Ron Ananian, The Car Doctor - February 7, 2026 - The EV Bill Comes Due: Burning Oil, Hot Trans Temps, and Parts Going Missing
Ron Ananian The Car Doctor
Ron Ananian, The Car Doctor - February 7, 2026 - The EV Bill Comes Due: Burning Oil, Hot Trans Temps, and Parts Going Missing
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Brand
Ram
Ram is a car brand that makes trucks, especially popular for their strength and utility. It belongs to the larger company Stellantis.
Brand
Chrysler
Chrysler is a car brand from America that makes different types of vehicles, like cars and minivans. It is part of a larger company called Stellantis.
Company
Stellantis
Stellantis is a big car company that owns brands like Chrysler and Jeep. It was created when two companies merged to make better cars, especially electric ones.
Brand
Jeep
Jeep is a car brand that makes tough vehicles, especially for off-roading. It's part of the larger company Stellantis and is loved by people who enjoy outdoor adventures.
Term
electric vehicles
Electric vehicles are cars that run on electricity instead of gas. They are better for the environment and are becoming more common as technology improves.
Term
alignment issue
An alignment issue happens when the wheels of a car aren't pointing in the right direction. This can cause the tires to wear out unevenly and make the car harder to steer.
Term
rust
Rust is what happens when metal gets wet and starts to break down. It can make parts of a car weak or damaged, especially if the car is in a place with a lot of rain or snow.
Term
camber adjustment
Camber adjustment is when you change how the wheels are tilted to make the car handle better and to help the tires last longer. It can be done with special parts in the car's suspension.
Company
MOOG
MOOG is a brand that makes car parts, especially for the parts that help your car's wheels and steering work properly. They are popular among car repair shops.
Term
toe
Toe is how much the front of the wheels point in or out compared to the middle of the car. Getting this right helps the car drive straight and keeps the tires from wearing out unevenly.
Part
alternator
An alternator is a part of a car that helps keep the battery charged and powers the car's electrical systems when the engine is running.
Part
battery
A battery is what starts your car and provides power to electrical parts when the engine isn't running. If it's old or damaged, it might not work well anymore.
Term
charging system
The charging system keeps your car's battery charged and powers the electrical parts of the car while the engine is running. It includes the alternator and other components that help manage electricity.
Term
amperage
Amperage is how much electricity is flowing in your car's electrical system. It helps determine how much power is being used by things like headlights and the radio.
Term
voltage
Voltage is like the pressure of electricity in your car. It tells you how much electrical energy is available to power things like lights and the radio.
Car
Acura 3.2 TL
The Acura 3.2 TL is a comfortable and stylish car from the late 1990s. It has a V6 engine, which gives it good power for a sedan.
Term
feather the gas
Feathering the gas means pressing the gas pedal lightly to help the car keep running without stalling. It's like giving it just a little bit of gas when it needs help.
Term
injectors
Injectors are parts of the engine that help deliver fuel to make the car run. They spray fuel into the engine so it can mix with air and burn to create power.
Term
residual pressure test
A residual pressure test checks if the fuel system can keep pressure after the engine is off. It's important to see if there are any leaks that could cause problems when starting the car.
Term
fuel pressure
Fuel pressure is how hard the fuel is pushed through the engine. If it's not strong enough, the engine might not run well or start at all.
Term
cavitation
Cavitation happens when bubbles form in a liquid, like when a pump isn't working right. These bubbles can cause damage and make the pump less effective.
Term
impeller
An impeller is a part of a pump that helps move water or fuel. If it gets worn out, the pump won't work as well as it should.
Term
fuel pump
The fuel pump is like a water pump for your car's fuel. It moves fuel from the tank to the engine so the car can run properly.
Part
crank sensor
The crank sensor helps the engine know how fast it's turning and when to fire the spark plugs. If it fails, the engine might not run properly.
Part
GM coil pack
A GM coil pack helps start the engine by sending a strong electric spark to the spark plugs. This is what makes the fuel in the engine ignite and power the car.
Term
spark tester
A spark tester is a device that checks if the engine's spark plugs are working properly. It shows if there's a good spark to ignite the fuel.
Term
coil wire
A coil wire is a wire that carries electricity from the ignition coil to the spark plugs. It helps the engine start by sending a spark to ignite the fuel.
Term
spark plug
A spark plug is a part of the engine that creates a small spark to burn the fuel and air mixture, helping the engine run.
Part
transfluid exchange
Transfluid exchange is when you change the fluid that helps your car's transmission work. It's like changing the oil for your engine, but for the part that helps your car change gears.
Company
Mala
Mala is a brand that makes tools and machines for fixing cars, especially for the parts that help cars change gears. They help mechanics do their jobs better.
Car
Hyundai 20 Hyundai
The Hyundai i20 is a small car that is easy to drive and park, making it great for city living. It's known for being reliable and having good fuel economy, which means you won't spend too much on gas.
Car
Hyundai Tucson
The Hyundai Tucson is a small SUV that many people use for everyday driving. The 2020 version has a lot of features and is designed to be comfortable and reliable.
Car
Chevrolet Tahoe
The Chevrolet Tahoe is a large SUV that can carry many passengers and has a lot of space for cargo. It's often used by families or for towing things like trailers.
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This is an I Heart podcast, guaranteed human.
Black History lives in our stories, our culture,
and the conversations we still have in today.
This Black History Month, the podcast I didn't know.
Maybe you didn't either, digs into the moments,
perspectives, and experiences that don't always
make the textbook.
Let me tell you about Garrett Morgan.
Bruh had to pretend he didn't even exist
just to sell his own invention.
Listen to I Didn't Know.
Maybe you didn't either, from the Black Effect Podcast
Network, on the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcast,
or simply wherever you get your podcast.
On June 11th, 1998, a deputy from the Los Angeles County
Sheriff's Department went missing.
Hey, don't kill a cop in Barriam.
What are you going to do to me?
What really happened to the missing deputy?
Valley of Shadows, a new series from Pushkin Industries
about crime and corruption in California's high desert.
Listen to Valley of Shadows on the I Heart Radio app,
Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcasts.
It ain't the end of your season.
You can always tune in with Broken Play Podcast,
with Nav Green, on the Black Effect Podcast Network.
