One of the best full-sized SUVs and a Waxoyl giveaway
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Car
GMC Yukon
The GMC Yukon is a big SUV that can carry lots of people and stuff. It's stronger and fancier than some other big SUVs, making it good for families or towing trailers.
Term
Super Cruise
Super Cruise is a technology that helps you drive without holding the steering wheel on certain highways. It watches you to make sure you're paying attention while it helps steer and control the car.
Term
Tesla Full Self-Driving mode
Tesla's Full Self-Driving mode is a feature that helps the car drive itself in many situations, but you still need to watch the road and be ready to take control.
Term
levels of automation
Levels of automation tell you how much a car can drive itself, from no help at all to completely driving on its own.
Term
level three automation
Level three means the car can drive by itself sometimes, but you still need to watch and be ready to take over if needed.
Term
level four automation
Level four means the car can drive by itself in certain places without you needing to help.
Term
level five automation
Level five means the car drives itself all the time and you don't need to do anything, not even steer.
Car
Mazda MX-5 / Miata
The Mazda Miata is a small, fun car made for people who like to drive just for enjoyment. It has two seats and is easy to handle, making it great for going around corners and feeling the road.
Car
Chevrolet Suburban
The Chevrolet Suburban is a big SUV that can fit many people and things. It is very similar to the GMC Suburban.
Car
Chevrolet Suburban
The GMC Suburban is a big SUV that can carry lots of people and stuff. It's very similar to the Chevrolet Suburban but has some small differences.
Car
Land Rover Range Rover
The Range Rover is a fancy SUV that can drive on rough roads and is very comfortable inside.
Car
Jeep Grand Wagoneer
The Jeep Grand Wagoneer is a big SUV that looks tough but is also very fancy inside.
Term
wax oil
Wax oil is a special spray that helps stop your car from getting rusty by covering it with a protective layer.
Concept
DIY kit
A DIY kit is a package that lets you do a job yourself, like protecting your car with special sprays.
Term
undercoat spray
Undercoat spray is a special spray you put under your car to stop it from getting rusty or hurt by rocks and water.
Term
crevice spray
Crevice spray is a spray you use to get into small cracks and spaces in your car to keep them from getting rusty.
Car
Ford Edge
The Ford Edge is a medium-sized SUV that's nice to ride in and has cool tech inside. Some newer models have had recalls, which means the company asks owners to fix certain problems for free.
Car
Acura ZDX
The Acura ZDX is a fancy SUV that looks sporty and has nice features inside. Some 2024 models have problems that the company is fixing with a recall.
Car
Toyota Corolla
The Toyota Corolla is a very popular and dependable small car that many people use every day. The 2026 version might have some problems with its headlights that owners are noticing.
Part
brake fluid
Brake fluid helps your car stop when you press the brake pedal. It moves the force to the brakes on the wheels so your car can slow down or stop safely.
Term
viscosity
Viscosity means how thick or runny a liquid is. Thinner brake fluid flows better and helps your brakes work faster and smoother.
Term
transmission fluid change
Transmission fluid is a special oil that helps your car's gears work smoothly. Changing it every so often keeps your car shifting nicely.
Part
torque converter
The torque converter is a part inside automatic cars that helps the engine power get to the wheels smoothly, especially when you stop or start driving.
Term
transmission flush
A transmission flush is when a mechanic cleans out the old fluid in your car's transmission and puts in new fluid to help it work better.
Car
Subaru Crosstrek
The Subaru Crosstrek is a small SUV that can drive on rough roads and in bad weather because it has all-wheel drive. Some 2021 models have warning lights that might mean the car needs a checkup.
Term
fuse box
A fuse box is where the car’s electrical fuses live to keep things safe. Sometimes the jump-start connection points are near this box.
Term
scan tool
A scan tool is a gadget mechanics use to check your car's computer and fix problems by telling parts what to do.
Car
Mazda Cx5
The Mazda CX-5 is a small SUV that looks nice and is fun to drive. If you lose your car key remote, it can cost about $100 to get a new one for a 2021 model.
Term
air filter
An air filter cleans the air going into your car's engine so it doesn't get dirty or broken. You should change it if it looks dirty.
Term
cabin filter
A cabin filter helps clean the air inside your car so it smells fresh and you don't breathe in dust or pollen.
Brand
Hyundai
Hyundai is a car company from South Korea that makes many types of cars. Sometimes, it's best to use parts made by Hyundai for your Hyundai car to keep it running well.
Part
oil filter
An oil filter cleans the oil in your car so the engine stays healthy. Using the right oil filter for your car is important to keep it working well.
Car
Dodge Polara
Plymouth was a car brand that doesn't make cars anymore but used to make many popular cars a long time ago. People who like old cars might talk about Plymouths because they are special and collectible.
Car
Dodge Polara
The Dodge Polara is an old big car from the 1960s that had a strong engine to make it go fast. People who like old cars enjoy driving or collecting it because it looks cool and has good power.
Concept
reliability
Reliability means how often a car works well without problems or needing repairs.
Concept
safety
Safety means how well a car keeps people safe if something bad happens while driving.
Term
original plug
Original plug means the spark plugs that came with the car when it was brand new and have never been changed.
Term
independent mechanic
An independent mechanic is a car repair person or shop that is not part of the car brand's official dealers and usually charges less.
LIVE
W-A-T-D presents John Paul, the car doctor, all things automotive.
Have questions? Call or text 7-8-1-837-4900.
Now, here's John Paul, the car doctor.
And good Sunday morning everyone,
and welcome to another edition of the car doctor program on 959 W-A-T-D,
your socials radio station.
And we have open lines today, so if you want to join us,
our phone number is 7-8-1-837-4900.
7-8-1-837-4900.
