Ron Ananian, The Car Doctor - August 30, 2025 - Hour2 - Brakes, Transmissions, Driveline Clunks & the Future of Batteries - (855)560-9900 24/7 Hotline

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Now, start your engines.

The car doctor is in the garage and ready to take your call.

Oh that Tom Ray, what a kidder.

So a lot to do, a lot going on this hour down around the bottom, Darryl Brockman

is going to be joining us from out from the batteries to talk about the latest in

battery technology.

But right now the phones are backed up.

Let's go over to Bobby.

I'm glad you put the B in front of your name, Bobby.

It looked like Obby from Long Island, New York, and I went, Obby.

Bobby from Long Island, New York, 04 Toyota 4Runner.

What's going on?

How can I help?

Ron, long, long, long time list, and it's really, I really appreciate that what you

do for all of us.

Thank you, sir.

Happy to be here.

Um, I just replaced my, uh, 1984 Cressida with a new to me 2004 4Runner with 60,000

miles.

Okay.

It's like a brand new car.

Yeah.

I know I overpaid for it, but you know what, Ron, it rides like a new car.

Yeah.

Hey listen.

Raddle not a bump.

Absolutely.

I can check the transmission has a full size spare tire, but the previous owner

had problem with the brakes as far as a spongy pedal.

Okay.

Spongy.

Now you're talking about while you're driving?

Yes.

Okay.

And is it that it's, it's not a good firm pedal almost like it needs to be bled?

Yep.

And I gave it a good thorough bleeding.

First I tried, I bled the back, came out like iced tea, I suppose.

And I thought the pedal came up a little bit, but then when I did the front, no

change.

And it's still, it seems like it got a little bit better, but I wouldn't bet on it.

Okay.

You're aware there's a specific bleed procedure for this vehicle?

Oh, I am not.

Yeah.

I'm waiting for the owner's manual from Toyota.

Yeah.

You want to, and you want to also be aware.

And here's a classic example of driving an older vehicle, Bobby.

I would, I would have a subscription to one of the online electronic services, all

that, a DIY, something like that.

You know, just to see, can you get more current information?

Because if you're waiting for the, a service manual from Toyota for an 04, that, that

probably stopped production 20 years ago, more than a few bulletins have come out

since that book was initially published, unless they're, unless they're continually

updating and publishing the paper print copies.

But I don't think they are, or you're waiting for an owner's manual, not a service

manual.

No, I'm waiting for a service manual.

Okay.

Yeah.

It's not going to be anywhere near as, it's not going to be anywhere near as

comprehensive as electronic information.

You know, if, if in 2008, they came out with a bulletin related to your

particular problem, but they stopped producing that book in 2005, you'll never

see that bulletin.

So here's, here's, here's the argument.

Yeah.

It's nice to have, listen, the guy at Toyota told you, hey, here's the

most current copy of an 04 service manual, right?

No, what he said, he'd get me one with all the updates.

And I've been dealing with this guy out in Olaf Karns is for like, well, maybe,

maybe, maybe he does, maybe he knows something I don't know, but I can't

imagine that in 2019, if that was the last date or 2012, if that was the

last date of publication, I'd be curious to see what the publication

date is on the manual that as Toyota has aged that vehicle out, that

vehicle is 21 years old now.

I don't know, I don't know that they care, I don't know that they care so

much about it.

Right.

There's, there's the argument for electronic information, neither here

nor there.

You got to get the bleed procedure.

You've got to follow brief bleed procedure.

Make sure you're doing it correctly.

Number one, number two, there's a possibility this has a bad hydraulic

control unit.

This has the electric vacuum pump setup, correct?

It does.

Right.

So pump the, here's a quick test.

Pump the brake pedal 40 times, 35 to 40 times.

40 times should do it, all right?

You pump it 40 times, turn the ignition switch on and you'll hear the

pump run, okay, as it builds pressure within a, within a few seconds of

coming on between five and eight seconds, that pump should sound

strained like it's building pressure, right?

Like it's under load.

And if it doesn't, then you've got to start to have a

conversation with your head.

Do you have it with yourself in your head?

Do you have a problem with that pump assembly?

Now, Ron, would you feel comfortable with changing just the motor?