Not a team who ain't going to the playoffs.
They're cheap.
It's time to rebuild.
Listen to Broken Play with Nav Green,
from the Black Effect Podcast Network,
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or whatever you get your podcast.
You're listening to Ronan Nanny and the Car Doctor,
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Looking for more?
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repair tips, and Ron's latest insights.
And be sure to subscribe to the CarDoctor YouTube channel
for exclusive videos, real repair footage, and more.
Now, start your engines.
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and ready to take your call.
26.2 billion.
Absorb that for a minute.
26.2 billion.
No, that's not the number of likes this radio show has.
Although it could be.
But 26.2 billion is the amount of dollars
that Stellantis, parent company of Chrysler, Jeep, Ram,
has lost on electric vehicles.
I'm not rabble-rousing.
I'm not telling tales out of school,
but it's in the news this week.
They lost 27% of their stock value in the last two days.
And why?
Because their EV model doesn't work.
Ford went through it.
Ford was 20 billion.
GM was a couple of billion.
Chrysler's 26.2 billion.
I'm not taking a victory...
Well, yeah, I am taking a victory lap here
because I was right.
All right?
I'm not saying they don't have their place and purpose,
but I said this four years ago,
and a lot of you beat me up for it.
We went to all in on EV vehicles.
It needs to be scaled back,
and brother, now they're paying for it.
It kind of makes you wonder, right?
That, you know, why is the price of vehicles up so high?
Hmm, could it be we're losing money
on the cheeseburger and fries
so we're raising the price of the steak?
You know, maybe there's a little bait and switch
going on here financially,
but somebody's paying for it,
and I don't think it's Chrysler.
I think it's you.
In any event, I just, you know,
we've got the story up on our Facebook page, by the way,
if you want to read the whole thing.
Great article from CNBC talking about it,
and by all means, just be aware,
the EV market, she's a change in just like the times.
Let's kick open the garage doors
as we kick off this hour with the car doctor
with Ron Ananey, and let's go over to Aaron in Michigan.
Aaron, welcome aboard, sir.
How can I help?
Hi, Ron, thanks for taking my call.
You're welcome.
Appreciate it.
I love your show.
Been listening to you for years now,
and always learned something new.
Thank you.
Every time I listen, so.
Yeah, a pretty simple question for you, probably.
Alignment issue.
I had it into a shop,
because my tire, front tire, is wearing front right,
and it's tearing the outside of the tire up,
and the vehicle's in Michigan,
so it's got a lot of rust.
So the two adjustment areas that I understand are there.
He wasn't able to, he could adjust the one,
but the other one was so rusty, he didn't want to touch it.
Camber, the camber cams?
Yeah.
Yeah, the cams on there, yeah, right, okay.
All right, and your question to me is,
how much should we worry about that,
or can it be done, or what?
How can I guide you?
Yeah, just suggestions as far as replacing
that camber adjustment, and what it involves.
So how many miles are on this truck, Aaron?
Solid, 240,000.
Okay, so you love this truck,
you're gonna drive it until it's dirt,
or we're just trying to call it a little long
for another year just to get what we can out of it,
and then go from there.
Yeah, just babying it until I can get into a new one.
I've done a lot of stuff to it to keep it going,
runs like a champ, but still much rust.
Yeah, it's well, and then that's the issue, right?
You know, rust is, it might be a bad analogy,
but rust is like a cancer.
Once it's in there and it's spread to a level,
it is it terminal, and it becomes that.
And sure, we could spend money, they do make cam kits,
accompanied by the name of MOOG, M-Double-O-G,
if they're still in business,
because they're part of the first brands group,
used to make cam kits,
and there was a bunch of other companies out there,
you could get cam kits with bolts,
and you could change that,
but then you've got to look at the rest of it.
You know, is the frame structurally sound,
how rust it is, everything?
Usually the cams were the first to seize and rust up,
and then the pins fell out that guided the cams,
and it just became a Misha Goss's mom would say.
At this point, how many miles do you think
you're going to go in the next year?
Oh, probably under 30,000.
Okay, so if you wore out that tire three times,
every 10,000 miles, which you probably won't do,
it kind of depends on how bad that alignment's out.
If you don't have it for the year,
isn't it cheaper just as long as it's safe, right?
As long as it's structurally safe,
all right, and fundamentally sound, isn't it?
You know, well, here's another reason to escalate
the look for replacing the vehicle,
because forget the rust, right?
It's 21 years old.
If tomorrow heaven forbid, it puked the trans,
and it was, you know, six grand.
Would you put the six grand in the truck?
Absolutely not.
Right, it would escalate your reason to replace it, right?
Right.
So you've kind of gotten a different escalation, right?
You've got a different reason.
As long as it, you know, it tracks straight, it handles okay,
it's got some edge wear problems on the right front.
As long as there's nothing loose,
it's not unreasonable to drive.
It just gives you another reason,
maybe somewhere in the next three to six months,
if it financially makes sense and you start looking now,
you know, leave it alone, right?
It's, you know, rust is a very,
is a very big bag of shells.
You don't know what you're getting into.
You know, how deep, how far,
and how much do we have to go?
Right.
And it just, the other thing it does,
it does pull to the right somewhat.
It's irritating to the beat.
I mean, at least.
So which alignment number was off, Caster?
You know what?
I don't know enough about it, Ron.
Okay.
Let me ask this question.
Is the original worn tire on the right front still?
Oh, no, I replaced the set
because they deemed them,
you know, my body hooked me up.
Okay.
And yeah, it deemed them defective.
Did they give you a printout of the alignment?
Yes, they did.
And the one, he was able to the,
not the main camber, but the other.
Toe.
Yeah, he was able to adjust that
and get that balance to point one, point zero one.
Right.
Something like that.
And then the other one was somewhat off,
but he couldn't even really get a reading on it
because he couldn't touch the.
Right.
Couldn't get the cams to move.
Yep.
Right.
So it's, you know, how severe of a pull?
How much is it going to wear the tire?
Again, the cost to repair.
Oh, I'm going to,
I'm just going to shoot a number out there and, you know,
say it's a grand of $1,500 rust gets nasty, right?
The kits are a couple of hundred dollars aside.