Over the next couple of weeks though,
we do have a couple of interesting guests coming up.
We have a influencer who does some work for Pennzoil,
and she's going to be telling us some things we can do
when we're taking our cars out of storage,
or some, you know, things like,
well, you know, your car had a rough winter.
And how is it adapting to, you know, zero degrees two weeks ago
and 65 degrees today?
And she's going to give us some insight on that.
We're also talking to a woman by the name of Jesse Jackson,
who runs a repair shop who sort of took it from
a little barely in business repair shop to something in the,
I don't know, tens of million dollars.
So we'll talk to her and find out how she did that.
I think that will be pretty interesting.
Coming up today, we have a car review at, you know,
I've been reviewing cars now.
Somebody reminded me for something like 35 years.
And when I come here down south,
it takes a little while before I get kind of on the rotation,
and the company I go through,
I've been going through for years when I've come to almost,
well, even if I go traveling somewhere,
I will sometimes try to get a car to review,
but also kind of out of courtesy transportation at the same time.
And it's a company I like doing business with.
It's called Prestige.
They go under the name of North American Vehicle Services too.
And they brought me a GMC Tahoe.
And it is not just any GMC, I mean, not Tahoe,
a GMC Yukon, my mistake.
And it is not just any one.
It is the Denali version of the Yukon.
And let's get right into it.
It is a big, bold, premium SUV.
It's called the Yukon Denali SC,
and it really doesn't make any excuses for its size
or its price tag, frankly.
We'll get into the price tag in a minute.
But first impressions, it's big.
It takes up a lot of room.
You know, it doesn't just, you know,
when you go into a parking space,
you feel like you need to own the parking lot,
not just a space you park it in, because it's big.
I mean, it's not as big as a suburban, for instance.
But it is still, it's a big vehicle.
And it has this look of being a big vehicle.
It's got this signature Denali grille,
which I think has been changed a little bit.
I was looking at this similar vehicle
that was like 10 or 12 years old.
Definitely more refined, but definitely still in your face,
you know, telling you it's still a big vehicle,
aggressive vehicle.
The SC trim kind of leads to maybe a slightly sportier feel,
but it's still a heavyweight luxury car.
Under the hood, it has a 6.2 liter V8 engine,
effortless power.
I forget how many horsepower it is.
It's a lot.
So if you're merging onto the highway,
telling a boat, whatever,
this one also has a trailer towing package.
We'll get into that in a minute.
But this Yukon doesn't break a sweat.
It does a good job.
It's got GM's 10-speed automatic,
which I know has been criticized in the past.
I think it feels perfect.
Shifts are smooth, they're well-timed.
Never seemed like it was hunting for the wrong gear.
The older GM transmissions always seem like
they had a little bit of a vibration in them,
nothing at all with this.
Inside, the Denali badge really tells you it's luxury.
The cabin feels more high-end than ever.
The materials are rich.
The stitching looks kind of English-tailored sort of thing.
It just looks like they did a nice job.
Lodge infotainment screen.
Got some buttons, which I like.
Everything seems pretty crisp and intuitive.
It has wireless Apple CarPlay.
And I hooked up my phone.
And my iPhone is, I don't know, an iPhone 1.
No, it isn't.
I think it's an iPhone X or X or something like that.
But zipped right into Apple CarPlay.
No problem.
All my apps popped up on the screen.
No drama, no digging.
And as George Kennedy, who now works for one of the car manufacturers,
used to say, when you're out road testing a car,
you should go out and road test the tech as well.
Because you might drive a car and say, I really like this.
But then you find out, I don't like the lane departure warning.
I don't like this.
I don't like that.
So road test the tech when you're doing stuff too.
So try to hook up your phone to it.
Try to do different things that you would normally kind of have
to live with while you own the vehicle.
What stood out to me is the day-to-day driving,
the semi-autonomous features.
It has adaptive cruise control with lane centering.
It seems to work pretty smooth.
Does everything it's supposed to do.
And also, you can adjust the gap between you
and the car in front of you, which is nice.
Even on its furthest setting, it's probably just what traffic
safety professionals would say is just the right amount of distance.
We like to say keep three seconds of following distance
between you and the car in front of you.
Some people think they're driving a NASCAR all the time
and bumper to bumper.
That isn't what you want to do because you don't have time
to react to anything.
So this is nice because when you set it on,
it's kind of furthest setting.
It's about three seconds of following distance,
which is a nice distance.
It makes me feel comfortable when I'm driving.
I like it.
Also, sometimes some of these cars with semi-autonomous features
or lane centering, there seems to be a little bit of a tug-of-war
with you want to do something, it wants to do something.
This didn't seem to have that.
It felt kind of nice.
Then there's Super Cruise.
Super Cruise is pretty close to self-driving.
When the conditions are right, so it's got to be the right road,
it's got to be a bunch of right things, you push a button.
The steering wheel actually has a light in it that lights up
to tell you it's in super cruise mode.
You never take your hands off the steering wheel,
but where the adaptive cruise control,
if you take your hands off the wheel,
probably three or four seconds later,
it vibrates the seat, which is kind of an interesting feeling
when it first happens.
But it vibrates the seat and tells you,
put your hands back on the wheel.
You're an idiot.
Put your hands on the wheel.
With Super Cruise, you can keep your hands off the wheel
for a while.
I mean, I'm not really comfortable with that.
I don't feel that that's a good practice to get into,
but it does a good job.
I remember Consumer Reports,
when we talked to them some time back,
they were looking at some of the self-driving features,
and a lot of people think the Tesla full self-driving mode
is better.
They actually liked Super Cruise better because
it actually kept track of the driver better,
because there's a built-in camera that what it does
is it watches a driver and makes sure that you are
paying attention to the road in front of you.
