Frozen Door Handles, Winter Panic & Why Your Multipoint Inspection Saves Your Sanity

Well good morning friends, you're tuned into Car Connection where the coffee's strong,

the stories are real and the wrenches never stop turning.

I'm your host, Niall Motormull Jenkins, coming to you from the Car Connection Workshop where

the smell of fresh oil, a little elbow grease, is all part of a balanced breakfast.

Around here, we don't just talk cars, we live them.

Whether it's a 25 year old Jeep Wrangler getting a second chance at life, or a Nissan

Rogue getting its brakes back in order, or perhaps a Mystery Leak, that's right,

the one that's got all of us scratching our heads, and this is where we roll up our sleeves

and get it done, with a little wit, a little wisdom, some hot coffee, and a whole lot of fun.

The Car Connection isn't just about nuts and bolts and diagnostics, it's about connection.

Connection to our vehicles, to the people who drive them, and to the community that keeps Niagara

rolling, because when you fix a car, you're not just turning a wrench, you're restoring someone's

confidence, their freedom, and maybe even their sanity. We're here every week for you,

Monday through Saturday, during the eight o'clock drive, helping you keep your ride safe,

reliable, and ready for whatever road lies ahead. So whether you're a weekend wrencher,

a daily commuter, or someone who just wants to understand what that strange rattle means.

Well welcome aboard, stick around for shop talk, expert advice, and a few good laughs,

and maybe, maybe a story or two. Yep, if something pops into my head, there's a lot of stories in

there. There may not be a lot of gray matter, but yes, there's a lot of stories. And if I sound a

little gargly, or you know, like I'm in a tunnel somewhere, it's because I am. I got one of those

things called a winter call. Well my heart goes out to those of you who've already struggled

through a winter cold that somebody shared with you, shareware. I'm just kind of right in the

interim, but you know what? What doesn't kill you makes you stronger. That's what I say. So let's

jump right in this morning and give a big thank you to our program partners because we don't want

to forget about them. They are the business owners that have been through thick and thin with car

connection over the last 31 years. We just came off a 31-year ride with car connection on radio,

and now we're reaching more and more people through podcasting to all four corners of the earth.

That's right. So if you hear a little gap, it's because I got to clear my throat or something.

You know what I'm saying? So again, my heart goes out to you who've, if you're going through some

kind of flu bug or a winter cold right now, I'm with you. Absolutely. All the way. Kleenex,

those are your best friends, especially right now. Thank you to Crystal Ridge Dream Center

for serving men and women and children, meals, love, and hope in the entire Niagara region,

changing lives one at a time in Niagara. You can come alongside, be part of their community as we

have. Each and every year, car connection saddles up with a local faith-based organization that is

making a big, big dent in helping those who are struggling, giving them a hand up, not a handout.

So thank you to Crystal Ridge Dream Center, all the volunteers, and all those who make that possible.

To City Auto Sales and Leasing, Earl and Louise Grant, fantastic people you've got to meet.

That's your next family when it comes to purchasing a vehicle. They don't sell any junk.

Low mileage, top quality vehicles at fair prices, and that's what matters, knowing that you can

buy with confidence and be treated with nothing but honesty and integrity. City Auto Sales and

Leasing, they have in-house financing, so good credit, bad credit, no credit. Check in with

Earl and Louise. They do carry a fairly large inventory, but if they don't have that specific

vehicle that you're looking for, let Earl and Louise Grant do all the legwork for you. They have

over 25 years of resources that they can tap into to find that top quality vehicle that

suits your budget and what you need to accomplish with it. Because I view vehicles as tools,

and I have purchased vehicles in the past that I go, well, that's not working the way I thought it

would with my scheduling and what I need to accomplish with the vehicle. So make sure you're

making a wise choice, and Earl and Louise Grant will help you to do that. GTA's premier pre-owned

auto store. Let them know that car connection sent you, and if you're up in the Scarborough area,

we've got Rainbow Motors and Garage. Sales and service that you can trust,

Rita and Ramiz Shenouda, they're brothers. They're there to help you if you're looking for a vehicle

up in that area. They have a small car lot, but again, they have resources to help you find that

specific vehicle that you're looking for. So let them help you with that. You can purchase and have

it serviced at Rainbow Motors. They service all years, makes and models up to light commercial

vehicles. Rainbow Motors and Garage, sales and service you can trust. To our certified financial

planning professionals, Tony Miele and Larry Tietro combined have 50 years experience as fiduciaries.

That means they understand money like we do not. You know what I'm saying? You know what I'm saying.