If the average shop has a labor rate of 150 to $200 an hour,
a split the difference, 175.
If it's two hours aside, let's call it 350 bucks aside,
$200 for the kid, 550 aside, it's $1,100.
Plus, plus, plus another alignment.
You're, you're, you're ready to do this?
Nope.
Right.
See, you see, you want to take me car shopping?
I can get your car in 20 minutes.
I'm, I'm very easy.
Yeah, I just, you know, let's just cut through the nonsense.
It's, listen, I was coming out of the chiropractor yesterday
and a woman standing there complaining
about how she doesn't feel good
and the chiropractors got the pills
that'll make her feel good and they were $91.
And she sat there.
It's amazing when you look at people, right?
And I'm not saying you're doing this,
but some people just like to moan, you know, Aaron?
And she's sitting there moaning about how she,
she doesn't feel good and what should she do
and how much are the pills?
They're 91 bucks.
Oh, and she's going back and forth with Teresa,
the receptionist and she looks at me as I'm checking out
and she says, what do you think I should do?
I said, well, I said,
do you have enough money? Can you eat tonight?
She said, yeah, I said,
is the $91 going to break the bank?
She said, no, then buy the pills, sit down,
stop talking and leave everybody alone.
And I, you know, like, like, what are we doing here?
It's, it's, it's, let's not bemoan the subject.
It's, you don't feel good.
These pills will make you feel better, right?
I just solved the problem.
And that's all that's, that's, so, you know,
it's be careful. Don't fall into the trap, brother.
You know, it's the trucks giving you
absolutely good service, 21 years.
You know, now you've got to go find something you like,
which is the bigger problem, right?
And you know what, maybe you start looking
Southern Arizona, California, an older truck, no rust,
and you buy something the same generation.
I bet you there's 60, 70,000 mile vehicles out there
that are clean and maybe you don't have to buy something,
new modern age, wonder, super high tech,
if 19 stealth fighter technology, you know.
No, I could go with the same 2005.
I love these trucks.
Right, yeah.
Sure.
They just, they just go and go, you know.
Listen, there's another question I had for you.
Yes, sir.
Real quick and then I'll let you get on.
My buddy's truck has a battery problem
and it's expanded on the side.
Like it's like blown up on the side.
Well, obviously the battery's bad.
Right, how old's the battery overcharge?
What's the charge rate?
What is the alternator running?
Not just voltage-wise, but current-wise, amperage-wise.
It sounds like the battery is overheated
and it's got an issue and I would look at all those factors
and again, how old is it?
Is it an older truck?
The battery sat, the battery's eight years old.
It's sulfated along the bottom.
The alternator's reacting differently
to the resistance value of it
and overcharging it without realizing it.
It's only four years old.
What brand is it?
Napa.
Napa.
Yeah, go back and talk to the boys at Napa,
but it is approaching the end of its life.
All right?
Yeah.
Batteries are rated five years
and as a matter of fact, if you want, take a look at,
go out to AutoBatteries.com and they'll lay out,
there's a lot there as far as battery strategy,
technology, what affects them, how they charge,
what makes them charge different,
but I would just be sure you've got a good battery,
I'm sorry, a good charging system going on there,
voltage amperage, it meets all the specs
and checks all the boxes and at that point,
I wouldn't fool around, I'd change the battery,
but AutoBatteries.com will help you
make some of these decisions.
I appreciate the call, Aaron, good luck in the truck search
and send us a picture of your new truck,
we'll put it up on the Facebook page.
I'm Ron Ananey in the car doctor,
I'll be back right after this.
What if mind control is real?
If you could control the behavior of anybody around you,
what kind of life would you have?
Can you hypnotically persuade someone
to buy a car?
When you look at your car,
you're gonna become overwhelmed with such good feelings.
Can you hypnotize someone into sleeping with you?
I gave her some suggestions to be sexually aroused.
Can you get someone to join your cult?
NLP was used on me to access my subconscious.
NLP, aka neuro-linguistic programming,
is a blend of hypnosis, linguistics and psychology.
Fans say it's like finally getting a user manual
for your brain.
It's about engineering consciousness.
Mind games is the story of NLP.
It's crazy cast of disciples and the fake doctor
who invented it at a New Age commune
and sold it to guys in suits.
He stood trial for murder and got acquitted.
The biggest mind game of all, NLP might actually work.
This is wild.
Listen to mind games on the iHeart Radio app,
Apple podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.
This show contains information subject
to but not limited to personal takes, rumors,
not so accurate stats and plenty more.
What's up, man?
This is your boy, Nav Green from the Broken Play Podcast.
Look, it's the end of the season to play off the hip.
But guess what?
It ain't the end of your season.
You can always tune in with Broken Play Podcast
with Nav Green on the Black Effect Podcast Network.
Not a team who ain't going to the playoff.
They're cheese.
What's around?
It's time to rebuild.
Who your MVP right now then?
Drake May up there.
Josh Allen up there still.
Oh, my boy, Matthew Stafford.
Where did he go next at?
He ain't too far behind.
You did all this talking.
What Matthew Stafford is doing statistically, bro,
is crazy.
Bro, you know I ain't no Josh Allen fan,
but Matthew Stafford got better weapon.
Taylor Williams.
Hey, he should be in that conversation.
In what conversation?
He should be in it.
Listen to Broken Play with Nav Green
from the Black Effect Podcast Network
on the iHeart Radio app.
Apple Podcast or whatever, you get your podcast.
On June 11th, 1998, the deputy from the Los Angeles County
Sheriff's Department went missing.
It's an all out manhunt for John R. J.
Every search and rescue team in LA County
has been called in to help.
Within days, TIP started flooding into the Sheriff's
Department.
The ruler around the drug scene was that a deputy
was taken care of.
Is this the story of a man who just got lost in the desert
or of a cover up inside the nation's largest
sheriff's department?
A homicide captain saying, detective,
do not find out if this guy's guilty or innocent.
Who does that?
Valley of Shadows, a new series from Pushkin Industries
about crime and corruption in California's high desert.
Do you have any advice for us while looking
into this disappearance?
I wouldn't do it alone.
Listen to Valley of Shadows on the iHeart radio app,
Apple Podcast or wherever you get your podcasts.
