Ron Ananian, The Car Doctor - Classic Car Doctor - September 19, 2015 - Hour 2
Ron Ananian The Car Doctor
Ron Ananian The Car DoctorMay 5, 2026
Ron Ananian, The Car Doctor - Classic Car Doctor - September 19, 2015 - Hour 2
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36:39
Concept
getting your car ready for winter
“Getting your car ready for winter” is a seasonal maintenance mindset focused on preventing cold-weather problems. It typically includes checking vulnerable components and systems that are more likely to fail or cause issues in freezing temperatures.
“Steel lines” are metal tubes that carry important fluids in the car. If they rust or crack, they can leak, so the mechanic should inspect them before winter.
Concept
gasoline issue
They’re talking about a current fuel-related concern—basically whether cheaper generic gas is okay to use. The host is answering questions about what fuel to choose.
An oil drain interval is how long you go before changing your oil. If you wait too long, the oil can break down and the engine can start running worse.
Brand
SHELLV Power Nitro premium gasoline
This is the specific kind of Shell gas the host likes. They say it has additives that help keep the engine cleaner, especially on intake valves.
Intake valves are parts inside the engine that control how the fuel/air mixture gets into the cylinders. If deposits build up on them, the engine can run less efficiently.
The crankshaft sensor tells the computer how fast the engine is spinning and where it is in the cycle. If it fails, the car may not start easily and may run rough.
Term
vacuum tube
Vacuum parts help the engine control different systems. If one of those parts is cracked or leaking, the car can run poorly or act up when starting.
A cam sensor tells the engine computer where the camshaft is. If it’s wrong or broken, the car may start poorly and run rough because timing and fuel delivery can’t be controlled correctly.
“Engine light” usually means the same thing as the check engine warning on your dashboard. It’s telling you the car found a problem and needs to be checked.
A misfire is when a cylinder doesn’t fire correctly. The engine then shakes or runs rough, and the car may show warning lights because the computer detects the problem.
A fuel system fault means the engine isn’t getting fuel the way it should. If fuel delivery is wrong, the engine can misfire and run rough. Fixing it usually involves checking parts like the pump or injectors.
The host is saying: don’t just accept an explanation—ask whether the fix will actually solve the problem. It’s like getting an inspection before buying so you know what you’re really dealing with.
Term
BG motorfly
“BG motorfly” sounds like a product used to treat the engine—often as a cleaner or additive. The important question is whether it will truly fix the specific problem the car has, not just “something that might help.”
The ignition coil is like an electrical booster that makes the spark strong enough to ignite the fuel. If it’s not working right, the engine can misfire and run rough.
The head gasket is a seal between the engine block and the cylinder head. If it fails, coolant can leak into the cylinders, which can cause misfires and rough running, especially when the engine is cold.
A spark plug makes the ignition spark inside the engine. If it’s worn out or dirty, the engine may not ignite properly and can start to stutter or misfire.
A pressure tester is a device that adds controlled pressure to the cooling system. If the system can’t hold that pressure, it suggests a leak or a failed seal like a head gasket.
A cold misfire is when the engine runs poorly right after you start it, before it warms up. If it happens immediately, it can be a clue that something like coolant is getting into the cylinders.
A borescope is a small camera/inspection tool used to look inside a cylinder without fully disassembling the engine. It can help confirm whether coolant or other contaminants are present in the combustion chamber.
Misfire faults are error codes that mean the engine didn’t burn fuel correctly in one or more cylinders. Different problems can trigger different code types, so the codes don’t always tell the whole story by themselves.
Term
cam correlation fault codes
These are error codes the car’s computer sets when it thinks the cam timing isn’t lining up correctly. The important point is that timing-related codes don’t always mean the problem is only in the timing system.
Brand
Advanced Order Parts
Advanced Order Parts is mentioned as the company behind a promotion/gift card. It’s not part of the car diagnosis being discussed.
Topic
replace break hardware with every break job
They’re advising that when you do brake work, you should also replace the small brake parts (hardware) that go along with it. This helps the brakes work properly after the job.
The PT Cruiser is a Chrysler model. Here they’re talking about electrical problems—starting and dashboard/radio behavior—that can be caused by issues in the car’s switches and the computer modules that control different systems.
The ignition switch is the part that tells the car what you’re asking for when you turn the key—like accessory mode or running mode. If it’s faulty, the car may not start and the dashboard or radio can act strangely.
“No start, no crank” means the car won’t start and it also won’t even try to crank the engine. That often points to an electrical/switch problem that prevents the starter from being commanded to run.
A scan tool is a computer that plugs into the car to read error codes and talk to the car’s electronics. It helps a mechanic figure out which system is actually causing the problem.
“Modules” are the car’s computers that control different parts. If the computers aren’t getting the right signals or can’t communicate, multiple things (like the dashboard and radio) can act up at the same time.
Unplugging the battery can reset the car’s electronics, kind of like restarting a phone. It can temporarily fix weird behavior until the underlying problem is found.
A data bus is the car’s internal communication system. It’s how different electronic modules “talk” to each other, and the scan tool can tell if someone isn’t responding.