No, I put the whole thing.

I do, I do the whole thing.

Yeah, okay.

It's, it's, it's, it's, it's 21 years old, you know, it's a, and

not to mention, here's the case where if you can still get that

complete motor assembly from Toyota, let's say you do, let's say you

just do a motor and five years from now, the accumulator

ball fails or some other component of that, and you find

out it's not available.

And now you're chasing an aftermarket something that might

be marginal.

You know what?

On an older vehicle, if the goal is to keep it, and since you

just got it, the goal is to keep it, you better off replacing

and using the best quality parts you can find now, it's

going to be cheaper in the long run.

Five years from now, you won't have a problem.

You're saving money for it.

I'm already so far ahead of the game that, you know,

if I had to go out and spend 1,800 hours on Toyota

factory parts to replace both of it.

I just wanted to make sure I'm doing the right thing.

You're on the right path, my friend.

All right?

Electronic lead, and then we'll go from there.

Go from there.

And if you need me, you know where to find me.

All right, kiddo?

You be well.

Take care, Bobby.

Arlene in Tennessee, 20 Malibu.

What's going on here, Arlene?

How can I help?

I had to have the transmission replaced in April,

and I did that through the dealer.

Right.

And I got a rebuilt GM transmission.

Right.

What I have a problem with is, when I go to put it in park,

if I'm on level ground, and I take my foot off the brake,

it goes right into park.

But if I'm on an incline or a decline,

and I try to park it, and I take the foot off,

it rolls before it locks into park.

More so than it did with the previous transmission?

Oh, absolutely, yes.

OK.

And you're going to tell me you went back to the dealer

and they said that's normal for the operation of the vehicle?

No.

I went back to the dealer, and they said there was no error code,

and they couldn't duplicate it.

So they told me to go home.

Can you take a technician for a ride?

Are you allowed to do that?

No, they kept it for a day and a half

and told me the technician did drive it.

Right, but did the technician put it on an incline?

Probably not.

Right.

So he can't duplicate the problem when he doesn't see it.

Right.

What I need to know, is that a braking problem

or is that a transmission problem?

Sounds like a transmission problem to me.

OK, that's what I thought.

So take your index finger on your right hand.

Take your thumb and index finger on your left hand.

Put your index finger from your right hand

in between the other two.

All right?

Grip your right hand index finger moderately tight, OK?

That's basically the park pole.

Your right index finger, your right index finger

is locked between the other two fingers, right?

Right.

Now spread them apart a quarter of an inch.

See all that slop?

See how your finger moves more?

Yeah.

That's the movement in the transmission.

If that gap is too large, if those parts are worn on that unit,

if it's a reman unit that was not properly assembled

or remanufactured, that measurement is off.

And now you've got too much slop such

that it's loaded against, load your right index

finger against your thumb.

You feel how hard that is to push?

Yeah.

If it has to roll the other way,

and it can't because it's so hard loaded in one direction,

and then finally bang, you jam it and you get it to pop,

that's the sensation you're going through.

If they don't experience that problem on an incline

just like you're describing it, because you've described it

perfectly, there's nothing wrong with your description.

There's nothing wrong with your analysis.

I think you're spot on.

All right?

But how do I get them to believe that?

Somebody's got to go for a ride with you.

Take the service manager out for coffee.

Say, hey, listen, let me ask you this.

Let me ask you this.

Here's the thing about relationships

with the repair shop, right?

Is this where you bought the car?

Yes.

Is this the guys that have been servicing it up till now?

Yes.

OK.

Hey, Ron, you've been taking care of my car

for five years.

You put a transmission in it.

I think there's a problem.

Really, Arlene, I can't experience it.

Let's go for a ride.

I mean, that's the first words out of my mouth.

It's because I'm dealing with a dealership.

And like he told me, they have a turnover on technicians.

And I'm not dealing with the same technician

I was a month ago.

Right.

But that's not your problem.

I know.

That's not your problem, sweetheart.

And don't let them.

It's their excuse.

Yeah, it's their excuse.

Don't let them pass the buck.

Shame on them for doing that.

All right?

It's time to talk to the service manager.

Listen, I am a customer.

I have been here for five years.

I have paid it for every service you guys have recommended to me.