Hey, let's get over to a fan favorite and actually a favorite
fan.
Let's go and talk to Billy in Colorado, 99 Acura,
and see what's going on here.
Billy, welcome back.
What's going on today?
What are you working on?
Hey, Ron, how you doing?
Right, man.
So my daughter has a 99 Acura 3.2 TL.
The thing is, a tank runs great, except on a hot start.
So drive it, warm it up, leave it for 20 to 30 minutes.
When you fire it back up, it stumbles bad.
It'll stall unless you feather the gas for about 10
to 30 seconds, then it settles down.
Fairly consistent.
I figured the injectors were leaking down
and flooding the intake mouth folds.
So I ran a residual pressure test and it's perfect.
Over half an hour, it lost five PSI.
And I left it overnight.
It had still at 15 PSI.
Also checked the purge valve.
That's good.
So then finally, I plugged it into the Google box.
I'm getting, apparently, the common thing,
but there are lots of supposedly culprits
and no solid solutions.
So why don't we eliminate some things, right?
And one of the first things that comes to mind
any time I ran into this, this is now an older vehicle, right?
This is 29, 29, 27 years old.
Because I remember working on 99 Acuras.
Can we pinch off?
Doesn't this have a rubber return line for the fuel system?
I don't know.
I think it does, if I remember right.
And my thought would be if, and I'd put it,
can we get a fuel pressure gauge on it?
Is first, right?
Yeah, and even though the spec is good, right?
Even though you're going to tell me,
you'll call me midweek or email me midweek and say,
hey Ron, fuel pressure is good.
I'm still concerned about volume.
I'm still concerned about cavitation.
Do I have a pump where the impeller is wearing out?
You ever have a sump pump in the basement
and the pump goes bad and it's running,
but it doesn't seem to push nearly as much water
as it used to?
Because the impellers wore out and it's starting
to aerate the water and it just, it runs
and it just makes bubbles and it doesn't do anything.
And you know, a fuel pump.
So you're thinking this is not enough fuel on the hot start?
I was thinking it was too much.
Yeah, I'm thinking it's not enough.
Well, I'll tell you what, this is going to tell us
because what you're going to do is you're going to hook up
a fuel pressure gauge, make sure you've got rock solid
fuel pressure and you're going to slowly pinch off the pump.
You're going to slowly pinch off the reserve.
All right?
You're going to almost dead head fuel pressure
should go to 80 PSI between 75 and 85, 80 is a good number,
but it should climb.
If we come close to dead head in the pump
and we don't get good fuel pressure,
we've got a pump problem.
Questions?
Okay.
I hear your mind racing, brother.
Questions?
Yeah, I'm visualizing, visualizing the system.
Yeah, I'll absolutely try that.
And have you seen this caused by heat soaked crank sensors?
I'm hearing a lot about that.
And it was one moment the other day I was driving it
and it just dropped out for like a half second.
Okay.
Do you have a hairdryer?
Yeah.
Or a heat gun?
I have a lot of hairdryers.
Right, yeah.
That's what I mean.
You've got daughters, you've got to have hairdryers.
So, you know-
And a heat gun too, but yeah.
Right, let's park the car outside and set it up
or let's leave it in the garage or wherever,
leave the heat off, get the car cold.
All right, the car starts fine, right?
Show off the car real quick.
Let's take the heat gun, shoot a little hot air at it.
Let's heat the crank sensor up.
I'm not saying no, I've never seen it,
but you know, when I had old GM 3800s,
DIS crank sensor breakdowns, cam sensors breakdown,
blah, blah, blah, we would get out a blow dryer,
a heat gun and the car is cold.
We'd heat up the sensor, car wouldn't run worth a hoot.
We'd go, okay, well, that's pretty indicative.
We'd put a sensor in it, we were fixed,
but at least we could prove it, right?
Okay, great.
You know, if you said to me it was the other way around,
just as a point of learning, right?
If this was a Hey Ron, only when it's cold
and I think it's the crank sensor, if it was accessible,
I'd throw the crank sensor in the freezer
and then bolt it back up, let it sit there overnight.
We used to do a lot of these crazy things.
Of course, I'd have to warn mama
if I was working on a car at the house,
be careful what you take out of the freezer
because it may not be meatloaf, you know?
So it might be a crank sensor or a GM coil pack,
which was common, so.
Hopefully she could tell the difference.
Well, hopefully, but sometimes they were in a rush.
You know, raising a bunch of kids,
sometimes you're in a hurry.
Hey, what did I stick my hand into?
Well, you know, but yeah, let's do that,
but let's go for fuel pressure first.
And then just for giggles, you got a spark tester, right?
I know I've talked to you before, right?
Can we just take one cylinder and put a spark tester on it
and maybe set up a coil wire?
I'm trying to think of how you would do that.
There's a way to tee it and maybe put a spark plug wire
onto the spark plug in the head
and then tee off a spark tester to the other side,
even if we have to make something up for testing purposes
and prove that I've got spark on the cylinder
on a consistent basis, you know,
snap, snap, snap, snap, snap while it's doing it.
All right, but I bet you it's fuel, Billy.
Do the test, you give me a call,
you let me know or shoot me an email.
We'll go from there.
I'm Ron and Annie in the car doctor.
We'll be back right after this.
What if mind control is real?
If you could control the behavior of anybody around you,
what kind of life would you have?
Can you hypnotically persuade someone to buy a car?
When you look at your car,
you're gonna become overwhelmed with such good feelings.
Can you hypnotize someone into sleeping with you?
I gave her some suggestions to be sexually aroused.
Can you get someone to join your cult?
NLP was used on me to access my subconscious.
NLP, aka neurolinguistic programming,
is a blend of hypnosis, linguistics, and psychology.
Fans say it's like finally getting a user manual
for your brain.
It's about engineering consciousness.
Mind games is the story of NLP.
It's crazy cast of disciples and the fake doctor
who invented it at a New Age commune
and sold it to guys in suits.
He stood trial for murder and got acquitted.
The biggest mind game of all, NLP might actually work.
This is wild.
Listen to mind games on the iHeart Radio app,
Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
This show contains information subject to,
but not limited to personal takes, rumors,
not so accurate stats, and plenty more.