Motor oil is the fluid that lubricates an engine so parts don’t grind against each other. This episode is focusing on how important it is and why better oils take real development.
Shell Technology Center is where engineers do research related to making motor oil. The guest’s role there is used to show he’s coming from a technical background.
These are lab tests done on equipment, not in a car. They help check whether the oil has the right properties before it’s used in real engines.
Term
taxi fleets
A taxi fleet is a lot of cars used for daily commercial driving. That kind of use is tough on engines, so it’s a good way to see how oil holds up in real life.
Term
law enforcement fleets
Police fleets are cars used for demanding driving and lots of idling. Testing oil there shows how well it protects engines under tough real-world use.
That label on the oil bottle is a stamp from the American Petroleum Institute. It means the oil has been tested to meet certain standards for protecting engines.
The American Petroleum Institute is an organization that sets testing standards for motor oil. If the oil meets their requirements, it’s meant to protect engines in the ways the standards describe.
This just means the manufacturer’s suggested schedule for changing your oil. It’s the safest starting point because it’s based on how your engine was designed to run.
Sludge and varnish are sticky gunk that can form inside an engine when oil gets old or contaminated. Keeping up with oil changes helps prevent that buildup.
SAE requirements are basically the standards that help define what an oil should do for an engine. If the oil meets them, it’s considered a reasonable starting choice.
Viscosity grade is how “thick” the oil is. The right grade helps the oil flow quickly when the engine is cold and still lubricate well when the engine is hot.
The API “doughnut” is a label on the oil bottle that tells you the oil meets basic industry requirements. It’s a quick way to confirm the oil is meant for the kind of engine you’re using.
Penns Oil is mentioned as the brand the speaker is associated with. They’re using their experience with real fleets to talk about how oil life and wear can look in practice.
“Full synthetic” means the oil is made from man-made base materials, not just refined crude oil. It’s usually better at resisting breakdown from heat and wear.
“Oil burnoff” means the engine is losing oil while it runs—either it evaporates or it gets burned. If it happens a lot, the oil level can drop faster than expected.
High mileage oil is made for older engines. It usually includes additives that help reduce leaks and wear, and it’s often recommended when an older engine starts using or burning oil.
Term
white smoke coming out of the exhaust pipe
White smoke from the exhaust can be a sign that the engine is burning something it shouldn’t, like oil or coolant. In this discussion, it’s treated as a clue that an oil change strategy matters.
Pure Plus technology is a way of making engine oil base stock starting from natural gas. The idea is that you can build the oil’s ingredients more precisely, then add other chemicals to help it protect the engine.
Additives are extra chemicals mixed into engine oil to make it do more than just lubricate. They help with things like reducing wear and keeping the oil working properly.
Synergistic effects means the combined result of two components is greater than what you’d expect from each one separately. The host uses it to describe how base oil and additives can work together to improve oil performance.
Brand
Penzoil
They’re talking about Penzoil, a motor-oil brand. The point is that different oils are made differently, and that can affect how well your engine is protected.
The Prius is a car that uses two power sources: a gas engine and an electric motor. Because it’s designed to use less fuel, people often ask how maintenance like oil changes should be handled. It’s still a regular car, just with a hybrid system.
Undercoating is a protective layer put on the bottom of the car to help prevent rust. It’s meant to protect against things like road salt and wet grime.
Volkswagon here refers to Volkswagen, the car company. The EPA is alleging their diesel cars used computer tricks to make pollution look better during testing.
Cars use computer software to decide how to run the engine and pollution-control systems. The claim is that Volkswagen used that software to change emissions behavior depending on whether the car was being tested.
The US EPA is the U.S. agency that sets rules for how much pollution cars are allowed to make. Here, they’re saying Volkswagen cheated during emissions testing.
Concept
defeat device
A defeat device is a “cheat” that makes a car’s pollution system work differently depending on the situation. The allegation is that it works normally on a test, but less effectively during everyday driving.
Emission controls are the parts of a car that help reduce harmful exhaust pollution. The claim here is that the car behaves differently on the road than it does during testing.
An emissions test is a controlled procedure used to measure how much pollution a vehicle produces under specified driving or operating conditions. The key point in this segment is that the alleged software detects when the car is in test mode and changes emissions-control behavior accordingly.
Civil penalties are fines the government can impose for breaking environmental rules. In this case, the amount is described as being per vehicle that doesn’t meet clean-air requirements.
The Volkswagen Bus is a van made to carry several people and sometimes cargo. It’s known for being roomy and practical for groups. In a conversation, it may come up when discussing Volkswagen’s statements about vehicles.
LIVE
Ron Andanian.
She was talking to today, what are you gonna talk about today on the show? And I said, g Mom,
I kind of really haven't given it a lot of thoughts.
She said, why don't you talk about getting your car ready for winter? And I went, but, ma, we're still
in the middle of summer. You know, summer's just winding down.
But you can never be too prepared.
Use the same, use the same, the same. Gay it.
The Car Doctor two thousand and seven down General motors, trucks, and SUVs.
All suffer from steel lines.