I have played the game your way.

Now I have a problem.

You want to know what the mark of a good repair shop is?

It's not when they can do an oil change or a tire rotation

or put brakes on the car.

It's when you've got a dedicated customer

and they've got a problem, it's up to that shop

to solve it.

They're obligated to solve it.

And I say this with all the zest and energy

I can for all my shops out there that listen in

and for all my customers out there that listen in,

for all the listeners out there that say,

what makes a good repair shop?

That's what makes a good repair shop.

And if the service manager doesn't give you any support,

go talk to the sales manager.

You know, I think about buying another car from you guys.

But service has kind of fallen on its face here.

Right?

I thought about doing that before.

I'm going to take it back in.

And I thought, who do I talk to?

So you're right.

I need to see the service manager.

Absolutely right.

It's as my late father-in-law would say.

It's time to talk to the front of the horse

because the other end's not working.

All right?

OK, thank you.

Good luck to you, sweetheart.

You let us know what happens.

855560-9900.

I'm the front of the horse.

I'm Ron and Annie in the car doctor.

I'll be back right after this.

Lately, car buying has become a pretty dull experience.

But on eBay, behind every car and part

is a story waiting to be shared.

Like this guy I read about who bought a 2020 Porsche Cayman GT4

on eBay, it was well-loved.

I mean, there are plenty of Caymans in great condition

on eBay, but this one needed some work.

That's just the start of the story.

So after this guy gets a great deal on his dream car,

he rebuilds the whole thing with all these parts

he found on eBay.

Performance brakes, suspension, body panels, the works,

guaranteed to fit.

Next thing you know, this nearly scrapped Cayman

was out there on the track as a full-blown race car.

You're ready to go daily driver, your next resto mod,

Hello Lotus Elon, and the parts to finish it.

eBay has thousands of cars and is

the largest online selection of vehicle parts and accessories.

eBay, things, people love.

Have heart disease and diet and exercise

are not enough to lower bad cholesterol?

Ask your doctor if Lekvio and glycerin can help.

Prescription Lekvio is the only bad cholesterol lowering

medication that's two doses a year after two initial doses.

Do not use if you've had an allergic reaction to Lekvio

or any of its ingredients.

Common side effects were injection site reaction,

including pain, redness, and rash,

joint pain, and chest cold.

Call 1-833-537-8462 or visit Lekvio.com.

Let's real quick go to Chuck and Delaware.

16 Toyota Tacoma with some noises from the back.

Chuck, welcome to the car doctor, sir.

What's going on?

Oh, not a whole lot.

Thank you for your call back.

You're welcome.

Enjoy your show.

Thank you.

And so I have a 16 Toyota Tacoma SR5.

And every once in a while, if I go to a stop,

it feels like the rear end sometimes

or the transmission like bangs or pops.

And I can physically feel it.

And it doesn't happen all the time.

If you put it in neutral when it's doing that,

does the sensation go away?

No, it's real quick.

It just pops for a second.

And then everything's fine.

OK, four-wheel drive?

Yes.

It's factory tires, stock tires?

They're not stock, no.

They're not, but are they a very aggressive tire?

No, no.

I've put what they recommend the one that I learned at LT.

So barring tires creating an issue or some kind

of drive line vibration and barring

that there's a problem starting to develop with the drive

shaft, I probably out of curiosity.

Let me ask this question.

How many miles around this?

Although mileage wouldn't matter to me in my mind

for this.

How many miles around this, Chuck?

184.

Right, I'd probably pull the drive shaft down

and just feel the joints, make sure they all feel

equal in terms of they've got the right amount of wiggle

to them, nothing excessive, nothing feels worn,

nothing feels clunky.

Do we have a center support bearing on this

or is this a one-piece shaft?

Why do I think this is a center support bearing shaft?

That I do not know.

All right.

Do I have a?

I mean, everything's OEM.

Right.

I haven't done anything to the truck since I bought it.

Right.

I was going to say I would look at the shaft.

Is it a problem?

Yeah, it's just a good time.

Listen, almost 200,000 miles on an eight-year-old vehicle.

It's a good time to just how's the drive shaft?

Is it intact?

Is it starting to bind up in certain spots?