When it comes down to fully self-driving cars,
there's all these levels of automation.
And you could almost call level one power steering
or cruise control.
And level two is it starts to do a little bit more.
It applies the brakes.
It helps keep you in your lane.
Level three, I think, is the stupidest one,
which is the car will drive itself until it can't,
and you have to jump in,
which means you have to be paying attention all the time.
And then there's level four,
which means it will drive itself under all conditions,
but only on certain roadways.
Roadways that have been mapped out and however they do that.
And then finally, level five automation,
which means the car doesn't even have a steering wheel
at that point.
Although when they were doing some testing
on some of the self-driving cars,
they made them put steering wheels back in.
But that was the whole point.
It was like level five, you don't do anything.
It's like a robotic taxi from the future.
You get in it, you tell it what to do
when it gets to where it's supposed to go.
At the end of the day, there's days I love to drive
and days I don't.
For instance, if you're going into Boston
and traffic's horrible,
wouldn't it be nice to let the car just drive itself?
And you could just read or answer emails or do something.
But then there's times you want to be behind the wheel,
you want to be in control,
you want to be enjoying driving the car,
whether it's something big like the Yukon
or something sporty like a Miata.
There's times you just want to enjoy driving the car.
So I have kind of a weird love-hate idea
of this whole self-driving thing.
Parking could easily be a stress point
and something as big.
It's made a little bit easier.
It's got surround view cameras,
so you can kind of see the front of the vehicle.
I find that big vehicles like this,
even though I'm six feet tall,
I tend to move the seat up a little higher.
I want to get a little bit better view over the hood.
I don't like that feeling of sitting deep inside a car.
I like to get as much view as possible.
But the surround view camera helps.
It's not perfect,
but it's kind of like a little bit of a,
feels more like a helper than a gimmick, I guess.
Speaking of trailers,
this is where I was hoping to see a trailer backing assist,
which I was hoping this had
because I can't back up a trailer to save my life.
I do it, I guess, but I'm not good at it.
And some vehicles have sort of a backing assist
where you put in some calculations
and you have a knob rather than the steering wheel,
and rather than a whole like turn left to go right thing
that you do with, you know, people tell you,
oh, put your hand at the bottom of the steering wheel,
and that way when you want to turn left,
you actually turn left at the bottom
rather than turn right at the top.
Everybody has a way to do it.
I find that the only way I'm really halfway decent
in backing up a trailer is I have turn around and look.
I don't do it well in the mirrors,
but if I turn around physically, turn around and look back,
which is getting harder to do as I get older, by the way.
I can do okay, but I wanted to try this automation thing.
Unfortunately, this doesn't have it.
And I thought it did because it actually has some menu items
like how to back up your boat right in the display screen.
So I called on Star and said,
hey, I'm driving one of your vehicles.
Can you tell me does this have it?
And they finally, after one or two people,
they came back to me and they said,
no, I'm sorry, that does not have it.
But it does have different cameras.
And it also has a remote camera that you can put on the back
of say you have a camping trailer, a horse trailer,
a big boat you're towing.
You can put this camera behind that
and it connects to the camera system.
So you don't just have a backup camera.
You have a backup camera behind the thing you're towing,
which is kind of a neat thing.
But still not able to try out that technology in this.
Still, if you plan to put anything with this,
you'll appreciate how capable this SUV feels behind a heavy load.
My boat's light. It doesn't weigh very much.
But if you had a big heavy boat or a camping trailer
or a horse trailer, this thing would do it just fine.
I felt that when I was just driving it,
there was no strain at all. It just works good.
And again, the GMC's integrated trailer cameras,
even what it does the way the cameras will display,
it sort of shrinks down the trailer behind you
so you get a little bit better view.
So let's just see angles and you get a better view
of what the trailer's doing.
For a body-on-frame SUV, so instead of being unibody like a lot,
it surprisingly feels comfortable on the road, composed,
just does its job.
It has magnetic ride control. It's an available air suspension.
You know you're driving something big,
but it doesn't feel clumsy. It feels planted to the road.
I liked it a lot for that.
For something this big, I liked it.
Fuel economy is what you'd expect from a full-size SUV
with a V8 engine. It's not good.
Parking in tight urban spaces.
Yeah, it takes a little bit of planning.
I went to a car show yesterday.
I didn't take this because I know parking's always tight
and parking spaces, where they have public parking,
they're pretty narrow spots.
So let's take my own car. It's just easier.
When you get this fully optioned out,
you're looking at prices that easily compete
with European luxury brands.
It's an expensive vehicle. It's over $100,000 in this trim.
So it's an expensive vehicle,
but if you want to be wrapped in comfort
like intelligent tech that actually feels useful,
2026 Yukon Denali SC makes a strong case.
It's not trying to be subtle. It's not trying to be small.
It's built for people who want capability and luxury
without ignoring modern driver tech.
Again, if you're looking for a luxury, capable, full-size SUV,
without the stigma that goes with some nameplates,
I answered a letter for somebody,
an email for somebody in the last week or so,
and they wanted a luxury SUV,
but they didn't want something that said Lincoln
or they didn't want something that said Mercedes.
And I'm always reminded of, you know,
people used to call a Buick the doctor's car
because rather than drive a Cadillac where people said,
oh, he's driving a Cadillac, you know,
you drive a Buick, everybody thinks you're kind of a regular person.
And this GMC Denali, I mean, there was a time
where people used to joke that the difference
between a GMC and a Chevrolet was, you know,
the GMC had lock washers and the Chevrolet didn't.
Not really true, but there was a time,
I think when I went to GM school back in the,
whatever it was, the 80s, early 80s,
looking at the GMC version of the Suburban
and the Chevrolet version of the Suburban,
they were identical vehicles with the exception
of like a dozen part numbers other than that they were identical.