I definitely have my mechanic look those lines over and be sure they're not rustling and splitting or getting ready to split, because that's a very common, big problem on GM product.
Right now, welcome to the radio home of ron An Aian, the Car Doctor. Since nineteen ninety one. This is where
car owners the world overturned to for their definitive opinion on automotive repaired. If your mechanics giving you a busy signal,
pick up the phone and call in the garage doors.
Are opening, but I am here to take your call at eight five five five six ninety nine hundred and now Hee, Ronnie, Hey, welcome I'm Ronnie Amy and the Card Doctor here at your service at eight five five five six zero nine nine zero zero.
Here to answer your questions, solve your problems, whatever you've got going on automotive wise, give me a call, let's talk about it. There's more information about this radio show
at Cardoctorshow dot com. You'll find an affiliate list there.
If you look over on the left side of the page, you will see things such as links to TuneIn dot com with an affiliate list, iHeart dot com, iTunes dot com, both podcasters. You can subscribe to The Card Doctor via
either one of those sites iHeart or iTunes dot com if you need me during the week. This Card Doctor's
on call twenty four to seven run at Cardoctorshow dot com.
Received an email and actually it was a topic at the shop. A couple of people walked in, asked the
questions and we started getting into it, and then I received a couple of emails. So I thought it would
be timely to have this conversation now because we're in the middle of a gasoline issue, and not a bad way. Obviously,
gas prices are getting cheaper around the country and we're seeing a glod of oil on the market, or however the market is changing. I don't want to say manipulated,
but however the market is changing. We're definitely seeing a
drop in gasoline prices, and a lot of people are asking me, Hey, can I go to this cheaper no name brand of gasoline or can I stay with this cheaper no name brand of gasoline. I've been using it
all this time and the car seems to run well, and you know, it's a valid question. The other thing,
the other question that comes up, and the other thing you have to be aware of is this time of year, we're getting ready for the summer to winter blend change over.
The refineries are being changed over, and we're going to start to see the different blends of fuel for the different seasons, and so that comes into play. The point
I'm trying to make, and my biggest concern when I was answering this for everybody is gasoline, next to oil, are is one of the two most important things you can put into the vehicle, and the quality of the fuel is very, very important if you want longevity. Now,
we see a lot of cases in the marketplace today where manufacturers that went for longer than what I consider normal oil drain intervals are now having consumption issues. Toyota, Honda, Subaru, Audi, Volkswagen,
They've all got their problems, and those are just a few.
And it still comes down to it's a piece of machinery, and it still needs some TLC, and it still needs common sense, and it still needs normal maintenance, and you may want to consider gasoline as part of that maintenance.
And when someone asked me the other day, they were comparing brands, and the conversation was about Delta, Luke Oil Exonmobil, Shell Sonoco.
You know what would I use?
Well, right now, I think the best gasoline out there, and it has been for some time time, is the stuff from Shell, the SHELLV Power Nitro premium gasoline. As
a matter of fact, I did the research on it because it's when you're running a hot rod, and you know, we're talking about the hot rod this week too, we're cruising.
Somebody said, what kind of guess do you put in it?
And I said, it's pretty much living right now on SHELLV Power Premium because it's got better cleaning agents in it and it helps keep down up to sixty to seventy percent of the harmful tank deposits that are left behind on the intake valves, And to me, that's an issue, especially on a car, that high performance car that is doing some cruising stop and go, gets parked at a car show, it sits, it sits in the garage all week long, and that's important to me. That becomes a problem.
And the point I was trying to make was that when you're dealing with gasoline, you can't cut corners, especially now you've got no excuse. The price of gas is
down to the point where I won't say it's affordable, but it sure is a whole lot easier to swallow in terms of the daily budget. Good gosh. I filled
up the little shop truck the other day. It cost
me twenty two dollars. The truck was on a I
remember a couple months ago it was forty eight dollars.
So it's cut in half as far as I'm concerned. So,
to answer the question directly, the biggest concern I have when you're dealing with gasoline is what additive what packages are they putting into the fuel. Had breakfast this morning
with a local gasoline retailer, a friend of mine. John.
You have heard me talk about John from time to time.
He's a fuel retailer here in North Jersey, and we had the conversation about this specifically, and he said, right now, Shell's got the best editive package out there in terms of what they're putting into all their grades of gasoline to help prevent carbon deposits. And you get the best
carbon protection with their Shell v Power Nitro premium gasoline.
So keep that in mind. You know, if you are
what you eat, your car is what it burns, and right now burning gasoline, the best bang for your buck in terms of protection, longevity and vehicle reliability has to be Shelvy Power Gasoline. Hello and welcome ronn Any and
the Car Doctor here at eight five five five six zero nine nine zero zero, here to take your calls, answer your question, solve your problems. Whatever you've got going on,
this radio show exists for you.
This hour.
We're going to giving away a one hundred dollars gift card courtesy of the folks at Advance Autoparts, So we're going to be doing that at some point this hour, but we are here to talk to you about your problems.
Let's get over and do just that. Let's open the
garage doors. Talk to Alison online one calling from Putnam Valley,
New York. Allison, welcome to Welcome to the car doctor.
