Ron Ananian, The Car Doctor - February 14, 2026 - Hour 2 - The Follow-up Show, How Cars Got Fixed!

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The worst part about loving cars might just be buying them

and all the parts.

But on eBay, behind every car and part

is a story waiting to be shared.

I read about this guy who bought a 2020 Porsche Cayman

that was well-loved.

I mean, there are plenty of Caymans in great condition

on eBay, but this one needed some work.

This guy buys it and rebuilds the whole thing

all with parts he found on eBay.

And now that nearly scrapped Cayman

is out tearing up the track.

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Hello, Malcolm Glauble here.

We're here in New York City with T-Mobile

for Business recording another episode

of Revisionist History about how 5G network

slicing strengthens trust and connections

across worldwide industries.

Slicing can be used for so many different things.

We're here with our friends from CNN, from Siemens Energy.

The ways that can be used, frankly, are limitless

and are really, really built to think through

how can T-Mobile understand the pain points

that our customers have, smash those pain points

and help you deliver very specific outcome.

Look, look, look, you got a picture on a team.

Sure.

What's the picture's name?

Tamara.

You don't want to tell me today?

I'm telling you, man.

I go ahead.

Tamara.

What time?

What time, what?

What time, Tamara, you're going to tell me who's pitching.

Now listen, who is not pitching?

I'll break your rhyme, you savior.

Ron and Anian.

But when I brought the car in for the oil change,

Danny goes, yeah, he opens the door, he's, come on in.

I'm like, where?

I'm going to run something over.

Yeah, it was right.

Jeez.

Am I lying, Tom?

We had every horizontal bench top, toolbox top,

every spot in the shop.

There was nothing left to the car except the seats.

Right.

Put me in the coach, I'm ready to play today.

Look at me, I can be sent up to you.

The car doctor.

We used to do a lot of these crazy things.

Of course, I'd have to warn mama

if I was working on the car at the house,

be careful what you take out of the freezer

because it may not be meatloaf.

It might be a crank sensor or a gene coil pack,

which was common.

Hopefully she could tell the difference.

Well, hopefully, but sometimes they were in a rush.

Welcome to the radio home of Ron and Anian, the car doctor.

Since 1991, this is where car owners the world overturned

to for their definitive opinion on automotive repair.

If your mechanic's giving you a busy signal,

pick up the phone and call in.

The garage doors are open.

But I am here to take your call at 8555609900.

And now.

And I don't give a tharn.

What?

I said I don't give a tharn.

Oh, that's our short stuff.

He is running.

Today's show is for Coach Keith over at CrossFit Bison.

He's one of my favorite coaches over there.

And while they're all my favorite, really,

they all do a great job.

But I love Coach Keith, his enthusiasm for baseball.

And this is his time of year.

He gets all excited.

Pitchers and catchers are coming.

Spring is coming.

We're going to make Ron run again.

And get him out there on the road.

It's just great.

I like everything about it except the running.

Well, actually, I embrace the run.

So I'm teaching myself to embrace the run.

But yeah, hooray.

It's time for your spring is coming, guys.

Pitchers and catchers did report.

So and I love that.

Avinacostello skit.

You know, it's really funny as an aside

before we get going today.

You ever talk to the younger generation

and you guys should listen to who's on first and they go, who?

Who's on first?

Avinacostello?

You know, you're old when they go, who's that?

Oh, my Lord.

I remember years ago, I was punching up.

I hit the old radio channel on Sirius XM.

My daughter was in the car and I said,

and here came who's on first.

And I said, you got to listen to this.

And I got the eye roll.

You know, here comes dad stuff.

And she was in hysterics by the end of the routine.

She loves it.

Do you know they, you know, they had lived that whole thing.

Do you know that?

Oh, yeah.

Well, that was the original, yeah.

And they kept doing it throughout the years.

Right.

And if you listen to some of the other ones,

there's little differences to them.

The one that we hear is the most common.

That was their best take on that.

But it's so hard to do.

I've watched people try and impersonate it at comedy clubs

and, you know, little things.

And it's just, they were gifted.

They were, they were Avinacostello.

I mean, there's no other way to say it.

So, but anyway, we know who's on first here.

It's me.

I'm Ron Ani and the car doctor.

And let's get over and talk.

Let's go talk to Matt, see what's going on.

Matt, you're there, sir.

Yes, I am.

So tell me the story.

Hey, I'm on second.

So, what is, is, is, good.

OK, I've had a relationship with this van for about eight years

now.