You know, is this identical to a Chevrolet?
Not quality wise into side.
It's different now and it's different in a lot of good ways.
And again, if you're looking for a high end luxury SUV
without the stigma that can be attached to, you know,
driving a Range Rover or BMW or something
and maybe the Grand Wagoneer isn't what you're looking for.
Take a look at this.
This is a vehicle that does the job.
It does it nicely.
Yukon Denali.
There we go.
During today's program, we're also going to be giving away
a DIY kit of wax oil.
So get ready for that wax oil.
You remember, we were talking to people from wax oil
a couple of weeks ago and he offered up,
hey, I will give away a DIY kit,
which as I recall is two cans of undercoat spray
and two cans of the crevice spray.
So it comes with a long tube and maybe it's only one of one.
I don't know what he's going to include in this,
but he says it's going to be a DIY kit.
So I'm, you know, I was, I've mentioned before I have a little boat
and the boat trailer, I didn't take good care of.
I would admit it.
I did not take good care of it.
I should have, when I took it out of the water,
when I put the boat in the water, took it out,
I should immediately have hosed it all off.
Well, I didn't do that.
I didn't think of it because I was like,
well, it's a galvanized trailer.
What do I need to worry about?
Well, there's parts that weren't galvanized,
like the hubs for the wheels.
The leaf springs, the brackets that hold the bunks
that the boat slides in and out.
And again, this is a little small 15 foot boat,
not a little small boat, nothing fancy,
but this week I put the boat back in the water
and took the bunks off and the metal brackets
that hold the flat parts,
so basically carpeted two by fours
to the top of the boat trailer were really rusty.
And I wire brushed them all off the best I could.
I put some rust reformer on there
that's stuff that's supposed to turn rust into something,
not rust, and then painted them all up
and hopefully to try to maintain it.
After I had the boat for about a year,
I bought a can of wax oil
and spray painted like the leaf springs,
stuff I could see, stuff I could crawl around
and spray up, and now two or three years later,
where I used the wax oil looks good still,
where I didn't, not so good.
Like these brackets that I had to clean up,
I never did those, I never really thought about those.
They were kind of way up on top of the trailer,
I never really thought about those.
But wax oil is a good product.
And after we take a break, when we come back,
if you have it now, please have a use for it.
If you have, maybe you have a classic car
that you have restored, you're in the process of restoring,
maybe you have something you just don't want to have rust.
I had somebody email me who wanted to know
about doing something like this on their plow trucks,
similar to like they were saying,
some of the DPWs now are using wax oil on their plows,
plow trucks, sander trucks, and they're getting
five or six more years out of them
before they have to get rid of them.
So it's a product that works, and I like it.
So I think if you have a use for it,
because I don't know what this DIY kit costs,
probably a couple hundred bucks or something.
So, and they'll send it to you, even better.
And I don't have to get involved.
I just have to let him know who you are,
and then we'll take care of it.
Why don't we take a break, pay some bills.
If you would like to join us,
our phone number 7818374900, 7818374900.
When we come back, we'll talk about some of the recalls
that popped up this week.
There was more than a few.
So we'll talk about those when we come back.
You'll also see the car doctor program on 959WATD.
We'll be right back.
That's aaa.com slash join.
13th, visit localeatsweek.com for a full list
of participating restaurants and details.
Saver this season, localeatsweek.com.
At SE on WATD.
But remember, mark your calendar, folks,
and we'll see you Sunday night at five
for the sports exchange on 959WATD.
Make an appointment Sunday morning at 11
for John Paul, the car doctor, on 959WATD.
Now, back to the car doctor.
And welcome back to the car doctor program
on 959WATD, our phone number 7818374900.
You're probably out enjoying the 65-degree day today.
Is that true, Jesse? 65 degrees?
It might be around there.
Well, I mean, according to my weather observation,
it's going to hit a high of 59, but who knows?
Who knows, yeah.
That should get rid of the snow and maybe
give people's heat a little bit of a break.
So good to know.
Ford is recalling 2021 to 2026 Broncos
and 2021 to 2024 Edge vehicles
equipped with the mid-high sync for entertainment system.
It seems weird to, you know, you see things like,
you know, entertainment system getting recalled,
but the accessory protocol interface module,
sometimes called the APIM,
may experience temporary thermal shutdown
for up to five minutes if it reaches a temperature of hot,
reaches a temperature of 105 degrees centigrade.
That's really hot.
When this occurs, a rearview camera will not display
while the vehicle is in reverse,
reducing rearward visibility, increasing the risk of a crash.
It's kind of weird that something like a rearview camera
causes a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
recall when you have mirrors.
So it's not like, I guess, if you can't turn around and look,
I don't know, it just seems weird.
But anyway, they're going to fix it with some software updates
and they'll be all fixed.
Honda is recalling 2024 Acura ZDXs
and 2024 Honda Prolog Vehicles
due to software defects with the radio control module.
More software, these defects can cause the instrument cluster
and center infotainment display to go blank
while the vehicle is in operation,
preventing the driver from seeing crucial information
like vehicle speed or rearview camera image.
The loss of situational awareness increases the risk of crash and injury.
Huh? So because you don't know what's going on, I guess.
Anyway, there's a new software update, it's free of charge.
Like all NHTSA recalls, by the way, they're all free of charge.
If you happen to own a BMW 1000 motorcycle,
there is a turn signal reset button
that can unintentionally be activated at the same time as a turn signal.
The result can be interoperative turn signals
which fail to comply with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards.
They'll fix it, they'll put a new switch in.
And Toyota is recalling probably their longest named vehicle, the Corolla,
that's equipped with headlight assemblies
that may be missing the required optical axis markings on the lens.