I'm very good.
How can I help?
Yes, I have a two thousand and seven Nissan Santra and I've had a lot of issues over the past three weeks. And you know, it started out with just
replacing of tube, the vacuum tube. Then then the engine
light comes on. Bring it to the dealer, they say,
pre they say, it's cam sensors, crankshaft censor. I'm sorry,
I forgot to mention. And his car was hard to start.
And it runs rough, right, is it? Is it? So
this sort of is a combination of check engine light, running rough? Is it worse when it's cold than when
it's hot? Alison was worse.
It would it wouldn't start when it would sit like over nice and then once the car started running, it was after about twenty minutes or so, we start to run rough.
Okay.
Brought it to the dealer. You know again they said,
you know, cranks they changed the crank chef sensor and cam chef sensor and then they said, oh, there's drunken engine.
We recommend DGMO A that'll call clean it up. Everything
runs fine. The next day, brought it, drove it to work,
the same darn thing happened again. Brought it to another dealer.
They say, okay, crank cheft.
Centswer Can I guess at the mileage on this car?
I'm sorry, I was gonna say, and twenty thousand miles right, okay?
And you know what I think is wrong with this car.
I think this car has a bad head gasket. And
I'll tell you why. I'll tell you what's real common
on Centris. They go through head gaskets right around the
between one fifteen and one for one hundred and forty thousand miles. And what typically happens is you start it.
Sometimes it'll be a hard start, cold, sometimes it won't start.
Sometimes it will run rough, and then when it warms up it's okay, and then when it gets real hot, it'll start to miss again. Now, how they got from
camp crank correlation into misfires, I'd have to see what the actual codes were, and I don't I don't want to bog you down with that. But what I'd like
to do is give you a little bit of power in your corner, and you know, we want to go back to them and say listen, oh really yes.
Because then the second dealer took every single part and said, oh, it's your timing change. They quoted me a price and said, no,
thank you very much, I'll bring it's a my mechanic.
Okay.
So he just recently replaced the timing.
Chain everything, and it's still not fixed.
It starts, but now it's still running rough and I'm plenty and replace an ignition. You know. Now it's back
at the back at my mechanic. I don't know what
to do now. Okay, it will start now, but it still.
Won't run right, it'll it'll start.
Will it start and stall or start.
And run rough?
Does the check engine light ever flash?
Yes?
Okay, so the car has a misfire. Let's deal with
what we've got. The car has a misfire going on,
all right, And what that means is instead of hop skipping a jump, it's hop skip skip skip skip hop.
In a jump.
It's it stumbles as it runs. Now, that can be
ignition related, that can be mechanically a fault, that could be a fuel system fault. You know, it's hard to
comment on everything that's been done, because it sounds like everybody's hand's been in the pot. So before we go
any further and I give you an answer, the biggest thing I want to tell you is in the future, when somebody says, hey, this is what's wrong with the car, the next sentence for you and everybody else has to be, will that solve my problem? Okay? Agreed?
Because you know this is like when you buy a house.
When whenever we have a conversation about buying a house, the next comment has to be you can sign anything you want, but it has to be subject to attorney's review.
So you know this will fix your car? Will this
this is what your car needs? Will this fix my car?
That's the next question, all right, So do this, Alison.
Stay on the line, stay put right where you are.
I've got to pull over and take a pause. I
want to finish with you and get on to my other callers. I don't want to rush this, but stay
put and I'll be back right to finish it up.
I'm running any of the car Doctor, don't go away.
Welcome back, armin Ani and the car doctor hammered it along this afternoon. Let's get back to Allison, who's online?
One Putnam Valley, New York. Allison, you're still there. Listen.
Here's the way I think you got to approach this.
First of all, waiting hear what the dealer has to say Monday or Tuesday, whenever you get the phone call, and the question when they say, hey, Alison, here's what's wrong with the car, your question to them is going to be what right? Okay? And if they say, well, no,
you know, then we're going to rethink this. Part of
what you said to me that bothers me is the dealership said, you know, use this BG motorfly. I think
you said that correct, and that's going to solve the problem for you. And in my experience, most of the
flush is in a situation like this that's trying to put a band aid on a broken leg. What I
think is wrong with this car from my seat here, unless this is ignition coil, unless this just has a plain old bad spark plug, bad coil problem, something like that, I think you've got a CP head gasket.
And I want to prove that it is or is not.
So what I'd like.
Your mechanic or the dealership to do is to check for it. And I want them to check for it cold.
What I'd like somebody to do is take the vehicle, put it in service bay, take the radiator cap off.
When the car is cold, pressurize the system, put a pressure tester on it, and they'll understand this. Basically, I
want to put pressure on the system with a pressure tester up to the rating of the cap, which is typically fifteen to eighteen psi, and let the car sit.
Let it sit a couple hours, let it sit overnight.
Go to start it. If you start it and right
away it starts to miss and stutter and flash the light, we've got a cold misfire. Chances are we've got coolant
in one of the cylinders. So then the next day,
come back, repeat it, but don't start it. Pull the
plugs out and look inside the cylinder with either a bor scope or a flashlight, or just crank it over.