OK, I got an 01 Chevy venture, 3.4 liter with about 175,000

on it.

Just wait, just wait, just broken in, brother.

Go ahead.

That's for sure.

And the coolant fans aren't coming on.

All right.

I tested the relays.

I even replaced one just for good measure.

And it's still nothing.

I got good voltage at the coolant temp sensor.

I even replaced the coolant temp sensor.

Now the thermostat plugged up, so I just changed that.

But what's happening is, if I do direct battery to the fans

through the relay, they work.

Right.

You know, they jumper them.

They work low speed and high.

But this control circuit one is the controls fan one.

And that's the one that, that isn't working.

The only thing I can think of is that I took the fuse,

the top off the fuse box and took an ohm meter.

And I got kind of a weak connection

on one of the legs of where the relay goes.

The other one seemed to be pretty,

I did one of those with the ohm meter

where you can hear the beep.

Right.

OK, it was a strong beep on the other legs of the other.

Well, wait a minute now.

We don't measure resistance by beeps, right?

We're not going to, which one sounded louder?

OK.

Right.

So we're going to, we're going to use our digital volt ohm

meter and measure actual numbers just to be fair.

All right.

OK, so that, that doesn't, that doesn't really mean anything

then if the sound is fainter.

Yeah, I don't, I don't know that I buy that.

I want to, I want to, I want to look, I want to look at numbers.

So let me ask you this.

What kind of scan tool do you have?

Just an actron.

It's got to be, it's got to be a 10 years old.

OK, can you go in your make model?

Can you go into specific things?

Your make model or is it you can?

So if you look at this on your make model,

does it have bi-directional control?

I don't know.

OK, because we could, we could get you to the simplest part

of this problem real quick.

Got to remember my job, like if I'm fixing the car in the

bay or I'm talking to you here on radio is I got to get you

to the middle as fast as I can.

Agreed?

Right.

OK, right.

So I'm going to, I'm going to pull up a scan tool.

I'm going to go to special functions.

I'm going to go to bi-directional control.

Can I turn the cooling fans on by scan tool?

Oh, if I can turn them on by scan tool, what have I proved?

I just proved the fuse in the circuit that's beeping is good.

Right?

Correct.

I proved the relays are good.

I've proved continuity and quality of circuit path is good.

So the fans have the ability to run.

What you're doing is fine.

You've proven the fans can run, but you still haven't

proven the control side, right?

You still haven't proved.

So are we up against a strategy problem or a component such as

a problem on the output pin of the PCM?

Now, before we go there, all right, I believe in 01 and I'd

have to go back and look at my class notes because I remember

sitting in class for this car.

All right, this car, this car has, this was an eye roll.

All right, you know, all I heard was cooling fans, blah,

blah, blah, blah, blah.

This car operates under load management.

Load shed management, I think is what they called it.

And I kind of went, huh?

So if the body computer senses too much electrical load that

this vehicle is operating on, it will prevent cooling fans

from coming on all together until some electrical load

has dissipated.

So what can happen?

Yeah, it's, it's, it just, I was like, but what if it overheats?

I never got an answer to that question.

That was, you know, 24 years ago, you know, so, so what you

could do is go in by scan tool and look at the BCM.

Look at the body computer.

Is the load management pitch showing on or is it showing

load management on or active, meaning that even though there

isn't high electrical demand, the BCM thinks there is and it

doesn't allow the cooling fans to operate.

Cause if this has, if this vehicle is equipped with load

shed management, the BCM tells the PCM, the PCM tells the

relay one, relay one tells relay two, and that's how the

fans work.

Right?

So it's a strategy issue, not a component issue.

I got you.

All right.

Okay.

This BC, I've never heard of it.

Okay.

So this beast, body control mod, body control, body control

module.

Okay.

So I'm going to try that through the, through the scan

tool and see, so there's some, it could it be a parasitic,

parasitical draw draw.

Well, no, there's no, because the battery is not going dead.

No, it's not.

We don't have a battery going dead issue.

This is, let's, let's put it in simpler terms.

If you stand up and you want to take a walk, right?

Stand up, take a walk.

Yep.

Your brain tells your, you know, you start off with your

left foot, left foot, right foot, left foot, right foot.

If your brain, you know, without you realizing it says,

Hey, left foot, and you don't put your left foot out, you fall

over.

You're gonna fall.

Right.

So yeah, this is, this, that's a strategy.

Your body works with a strategy.

It's just, it's there.

You just don't realize it.

Well, cars do the same thing and they have for so many years.

Right.