So for portfolio help, debt, retirement, estate planning, arranging a mortgage,

and a whole lot more. They have life insurance, critical illness insurance, so get you all set up

so that you have a strong six pillar financial plan. So whether you have a dollar or a million

dollars, a hundred thousand dollars, Tony and Larry have been my brothers from other mothers for over

20 years. They have helped me through thick and thin. I know what it's like to be on the good side,

and I also know too many times what it's like to be on the not so good side, if you know what I'm

saying. They promised to give an hour and a coffee discovery meeting to any one of our car

connection listeners and viewers, whether it's through YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, Stevensville

on the web.ca, through our website, carconnectionbusinessnetwork.com, or here, through iHeart

radio and all the major platforms, Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music. Just put our name,

Car Connection Workshop in the search box, and you'll find us, and you'll find us. So Tony Miele

and Larry T-Troll offer you're up an hour and a coffee. That's what we've called it for many,

many years now. No pressure sales. They're not selling you anything. They'll do more listening

than talking to see where you're at, what your needs are, and formulate a game plan. So take

advantage of that, but don't take advantage of them. Their kindness, their knowledge, they're there

to help you, and again, give you a hand up, not a handout. They're with you all the way. So grab

their coattails and run. Run like the wind. Niagara Block at 5000 Montrose Road, Niagara Falls,

building Canada since 1931, with building materials and hardscape landscaping materials.

Absolutely gorgeous stuff to put together that backyard or front yard,

side yard oasis that you're looking for, that escape place where you can only you can quietly

read a book, have a nice hot beverage or a cold beverage, whatever it may be, and just relax.

Isn't that nice? Doesn't that sound good? I know my little oasis is my back porch,

side porch. Sometimes I hide away in the backyard behind the minibar, and there's a nice sunspot

there, but you got to have that place you can go to where you can simply relax. Niagara Block

since 1931. It's a Total Freedom Darien Center New York campus and Total Freedom Sydney Manitoba

Canada campus. That's for men only. For all of you who have friends, neighbors, co-workers,

family members, or even yourself struggling with an addiction, connect. Connect with Total Freedom

either in Canada or the US. If you're a Canadian citizen, you can also get to the Total Freedom

Darien Center New York campus. Thank you to all our program partners because they are a huge part

of what we're building with Car Connection Next Generation 2.0 on podcast. When you go to our

website, carconnectionbusinessnetwork.com, it's shorter. If you like CC, BUS is in Sam,

N-E-T dot com. Click on the logos for any of our program partners, and you'll open a profile page

from there you can connect. And do us a favor, let them know that MotorMouth and Car Connection

sent you there. Well, let's jump into this morning's topic. Yes, I do have another winter tech tip

for you. I knew you'd ask, so I came prepared. That's right, I came prepared this morning,

believe it or not. Yes, it was on the road yesterday, seven hours of driving,

and I feel like my mind has gone into a meltdown. Oh my gosh, some of the things we've been talking

about the last couple of weeks here in the Car Connection workshop. Yep, happened to me yesterday,

blew something open on my exhaust system somewhere, there's a little puffing going on

underneath, and we were just talking about exhaust. I think I brought that on to myself.

Yep, it happens just like that when you're running hard, and it was a long drive yesterday

from the south shores of Fort Erie all the way to London, Ontario, and back in the same day.

Folks, that commute, man, my heart goes out to you. If you're doing that commute every single day,

driving the roadways, people drive like crazy hooligans. And the near misses I saw yesterday

in the rain, if that was snow, I probably would not have made it home last night.

The way people were driving so erratically, and then standing on the brakes,

and then everybody's checking up, like there's been a wreck up ahead of you on turn four,

man, that is hard to deal with. So if you're a commuter, man, you deserve a Nobel Peace Prize

for doing that each and every day. Wow, that is, it was something else. And then I blew open my exhaust.

Yeah, so it sounds a bit like the 07 FJ Cruiser right now sounds a bit like a pizza delivery vehicle.

Yep, I'm disappointed. Seems like I always am spending money on the exhaust on that truck,

and it has stainless exhaust on it. I had put on a couple of years ago to the tune of like $1,500,

but you know what cars are? Money pits. And we just got to get over it, because it's either that

or we get a scooter. And then trust me, hitting some of the potholes out there, your scooter is

going to get busted too. So what are we going to be talking about? Well, I thought I'd first start

out with another car connection, motor health tech tip, a winter tech tip at that. So let's see what

we got here. Yeah, I'm trying to get through this without making a mess on myself, if you know what

I mean. Winter tech tip number 21. Are you ready for it? If you're driving, keep an eye on the road,

and especially the other guys's. Yeah. Wow. No wonder people have dash cams. I was thinking

about that last night. The amount of time it took to get home, if everyone would just drive normally,

we would have got home in a lot quicker time. But they don't. And that's, that's something else.