What's up, man?
This your boy now bringing from the broken play podcast.
Look, it's the end of the season to play officer here.
But guess what?
It ain't the end of your season.
You can always tune in with broken play podcasts
with Nav Green on the Black Effect Podcast Network.
Another team who ain't going to the playoff.
They're cheese.
Or it's a wrap.
It's time to rebuild.
Who your MVP right now then?
Drake May up there.
Josh Allen up there still.
Oh, my boy, Matthew Stafford.
Where did he go next at?
He ain't too far behind.
He did all this talking.
What Matthew Stafford is doing statistically, bro,
is crazy.
Bro, you know I ain't no Josh Allen fan,
but Matthew Stafford got better weapon.
Caleb Williams.
Hey, he should be in that conversation.
In what conversation?
He should be in it.
Listen to broken play with Nav Green
from the Black Effect Podcast Network
on the I Heart Radio Apple Podcast,
or whatever you get your podcast.
On June 11th, 1998,
the deputy from the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department
went missing.
It's an all out manhunt for John R.J.
Every search and rescue team in LA County
has been called in to help.
Within days,
tips started flooding into the Sheriff's Department.
The ruler around the drug scene
was that a deputy was taken care of.
Is this the story of a man
who just got lost in the desert
or of a cover up inside the nation's
largest Sheriff's Department?
A homicide captain saying,
detective, do not find out
if this guy's guilty or innocent.
Who does that?
Valley of Shadows,
a new series from Pushkin Industries
about crime and corruption
in California's high desert.
Do you have any advice for us
while looking into this disappearance?
I wouldn't do it alone.
Listen to Valley of Shadows
on the I Heart Radio App,
Apple Podcast,
or wherever you get your podcasts.
The more you listen to your kids,
the closer you'll be.
So we asked kids,
what do you want your parents to hear?
I feel sometimes that I'm not listened to.
I would just want you to listen to me more often
and evaluate situations with me
and lead me towards success.
Listening is a form of love.
Find resources to help you support your kids
and their emotional well-being
at soundedouttogether.org.
That's soundedouttogether.org.
Brought to you by the Ad Council and Pivotal.
From the city streets to the open road tonight
If you ride these hell-brown,
we'll keep you rolling right
Yeah, he's the car doctor
Car advice done right
Hey, have I told you this week,
coming up this week,
I think Sunday at 3 p.m.,
depending on what day you get this, listen to this,
but we always post YouTube videos Sundays at 3.
Well, coming up this week,
we've got this really great one about
transfluid exchange using the Mala ATX 280,
the new trans machine.
So you'll see that up there.
And by all means, look at it, like it, don't like it,
tell us what you like or don't like about it.
Comments are open.
We're always glad to hear what you got to say.
And if you get out to Facebook,
we would appreciate some social media support
and some podcast downloads.
I know a lot of you love this show.
Tell your friends, tell your family, tell your neighbors
and help us drive the numbers
because we're trying to get to the next level.
So we need your help to do it.
We appreciate you guys being with us all these years.
We just want to let you know what's going on.
That's that.
Let's go over to Ted in Minnesota,
20 Hyundai Tucson and see what's going on here.
Welcome, Ted. How can I help?
Yeah, hi.
Yeah, my daughter has a 20 Hyundai
and it was under just under 100,000 miles.
It's probably $105 that it's been burning
a quart of oil every 400 miles.
Okay.
It's been doing it for some time.
And well, you know, she typically doesn't,
didn't even check her own oil.
She's doing it now.
But what, what, what would you recommend for recourse?
You really get.
Service department, you get to run around.
Yep.
So, and it kind of doesn't matter what engine,
but just for my own knowledge sake,
two liter, 2.4 liter, which one?
There's only two four cylinders available for that.
Do you happen to know?
I'm not sure, but there's a rash of them.
And they said it's because allegedly,
they used a softer ring.
Yep.
Thinking it would improve the gas mileage.
So let me, let me tell you how bad
this oil consumption is with Hyundai's, right?
You know, they say the most analyzed book in the world
is the Bible, right?
And it's, it's, it's, it's analyzed from every possible
perspective.
My God, where's Ron going with this on an auto repair show?
Go get your hands on Hyundai technical bulletin,
23-EM-008.
23-EM-Edward Mary-EM-008H is in Harry.
Dash 008.
Eight.
The number eight.
Eight.
Eight H.
008H.
008 Harry, right?
Can you step back quickly if you don't mind?
Sure.
23.
23.
Go ahead.
23-EM-008H.
Correct.
Yes, sir.
Dated, dated December of 2023.
That bulletin is, you know, when I read that bulletin,
I said, my God, they have analyzed oil consumption
like everybody analyzes the Bible, which I think is a
great book, by the way, right?
They explain every possible scenario, factual existence.
Check this, check that.
Here's what you have to do.
Here's the reason why.
And it covers all engines.
It's hysterical.
It's like Hyundai admitting, you know, we got this
problem and, you know, it's just an amazing read.
And to me, I would walk into the Hyundai dealer and say,
how can you tell me you don't have a problem
when this bulletin is in existence?
That's my question.
Okay.
Because understand what it takes to write a bulletin.
It's not just somebody, hey, write a bulletin.
You know, listen, Ted, could you write this bulletin
about oil consumption and take a bunch of notes?
You know, the bulletin gets written.
It gets analyzed for mechanical and statistical, you know,
accuracy.
It gets run through legal.
It gets run by every department head to be approved.
You know, it's not, hey, we're going to make a bulletin
about this and everybody has to sign off on it, right?
So for them to put a bulletin out takes a lot of effort.
All right.
Hyundai's have an engine problem.
They just do.
All right.
I have friends that work in Hyundai dealerships.
They all tell me the same thing.
It's a great five year car.
And just after that, you say, hmm, I would talk to Hyundai
corporate.
I would ask them, hey, is this vehicle subject to any problems
and see what kind of answer you get then because I bet you
you get a different answer.
All right.
And, you know, you go by any Hyundai dealer.
If you ever notice, if you look out back, they've always got
a bunch of cars out there, you know, that look like they
have the engine out.
And the reason is because they probably do because the average
Hyundai dealership the last time I checked was two and a half,
three months backlog doing engines.