So if this vehicle is equipped and not everyone had it, but if

this vehicle is equipped with load shed management and it

thinks it's got too high of an electrical load on the vehicle,

it will limit operation of certain components.

One of them was cooling fan and it will prevent certain areas

at times of cooling fan to come on.

So it's to limit correct operation until some of that

electrical load is dissipated.

I thought of all the, of all the things to limit the cooling fan.

Right.

I thought it was one, I thought it was the most, I thought it

was the stupidest thing I ever heard in my life until they

created start, stop technology, but that's, that's a whole

another conversation for a dip.

But thank God that went away this week.

Um, one of the few things the government's, uh, when they get

involved in auto repair, somehow they always kind of muck it up.

But this time I, I agree with them.

I think start, stop and eliminating that is long overdue

because I think you're going to see a lot of people pick up from

that.

So, but anyway, so what do you, what do you think could, what

do you think could be a possible overload?

I mean, have you seen, well, no, you're missing the point.

It may not be an overload.

It just thinks it is.

And so, so it's a bad BCM.

Now, the test was, if you, if you get out a wiring diagram and

find the data line to the BCM and it varies by vehicle, how

it's equipped, the test was it was disconnecting the data line.

And if the cooling fans come on with proper temperature, that

means that the BCM lost its authority.

The PCM was acting on its own.

And that means it's a bad BCM.

Okay.

Where is the BCM?

That's, yeah, it's probably under the dash somewhere.

I'd have to look at a wiring diagram.

They vary by vehicle.

Maddie.

All right.

So, but you got some homework to do.

First, I would tell you to get out a wiring diagram and look

through that vehicle and verify, is it equipped BCM?

Does the cooling fan wiring go through the BCM?

This should be part of the computer network.

And from there, do a little reading on load shed management.

I don't know that your scan tool is going to have it, but at least

it gets you in that direction.

And if you can activate the cooling fans to prove that circuit

control is there, then I think you're into a strategy or a

component such as a BCM failure is what's going on.

So good luck, kiddo.

Let me know what you need and we'll do our best.

I'm Ron Anani in the car doctor.

We are 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.

Warning, this product contains nicotine.

Nicotine is an addictive chemical.

Hey, it's Velo Plus here to debunk the conspiracy.

Less is more. Total lie.

Why? Because more is more with Velo Plus.

More flavors, more strengths, more comfort.

Discover the nicotine pouch with more at Velo.com.

That's V-E-L-O.com.

Underage sale prohibited Velo Plus

and synthetic nicotine product website restricted to age 21 plus copyright.

Twenty twenty five MBI, big adventures, family chaos, untethered exploration.

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It matters that we're here for you when you need us day or night.

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and we'll call you back to get you on the air with Ron 855-560-9900.

Speaking of Ron, here he is.

Hey, let's go to Bruce in Utah. Bruce, welcome to the car doctor.

Sir, what's going on?

Good afternoon, Ron.

Yes, sir.

Thank you for your advice on a barn find that I had, a 78 Mercury Marquee,

10,000 miles on it, hadn't been started in 40 years.

So as immaculate as the car is inside now,

we knew nothing was going to be worn out, but it was going to need a lot of things.

So, you know, we dropped the fuel tank and had it cleaned and coated

and blew out the fuel lines, replaced the fuel pump,

popped the plugs, let some oil sit in the holes overnight.

And it turned great by hand.

So we just tuned it up and it started on the first try.

Isn't that amazing?

And yeah, yeah.

And so the next thing was there was barnacles in the radiator.

So we sent that out to be recorded.

And while it was out, we replaced the fuel part of the water pump

and the brake pedal went to the floor.

So the master cylinder was bad, leaked into the boosters.

We'd rather do all that.

All the wheel cylinders were leaking.

And so we had to do that and replace pads and pads and shoes.

And we got a brand new car by how many, how many, how much

do you think you have in that car, Bruce?

$1? Too much, too much.

Well, is it, is it though?

Really? What's the, what's the point I'm going to make?

What do you think is in that?

You think you got 10 grand in that car?

Oh, no, no, I paid 8,500 for it.

The budget to get it running was five and I'm in it about,

put about nine in it.

So I had to put new tires on it, of course.

So, you know, I'm, I'm, I'm in the high teens with it,

but, you know, the car's absolutely immaculate.

The inside didn't even need dusted.

But isn't the bigger story here too?

So let's say you're into the car for 18, right?

So you got 18 grand into this car, but it's, as you say,

a solid mechanical car from a generation

that we clearly know how to fix, right?