Is it starting to get excessive wear?

How's the center support bearing

if it's a two-piece shaft, which something in my mind

tells me it is?

All right.

Those would be the obvious things I'd look for.

When I pull the shaft out, where the shaft goes

into the transmission, I would look at that slip coupling.

All right.

The yoke itself, does the yoke itself

looks like it has wear either on the outside, more importantly,

on the inside?

You ever pull a drive shaft out of a tail shaft housing?

No, I have not.

And look at the splines, right?

Take your index finger, make a hole with your right index

finger against your thumb on your left hand,

and put your finger in the hole, right?

Round peg, round hole.

Now start to expand your, I'm

using my index finger a lot this show this week,

now start to expand that index finger, right?

It's a little sloppy.

Your finger's a little sloppy in the hole.

Is it, is the yoke bouncing around on the input,

on the output shaft of the trans?

Is it gouged, are the splines of the output shaft

of the trans starting to dig into the yoke

so that as the drive shaft, the drive shaft

has to have smooth and even balance

against the output shaft of the trans?

However you drive, I'm not picking on your driving, Chuck,

I'm just saying, however you drive, aggressive or easy

or whatever in between, at 185,000 miles,

if that output shaft has started to gouge

the splines on the inside of the drive shaft yoke,

is it catching and not releasing

and allowing a smooth transition?

I'd be curious if putting the truck in neutral

while it was happening made a difference

and just allowed the vehicle to coast under no load, right?

Right, and it doesn't happen all the time.

It's very, it's very, you and often.

Right, so.

It seems like it's boring cold weather.

Okay, well and there's that drive shaft yoke

sticking in under a duress condition.

Sometimes, sometimes part of a diagnosis,

and you guys hear me say this all the time,

is tell me what's good, I'll tell you what's bad.

I would be curious, all right,

and let me say it like this,

if you pull the drive shaft down,

or your mechanic takes the drive shaft out

and the u joints are good

and if there's a center support bearing and that's good

and the inside of the yoke looks okay, right?

I would probably pack a little wheel bearing grease

up against the yoke splines, all right,

or maybe a little yellow, I think I'd probably use

yellow grease, what I call yellow grease,

everybody else says white lithium, same thing.

I put a little yellow lithium on there, all right?

It doesn't hurt, it's a good slip yoke grease.

Does the problem go away in frequency?

Does it go away completely, or does it still happen?

If it still happens, you've looked at the obvious.

I just wanna make sure the drive shaft

isn't about to fall out on the 200,000 mile truck, right?

Sure, sure, yeah, me too.

You know, just the obvious stuff.

Have you ever serviced the drive line?

Have you ever done diff fluids, transfer case fluids,

those kind of things?

No, no, I need you though.

Right, yeah, you do, and I don't know

that that's gonna solve any problems

because frankly, I would have done it

every 50,000 miles up to this point, all right?

But what I would be curious is,

if you change transfer case fluid,

if you change rear diff fluid,

and you were to filter the fluid through a paint strainer,

are you going to get any kind of fragments or metal?

Uh-oh.

Right.

Rot-ro.

Yeah, that's rot-ro.

Yeah, that's rot-ro, as Astro would say, so,

but that's how I would approach it, brother, all right?

So this way, you kind of know what you're getting

and you know where you're at, but just some basics.

There's nothing that stands out.

There's no bulletins.

I thought we were gonna have a conversation.

If you said to me, hey, Ron,

I got a wine from the rear of the vehicle.

There's a bulletin from Toyota

that talks about chassis or cab insulation,

0013-18, but that's not you.

You've got something else going on.

Whether we're concerned about it at 180,000 miles,

whether it's preventable or just general age,

that's what some of this looking and servicing will tell us.

Good luck to you, Chuck.

If you need more, you know where to find me.

Hey, coming up next, Daryl Brockman.

Let's learn about batteries and the latest in technology

from the folks over at Optima Batteries.

I'm Ron Anani and the car doctor.

I'll be back with him right after this.

Lately, car buying has become a pretty dull experience,

but on eBay, behind every car and part is a story

waiting to be shared.

Like this guy I read about,

who bought a 2020 Porsche Cayman GT4 on eBay.