The absence of these markings can lead to improper headlight aiming during service,
which could increase glare for oncoming drivers
and reduce forward visibility for the driver.
Either condition may increase the risk of a crash.
Dealers will replace both the left and right headlamp assemblies free of charge.
So if you just recently bought a 2026 Toyota Corolla and said,
you know, these headlights are terrible.
They might be terrible because it's missing the thing that allows them to be aimed properly.
Volvo is recalling 2025 EX30s due to a production process
deviation that may result in the lithium plating growth within the high voltage battery cells.
The growth could lead to an internal short resulting in potential battery overheating smoke
or they actually called it a fire, not a thermal event.
The remedy, the issue Volvo will inspect and replace the potentially affected battery modules
free of charge. Again, anything that is a NHTSA recall is good for life.
It's good for, it's done at no charge.
There are other things, sort of secret warranties that the manufacturer may take care of.
They could have time limits on them.
So they're not, they may not be quite the same.
So we had somebody call in a couple of weeks ago
and wanted to know about your easy pass transponder and what makes it work
and is there a battery in it? Does the battery ever wear out?
And the answer was yes, there is a battery in it. Yes, it does wear out.
There's just quits working.
But Massachusetts now is going to go to a RFID tag decal.
So you won't have a transponder anymore.
Your transponder will still work if you have one.
But I guess this is part of a cost savings.
I guess a transponder costs like 10 bucks to make the decals cost like 50 cents.
So the only issue is, for instance, I take my transponder and put it in my car.
Then I put it in my wife's car. Then I put it back in my car.
So I guess you have to get two decals.
And if there's somebody who changes cars a lot, hmm, something to think about.
But yes, those transponders that we know and love are going to go away
and be replaced with a sticker.
There is a new brake fluid.
Just when you think there can't be anything new in brake fluid.
There's a new brake fluid.
And brake fluid is referred to as DOT 3 or DOT 4, DOT 5, DOT 5.1.
Now there's a DOT 4LV.
So it's a low viscosity brake fluid.
So it's thinner than regular brake fluid, which is pretty thin as it is.
But it's in some European cars.
And mostly what it's designed to do is, from what I have read about it,
it allows the ABS brake system to work quicker.
So valves and everything and moving inside of it works quicker
because of the lower viscosity fluid.
You wouldn't think that after all these years a brake fluid
would have to come up with a different fluid,
but in fact they come up with a different fluid.
So there you go.
So if you're adding brake fluid, if you're flushing brake fluid,
if you're doing what I do, suck out a little bit of brake fluid
and add new brake fluid during each oil change,
which eventually changes the fluid.
If you're testing your fluid with an electronic tester or a dip strip,
some people think the strips work better.
Some people think the electronic one works better.
The electronic one, all it really does is measure moisture in the fluid,
which is a problem.
You don't want moisture in your brake fluid.
The strips are like the same kind of thing you would use to test a swing pool, for instance.
But what it also measures is copper content.
Copper is bad, so it can do that along with moisture.
They both work.
I think the important part is, and we've found out through testing,
that it is a good idea to change the brake fluid every three to five years.
Not every manufacturer recommends it, but we saw a brake fluid degrade after that time.
So again, I cheat rather than replacing the brake fluid if I'm not doing a brake job, for instance.
I take a turkey baster, not the one that we use for the turkey, but another one,
and suck out some brake fluid, add new brake fluid,
and when you step on the brakes, you can see fluid circulate around in the master cylinder.
So what you're doing is you're not replacing all the brake fluid at once,
but eventually you're doing it a little bit at a time.
Something like you would do when you did a transmission fluid change,
and the transmission holds 10 quarts and you only put four and a half in,
or you only change part of it because the rest of it is in the torque converter.
But you are changing fluid a little bit at a time.
And there are people who think that leaving a little bit of dirty fluid in a transmission is a good idea,
because as the transmission starts to wear,
the friction material on the plates inside the transmission will add to the shift quality.
So when you put all fresh fluid in, take out all those contaminants,
then you can run into a problem where all of a sudden it seems to shift not the same as it did before.
So some people believe, and I kind of go along with it,
that leaving a little bit of older fluid, not contaminated fluid,
but leaving a little bit of older fluid in there is not such a terrible idea.
I don't like flushing a transmission.
I've seen where flushing a transmission on a car that has transmission problems
have actually cured the problem, because it flushes out the junk of the valves,
and it actually can have some benefit.
But the idea of flushing out stuff that maybe is a little bit varnishing,
and the varnish thing gets stuck in places where it shouldn't,
I'd rather go with the manufacturer's idea of doing a drain and refill,
maybe a filter change depending on the vehicle, that type of thing.
So, Jesse, how do you want to give away this wax oil kit?
It's up to you. It's all you.
Could do like a fight competition, last person alive wins.
That could work, but how does that work on radio?
Oh, that's a good point. Alright, we have to scrap that idea.
Third caller?
Or do you like the 10th caller?
10th caller sounds like fun.
Alright, alright.
So, if you have a need, and please have a need for wax oil,
or know someone who does, maybe someone who's restoring a car,
maybe you're even just, you know, got some old utility trailer,
you're trying to get a little bit more life out of it,
and you don't want it to rust away, because, you know,
we live with a salt on the roads and salt in the air.
Give us a call at 781-837-4900,
and the 10th caller will receive a kind of DIY kit of wax oil.
781-837-4900. That's all you have to do,
and we will talk to the folks at Wax Oil,
and they will send it out to you, and I don't have to do anything,
which makes it all that much nicer for me.
So, we'll go that way.
So, Jesse will do that, and I will go back to talking about
some of the emails that came in this week,
and I had some pretty good ones.