I'm surprised there's 100 car pileups every day. So winter tech tip number 21. Get your crayons,

get your brown paper bag, we're going to take some notes, right? So keep an eye on the road,

make sure your, your beverage is secure. Why don't we take a second, have a little

swiggy together, all right, and say good morning. Good morning. And we can't count it down on three

to one, three, two, one. I'm having some tea this morning. Don't tell my buddies, because I'll never

hear the end of it. They'll say, that's a girly drink. Dude, what's up with you? Well, you know,

I had to get a voice back this morning so I could talk to you guys. Yeah, a little bit of lemon,

I got all kinds of stuff in there. Some cinnamon. All I know at this point is it ain't coffee.

But if it helps me, well, you know what? You got to take it.

All right, let's jump in. Motor mouth winter tech tip number 21. If your doors freeze shut,

which they could, we've got some cold temperatures coming in, it's been raining cats and dogs and

hamsters and budgies for the last several hours and the weather report doesn't look all that

brilliant. But we are heading into December, right? That's right. So, you know, I'll tell you this,

in London, there are snow piles. I kid you not, that snows, those snows that we had come through

a couple of weeks ago, they have snow piles in parking lots in all areas in London, Ontario.

So I'm going, can't wait to get back home. We don't have any of those. Not yet. Yeah, and it was

raining harder in London than it was in the Hamilton, Stony Creek area coming through Grimsby,

Beamsville, you know it, Jordan. Anyhow, we could, the temperature, this is perfect storm.

We have rain. We think it's going to continue to rain, but you look at the thermometer, that's

what I do and I go, yeah, we're going to, we could possibly freeze down over the next day or two.

Make sure you're lifting your wipers off your windshield. Even though it's raining outside,

you go, well, you know what's raining. I think we're okay. No, you're not, because that's when

it happens. That's exactly when it happens. Just get into the habit. When you're finished with the

car or you're going to be at work all day, lift the wipers. That way, if we go into a flash freeze,

two things won't happen. Your wipers won't get stuck to the glass, but you may experience

your door's freezing shut. So if you haven't already sprayed all your door seals, don't forget

the hatch. And if it's a minivan, you've got some work to do. There's several openings,

side doors, rear door. Yeah. You want to make sure you spray those door seals with a really good

silicone-based spray. You can also use the product in the blue and yellow can because it does have

silicone in it. The only problem with that is it also has alcohol, so it does tend to evaporate.

The silicone spray, which you can obtain at pretty much all your automotive parts stores,

give them a good coat, and that will prevent the door seals from getting stuck and tearing because

some of these door seals go 400 bucks, especially if you've got a minivan or a big SUV. Those door

seals look innocent until you price it out and you go, what? For about 20 minutes. Yeah, running

around the house, holding your hair and screaming. How can that be? It's true. And same with these

plastic door handles. So if your door's freeze shut, don't you be yanking the handle like you're

starting a lawn mower. You want to go out there with some just some room temperature water. Some

people say hot water, warm water. Well, if it's cold outside, how many of you have seen the hot

water trick? You know, like at minus 20, I've done it myself and we videotaped it, throw

that hot water up into the air and it instantly turns into snow crystals, just like that. Hot

water freezes faster than cold water. Did you know that? And it's not a good idea to put hot water

anywhere around auto glass. I busted a windshield one time, my own car. Yeah, it sucked with a

capital K and a T. It absolutely did. I did the unthinkable. I put hot water on the windshield

and all I heard was ping and watch the windshield completely separate right in the middle of the

glass. Why? Because we have stone chips all over our glass, peppered with little tiny stone chips.

And all it takes is one of those to react to the quick temperature change. Ping, now you need a

windshield. Yeah, that was a $700 a day. So I'm going to tell you, use just cold tap water.

Pour it over that door handle to get yourself in there. But don't you be yanking on that door

handle like you're starting a lawn mower. Use just room temperature water is perfect or some,

what I do now is I buy deisers spray in bulk. And I just put it in a trigger sprayer and it's

marked deisers. So that way, you know what, we have ice rain, spray it on there, go all the way

around the vehicle. And by the time you've done all the glass, spray it on there and come back to

the first one with your ice scraper, it comes off ever so nice. And your neighbors out there

chiseling into their car, you're like, you know, they're breaking into a vault. And you're just

standing there just knocking it off. Get yourself some bulk deisers and put it in a

trigger, nice trigger sprayer bottle, have it ready. So those mornings where everything is

all the glass is iced over, the door handles seem a little frozen, just spray it on there.