Does coolant come out? If it does, that's your problem.
And it's got nothing to do with timing, chain cam, crank sensors and everything else that they've sold you up to this point. But that would be that would be
the way I would approach this. Because centers are pretty bulletproof.
They Yeah, they'll go through chains if they don't. If
they aren't, you know, have oil changes on a regular basis, but they usually come up with cam correlation fault codes, not necessarily missfire faults. Sometimes miss but not like you're
describing it to me. Again, I wasn't there. But if
this is a head gasket, that is the one surefire method, the one surefire away they're going to find it. Hey, Alison,
I'll tell you what. Stay on the line and talk
to fast Harry. We're gonna be sending you out one
hundred dollars gift card courtesy the folks at Advanced Order Parts.
Advanced Order Ports wants to remind you and all my listeners to replace break hardware with every break job. Be
sure to insist on wherever quality break hardware for certified fit and performance. And you can find wherever break hardware
at your local Advanced Order Parts store. You can use
the gift card for anything at the Advanced Order Parts storeline.
It sounds like you might need some parts for this car in the future, and we want to try and make your life a little bit easier for you. So
is that okay? If if we do that for you today,
I'm sure it is. Okay, great, listen you use that
card well, Harry, please take good care of Alison and do whatever you can for Let's get on over and talk to Walt online too. Walter in Hawaii? How are
you today, sir?
Good?
Good? How about self?
Oh?
Not bad? What's going on? How's my little PT cruiser?
Well, it's confusing me.
Okay.
I had a no start, no crank problem, which was fixed with a new ignition switch, not the key, but the switch and the actuator pen After did that fixed that problem, But then my radio would only work in with the key and the accelerate the acc position, not in the run position. I decided I changed the switch
again with another never ever works switch. That seemed to
fix that, But now I have no instrument cluster at all.
It'll come back on if I disconnect a battery for ten or fifteen minutes, but it won't stay. It goes
back off. But the radio works fine. Now everything else
works fine.
Here's what I want.
Here's what I want you to do.
Well, you're gonna have to find a mechanic that has a scan tool capable of talking to all the modules on the car. You ever play you ever played telephone
as a kid. You know, we sat in a room
with seven people and you whisper one thing in the one guy's ear, and the next person and the next person.
You went around in a circle and see what came out the other right with that? Yeah, okay, Chrysler's like
a lot of cars of this generation. Everybody talks on
a everybody talks on the same data feed, and if somebody talks out of turn, it confuses everybody else. You know,
sit in a room and try and have an adult conversation, and we're all gonna get to do this or right, it's gonna be the holiday soon, we're gonna be sitting around the fireplace talking with relatives and you know, whatever the case might be, and we're going to see who oversteps everybody and who can't be heard and who gets to be heard too much. It almost describes your scenario.
The reason that you disconnect the battery and the cluster comes back to life. That's what you're saying. Well, yes,
that it's that it stops getting the garbage in and it's it returns back looking for normal information. Got to
remember most of what you're looking at. It looks like
a dashboard to you, but it's really a computer. And
when you just when you disconnect the battery, you're rebooting it in a sense. So if what I want someone
to do is I want someone with a scan tool, a launch will work. A launch RP there two twenty
nine will work, and it'll go out and look at the data bus and it will see which module's talking and which one isn't. First thing I want to do
is I want to see if we plug in, is everybody talking? If there's fourteen modules on that car, Let
it go out and pull poll all the modules. Is
everybody there? Is everybody awake? Is everybody trying to have
a conversation? If there's supposed to be fourteen on the
line and there's only thirteen, somebody's asleep? Why are they asleep?
Is it? You know? And it's simple enough. At that point,
we should have power, We should have ground. If we've
got power and ground, the module doesn't wake up, we unplug that particular module, not the battery. Unpluged that particular module.
We'll reboot it and it comes back to life and all of a sudden we can talk to it and we've probably got a bad module. Whatever that module is
and understand on that particular car, depending upon how it's optioned out, the power windows switch could be a module that could be causing the problem. That's why it's so
important to have a scan tool that will let you look at everybody on the data line or everybody on the bus and who's talking and who's not.
Does that make sense.
Kind of?
And I know it's not the answer you're looking for, and I really appreciate the fact that you want to fix this, but it's gotten to the point where I think it's beyond what you can do short of just slapping and throwing parts at it. So at the very least,
somebody in Hawaii's got to have a decent enough scan tool to go and look and see who's on the bus, who's talking, who's not.
And you can kind of take it from there.
Try that, Walter. If that doesn't work, shit me another email.
We'll talk again.
Hey, coming up next, got any questions about motor oil.
Want to know what it's really all about. Well, some
changes coming on and some of the improvements. We're going
to fuck with the folks at Penns Oil. Coming up next.
I'm running Anie in the car. Doctor don't go away. Hey, Hey,
welcome back ron Ani in the Car Doctor. You know,
oil is probably the most talked about subject here on the Car Doctor, and we're always discussing just what it takes to make a great motor oil and just how important motor oil is to your car. And it's timely
this time of year, as we're going into the fall and winter seasons and talking about the abuses that an automobile.