It was well-loved.

I mean, there are plenty of Caymans

in great condition on eBay,

but this one needed some work.

That's just the start of the story.

So after this guy gets a great deal on his dream car,

he rebuilds the whole thing

with all these parts he found on eBay.

Performance brakes, suspension, body panels,

the works guaranteed to fit.

Next thing you know, this nearly scrapped Cayman

was out there on the track as a full-blown race car.

You're ready to go daily driver, your next rest-o-mod,

Hello Lotus Elon, and the parts to finish it.

eBay has thousands of cars

and is the largest online selection

of vehicle parts and accessories.

eBay, things, people, love.

Have heart disease and diet and exercise

are not enough to lower bad cholesterol?

Ask your doctor if Lekvio and glycerin can help.

Prescription Lekvio is the only bad cholesterol

lowering medication that's two doses a year

after two initial doses.

Do not use if you've had an allergic reaction to Lekvio

or any of its ingredients.

Common side effects were injection site reaction,

including pain, redness and rash,

joint pain and chest cold.

Call 1-833-537-8462 or visit Lekvio.com.

Welcome back.

You know, it's getting to be that time of year.

Well, actually, that time of year for batteries

is probably year-round now,

because as we've said for a long time, right,

we see more batteries fail.

I think in summer than we do in winter,

but it's always a good time to talk about batteries.

And I thought it would be appropriate.

We've reached out to Daryl Brockman.

He is product planning over at Optima Battery

and we're excited to have Daryl with us

and talk about all the new things that Optima's doing.

Daryl, welcome to the car doctor.

Thanks so much for having me, great to be here.

I need to put a battery in my car.

Let's start the simple conversation here, right?

I need to put a battery in my car.

I've got a 2020 Toyota Camry.

It's got auto start, it's an automatic,

it's got all the bells and whistles.

Help me put a battery in my car, Daryl.

What am I looking for?

I mean, usually what you would recommend

is a AGM battery,

especially if you have start, stop in your vehicle.

That is much harder on the battery.

The battery is gonna be, instead of starting the battery,

once when you leave for work

and another time when you're coming back for work,

you might be starting the car 20 or 30 times.

And the AGM battery is what's gonna give you

the longest life in today's modern vehicles.

The electrical loads on vehicles

over the last 10 years has grown exponentially

and it's not expected to decrease.

And the old flooded batteries

just don't have the life

and they're not designed to meet

those kinds of much higher electrical requirements

that today's vehicles have.

Is it a safe assumption, dangerous word on family radio,

but is it a safe assumption to assume that,

well, if I've got an AGM battery,

I don't have a secondary battery for start, stop or,

you know, and I guess the other part of that question

becomes if I do have that second smaller battery,

if I'm changing my main battery,

I should change my second battery too, correct?

I mean, vehicles can have two and three batteries.

In an EV, there's the motive battery,

the one that makes the vehicle move.

There'll be a 12 volt battery

that's usually powering the cabin functions

or some, you know, some of the core functionality.

And then in an, even in an internal combustion engine

vehicle, you know, a normal vehicle,

those often have two batteries now

where they'll have the starting battery

and then they'll have a small auxiliary battery

that's providing some backup power

for some other critical systems.

Now, Optima would make a battery for my Camry, wouldn't they?

We do, we have actually, so we have our AGM line,

we have red top and yellow top AGM batteries,

that your Camry probably takes a group 35 battery.

We make that in both red and yellow top,

our red top batteries are what would be used

in a vehicle that has more typical electrical loads

where the battery is used to start the vehicle

and then the all charging system has enough power

to keep the, to maintain electrical equilibrium.

A yellow top battery, if you had a big audio system

in your car or something with exceptional electrical

demands, we'd suggest one of our yellow top batteries.

That's a dual purpose battery that has great

starting power in addition to the ability

to be cycled more deeply and have long cycle life.

So, you've got the batteries for my car, right?

But then you get into what they call power sport vehicles.

You know, like a power sport,

like why do power sport vehicles like ATVs,

snowmobiles, wave runners,

they need a specific type of battery, right?

As opposed to batteries that I might use in my Camry

or is that, can I take my Camry battery

and put it into a power sport vehicle if it fits?

