential causes but if it can destroy your engine.

And if you drive a car that's running hot on a regular basis you're going to be sorry.

Okay.

What happens if I ignore a small leak like a drip or two on my driveway?

It becomes a big leak.

Okay.

Why does my transmission hesitate?

Well how do you know it's your transmission?

If you eliminate the engine causes then if your transmission is hesitating or not shifting

properly you could just be low on fluid.

It could have a leak.

That's the first thing you check.

And then you take it to a dealership that sells that brand and have them test drive your vehicle.

They check the fluid.

They drive it.

They see if it's got a serious problem.

And then you will know based on the time and mileage whether it's under warranty or you're

going to have to cough up several thousand dollars to fix it.

Okay.

Why isn't my air conditioning cold?

Because it's low on refrigerant.

Why is it low on refrigerant?

Because you have a leak.

And this is something you need to get taken care of especially if it's the middle of summer.

Can you recharge your own AC?

Some people do.

Some people buy the equipment to charge their own air conditioning.

And then it leaks out again a few days later and then they end up going to the dealership

and saying would you fix this for me?

Okay.

Let's see.

Why has my gas mileage dropped?

Well number one reason is you're driving too fast.

Number two reason could be that you don't have enough air pressure in your tires.

What else?

You could have a problem but typically if there's a problem with the ignition system

or any of the onboard diagnostics then it's going to trigger a check engine like.

Usually it's just a driver error.

It's just your driving habits.

And it could have to do with the outside temperatures and whether you're doing short

trips and so forth rather than driving on the highway.

Okay.

Oh is an extended warranty worth buying depends on your circumstances if you drive a lot of

miles and you are not able to handle from a budgetary standpoint even minor repairs

that are required on your vehicle then sometimes it makes sense to buy an extended warranty

included in your monthly payment.

It will probably cost you $20 to $30 extra a month but if that's easier for you to handle

than a $2500 one time repair then you might want to consider buying an extended warranty.

Just get a price and don't pay too much for it.

If you want to know what to pay for it call me 423-552-2020.

Give me your VIN number and what you're thinking about buying and I'll tell you what an extended

warranty would cost on that vehicle.

I'm out of breath.

Okay.

How do I prepare my car for winter?

Replace your wiper blades number one.

Make sure that you have adequate coolant protection.

They can test your coolant at a car dealership or a service center to see to what temperature

your vehicle is protected.

You could be protected to zero or minus 15 or minus 30.

It doesn't get to minus 30 in Tennessee so if you're protected down to 10 below something

like that you should be good in Tennessee if you live in Alaska and it's not going to

cut it.

Okay.

Let's see.

Premium gasoline should I use it?

No.

Absolutely not.

If your car calls for it like my, let's see, what was I driving?

Oh yeah.

Like my wife's Nissan Armada.

It says premium fuel recommended.

Does that mean it's required?

No.

It would say required if it's required.

What do I run in it?

Regular unleaded.

It doesn't make it, it doesn't spark knock.

There's no pinging noise and I get 22, 23 miles again on the highway.

I'm not paying the extra for premium and you shouldn't either.

If your car requires it you better use it because you can do engine damage.

You can really hurt your engine if your car requires premium fuel and you don't use it.

Every other car, don't buy the middle grade, waste in your money, just buy 87.

It'll be fine.

Okay.

I'm going to take my last break.

I'll be back in just a minute.

Okay, I am back and still on the roll.

Do dealerships charge more for repairs than independent shops?

Dealer ships typically have a little higher labor rate anywhere from 20 to 30% higher.

But it's because of the extra equipment and training that they have and the ability to

fix it right the first time.

Am I going to take a check engine light problem to my tire store?

Heck no.

They sell tires.

I know it says they do all this other stuff, engine diagnostics and things like that.

But listen, those people are good people, good human beings, but they're not qualified

to do what, like one of my technicians is doing back there right now, where a rat got

in and ate the wiring on an F-150, relatively new F-150.

And it's probably because there were food bags in the back.

And so what happens is the rats come in, they eat the delicacies, the food.

And then for dessert, they eat your wiring.

And this vehicle had to be completely blown apart.

The dash is out of it.

It looks like somebody set off for grenade inside that vehicle.

How my technician gets all that out and then puts it all back without having a bucket of

bolts left.

I have no idea.

But he does.

He's amazing.

And he's having to replace two very important wiring harnesses.

Who's paying for it?

Insurance company is.

So I'm going to check with my insurance, make sure I've got coverage against rats eating

the wires.

It's covered under his comprehensive insurance.

But this happens a lot because there's a lot of hungry rats out there.

Okay.

Let's see here.

Oh, I want to put bigger tires on my F-150.

Does that affect anything?

Can you change the speedometer?

No, we cannot.

The government made that, took that ability away from us.

They said, we do not want people changing their tires and changing their speedometers.

You can buy aftermarket chips from these speed shops in different places and they can reprogram

your speedometer based on the tires that you have, but you have to leave that thing plugged

into your OBD port all the time for it to register the correct speed.

What happens is you change the diameter or the circumference and the diameter of the

wheel.

And so the car doesn't really know how fast it's going because the bigger tire rotates

more slowly and the car thinks it's going slow.

It thinks it's going 50 miles an hour and it's actually doing 60 miles an hour.

And that could be a problem with the police.

And finally, see, I don't know which one to pick.

There's about 30 more.

So let's just pick this one.

Should you warm up your car before you drive it?

I think you should for about 30 seconds.

Cars warm up a lot faster than they used to.

All these aluminum blocks and direct fuel injection and they warm up pretty quickly.

But still, I'm not going to just fire it up, especially when it's really cold outside.

Put it in gear and take off.

I know you're in a hurry.

Give it 30 seconds.

Why?

You want the oil to have time to get to the top of your engine because it's sitting down

there.

It's all drained down into the oil pan and you want it to get to your valve train, which

are all the delicate parts in the top of the engine, all the valves, the rocker arms.

You may have an overhead camshaft, which you probably do if you're having a modern passenger

car.

And those things are very sensitive when they don't have oil.

So you want to make sure that they're covered with a nice protective layer of oil before

you floor it.

So that's all I have time for.

Thanks for listening to this edition of My Car Guru.

Again, if you have any questions, you can always get me directly, 423-552-2020 is my

cell phone number.

You can text me or you can send me an email to LennyLawson2020 at gmail.com and I'll see

you next time.

0:00

22:13

oil in 1000 miles

engine may die

small leak

About this episode

Original notes