Oh, wow.
Oh yeah.
So this is not, this is not an impossibility.
All right.
They've gotten better over time.
Two years ago, I would have told you it was a four month
backlog.
All right.
But, but Hyundai has had such engine problems.
I'm stunned.
The business, the company is still in business.
It boggles my mind.
And if you raise your voice loud enough and get to the right
person in corporate, they will accommodate you and I would not
be surprised if they give her a complete engine for free.
I'm not promising, but I'm just saying it pays to make a
stink.
All right.
She, she might be asked, she might be asked for, you know,
oil change records.
All right.
Did she, did she happen to use the dealership for her
oil change services?
She bought the car new in Oklahoma city and she always had
it serviced by a private mechanic there.
Okay.
Does she have record, does she have records of that?
I would assume so.
Yeah.
Decent records.
And then when she, you know, is she, is she, is she in Minnesota
or is she's in Oklahoma city?
Well, now she's in Minnesota.
She's actually teaching an Annunciation school.
Okay.
Familiar with that.
Yes.
Yeah.
Yeah.
So is she, does she have service records of, you know,
currently, you know, what I'm trying to say is she should be
changing the oil at a minimum every five months, 5,000 miles.
Well, yeah.
And she's always done that.
And I've always encouraged the kids close 3,000.
Right.
It's cheap insurance.
Right.
And, and does she have copies of that?
And she can provide some form of, Hey, I serviced it within
reason.
It's not, it's, and the conversation Ted has to go, Hey,
you know, listen, I'm not making an unreasonable request.
We purchased, we purchased a vehicle new.
We serviced it within reason.
You know, is there a couple of oil changes where we went 7,000
instead of 5,000?
Maybe is there a couple of oil changes where we went 3,000
instead of 5,000?
Sure.
All right.
But you can't tell me that two longer oil changes or four longer
oil changes in the 100,000 lifecycle of a vehicle makes it
burn oil at 100,000 miles.
That's, that's, that's the argument.
All right.
She was averaging 150 miles a day here all last year.
Right.
She was, you know, relocating.
Is, is, is there any documentation that before it hit the
100,000 mile market went into a dealership service department
with an oil consumption complaint?
No, no, it's, you know, she's very independent girl.
She's a single woman and she's been on her own.
And when she comes up every once in a while, I always make a point
to pop all the hoods up for all the kids.
Right.
Yep.
And, and I noticed my God, you know, it was down, you know,
the court and a half, two courts.
So then the argument becomes, then the argument becomes, and then
I got to go brother, but the argument becomes, doesn't this car
or didn't this car have a 10 year, 100,000 mile engine warranty?
Yeah, and it did.
Yeah, it did.
Right.
So here you are.
Here you are at 104,000.
Now I can't prove it to you, Mr.
Mr.
Hyundai corporate, but we really started to notice this problem in
the mid 90s and it just took us a while to figure it out.
And then we realized, you know, tell them, hey, we called the car
doctor radio show and this is what Ron told us.
And he made us aware of this bulletin and he made us aware of
the condition and the problems that you're having.
So can't we solve this equitably and reasonably and conduct
business at some sort of a human level?
See how they react to that.
Okay.
I should be able to find corporate online.
Yeah.
I think corporate offices are in California and they'll probably
open a case.
They're going to call it a corporate case.
They'll open a case and I'll be shocked if they don't do
something for you, Ted.
I really would because everybody that I sent, let me put it to
you this way.
I've never put an engine in a Hyundai.
You know why?
Because every time I find a bad one, Hyundai does it for them.
Wrong.
Okay, let's get it.
And I, you know, I've never, and I've, I've found more than a
few.
It got to the point where the local, and I tell this story all
the time, the local Hyundai dealer here in North Jersey, I
knew Bruce on a first name basis.
I'd call him up.
Hey, Bruce, how's it going?
You know, he was my best buddy.
We were at the bar having alcohol, adult beverages.
Okay.
I wouldn't know what Bruce looked like if he was standing next
to me on the subway.
All right.
And he would tell me his life story.
I knew everything that was going on in that dealership about,
you know, how they couldn't get cars to stay together with
engines.
And unfortunately, he's not there anymore because he got so
burnt out doing, you know, so many engines, 35 engines a month.
He was like, I can't do this anymore.
And I think he's, I think he's painting houses.
He's looking for a simpler life.
But just know that, yeah, you are in the right that it's not
unreasonable.
Get your hands on that bulletin.
Read it.
And there's your proof.
Good luck to you, Ted.
And tell your daughter, best of luck.
I'm Ron and Andy in the car doctor.
We are back right after this.
What if mind control is real?
If you could control the behavior of anybody around you,
what kind of life would you have?
Can you hypnotically persuade someone to buy a car?
When you look at your car, you're going to become overwhelmed
with such good feelings.
Can you hypnotize someone into sleeping with you?
I gave her some suggestions to be sexually aroused.
Can you get someone to join your cult?
NLP was used on me to access my subconscious.
NLP, a.k.a. neurolinguistic programming,
is a blend of hypnosis, linguistics, and psychology.
Fans say it's like finally getting a user manual for your brain.
It's about engineering consciousness.
Mind games is the story of NLP.
It's crazy cast of disciples and the fake doctor
who invented it at a New Age commune
and sold it to guys in suits.
He stood trial for murder and got acquitted.
The biggest mind game of all?
NLP might actually work.
This is wild.
Listen to Mind Games on the iHeart Radio app,
Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
On June 11th, 1998,
a deputy from the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department
went missing.
It's an all-out manhunt for John Auge.
Every search and rescue team in LA County
has been called in to help.
Within days, tips started flooding into the Sheriff's Department.
The ruler around the drug scene
was that a deputy was taken care of.
Is this the story of a man who just got lost in the desert?
Or of a cover-up inside the nation's largest sheriff's department?
A homicide captain saying,
Detective, do not find out if this guy's guilty or innocent.
Who does that?
Valley of Shadows,
a new series from Pushkin Industries
about crime and corruption in California's high desert.
Do you have any advice for us while looking into this disappearance?
I wouldn't do it alone.
Listen to Valley of Shadows on the iHeart Radio app,
Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
It's the end of the season, the play-offs of here.