Sure, and the biggest difference

between a power sports battery and an automotive battery

is that those power sports batteries are much smaller.

Optima actually introduced a line

of lithium power sports batteries about two years ago

and they have a lot of great features.

Lithium batteries, one of the advantages

is they're very lightweight.

A lot of people, you know, if you have a bike

that's, or a power sports vehicle

that's more performance oriented,

a lithium battery is much lighter

than the lead acid battery it replaces.

So the vehicle handle better.

And again, those batteries have great cycle life.

One of the features that our lithium power sports batteries

have that really people really like

is our Optima CPR function.

And that's what we call our built-in jump starter.

Basically when the battery gets,

if the battery gets discharged down to 35% state of charge,

if you leave the heated grips on on your motorcycle

or if you leave the whip lights on

on your side-by-side overnight,

once that battery gets down to 35%,

the battery automatically will go into sleep mode.

It'll shut down in that 35% that it holds in reserve.

It acts like a built-in jump starter.

You just have to press the button on the power link

that's included with the battery.

It wakes the battery up and you can start it up

and be on your way.

Wow, that's kind of cool.

That's neat.

Now is that part of lithium technology?

Because my other question was,

you know, you have,

and when you talk about your lithium technology,

is that hypercore lithium?

Because is, or is hypercore lithium technology

an Optima battery something specific also?

So there are a lot of different lithium chemistries

in the market.

The lithium chemistry that's used in cell phones

is different than the lithium chemistry

that's commonly used in electric vehicles.

And the lithium chemistry that is used in our batteries

is different than both of those.

Optima uses a lithium-ion phosphate chemistry,

which is known for having excellent capabilities

to deliver a burst of power for starting,

but it's also widely considered the safest

and the most abuse-powering lithium chemistry.

And then even within a given chemistry type,

our hypercore technology,

for a given cell chemistry,

you can tune the performance attributes of it.

And that's where our hypercore chemistry comes in.

For example, our Q86 automotive starting,

lithium automotive starting battery,

it can crank down to minus 20 Fahrenheit.

And if you check other lithium batteries

that are on the market,

they generally recommend that they're not used,

certainly below zero Fahrenheit

and sometimes even 10 or 20 degrees Fahrenheit.

So I'm in Milwaukee

and I can even use one of those batteries here.

So you're saying, you know,

a PowerSport vehicle, an ATV, a snowmobile,

a wave runner, that's gonna,

that can take a lithium battery,

but you're also saying you have lithium technology

available for cars, for my Camry,

for my pickup truck, for my whatever.

We have a full line of lithium batteries.

We have six different PowerSports batteries,

different sizes to cover over 95%

of the PowerSports vehicles on the road.

Everything from a little 50cc scooter

up to a big V-Twin touring bike,

side-by-sides and everything in between.

We also have a couple of lithium batteries

for marine and RV applications

and we have a auto and truck lithium starting battery as well.

So if you make a Group 35 lithium battery for my Camry,

right, I'm not saying you do it, if you do.

And I wanna put it in, is it a bolt in

or do I need to do something special?

Do I have to change something

because my battery was originally AGM or lead acid

or whatever it might have been.

Is there a difference to the way it's gonna charge

or work?

So the physical size of the battery,

we don't actually make the battery,

a lithium battery for your Camry.

The lithium-automotive battery we make,

it's a H6, it's the most common size used

in vehicles in the US.

It is a direct drop-in for those,

drop-in replacement for those vehicles.

And the reason that's possible is

both lead acid batteries and lithium batteries,

the ideal charging voltage is very close to 14.4 volts.

That's also the output, the power output level

of the vehicle charging system.

So that's what enables you to be able to put

a lithium battery into a vehicle

that originally had a lead acid battery

without having to change anything

with the charging system or anything else.

And that lithium battery gives me the advantage

that I'll have more reliable starting power

in colder weather and more durability longer lasting.

And that, and because the lithium batteries,

they have a basically,

they have a battery management system.

It's basically a computer inside.

And that enables a bunch of really cool features

for our lithium-automotive battery.

I was talking about that built-in jumpstart function.

So if you go to the airport,

leave your dome light on and jump on the plane,

you come back a couple of days later and your battery's dead.