Puts up with.
And we thought we would bring to the table the folks from penns Oil, Paul Bogers.
He is the supervisor of.
A team of chemistry engineers down there at Shell Technology Center in Houston, and we're glad to have him with us here on the Car Doctor to talk motor oil. Paul,
Welcome to the Card Doctor.
Sir, Yeah, thank you so much.
Wrong, let's jump.
Right into it. How long does it take to develop
and test new products. You know, you've come out recently
with pens Oil Ultra Platinum, Pennzoil Platinum. People look at
that and they say, ah, it's just motor oil. You know,
they walk past it on the supermarket shelf. They don't
appreciate what it is, what kind of effort went into bringing that product to market.
Yeah, so before you decide what to put in that yellow or the nice silvery bottle, a lot of work, a lot of hard work into that. So it's just
anywhere between eighteen months to about two years to really go from the idea the motor oil through to something that's on the shelf, and then involves lab tests, you know, so we call bench top tests. We do rig and
engine test, quite extensive amount of testing. But we wouldn't
put an oil on the shelf unless we've got some real life experience. So we have a number of taxi
fleets and a number of law enforcement fleets in which we test the oil, experimental oils and clock up anywhere between half a million and a million miles before we actually say the product. The product is now ready to
go on the show.
And Paul, when you make that oil, you're making it with specifications in mind, in the sense that the car companies have come to you and said, here's what our engines are, here's the parameters.
Make something to make this work.
Yeah, absolutely, So the one thing to always look out for is what we call the API donut. So what
is on the bottle that tells you that it meets the American Petroleum Institute's standards, are heavily negotiated standards between all of the automatic car manufacturers. It meets all of
the stringent requirements that they need to make their engines work.
Okay, now you're ready for this. This is the tough question.
This is really why I brought you on today. There's
been a great deal of conversation. This has to be
an ongoing all the time here in the car doctor.
I get it in the shop all the time. Oil
change intervals, What are pens oils guidelines? How often? How soon?
Yeah?
Really great question. Wrong, and we get this quite a
bit as well. The short answer is follow your OM recommendations, right.
They have designed the engine and the vehicle with a certain oil drain interval in mind. But you've got to
also consider that those oiler intervals are for typical operations. Right,
So you, as a driver probably have a better handle on whether your driving conditions are typical, whether there are extreme weather conditions to consider, and if you think about the job that an oil has to do the side reducing friction and preventing corrosion, and where there's a whole lot of other functions, one of which is to carry away any of the combustion byproducts that accumulate in the engine and prevent the under formation of sludges and varnishes in the engine. So one of the few things you
can really do about that is making sure that you get your oilder and interval right to prevent that from accumulating in the engine.
What about you know, the conversation used to be that motor oil, conventional motor oil starts with a base stock nineteen sixty five and then additives and vitamins are putting it along the way. Is that still a true statement today?
And then the last part of that question is those vitamins start to deplete somewhere around the three thousand and thirty five hundred mile mark. By five thousand, they're gone.
Is that still a fair statement, still a good rule of thumb?
Yeah, I think that's a pretty good way of looking at So, yeah, the key building blocks is still, you know, the bas stock, and I think we're very excited about one of are you know innovations, and it's having a synthetic based made out of natural gas. So that's your
your your heart and soul as your motor oil, and then you're at you all the vitamins if you call them out of the packages, really have specific functions, but they do see over time and seen from a whole lot of real life tests that sometimes those auditives are still in plenty supply, even not after five thousand miles in certain operations, but that could be other cases where you know, those those auditives to start losing their their bite to like. So then replenishing your oil makes it
makes a good good idea.
And the hard part is you don't know.
You know, if a car started out in California and drove to New York at a steady speed, at a steady temperature fifty five miles an hour as a constant, never cooled down, the oil would last longer. It's all
highway miles. But when you're you know, stop and go
traffic and extreme temperatures, extreme cold, and all all the different parameters you can operate an automobile on that changes that oil drain interval requirement, doesn't it.
Absolutely spot on ron So there's uh, those extreme temperatures either high temperatures where the engine is really kind of boiling or you know, uh, you know, starting up your engine at very low temperatures and cranking it over the first time, where you know it's difficult for the for the oil to get to all those surfaces that need to be protected. Those are the times where you know
you have the most most likely impact of the oil just not being able to protect your engine well enough.
When is good enough good enough?
Paul? You know it's been said as long as oil
meets s AE Society of Automotive Engineer requirements for the vehicle, that's good enough. Is that true?
Is that false? Wy?
Yeah? We would.
You know that's the starting point, right that that gets you to the starting line. So picking the right viscosity
grade and is uh is really earning the starting point?
As I mentioned before, really look for that API doughnut on the bottom. That means it at least meets the
minimum standards in the industry. But you know, for us,
that's kind of like the starting line. You want to
be able to go above and beyond what the minimum standards are to really deliver outstanding protection for your engine.
As Yeah, no, not all motor oils are created equal.