Somebody has a 2021 Subaru Crosstrek.
It does have some lights coming on, but the engine will not turn over.
I know it's old, and I need an oil change.
I don't think 2021's old.
Maybe they meant it's cold, but I'm not sure if I need a jump start
or something else, because push button start,
it was flickering all the lights when I was trying to turn it on,
but the engine just would not get going looking for help.
Your Subaru is four-year-old, going on five years old.
Yeah, and the typical life of a battery in the Northeast
is a little under five years, although your car will likely start
with a jump start, and maybe fine,
you've only really taken care of the symptom,
which is a car doesn't start, but you haven't taken care of the cause.
The issue is most likely you'll need to replace the battery.
What I would do is either try to get the car going with a jump start,
and one of the things that you should be aware of with a jump start
is if you're using a jump start...
Sorry, real quick, we have a winner, so everyone stop calling me.
There's way more people than I ever thought.
They'll lighten it up, we could have done a call out of 100.
Really?
Yeah.
Well, next time, we'll do a call out of 100.
All right, sounds good.
Do you have that kind of time?
Call out of 100, yeah.
I don't know.
I was pretty quick with it.
I was pretty quick, yeah.
Was it somebody local?
I don't know.
I haven't even had a chance to talk to them.
You just went 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10?
Well, I still got them on hold.
I haven't had a chance to talk to the winner,
because I'm batting the other ones away like flies, you know?
Well, you do that, and I'll go back to this.
All right, sounds good.
All right, okay.
So again, batteries and jump start boxes,
the lithium ion jump start boxes, I have one in every car.
And on the little boat, because the boat only has one battery.
And if I'm sitting in the boat, and all of a sudden the battery decides
it's going to give up the ghost, I want to know I can get back.
But you have to be a little bit careful,
because you need to make sure that you use the appropriate places
to jump start the car.
If you can get to the battery, perfect.
That's what you want to do.
You want to hook up the cables to the battery,
and push the switch, and it energizes it, makes it work.
Different than jumper cables that are hot as soon as you put them on.
The jump start boxes aren't.
But what you don't want to do is attach it.
And we've seen this on some Toyota and Lexus vehicles.
The battery is buried in the back,
and people just go under the hood to the jump start posts.
But on some of these vehicles, the jump start post is in the
fuse box area, so that's where the positive one is.
And the negative one is way on the other side of the engine compartment.
So you can't, the jump start boxes, the small ones,
you can't reach that.
So you're like, oh, here's a good piece of metal right here.
Look, it's got to be good,
because the anti-lock brake module is connected to it.
And then you hook up to that,
and it fries up the anti-lock brake module.
So only use the jump start boxes where you can get to either
the jump start posts directly,
or you can get to the battery directly.
You'll be fine.
But don't grab just any ground-looking thing.
You could run into some serious problems.
So don't do that.
So, and again, with this battery,
at AAA for us, we use Chlor, C-L-O-R-E, I think.
Jump start boxes, which actually have little batteries,
little lithium, not lithium batteries,
little lead-acid batteries in them.
And they may not be as powerful as some of these little compact ones,
but what they are is they have longer cables.
So you can actually jump start from one side of the engine compartment
to the other, so they work.
So there you go.
I feel kind of bad for this guy.
I have an older Mazda, and for the past three months,
I've had no heat.
Three months?
Well, warm weather's here.
It's coming, so it's all fixed.
He says he's changed the thermostat twice,
and the heater control was replaced.
I've been told perhaps the heater motor control is an issue.
I have not done that yet,
but is that the solution that I should use
and do you have another idea?
Well, if the engine's getting hot, which I assume it is,
and the heater hoses are hot,
entering and leaving the heater,
then the blend door is most likely the issue.
So in other words, you start up the car,
you let it get up temperature, you look at the temperature gauge,
yep, that's where it should be.
You turn the heater on,
you grab one of the heater hoses with your hand,
and you go, ooh, it's hot.
And then you grab the other heater hose with your hand,
and you go, ooh, it's hot.
Well, that means hot water is running through the heater core,
and there should be heat coming out of the vents.
If there's no heat coming out of the vents,
inside there, there's a blend door,
thing that mixes warm and cold air together,
and adjust the temperature.
When it's completely shut,
as for instance, when the air condition is on,
the heater core is still helping cool the engine,
but you're not getting heat inside the car.
So probably that,
with a good scan tool, a professional scan tool,
you should be able to select the heat,
and then command the blend door to open and close.
It also will generate a code.
It could be a wiring problem.
I remember looking at a Jeep that had the blend door didn't work,
and you looked under there, and you could see where mice chewed
on the wiring, so you need to look at that kind of stuff.
And of course, you know, carefully inspect all the fuses,
as well as the wiring connectors for any damage.
Wow, this is something that I was just talking about,
the Jumpstar packs.
I just got a message in that said,
don't you just, don't you recommend those?
Yes, I do.
I think they're fine.
I think they're safe, but use them as directed.
This came from a column question,
and it says, I've just read your column about remote start subscriptions.
And this was in a Toyota,
where when you didn't subscribe to the app,
you wouldn't get remote start.
And in that case, if the car was like 2015 or newer,
there was sort of a bypass.
You could, you could hit the lock button twice,
and then hold it a third time on the remote,
and that would get the car to start.
And it would work without paying for it.
And the person wants to know,
is there such a sequence with a Mazda?
Not as far as I know.
And maybe somebody out there knows more than I do about it,
but I've not seen any remote start trickery on this.
You can buy and did a little bit of research.
You can buy a factory remote start module
that basically, it's a plug-and-play unit,
uses the same key fob as the one you have.
I looked one up for a 2021 CX-5.
It was like $100.