It's 40 year old technology, you know,

and short of maybe having a hard time

finding certain parts, it's not an $80,000 car.

No, no, but it, you know, it, it turns heads.

People stop me to take pictures of it.

It's, it can be a pain sometimes

because everybody wants to talk about it.

Right.

But it's, it's an absolutely amazing car

and I'm in love with it, as you can tell.

And I appreciate your advice.

I'm very welcome.

It was, it, it was, it was the, the found day project.

Let me ask, let me ask you this, Bruce,

is, is that your everyday car?

That Mercury Grand Marquis?

So, so what do you, what do you drive,

what do you drive Monday through Friday?

A semi.

Okay, fair.

That's fair.

So, but, you know, I, I have a Dodge diesel.

Right.

One time that, that, and, you know,

and a, that's, well, that's a no nine with 75,000.

I've got a 24 year old Jeep Cherokee with a straight six

and it's got 106,000 and, you know, I, I have old stuff.

Well, the 24 Jeep is an old, but yeah, I get it.

Yeah.

No, 2001.

Oh, 2001.

Okay.

How many miles a year do you drive, Bruce?

Well, in the big truck, it's close to a hundred.

But, you know, I'm putting on

right, right, right, right.

Okay.

We're out.

Yeah.

Crazy.

Well, listen, as long as you're enjoying the car,

that's what counts.

I love it.

And the gal that sold it to me,

Blongard dad, she cried when she,

well, she cried when she sold it to me

and who we've kept in contact and she's,

just remember this, it's not really your car.

You know that, right?

It'll be around when I'm long gone.

Right.

Well, and that's, and that's, and that's my point.

You know, this week I, I, I was able to mount,

in 1972, Chevy Monte Carlo's and Chevelle's

had a rear window defogger.

All right.

The car so old it did not have an electric grid

in the back window.

It had a defogger.

It had a blower motor mounted inside the truck

that you turned on from a switch on the dash.

Now you could also purchase it as an option

that the dealer would install

or the factory would install,

depending upon when you ordered it.

But to install it, you have to cut a hole in your dashboard.

And, and you got to be right

because there's no second guessing this.

And it's about an inch and a quarter size hole

that has to be positioned just right next to the radio.

Not too high, not too low.

It's got to have the right clearance.

And I did that this week.

And I'm here to tell you that number one,

the satisfaction of being able to get that

to mount properly and it's smooth.

And I made a template out of plexiglass and all.

But as I'm working on it, I'm going,

it's not really my car.

I'm just the caretaker at this moment.

Exactly.

And I'm just going to pass it on to the next generation.

But it's beautiful to know that we can do that.

Well, somebody else gets to enjoy it.

Yup. Well, listen, on the back of the dashboard,

because I have the dash out,

on the back of the dashboard after I drilled the switch,

I wrote him a note.

I said, Ron drilled this hole

and I dated it, date, month and year.

And they'll know Ron was there,

kind of like Kilroy was here.

I'll have to think of the symbol I want for that.

Anyway, I'm Ron Nanny in the car doctor.

Good to talk to you, Bruce.

Thanks for the follow up.

I'll be back right after this.

Okay.

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 GT for 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.

Morning.

This product contains nicotine.

Nicotine is an addictive chemical.

Hey, it's Velo Plus.

Here to debunk the conspiracy, less is more.

Total lie.

Why?

Because more is more with Velo Plus.

More flavors, more strengths, more comfort.

Discover the nicotine pouch with more at Velo.com.

That's V-E-L-O.com.

Underage sale prohibited,

Velo Plus is a synthetic nicotine pouch product.

Website restricted to age 21 plus.

To test the new Pathfinder,

Nissan turned to the boldest creators of all.

Kids, their drawings sparked a wild idea.

Brought to life by a Hollywood director, a stunt team,

and the SUV that makes the unthinkable unforgettable.

No tricks, just V6 power, practical effects,

and the rugged new Pathfinder.

Watch how it all came together

and discover why JD Power ranks Nissan number one

in new vehicle quality among mainstream brands.

For JD Power 2025 US Initial Quality

Study Award information, visit jdpower.com slash awards.

Awards based on 2025 model year, newer models may be shown.

At CVS, it matters that we're not just in your community,

but that we're part of it.

It matters that we're here for you when you need us,

day or night, and we want everyone to feel welcomed

and rewarded.

It matters that CVS is here to fill your prescriptions

and here to fill your craving for a tasty

and healthy snack.