Our lithium-automotive batteries

have that same Optima CPR function.

The cool thing about the automotive batteries

is you just need to, all you have to do

is open up the Optima Bluetooth app on your phone

and it reactivates automatically turns the battery on.

You don't have to open the hood.

You don't have to tear up on your trunk.

You even start the battery, but vehicle up again.

Just open up the app from your driver's seat

and away you go.

You're making it way too easy, Daryl.

Daryl, stay put.

Take a pause on the side.

I'm Ron and Annie and the car doctor.

Let's, let me come back

and wanna talk a little bit about the power link system

and some of the other things you've got going on over there

at Optima Batteries.

We're here with Daryl Brockman from Optima Batteries.

I'm Ron and Annie and the car doctor.

I'll be back right after this.

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Hey, look, we came back.

Ron and Annie in the car doctor.

I'm here with Darryl Brockman.

He is in product planning over there

at Optima Batteries.

Darryl, when we pulled away,

I wanted to jump in real quick

to about the power link system.

Can you talk about that real quick?

Sure, so power link is a proprietary system

with multiple patents

for battery communication, control, and charging.

It's a corded dongle that's connected to the battery

and it allows you to know the battery status

as multicolored LEDs.

So for example, the LED will flash green

if the battery's fully charged.

It'll flash red if the battery needs to be charged.

There's a button on it.

It allows you to shut the battery down

for off-season storage

or if you're railing your side-by-side to the trails

and you don't want to have to worry about it being powered up,

you can just press the button for three seconds.

It puts the battery to sleep.

I mentioned Optima CPR previously,

our built-in jumpstart function.

It's using that button on the power link

is how you'd wake the battery up again.

And then finally, there's a plug on the end

that enables you to directly plug

one of Optima's lithium-enabled chargers in

for easy maintenance of your battery.

Power sports vehicles and motorcycles,

the battery is usually not very convenient

to get to, it can take a half hour of wrenching

to even get to the point where you can see the battery.

So this corded dongle allows you to,

basically like an extension cord

so that you can charge your battery conveniently

without having to break out your wrenches.

It's sort of like that remote access cord

you see sticking out of the grill

of like a diesel plow truck

when they want to get to the block heater or something.

You're just making an access point easy to get to.

Very similar.

We combine that charging capability

with the LEDs to know battery status

and the ability to control the batteries, right?

And then it feeds,

is that what feeds back to the app on the phone

if we're doing that?

So the power sports batteries,

they have the power link.

Our group 31 batteries that are used for boats

and RVs are Q86 batteries

that would be used in a number of cars and trucks.

Those all have a Bluetooth app.

And that Bluetooth app is not only,

first question is why do I need an app for my battery?

I don't care what my battery is doing.

Probably the most useful feature that it has

that people really have been really very interested in

is if that battery gets discharged down to 35%,

it'll automatically go to sleep

that they're optimal CPR function I was talking about.

Just opening up by,

you just have to open up the app

and by doing that and connecting to the battery,

it activates the battery and wakes it back up again

when that built-in jumpstart function has been activated.

So you don't even have to open up the hood of the vehicle.

You don't have to make physical contact

with the, you know, dig up your trunk.

I wanna talk about safety certifications.

Why are they so important?

The safety certifications,

I mean, there's a lot of lithium battery manufacturers

and brands on the market.

Agency and safety certifications are one way to know

that the battery has undergone rigorous testing

to ensure safe operation.

And there's both cell and battery level certifications.

Optima has both, not only for the US standards,

but for international standards as well.

So, you know, when people are using lithium

and we hear lithium in the news all the time, right?

We know Optima's done the research

and that's where the safety certifications

are so important that we're dealing with,

we're dealing with the cream of the crop, so to speak.

You guys are it, that we're dealing with a good quality

of lithium battery and technology behind it.

You have Clarius's engineering team.

Clarius is the world's largest battery manufacturer.

The engineering team that supported

development of these Optima batteries.

Their normal rule is developing

low-voltage energy storage systems

for major automakers.

Clarius is the world's largest supplier

of low-voltage energy storage systems for automakers.

That same engineering team with their, you know,

robust product knowledge and experience

with the technology and battery management system

development, that's the team that supported

development of these Optima batteries.