And it's a Mazda part, goes in, plugs in.
You do a little bit of programming, and it's good.
The other option is you go to Auto Stereostore,
like Auto Toys and Randolph, for instance.
We used to go there a lot with the other station.
And you could just say, look,
can you put in an aftermarket remote start?
Maybe either I can keep my key fob,
and I'll have a little tiny key fob that I carry around with me
when I want to start the car,
or I can do a whole aftermarket thing or an app or whatever it is,
however much money you want to spend.
So you could do that.
If you had to pay $10 a month for a subscription for a remote start,
if you're going to keep the car three years, $360,
do you just go and spend $350 for a remote start system?
Do you try to do it for $100 with this module
and have somebody put it in for you?
There's the options.
The other thing is, you know, subscribe to the app in the winter
and then cancel it in the summertime.
You know, it's nice to remote start your car,
I guess, on a really hot day,
but how often do you really need to do that?
If you have a remote start,
maybe you would just like doing it in the really cold weather
so you don't have to run out in the cold,
but just do it when you need it
and then cancel the subscription.
My 2019 Hyundai Tucson just hurt 30,000 miles of trouble-free driving.
They say, well, that's good because, you know,
a lot of Hyundai's weren't so trouble-free.
The dealer wants to charge me nearly $800
and the person says, ouch, for the 30,000-mile service,
including cleaning the throttle body,
replacing the antifreeze brake fluid, differential fluid, et cetera.
My independent shop, who only employs ASC-certified technicians
and cares for my old Jeep, said the dealer is overcharging me.
He said, the only thing I need to do is an oil change,
a tire rotation, and replace the air filter
and an inspection of hoses.
Well, when I looked up what is required at 30,000 miles,
I kind of agree with your independent shop.
Probably using the same guide I am.
I would say the dealer is being excessively aggressive.
Is that a good way to say it?
With their maintenance schedule.
Even when you look at the severe maintenance schedule,
and Hyundai and some others are a little bit cute
in the way they say this.
They'll say, if you do any one of these things,
drive where it's cold, drive where it's hot,
drive on sandy roads.
But then it says routinely.
So what's routinely?
Routinely every day, you know, is it two times a month?
Is it ten times a month?
So they're like, well, if you routinely drive in temperatures
below 30 degrees, you should change your oil every 3,500 miles.
If you don't, you can wait till 7,500 miles.
But what's routinely?
That's where it gets a little bit vague.
And maybe the dealer is going by the severe schedule,
but even that doesn't really have that much on it.
So I would do just what your independent shop says to do.
Change your oil, rotate the tires if it needs it,
replace the air filter if it's dirty,
replace the cabin filter if it's dirty.
You know, you don't automatically replace those filters
if they're clean.
You don't know, maybe you already did it once.
You know, it's got the 7-year-old vehicle now.
So maybe you replace the cabin filter once or twice
or more in that time frame.
So if it's dirty, replace it.
If it isn't, take it out, shake it off, put it back in.
Same thing with the air filter is the cabin filter.
The one thing I would do, because Hyundai is weird,
is I would try to, if you have your independent shop doing this,
I would use only a Hyundai oil filter.
And other than that, you know, keep all your receipts,
keep a record of maintenance,
and probably change the brake fluid.
Get that done, get it out of the way.
Why don't we take, why don't we go to Bob and Hianus
before we take a break?
Bob?
Hello, good morning. Thank you for taking this.
You know, I've been listening to you on and off for the last hour,
and I will take my 1967 Dodge Polara 2-door with a 383
with a two-barrel carburetor over anything that's going on today.
Well, it's funny, I just, yesterday I saw a 64 Polara
with the factory big block engine
with twin four-barrel carburetors on it,
which I've only seen two of those once in my life, so.
Yeah, wow.
But for simplicity, absolutely.
I, you know...
Reliability.
Yep.
You know, just the whole thing.
Safety? Safety? Maybe not as much.
Well, it boils down to it to be a good driver.
Yeah, oh yes.
All of this is nothing but a substitution for people to, you know,
play with their cell phones more.
You know, it's taking the place of a good driver that, you know,
my driver's a teacher back in the mid-70s said,
you have to have an extremely, well, big picture awareness.
Yep.
No tunnel vision.
Yep.
And that's what it boils down to.
You only have one thing to do when you only have one thing to do
when you're behind the wheel of your car, and that's just drive.
It isn't be a good host.
It isn't play with your phone.
Your one job is just to drive.
I agree with you.
Right, right.
All the stuff they put on cars now, you know, driving,
you know, talking on a cell phone is minor compared to all the stuff
that attracts your attention just to make the car go.
Right.
And keep on, you know, keep up on things.
And we're already starting to see that, you know, all these cars,
you know, the average price of a new car today is 50 grand.
And we're already starting to see the public going,
it's just too expensive.
I mean, I'm not going to pay $50,000 for my next car.
That's crazy.
In the 70s, you would get a house for that.
I did.
Yeah.
I did in Abington.
And I lived there for 40-some odd years.
So you're right.
Good for you.
I love the story.
All right, Bob.
You can stay put for a while like the old school immigrants.
Yeah.
Yeah.
I, you know, only just recently did I do like dumb things.
But yeah.
Yeah, exactly.
All right, Bob.
Thanks for the call.
And keep listening.
All right.
Take care.
You have a good one, huh?
All right.
You too.
Bye-bye.
Our phone number, 718-3749-100.
Let's take a quick break.
And when we come back, we'll talk to Ken from Topseal.
Ken, stay right there.
We'll be with you in just a minute.
You'll listen to the CarDoc program on 959-WATD.
We'll be right back.
Hello, Chris Bethany.
A Bethany Builders here.
Are you considering an upcoming home improvement project?