At CVS, we're proud to serve your community

because we believe where you get your medicine matters.

So visit us at CVS.com or just come by our store.

We can't wait to meet you.

Store hours vary by location.

Yeah!

From the city streets to the open road at night.

If your ride needs help run, we'll keep you rolling right.

Hey, he's a car doctor.

Car doctor.

Car advice done right.

The ATX 280 Trans Fluid Exchange Machine from Mala.

We've got that up on our YouTube channel.

And you guys seem to be enjoying it.

We're happy to do it for you.

And if you see something you would like us to,

you know, like a product to be tested,

like us, you know, something you want to see and hear about,

by all means shoot us a note, Ron at cardoctorshow.com.

And we'll do our best to do that.

And, you know, we're happy here.

We're here for you.

We just need to know, are we hitting the mark or not?

And, you know, we also want to hear the dislikes.

What are we doing wrong?

And, you know, we're not perfect.

We don't see, we don't see things every which way

that you guys might and you're our audience,

you're our guys.

So we're trying to just, you know, meet and,

what do you want to know?

And that's the bottom line.

So, but keep us in mind over on Facebook,

hit the like button, Ron and Amy and the car doctor.

And we're on Instagram, obviously.

And the podcast downloads very, very important

that you're subscribing and telling your friends.

So we appreciate the help.

And by the way, spring's coming.

I got to get a shameless plug in here.

Spring's coming, hats and t-shirts over

at the car doctor's store.

So if pictures and catches are coming,

that means spring's coming and we'll be wearing our t-shirts

and hopefully they say car doctor on them.

Anyway, back to the phones.

Let's go to Chris in Wisconsin.

And Chris, I appreciate you.

Let me get that in there.

So how can I help you today?

What's going on?

Hi, Ron.

I am calling to say many thanks to you for your advice.

I had called January 10th with a 2023 Chrysler Pacifica

that we had recently purchased from a dealer.

And it would have starting issues in the cold.

And you recommended that you asked me

if it had start and stop.

And I had-

Oh, this was the pop, pop, pop under the hood car.

Yes, it was.

Yeah, I remember this car.

Yeah, nobody could fix it.

Everybody was going to the dealer and this guy

and that guy and everybody was kind of confused.

Oh good, it got fixed.

It was the auxiliary battery.

Yes, and armed with your information,

I called the dealer that Monday morning and said,

this is what you need to do.

And no ifs, ands, or buts.

And after some back and forth,

they agreed to let me take it to their Chrysler dealer,

which was 70 miles away.

They gave me a loaner for free.

They replaced the auxiliary battery

because that was, they said it was,

do, do, do, do, do, do.

How could the dealer not know about the auxiliary,

but well, I-

Well, because I had bought it at Kia dealer.

It was a trade-in, so it wasn't a car

they would be real familiar with, I guess.

But-

Oh, okay, right, okay.

But then they let me take it to their affiliated workshop

car repair shop nearby, which does work on Chryslers

because they had a Chrysler for sale of the same year,

but with more mileage.

So I thought, well, they must know what they're doing,

but obviously they just had repaired

or had replaced the main battery.

So when I took it to this dealer 70 miles away,

they replaced the auxiliary battery

and then said the main battery need to be charged

and they charged it and then they tested it and it failed.

So they put in a third main battery

and the sales rep said they put in OEM batteries,

which should be better.

But I made sure to schedule it

when we were having like sub-zero temperatures

and I brought it to them on a Monday and I said,

I'm not getting this car until Saturday

and you started every single day in this cold weather,

leave it outside and make sure it doesn't pop.

And they said they did and that it didn't.

And so I've had it back for three weeks

and have not had a single starting it.

Excellent, I'm so happy for you.

And the issue here is, and this is what the government

this week did away with EPA regulatory credits

on Start, Stop, where it's no longer,

car manufacturers will no longer receive credits

against energy points because of Start, Stop.

So you're gonna see the way cars are built change now

and you're going to see, I think you're gonna see,

I don't think you'll see Start, Stop completely disappear,

but it's not mandatory or an advantage.

So I don't think you're going to see as much of it.

But here's a perfect example, right?

That you've got an older vehicle, it's three years old now,

you had to put a battery in it, it's not just one battery,

it's two batteries.

And if you had to pay for that retail upfront,

that battery, batteries, I should say,

is probably the better part of a $700 bill.

I believe it, I believe it.

All right, so it's, and here's my argument,

we've taken automobiles to the point,

when I repair cars in the shop every week,

and I look at the cost of things,

we were doing hoses on an older Ford the other day,

the lower radiator hose from Ford was $118.