Well I would think not sure now, as motor oils are not created equal, you've you've kept the evolution. Going
at penns oil, you know, we see an older fleet, so many cars now have one hundred and fifty thousand miles is not uncommon. So now there's high mile of
oil and we get questions on this as well. You
recently released pens oil platinum for high mileage vehicles. How's
this different from the other high mileage oil.
Yeah, so it's a it's a really interesting it's one of the fastest growing categories of motor oils that we sell.
And we looked at that Karrigan and saying, hey, there is a gap there for a really high performance, full synthetic offer that also offers the other benefits that the typical high mileage formulation would offer. And the real crux
of it is that you get all of the benefits that you would get from the other platinum range products.
So the total protection. But the key aspect is you've
got less oil burnoff. Right, So the engine starts, you know,
when the milas accumulates, it starts losing oil either through small leaks in the you know, the rubber seals, or it starts burning off the oil so lost through evaporation. Right,
So the new platinum you know, offering on high mileage really is the best of both worlds with you know, having an additive in there to prevent leaks, but also has the lowest volatility loss of any oil in the category.
Wow.
You know. And for those of you just tuning in,
we're talking to Paul Bogers. He is the general manager
of lubricnts Technology for penns Oil US.
Paul, tell you what, can you take a pause here?
We're going to have to pull over and and just take a couple of spots.
Can you just sit tight?
I'm running any in the car doctor, and we'll both be back right after this.
Hey, hey, we're back running Eni in the car doctor.
I'm talking to Paul Bogers. He's the general manager lubricant's
technology for Penz Oil, and we're having a conversation here about motor oils and the new products pens Oils got out there, Pennzoil Platinum for high mileage, among other things. Paul,
when we pulled over and took the pause, sometimes I get questions about synthetic motor oil and the need to go to high mileage. Is there a comparisons or a
way that the listeners can look at that and make a decision on.
What to use in hell.
Yeah, so you know, typically we say high mileage you know, starts anywhere from you know, twenty twenty five thousand miles on the clock. But it really is what is best
for your for your vehicle. If you've got a performance vehicle,
you've been running that vehicle on full synthetic motor oil from from the start of its life. You know, there's
no reason to really switch away from that. Right If
you've got a vehicle where you're starting to consider that change and you're a little bit worried you might see a little puff of white smoke coming out of the exhaust pipe occasionally, then a high mileage oil is the better choice.
And that's a good rule of thumb. And they can't
get hurt in either case, whichever they're doing.
Absolutely so, both oils would work fine across the life of of an engineer and life of the of a car.
But I'd say if you're if you're switching out from a conventional to a full synthetic, you know in a later part of the life of the vehicle, the high mileage is definitely.
The best choice.
I want to talk real quick before I let's go Paul about pure plus technology. Pure plus technology converts pure
natural gas into the Pennzoil Platinum line of motor oils.
In the old days, which in order repair could have been last week, you know it was, it was there was a crude oil based stock, and now there's a natural gas based stock which creates peer plus technology. What
makes that so much better? And talk a little bit
about the synthetic oil side of that as well.
Yeah, thanks so much. Wrong, And I think the thing
that really excites us as scientists and engineers is that we can actually build up the based stock from much smaller components. So if you think about the traditional refining
based oil, you start off with whatever mother nature has given us in a big mix of all kinds of different shapes and sizes of molecules, and you refine that and you there's all kinds of processes to kind of like, you know, get to a good based dok, but it's never going to be what you really wanted to design if you had the opportunity. So natural gas is the
smallest hydrocarbon molecule, as we say, and we actually build up the base ol just the way we like it, and from.
There that's where that's where pans oil pure plus technology came from, correct exactly.
So pure plus technology is synthesized from that us we then turn that into a liquid, so we turned it into a base oil, and then we we blend in, you know, the very best additives to combine with that based dox. What we we are looking for as scientists
is well synergistic effects. So synergistic means you know, you build,
you put two things together and the two are you know more than than you know those components individually. So
learning how to formulate with synthetic oils is is a key part.
Of that equation.
You know. I always tell everybody, they say what's a
good oil? And I say, you've got to look at
the company that engineers the oil and designs the oil.
And that's why I say pens Oil is the best.
And I think you've proven that here today, Paul. Where
can the listeners go for more information?
So definitely visit our site on penzoil dot com and there's a whole wrap of information there as well as the offers. We've also tried to really put more educational
material on there so you're interested in, you know, what makes up a great motor oil and some of the bonuspoort activities that were involved in. You could find a
whole lot of information on penzol dot com.
Perfect Hey, Paul, can I ask you real quick?
What kind of car do you drive?
I drive it through the Prius?
Yeah, and how often do you change the oil?
Every five miles?
And you're using a synthetic I bet.
Absolutely the only platinum that.
Coach in it.
There you go. I just wanted to see and I
just wanted to let the listeners hear that. And I
didn't know the answer to that question before I asked that.
I was taking a chance, but I had a feeling that that's the way it was going to be. You're
a car guy, Paul. I know you're a scientist, but
you're a car guy at heart, and I appreciate what you do very very much. You have yourself a good
rest of the afternoon. Thanks for joining us today.