But guess what?
It ain't the end of your season.
You can always tune in with Broken Play Podcasts
with Nav Green on the Black Effect Podcast Network.
Not a team who ain't going to the play-off.
They're cheese.
Oh, it's a wrap.
It's time to rebuild.
Who your MVP right now then?
Drake May up there.
Josh Allen up there still.
Oh, my boy, Matthew Stafford.
Where the hell bowl nicks at?
He ain't too far behind.
You did all this talking.
What Matthew Stafford is doing statistically, bro, is crazy.
Bro, you know I ain't no Josh Allen fan,
but Matthew Stafford got a better weapon.
Caleb Williams.
Hey, he should be in that conversation.
In what conversation?
He should be in it.
Listen to Broken Play with Nav Green
from the Black Effect Podcast Network
on the iHeart Radio app,
Apple Podcasts, or whatever you get your podcasts.
Sometimes that I'm not listening to,
I would just want you to listen to me more often
and evaluate situations with me
and lead me towards success.
Welcome back.
Let's go to Mike and Michigan.
A lot of Michigan today.
16 Chevy Tahoe.
Mike, what's going on?
Hey, Ron, thanks for taking the time.
You're welcome.
My dad and I last weekend
drove from Michigan to Southern Arkansas
to pick up a new to us 2016 Tahoe,
one that didn't live half its life,
in the Michigan Salt.
Right.
And on the way home,
I noticed the transmission temperature
was running at 196 degrees,
which for being temperatures outside
in the single digits of teens
seemed also warm to me.
I called my dad who was driving
in a 2013 avalanche ahead of me
with the same 6L80 transmission in it,
and his temperature was running
at about 115 degrees.
We thought we got a Tahoe
with a bad transmission or a problem.
Doing some research,
we found that in 2014,
GM started putting a thermal bypass valve
on this transmission
to not let fluid reach the cooler
until it reaches 195 degrees.
Well, I wanted your thoughts on letting...
There's all kinds of...
We have three options.
There's an aftermarket kit
to bypass this thing
and just let the fluid go right to the cooler
like they always have in the past,
or leave it alone.
Trust the GM engineers
and let it run at 195 degrees
or do a middle road.
It looks like there's...
You can get one of these things
with a thermostat
that might do 155 or something like that.
I just wanted your thoughts on this.
Were you the guy at the shop two weeks ago
when we were having lunch
and the trans guys stopped by
and my GM guys stopped by
and we were all sitting there having...
I swear to God, we had this conversation
because we were all running around the room.
And for the life of us,
and I'm talking seasoned GM techs,
seasoned trans guys,
general independent mechanics like us,
we can't figure out
why they're running trans temp so high.
Because one of the first things they teach you is
temperature is death to transmission fluid.
And where's the logic in this?
So I kind of like the middle of the road thing.
I like the 155 bypass thermostat
because it's not going to be too cold.
It's not going to be too hot.
And I'm going to monitor fluid quality
and quantity and degradation.
And how does it fall apart?
Because I think there'd be issues with too cold.
It might shorten the life of the converter.
And I'm more worried about the converter
than anything else in that trans, all right?
If GM has a trans problem, it's in the converters.
Yeah, they've got some issues with the clutch packs
and the bands and so forth.
But it's the converters, the torque converters
that tend to get beat up more than anything.
So I like a little bit of heat.
I like the 150 degree range.
I think they completely bypass it.
I'm not sure what the GM engineers were thinking.
I'm thinking, quite honestly, as I said,
at the meeting we had at lunch that day,
and it just kind of worked out that way,
everybody kind of stopped by the shop to say,
hey, I said, well, this must be Kismet.
God must be doing something to get everybody together.
I'm thinking they're thinking fuel economy
because it can't be longevity.
Yeah, because I've never heard of being too cold
of a fluid till the transmission,
but certainly too hot of temperatures
can kill a transmission.
Right.
I typically see when I plow with the truck,
my plow truck, my 22, which is a six-speed, all right?
I will watch trans temperature.
It starts working hard.
I get up to that 190, 200 degree range
and I worry about it, but I go, well,
there's not much I can do about it.
I haven't really stopped to think about putting a bypass in there,
but the truck's got 10,000 miles on it.
I probably won't have the truck at 50.
I won't have it when it gets older.
So if you're looking for longevity,
I think you do have to do something.
But my point is I will also look at trans temp
on some of my other older GM vehicles
without this thermal bypass.
I see average trans temp in that 140 to 160 range, 165 range.
So I just think that extra 30 degrees is too much.
Yeah, and that's what I've always been accustomed to
with the temperatures you're talking about right there.
That's why I was just shocked to me
that it was 195 degree trans temperature
when the ambient temperature was in the single digit.
I didn't like that because what happens
when you get in the summer, stop and go traffic-type situations,
you don't have much of a buffer to get up to.
What do you consider dangerous transmission temperature?
Over 220.
Yeah, we're pretty close to 220 before
that you even have a chance to get to the cooler.
Right, wait until July.
Exactly.
Well, just remember this,
and I'm going to get a lot of heat for this one, Mike,
but I'll say it in this case,
remember what GM stands for, giant mistakes.
I think they made one.
855-5600-9900.
Appreciate the call, Mike.
I'm coming back right after this.
Can you hypnotize someone into sleeping with you?
I gave her some suggestions to be sexually aroused.
Can you get someone to join your cult?
NLP was used on me to access my subconscious.
NLP, a.k.a. neurolinguistic programming,
is a blend of hypnosis, linguistics and psychology.
Fans say it's like finally getting a user manual for your brain.
It's about engineering consciousness.
Mind games is the story of NLP.
It's crazy cast of disciples,
and the fake doctor who invented it at a New Age commune
and sold it to guys in suits.
He stood trial for murder and got acquitted.
The biggest mind game of all?
NLP might actually work.
This is wild.
Listen to Mind Games on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,
or wherever you get your podcasts.
This show contains information subject to but not limited to personal takes,
rumors, not-so-accurate stats, and plenty more.
What's up, man?
This your boy Nav Green from the Broken Play Podcast.
Look, it's the end of the season.
The playoffs are here.
But guess what?
It ain't the end of your season.