A radiator hose, and who's gonna be able to afford cars

in the next five years?

Yep.

It's gotten to that stage.

We all kid about it, but we accept $50,000,

well, you don't accept it, but we all hear stories.

It's $50,000 to go buy a car today.

Right.

You know, that doesn't make any sense,

I sound like my mother, I remember when my first house

was $95,000, that was a little while ago,

but you get the point.

You know, things are just out of bounds,

but I'm glad it worked out for you, Chris,

to come back to center.

I'm glad it worked out for you that the car's running well,

and just stay on top of it and do your maintenance,

do your service like you're supposed to,

and find a good mechanic that understands that vehicle,

and it'll come back to help you.

Yeah, I have a wonderful independent mechanic,

so I'm thrilled about that.

Good.

And like I said, without you giving me that information,

I had no way to argue with the dealer

that this is what needed to be done,

and I had no clue what needed to be done.

Well, I'm glad I was able to help, I mean that.

Yeah, it really was helpful,

so I appreciate it immensely.

You're very welcome.

A huge mechanic that's passed.

There's, you know, it hasn't changed

in the 50 years I'm driving and working on cars,

but there's nothing like going out and hitting the key

and having a reliable car that starts every time.

Yep.

There's a comfort to that.

So, you know, that you can depend

on that piece of machinery.

Chris, I have to go, but I want to say it was a pleasure,

and you be well, and I'm glad your car is working for you

and doing what it's supposed to do.

You need anything, you know where to find us.

855-560-9900, I'm Ron Anani and 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 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.

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Big adventures, family chaos, untethered exploration.

The Nissan Pathfinder is built for it.

Powered by a lauded V6 engine

and smooth nine-speed automatic transmission,

the new Nissan Pathfinder is adventure on wheels.

With seating for up to eight, a premium interior,

and available second row captain's chairs,

it's adventure in comfort.

And with 284 horsepower and 6,000 pounds of towing capacity,

Pathfinder is adventure unlimited.

The new Nissan Pathfinder, power your adventure.

Towing capacity varies by configuration.

See Nissan towing guide and owner's manual

for additional information, always secure cargo.

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Store hours vary by location.

Hey, here we go.

Let's go to Steven Boston, 23 F-150.

What's going on, Steven?

How you doing?

All right, man.

I called you right before the year of Christmas break.

And I know you were off the year the following week.

So I called you and you gave me tremendous advice

which worked really well.

I mentioned that I had a Cadillac converter like come on.

You guided me with the, there was a recall on that year

for the Cadillac converter.

So taking your advice, I went to Ford.

And unfortunately, although it was 2023,

it was 2022, 2023 that the recall,

my truck was made after the recall cut off.

So the beauty of the story is it didn't fall under the recall,

but it fell under the warranty.

Right.

I only had 40, 2000 miles off.

Right, because a Cadillac converter,

Cadillac converters are pretty much 880

across the board for manufacturers.

And I believe most manufacturers are still 880

for PCMs, powertrain control modules,

the main engine computer.

So, you know, but good.

So it worked out.

So you got three Cadillatics.

And good.

Yes, and I just wanted to,

because you had sent to me,

oh, call back and let me know how it worked out.

And I said I would.

Yep, I appreciate that.

And I just think you guided me in the right direct,

because I would have never thought to go to the dealer.

Well, you know, and it's sad, isn't it though, Steve?

I mean, I'm thinking about the calls I've gotten this hour.

One was, you know, Chris with the batteries on her car,

two batteries at the dealer to know how to be replaced.

You're having catalytic converter problems.

This is a 23 and a 23 model year vehicle,

a 22 model year vehicle.

We had somebody else with less than 50,000 miles.

You know, are the new cars just made worse?

Are they having more repair problems

that they're being recalled?

And, you know, it just makes you think,

are you better off driving an older car

and doing more repairs?

I don't know.

I haven't made up my mind anymore.

Yeah, I was a little disappointed in Ford in this manner

that they knew they had a problem,

but they continued to put the Cadillac converters

in the newer vehicles.

Now, were they taking a chance

that they would outlast the warranty?

I don't know, but when they told me,

oh, don't fall under the recall,

you know, I get kind of upset.

Like, what do you mean it didn't,

but it fell under the warranty.

Yeah, so I did get it for free,

but it just surprised me

that they were continuing to use faulty Cadillac converters.

Yeah, well, because the line never stops, my friend.