Give it a few minutes and guess what? Bazinga, you're in there. You're in like Flynn. So use

room temperature water, deisers spray, or just a little patience is going to save you here,

friends, from buying a new handle. And let me tell you on some of these vehicles,

that plastic handle is a booger to get at. You got to, you might as well take the door off,

throw it away and just get another one. Because on a lot of these vehicles, getting that door

handle out of there can be quite a chore. And you know, the door handle may be less than 100 bucks,

but the labor is going to be 300. You know what I'm saying? So don't be yanking on these plastic

door handles, because they can't take it. They really can't. And then you know what, you're

going to be that person. When you go, honey, I found this on the car. That's the door handle,

sweetheart. Oh, is that what that is? Oh, it fell off. Yeah, after you're pulling on it,

your feet are on the car door. Yeah, that's gone. Now you're going to be that person climbing over

the console from the passenger side for months. I know people have done that. And then you know,

I got to hand it to them. They did have it down to a science. Yep, they could get in, get over that

shifter and get into the driver's seat and no time flat. Crazy. That is just to watch it. It's like,

you know, I swear my mouth goes open. It's like, wow, like that should be an Olympic sport.

Don't you think? How fast can you get to the driver's seat from the passenger side in your car?

Yeah, we might have to put that forward. So what are we going to, what's our main topic today? Cars.

Yep. They're a headache. Am I the only one? Hey, I'm a service tech. I can take big stuff apart

and put it back together and it works. But you know what? I don't always like it. Like yesterday,

I got it, I got an exhaust. Now I got a fix. I don't know what it is yet, but we'll find out.

It just means, you know what it means? More money. Yeah. Cars of all makes and models.

It's a love hate relationship. Don't you think? Some days, I just really want to just set the

keys down, put a note on the door saying it's all yours. Have a go and quietly walk away.

You know, you ever have one of those moments where you're just looking at the car and going,

again, really, really, am I going to be able to eat this week or this month? You think?

It's a love hate relationship. So we talked a couple of days ago, if you haven't listened to

the podcast or you just, you're just signing in, it gets better. We do learn stuff and that's

important. Owning and operating an automobile is an absolute, it can be an absolute nightmare

sometimes because a vehicle could just go through a whole string of problems. It's this thing. It's

that thing. It's that thing. It's this thing. Oh, the service light, the money lights on again.

Dear God in heaven, save me from blowing this thing up in my driveway. I don't know what happened.

Yeah. It's like the neighbor cooking a chicken on the barbecue. Yeah, she was doing that. What was

it? Beer chicken. Yeah, you stuff the bird onto a can of beer, but she forgot to open it. I don't

know. I don't know the recipe, but all I know is the stinking thing blew up. They never did find the

chicken blew the lid right off the barbecue. It was over all over, but the crying. Yeah. So you

got to know these things before you just jump in. Don't just do something and create a problem. So

do it yourselfers. A little tech tip this morning for you. Know your limits. Don't get in over your

head because what I've seen in, well, I've been licensed since 1988 for light truck and passenger

and also highway trucks, coaches and equipment and diesels. Yeah. Do it yourselfers. Know when to

say stop that you're heading into uncharted waters and ladies, you know this well.

Hubby says, I'll take care of your car, sweetie. Get, I remember this one lady in the service

department. She told her husband said, I told my husband, you touch my car, you'll never come back

in the house again. You'll be in the garden shed for the rest of your life eating craft dinner if you

can. I'm like, wow, I like the craft dinner part, but the garden shed is not going to be

homey feeling homely at all. So ladies, even you love your hubby, but you know he has limitations

when it comes to mechanicals. Keep your car away from okay. Yeah. Do yourself a favor to say,

well, you play with your own car, sweetheart. I'm sure you know what you're doing. I'll take

mine to the shop. That's the best piece of advice I can tell you because I have seen

some vehicles seriously messed up and I've seen the wives seriously wanting to

do some bodily harm if you know what I mean. Yeah. So this time of year, we're heading into some of

the roughest weather we don't know. Like I said, in London, Ontario, they have snow banks five,

six feet tall. Here in the Niagara region, say a big amen, hallelujah. Yeah, we don't have that yet.

So it means we've got some time to prepare. So if you haven't had your vehicle indoors at the

shop yet to have a full pre winter service, you need to get that done because I really think

we're running out of time before things weather changes over is going to catch a lot of us off

guard if we're not careful. So get on the phone. The shops are busy. I talked to a couple of shop

owners three weeks out. What does that mean for you call today? They may not be able to get you

in for three weeks. You know where that takes us on the back door just barely of pre Christmas.