Thanks so much, wrong, it's the real pleasure you take good care.
I'm running ending in the card Doctor and we are back right after this.
By hey, welcome back.
When I'm eating in the Card Doctor. Eight five five
five six zero nine nine zero zero. That's the phone number.
Give us a call.
By the way, we're working on next week's show, so give us a call during the week. If you've got
a question, leave a message fast Tari. I'll call you
back between Wednesday and Friday and I'll hook you up and get you in queue. A couple of things in
the news, A couple of comments finishing up from this week's show, last week's show. Last week we had a
call I believe it was Idaho or Iowa, the gentleman with the Kia that wanted to take it into the dealership and they were gonna under the car, and then it was eighty dollars I got it as eighty dollars per wheel to inspect the breaks. My comment to him
was I wanted to see the letter from Kia. Could
he email it to me? And he did, and the
letter from Kia talks specifically about undercoding and corrosion issues, does not really mention anything about breaks per wheel anything that he was referring to. And I've advised him accordingly
by email.
Received an email.
From someone that listened to the show and they said, gee, you know you've got to stop trying.
To be politically correct. I think you'll let the guy
off easy.
You should have just blasted the dealer for the cheap undercote that wouldn't work, and for the rip off of eighty dollars for break inspection.
I don't think that was the point. I think the
point was.
And you've always got to look at something if you're going to rebut it from the perspective of what are the facts, what are we trying to accomplish, and what are we really saying? All right, So whenever you walk
into your repair shop, dealership, independent, Chaine store, whatever, why do I need this? Will this solve my problem? And
is this being affected on other cars as well? Those
are the thoughts that should be going through your mind.
So always understand that. And you can deal with anything,
whether it be trying to fix the car, the furnace, the roof, anything you've got to deal with in life.
You've always got to have a diagnostic approach. Now for
the fun stuff. Anybody see the news this week. I
love this headline. Volkswagon, my favorite car company, could face
eighteen billion dollars in penalties from the EPA. This offer
Reuter's Business News. Volkswagon faces penalties up to eighteen billion
dollars after being accused of designing software for diesel cars that deceive regulators measuring toxic commissions. The US EPA set
on Friday. Put simply is a direct quote from Cynthia Giles,
who's an enforcement officer at the EPA. Put simply, these
cars contain software that turns off emission controls when driving normally and turns them on when the car is undergoing an emissions test. Volkswagen can face civil penalties of thirty
seven thousand, five hundred dollars for each vehicle not in compliance with federal clean air rules. There are four hundred
and eighty two thousand, four cylinder VW and OUTDI diesel car sold since two thousand and eight involved in the allegations.
If each car involved is found to be a non compliance, I want to read this part twice. If each car
involved is found to be a non compliance, the penalty could be eighteen billion. That's with a B dollars. The
EPA confirmed on the conference call they were on. A
US Volkswagen spokesmericants said the company is cooperating with the investigation.
We aren't able to comment further at this time.
Yeah, no kidding. So once again.
It's all about engineering. And I know I'm going to
get a ton of hate mail. You know what, I
really don't care, all right, It's like it is what it is. I keep saying it over and over again.
They build a heck of an engine. They're tough to
deal with, they're tough to work on, and sometimes they over engineer themselves into a corner. Here they go, and
it's only going to cost them eighteen billion dollars to get out of that corner.
And you wonder if they will.
I'm sure they'll barter it down. Hey, hats off to
the EPA for doing their job and bw.
We all know what it stands for, virtually worthless. I'm
running ady in the car.
Doctor. It has been an absolute bless to be with
you these past two hours. We've had a great time.
I hope you got something out of it. I know
I did, and I look forward to next week's show till then.
The mechanics aren't expensive, they're placeless. See you
About this episode
Ron moves from fuel quality and winter prep into hands-on diagnostics, helping callers sort out a suspected head gasket and a Chrysler module communication problem. A Pennzoil guest then explains how oils are tested, how to think about oil-change intervals, and why high-mileage and synthetic formulations matter. The hour closes with a strong reaction to Volkswagen’s emissions scandal, including the scale of the alleged defeat-device software and the penalties it could trigger.
Cheap Gas, Sensor Failures & The Truth About Modern Motor Oil
From the archives — September 19, 2015 (Hour 2).
Ron opens the hour with a timely discussion on falling gas prices—and what “cheap gas” really means for your vehicle. Is lower cost fuel always a good thing, or is there more to the story?
Listener calls bring real-world problems to the table, including a 2007 Nissan Sentra with a failing cam position sensor causing hard starts and rough running, and a Chrysler PT Cruiser experiencing electrical gremlins after an ignition switch replacement—affecting both the radio and instrument cluster.
Ron is also joined by Ray Bogers, General Manager of Lubricants Technology at Pennzoil, for a conversation about evolving motor oil formulations, new standards, and what today’s engines really require for proper protection.
The hour wraps up with Ron revisiting and clarifying a few lingering issues from the previous program—bringing added insight and closure to earlier discussions.
Insightful, practical, and always focused on helping you make better decisions about your car