You gotta understand that.

You know, it's the line never stops.

I've had friends that have worked

on the assembly lines for cars.

I know people whose parents have worked

in the assembly lines for cars.

I've heard stories where, you know,

back in the day when they shipped cars by train,

which I don't know that they do that much of anymore, maybe,

but I know one plant in particular, the freight train,

rolled in one side of the plant

and rolled out the other with the cars loaded.

And one day in the middle of winter,

the door stuck open, right?

It's snowing out.

It's 10 degrees.

And, you know, it's blowing directly on workers

in that area of the factory.

You got five minutes to get to your locker,

get your coat and report back to your station.

The line never stops.

And that's just the way they are.

And then it's funny because the line never stops.

And then they get to the end of the model year run

and they have all these leftovers

and they don't know what to do with them.

So I, you know, maybe the line should stop, you know,

show some compassion for humanity.

But, well, listen, I'm glad it worked out for you.

Stay on top of the oil changes, do the maintenance,

and you should get, you know,

you should get some decent mileage out of the vehicle.

Yeah, I wanted to close the loop that you definitely helped me.

You suggested to call back if you're an update, I did.

And I just want to thank you again

and I listened to your program quite often.

Oh, thank you, Steve.

You know what, that's, after all these years,

this is the kind of stuff that makes me realize,

eh, what the heck, Tom, let's do another 30 years.

We'll just keep going.

There you go.

So, yep.

I like it.

All right, Steven.

Listen, you have yourself a great rest of the weekend.

Yes, sir.

You're very welcome.

Thank you so much.

And we're happy to be here for you.

And you know, that's what this-

Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait.

Another 30 years?

Yeah.

I don't get time off for good behavior?

I don't know.

What else would we do?

I, you know, listen, when COVID happened

and I had to come home for three weeks,

well, it was only three weeks.

Everybody else had six,

but my wife threw me out after three

because pretty soon the house was organized like the shop.

You know, it's, you know,

you had to see what I did to that silverware drawer,

just like lining up wrenches, you know?

Fork knife, fork knife, fork knife.

Who put that spoon in there?

Throw that out.

Okay, fork knife, fork knife, fork knife.

I don't think I could sit home, Tom.

I don't think it's in my nature.

I still-

Yeah, me either.

Yeah, it drives me nuts.

I still think, to me, I am in retirement.

I've never really worked in my life

because I've enjoyed every minute of it.

So in any event, 855-560-9900,

let's pull over and take our last break.

We'll return after this to wrap it up.

Don't go anywhere.

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 has the largest online selection

of vehicle parts and accessories.

eBay, things, people, love.

Warning, this product contains nicotine.

Nicotine is an addictive chemical.

Hey, it's Velo Plus.

Here to debunk the conspiracy, less is more.

Total lie.

Why?

Because more is more with Velo Plus.

More flavors, more strengths, more comfort.

Discover the nicotine pouch with more at Velo.com.

That's V-E-L-O.com.

Underage sale prohibited Velo Plus

is a synthetic nicotine-pouch product

To test the new Pathfinder,

Nissan turned to the boldest creators of all.

Kids, their drawings sparked a wild idea.

Brought to life by a Hollywood director, a stunt team,

and the SUV that makes the unthinkable unforgettable.

No tricks, just V6 power, practical effects,

and the rugged new Pathfinder.

Watch how it all came together

and discover why JD Power ranks Nissan number one

in new vehicle quality among mainstream brands.

For JD Power 2025 US Initial Quality

Study Award information, visit jdpower.com slash awards.

Awards based on 2025 model year, newer models may be shown.

At CVS, it matters that we're not just in your community,

but that we're part of it.

It matters that we're here for you when you need us,

day or night, and we want everyone to feel welcomed

and rewarded.

It matters that CVS is here to fill your prescriptions

and here to fill your craving for a tasty

and healthy snack.

At CVS, we're proud to serve your community

because we believe where you get your medicine matters.

So visit us at CVS.com, or just come by our store.

We can't wait to meet you.

Store hours vary by location.

["Winding It Down"]

Winding it down this hour.

I want to leave you with a couple of things.

First of all, from my buddy Dodge down there,

he wrote in and he sent us an email

about first brands of funding.

We were talking about this over the last two weeks,

that there's a report out that Ford is trying

to prop up first brands, first brands auto parts.

If you recall a couple of weeks ago,

we talked about how first brands,

the head of Rabestis, Wagner, Moog, Auto Light,

so many brands that we've come to know

in the auto repair industry and common to us,

first brands filed for bankruptcy because of

some fraud, evidently, that was put on pawn by its CEO

and one of the vice presidents there.