And if you haven't started your Christmas shopping,

hello. We need that extra time, right? Friends. Exactly. So don't forget about the vehicle.

It happens every single year. Many of you realize, oh, we got to go to Auntie one ever is an uncle

whoever and the grandparents is grandparents. They're grandparents and somebody's grandparents.

We don't even know. And people we don't even know, like and care about your traveling.

You're going to be traveling. So get the vehicle checked over. So if there's anything

whatsoever, just like my own seven hours of driving yesterday, I got an open exhaust port

somewhere. And yes, all the money lights came on in the dash because when you have an exhaust system

leak, the oxygen sensors tell on you, they tell the computer, hey, you know what's happened.

I can't get a proper reading. I'm sniffing like crazy, but I just can't tell

where the exhaust is at. Dang, on goes the money light. Yeah. So I have four of them

lit up in the dash. Yeah, it's like, it looks like I've done my Christmas decorating. So it

happens to me as well as it can happen to you. So a pre winter inspection, you know, I always

look my vehicle over on a regular basis and everything looks good. But you know what,

sometimes there's something just waiting for you. What I call that little boogity thing.

It's waiting for you. And then bam, there it is. It shows up and rears its ugly head. So

don't hesitate. Get that vehicle into the shop. Get a complete evaluation before you're heading out

on the roadways so you can avoid having to wait for roadside assistance, especially last night on

the way back from London. Man, the traffic. Holy smokes. I can't believe people do that every day,

but that's insane. It is. And it didn't stop on the 401 East coming home all the way through

Hamilton, all the way to Grimsby, all the way to Beamsville, heading for Niagara. So you've

got to make sure that vehicle of yours is in top drawer condition. You know, these people drive

these cars like they stole them, like they're all rentals. Yeah, it's crazy. It's no wonder.

It's no wonder you're having to spend so much money on brakes, tires, front ended suspension,

engines blowing up, winding them up so much 140k. People were driving in that rain in the dark

where there's a glare. You can't even tell where their lines are on the road. Am I the only one

that thinks I'm going road blind at night? Yeah, didn't we used to have road paint that you could

actually see when the headlights used to shine on them? They kind of glowed. It's like, what are

you using? You know, primer? Come on, man. Can't even see the lane. I had one guy honk at me. I'm

going, dude, I'm trying to find which lane I'm actually in. There's multiple dots and lines

in a construction area. It's like, I don't even know where the stinking road is. Come on. So take

it easy out there. Get your vehicle ready. So you can put a check mark that the vehicle's ready

for hitting the road during the holidays. We're like, you know, our American friends are going to

be celebrating their humongous Thanksgiving. I think ours is better. I'm just saying, okay,

just between you and me, Canadian Thanksgiving, getting it out of the way

miles ahead of the Christmas holiday season. Doesn't that make sense? Anyhow,

just between you, me, fellow Canadians that are listening. Yeah. Having it on the back door

Christmas. Who does that? Really? Mind you, you know, a very Canadian or married American,

you get to celebrate Thanksgiving twice. That's two turkey dinners, man. I'm in for that. I'm up

for that 100%. There's cranberry sauce and good gravy. I'm there. So talking about gravy, no matter

what, vehicles are a piece of equipment man made man is not perfect. We know that especially me.

Yep, I can't walk on water. I've tried it only unless it's frozen on the lake. Then yes, I can.

But other than that, no, vehicles are man made and they break and they break without any warning.

But the more times you have the vehicle in the shop, they have it pre checked. I always called it

for my own customers when we had Jenkins Automotive and repairs on the Hamilton Mountain for

little over a decade. A multi point vehicle inspection will save you a ton of stress. Trust me.

So drive safe out there, get your vehicle prepared. If you have no idea what condition it's in other

than it starts and goes every day, that's not enough. There are bookety things waiting to catch

you off guard and take your Christmas shopping money away from you. Yeah. Yeah, you don't want

that to happen. So to next time, have fun, drive safe, keep an eye on the other guy and happy

motoring and put that coffee on because I think I'm going to come to your house for a hot cup of

coffee this morning. We'll see you in the next one. Thanks for tuning in. Bye for now.

Frozen Door Handles, Winter Panic & Why Your Multipoint Inspection Saves Your Sanity

About this episode

Jeep Wrangler

Nissan Rogue

exhaust system

Toyota FJ Cruiser

stainless exhaust

money pit

door seals

silicone-based spray

door handles

windshield

stone chips

de-icer spray

oxygen sensors

pre-winter inspection

brakes

tires

front end suspension

multi-point vehicle inspection

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