And it's really what enabled us to have

such high performance, such a unique

and proprietary feature set.

And again, to have that long list of agency

and safety certifications.

Yep, Daryl, we're going to the listeners

go get more information.

OptimaBatteries.com or our tech support line

at 888-8OPTIMA.

Perfect, Daryl, we'll get together again.

I'm Ron Ananey in the car doctor.

We'll be back right after this.

Lately, car buying has become a pretty dull experience.

But on eBay, behind every car in part

is a story waiting to be shared.

Like this guy I read about who bought a 2020 Porsche

Cayman GT4 on eBay.

It was well loved.

I mean, there are plenty of Caymans

in great condition on eBay, but this one needed some work.

That's just the start of the story.

So after this guy gets a great deal on his dream car,

he rebuilds the whole thing with all these parts

he found on eBay.

Performance breaks, suspension, body panels,

the works guaranteed to fit.

Next thing you know, this nearly scrapped Cayman

was out there on the track

as a full-blown race car.

You're ready to go daily driver, your next resto mod,

hello Lotus Elon, and the parts to finish it.

eBay has thousands of cars and is the largest online

selection of vehicle parts and accessories.

eBay, things, people, love.

Have heart disease and diet and exercise

are not enough to lower bad cholesterol?

Ask your doctor if Lekvio and glycerin can help.

Prescription Lekvio is the only bad cholesterol

lowering medication that's two doses a year

after two initial doses.

Do not use if you've had an allergic reaction

to Lekvio or any of its ingredients.

Common side effects were injection site reaction,

including pain, redness, and rash, joint pain,

and chest cold.

Call 1-833-537-8462 or visit Lekvio.com.

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you discovered the world's first luxury

hospitality brand at Sea, the Ritz Carlton Yacht Collection.

Imagine setting sail on an all-inclusive voyage

where every moment is entirely yours.

Explore the Amalfi Coast, the islands of Thailand,

or Alaska's glacial fjords and the lagoons of French Polynesia,

or maybe just stay aboard an indulgent espade,

dining from Michelin-starred chefs

and kayaking directly from the exclusive Marina platform.

There are so many possibilities

and so much time to relax every journey, unlike the rest.

The Ritz Carlton Yacht Collection.

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Hey, once again, thank you to my special guest,

Darrell Brockman for taking the time.

Battery technology is evolving.

I still think batteries are evolving faster

than the rest of the car when you look at it

because it's lithium, it's conventional, it's AGM,

it's the way we test it, it's the chargers,

it's the maintainers.

It's just accelerating like a rocket ship.

About six months ago, maybe eight months ago,

we did a test, we unwrapped one of Optima's,

the D400 plus battery maintainer.

It's up on our YouTube channel.

If you go take a look at it, just go out,

look for Ronanini and the car doctor,

type in Optima D400 plus battery maintainer.

And look at all the little technology that's in that box.

And it's just crazy what we need.

And it's also crazy what the tooling will do

because of the newer technology.

So just a great interview.

I could have talked to Darrell for another hour.

I kind of geek out on that stuff to quote Darrell.

Darrell says he's a geek with batteries.

Yeah, I'm a geek with batteries too, Darrell.

That's why I get you.

That's why it was a pleasure to have you.

So you will find more information once again

at OptimaBatteries.com.

Well, I can tell by the music,

Tom's trying to get rid of me.

He must think it's time for me to go.

So go I must.

And let me just say it's been a pleasure.

I hope you guys have a great rest of the weekend.

However long it lasts for you.

Until the next time we get together,

I'm Ronanini and the car doctor reminding you,

good mechanics aren't expensive.

They're priceless.

See ya.

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And I think it's about time you discovered

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the Ritz Carlton Yacht Collection.

Imagine setting sail on an all-inclusive voyage

where every moment is entirely yours.

Explore the Amalfi Coast, the islands of Thailand,

or Alaska's glacial fjords

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dining from Michelin-starred chefs

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Ron Ananian, The Car Doctor - August 30, 2025 - Hour2 - Brakes, Transmissions, Driveline Clunks & the Future of Batteries - (855)560-9900 24/7 Hotline

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About this episode

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