They've been indicted in Manhattan Federal Court now

for defrauding lenders out of billions of dollars,

but it's had to declare bankruptcy.

It's affected the auto industry.

Ford has stepped up, and GM too, I'm told,

to put some funding into this company

to help keep it afloat because we need parts.

And not being able to get parts is a problem.

So kudos to them and thanks, Dodge,

as always for keeping us informed,

helping to be my reporter on the street

as it were.

Start, stop, we talked a little bit about

start, stop this hour this week,

and start, stop technology, that's that annoying

when you get to the traffic light in the corner,

the car shuts off and then it restarts.

Well, the EPA has eliminated the regulatory

off-cycle credits, big words,

but they've basically eliminated credits

for the auto manufacturers for equipping vehicles

with start, stop, and it helped the manufacturers

meet their greenhouse gas and fuel economy targets.

Well, now they're gonna have to find other ways to do it.

It's not necessary that they do that.

And in a lot of cases, it was more of a detriment than a help.

We're now seeing, because start, stop's been out there

for so long, we're now seeing older engines suffer

from problems with variable valve timing components.

Variable valve timing components are like a big sprocket

that are spring loaded on the inside

so they can change position based on oil pressure

as it's applied to change camshaft timing.

Think of a bicycle where that bicycle sprocket is

in terms of building power

and it's affecting a VVT component life cycles

and lifespans and that can become a $6,000 repair

trying to save a mission.

So I don't know, they're getting ready to start, stop

isn't the worst idea in the world.

I think it's probably a good one.

We'll see where it goes.

So that's happened this week also.

I wanna leave you with this last thought.

I know it's tough out there,

whether you're a shop owner, whether you're a technician,

or whether you're the consumers,

we're all trying to understand the process

going forward of water repair.

Know that the good ones are really working hard

to try and make this all work

and you can be part of that.

So if you can't pass it along, be kind,

be aware of each other, take some hope from that

and know that whatever you're facing, you can do it.

Like I always say, fix the broken car in front of you.

It's a job well taken.

Till the next time, I'm Ron Ananey

and the car doctor, the mechanics aren't expensive,

they're priceless.

Morning, this product contains nicotine.

Nicotine is an addictive chemical.

Hey, it's Velo Plus.

Here to debunk the conspiracy, less is more, total lie.

Why?

Because more is more with Velo Plus.

More flavors, more strengths, more comfort.

Discover the nicotine pouch with more at Velo.com.

That's V-E-L-O.com.

Underage sale prohibited.

Velo Plus is a synthetic nicotine pouch product

Big adventures, family chaos, untethered exploration.

The Nissan Pathfinder is built for it.

Powered by a lauded V6 engine

and smooth nine-speed automatic transmission,

the new Nissan Pathfinder is adventure on wheels.

With seating for up to eight, a premium interior

and available second row captain's chairs,

it's adventure in comfort.

And with 284 horsepower and 6,000 pounds

of towing capacity, Pathfinder is adventure unlimited.

The new Nissan Pathfinder, power your adventure.

Towing capacity varies by configuration.

See Nissan towing guide and owner's manual

for additional information, always secure cargo.

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Janice Torres here.

And I'm Austin Hankwitz.

We host the podcast,

Mind the Business, Small Business Success Stories

produced by Ruby Studio in partnership with Intuit QuickBooks.

We're back for season four to talk

to some incredible small business owners.

The big thing about working at Tech

is that it's ever-evolving, ever-changing.

Everyone's a rookie.

That's how fast the industry is changing.

So what I'm really excited about is to be part of that change.

So listen on the iHeart Radio app,

Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

This is an iHeart podcast.

Guaranteed human.

Ron Ananian, The Car Doctor - February 14, 2026 - Hour 2 - The Follow-up Show, How Cars Got Fixed!

About this episode

Porsche Cayman

eBay

ignition coil pack

crank sensor

Chevy Venture

BCM

load shed management

cooling fan

start-stop technology

PCM

Nissan Pathfinder

V6 engine

nine speed automatic transmission

horsepower

Mercury Marquis

barn find

fuel pump

water pump

master cylinder

Mercury Grand

Jeep Cherokee

Chevrolet Chevelle

Chevrolet Monte Carlo

rear window defogger

restomod

JD Power

Chrysler Pacifica

cold starting issues

auxiliary battery

$50,000

Ford F150

catalytic converter

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