A home addition?
That new garage with bonus room?
Or an in-law suite for your parents?
If so, then let's go.
From design to job completion, Bethany Builders has got you covered.
Our goal is to keep your project moving forward on time and on budget.
Bethany Builders provides free estimates.
We are fully licensed, registered, and insured.
Call Bethany Builders today at 781-898-8018.
Find us on the web at BethanyBuilders.com and on Facebook.
Abigail Adams once famously said,
Remember the ladies.
And that's what we'll do this Sunday evening at 8 o'clock here at WATD.
I'm Joan Orr, and I'll be featuring fabulous females this Sunday
between 8 and 9 here at 959-WATD.
Make an appointment Sunday morning at 11 for John Paul, the Car Doctor,
on 959-WATD.
Now, back to the Car Doctor.
And welcome back to the Car Doctor program on 959-WATD.
Let's go to, we've got a few minutes left.
Let's go to Ken in Topfield.
Let's see what's new with Ken this week.
Ken, good morning.
Good morning to you, John Paul.
Well, sir, I got a 2011 Mercedes GLK 350,
and it has 150,000 miles on the original plug.
I grew up, we used to change plugs every 20,000.
That's no more now.
So I said, maybe we're going to keep this car another five years.
Maybe I should do it because I've heard that plugs might freeze, you know,
if they go too long.
But anyway, the cars went in fine,
and the mileage is pretty consistent,
that it was five years ago when we bought the car.
So I was in the Mercedes dealership to get an oil filter,
and I asked the service man, you know,
is that something you can wait and have your plugs in?
So, yeah.
And I said, any idea what it cost?
He said, oh, yeah, I can tell you, $800.
I went, okay, well, I know plugs aren't two bucks anymore,
but I got 800.
I don't know what's involved.
And I said, well, should I,
I could go to an independent guy and ask them if they want,
you know, if I asked my independent guy,
he'd get the Mercedes plugs.
I assume they're Mercedes, I don't know if they're Bosch or whatever.
So my question is this, should I change the plug?
Should I go to an independent guy?
Should I get original spark plugs?
And is there more involved in spark plug chains
than just taking a plug out of the head or whatever it does
and put a new one in?
What's involved, sir?
It's a little bit of all of that.
Now, what year did you tell me of the year in making all this?
I know it's a Mercedes, but what year?
2011.
2011.
15 years older.
Yeah.
It's 15 years and it's got 100 and coming up on 155 runs great.
Good car.
And you said it's a GLK?
Yeah, a GLK 350.
Yeah, okay.
First off, Mercedes actually has their own spark plugs.
As dumb as that sounds, they have their own spark plugs.
Good to know.
And you can get spark plugs, Bosch spark plugs, for instance.
And the difference is the Mercedes spark plugs,
instead of being six-sided, they're 12-sided.
So it looks like you use a 12-sided socket to replace them.
Okay.
And that's what adds up to the price.
The spark plugs, the factory spark plugs on this thing are like...
I don't know.
A crazy amount, as I remember, it was something like $30 a spark plug or something.
Right.
Yeah, labor-wise, it's not a whole lot of labor to replace the spark plugs.
It's a couple of hours.
But the deal is probably charging $200 an hour.
So there's $400 in labor.
Right.
And like I said, the factory-style Mercedes spark plugs,
which are a little bit unique-looking,
and I don't pretend to understand what makes them...
The new factory.
Yeah.
The other thing, and one of the things that Mercedes will say to do,
although it isn't always in the repair manual,
is they want the spark plugs indexed,
which I always referred that back to like race cars
where you have the spark plug gap.
So the opening of the spark plug aimed right at the intake valve.
So when the fuel comes in, it fires off quicker and you get better combustion.
Well, Mercedes wants that with their spark plugs too.
In fact, I was tinkering with some other motor the other day,
and they wanted the same thing.
They had the spark plugs marked,
so when you tighten them up to the correct torque,
the spark plug would come up on that,
so it would be facing the valve which made for better combustion.
So there is a little bit of kind of nuances of getting it just right with that.
So, yeah, do you need to do it, I guess?
Like you said, is it something you need to do?
It's not at 15 years old,
and if you want to keep it another bunch of years,
it probably makes sense to do it.
Yeah, and you know, I don't know how much I would save that with an independent.
I did know it was there more than just once,
so I understand about the particular thing,
and I would get Mercedes plugs even if I went to my independent man,
but I don't know how much I would save,
and I'm not necessarily looking.
Yeah, you know, maybe, you know, you might save,
maybe at the end of the day, you save 100 bucks.
That's probably about it.
Hey, Ken, we got to get going.
That Jesse Wilkins' original music means it's time for us to go.
Have a great week.
Thank you as well.
Until next week, make sure you wear your seat belt, drive safely,
and be good to your car,
and if you do see an emergency vehicle by the side of the road,
slow down or move over.
It saves lives.
Talk to you all next week.
Bye-bye.
About this episode
John Paul dives into a detailed review of the GMC Yukon Denali SC, highlighting its bold, premium design and powerful 6.2L V8 engine paired with a smooth 10-speed automatic transmission. He praises the luxury interior, intuitive infotainment with wireless Apple CarPlay, and advanced semi-autonomous features like adaptive cruise control and Super Cruise. The episode also covers towing capabilities, surround-view cameras, and the absence of trailer backing assist. John shares his thoughts on self-driving tech levels and the driving experience of this large SUV, balancing comfort, control, and modern convenience.
Original notes
In this episode we review the 2026 GMC Yukon, a very nice, luxurious and capable SUV. We also give away a DIY Waxoyl rust proofing kit. And of course we talk with our radio family.
The Car Doctor Podcast
John Paul
0:00
56:24