You can always tune in with Broken Play Podcasts
with Nav Green on the Black Effect Podcast Network.
Another team won't go into the playoffs.
They're cheese.
What's around?
It's time to rebuild.
Who your MVP right now, then?
Drake May up there.
Josh Allen up there still.
Oh, my boy, Matthew Stafford.
Where did he go?
Nick said.
He ain't too far behind.
He did all this talking.
What Matthew Stafford is doing statistically, bro, is crazy.
Bro, you know I ain't no Josh Allen fan.
What Matthew Stafford got.
Better weapon.
Taylor Williams.
Hey, he should be in that conversation.
In what conversation?
He should be in it.
Listen to Broken Play with Nav Green from the Black Effect Podcast Network
on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or whatever you get your podcasts.
On June 11th, 1998, a deputy from the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department
went missing.
It's an all out manhunt for John R. J.
Every search and rescue team in LA County has been called in to help.
Within days, tips started flooding into the Sheriff's Department.
They ruler around the drug scene was that a deputy was taken care of.
Is this the story of a man who just got lost in the desert?
Or of a cover up inside the nation's largest sheriff's department?
A homicide captain saying, detective, do not find out if this guy's guilty or innocent.
Who does that?
Valley of Shadows, a new series from Pushkin Industries about crime and corruption in California's high desert.
Do you have any advice for us while looking into this disappearance?
I wouldn't do it alone.
Listen to Valley of Shadows on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Because remember, only you can prevent wildfires.
Brought to you by the USDA Forest Service, your state forester in the ad council.
Hey, so as we wind it down this hour, remember last week I talked to you about First Brands?
I remember the parts conglomeration, the company that was the overseer for Moog, Auto Light, Ray Bestis, First Break, Breaks First, whoever it was.
And so much of the automotive aftermarket, names that we've come to know and trust and value for the past 75 to 80 years.
And how certain brands are going away, the companies in bankruptcy.
It was in the news that the founder, Patrick James, and his brother, Vice President Ed, had been indicted in Manhattan, New York Federal Court for defrauding lenders out of billions of dollars.
Well, that's the financial impact, right?
And last week I mentioned to you that you might see some parts issues and how that could affect the supply chain.
I called up some of my supply houses this week and I talked to the guys that are on the line, first and foremost, they're seeing this every day.
Yeah, there's a problem. There's a real problem. Break calipers are an issue. Cardone is gone, right? A-1 Cardone out of Philadelphia.
They've been there for, I mean, before the war, you know, started as a starter rebuilder back in the 20s and they're gone.
The company is gone, part of the First Brands group default.
But there's certain things that they're finding.
Ron was telling me, my guy at one of my parts houses, there's certain things they can't get.
You can't buy a 22-inch wiper blade in some cases because, you know, First Brands was involved with Trico, which is on the verge.
And they made a lot of the 22-inch blades for a lot of manufacturers under different names, Bosch, Motorcraft, you know, Trico, obviously.
Funny things like that, they were having a sales meeting.
He had just come out of five minutes before I called him midweek last week and he was telling me how they were discussing this,
that they have huge holes in their product lines that they're trying to fill from places that don't exist yet.
Is things like the First Brands default a matter of national security?
We can't get auto parts, we can't move cars, we can't fix cars? Something to think about.
More to come, we'll continue.
I'm Ron and Amy in The Car Doctor, remember, good mechanics aren't expensive, they're priceless.
See ya.
Black History
On June 11th, 1998, a deputy from the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department went missing.
Hey, don't kill a cop and bury him, what are you gonna do to me?
What really happened to the missing deputy?
Valley of Shadows, a new series from Pushkin Industries about crime and corruption in California's high desert.
Listen to Valley of Shadows on the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
It ain't the end of your season, you can always tune in with Broken Play Podcasts with Nav Green on the Black Effect Podcast Network.
Not a team who ain't going to the playoffs, they're cheap, it's time to rebuild.
Listen to Broken Play with Nav Green from the Black Effect Podcasts Network on the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or whatever you get your podcasts.
People who didn't do what John F. God wanted them to do, they usually disappeared.
John of God was once Brazil's most famous spiritual healer.
But in this limited series podcast, we uncover the darker truth behind his global empire of faith and fear.
From exactly right, and adonde media, this is Too Faced, John of God.
Listen on the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
This is an I Heart Podcast.
Guaranteed human.
About this episode
Ron Ananian dives into the financial struggles of major automakers like Stellantis, which has lost $26.2 billion on electric vehicles, sparking a discussion on the sustainability of the EV market. He emphasizes the need for a balanced approach to EV adoption, reflecting on past predictions. The episode features a call from a listener dealing with alignment issues on a rust-prone truck, where Ron offers practical advice on maintenance and the implications of rust. He also addresses battery problems, highlighting the importance of checking the charging system.
Original notes
This hour, Ron opens with a hard number—$26.2 billion—and what it says about the EV business model, vehicle pricing, and why consumers may be the ones ultimately paying the tab. He breaks down what’s happening in the market, why automakers are reassessing EV strategy, and what it could mean for the cost of buying and owning a car.
Then it’s back to real-world problems listeners are facing today:
-
A rust-belt truck with tire wear and frozen alignment cams—when does it make sense to repair, and when is it time to start shopping?
-
A swollen battery case and what it can signal about charging issues and battery life.
-
A hot-start stumble on a ’99 Acura TL—Ron walks through practical diagnostics (fuel volume, deadhead pressure testing, and heat-soak sensor checks).
-
A Hyundai Tucson burning oil at an alarming rate—how to push for help, what documentation matters, and why technical bulletins exist for a reason.
-
A 2016 Tahoe running 195° transmission temps because of a factory thermal bypass—Ron explains the risks, the logic (or lack of it), and why a middle-ground thermostat solution may make sense.
Plus: the latest fallout from the First Brands situation and how parts availability—calipers, wipers, and more—can create real holes in the supply chain that affect every repair bay in America.
- Grab your Car Doctor gear – T-shirts & more at CarDoctorShow.com
-
Follow the wrench – Instagram @ronananian for shop life & behind-the-scenes
-
Watch & learn – Auto repair tips & videos on our YouTube Channel
-
Got a car question? Call the Car Doctor Hotline 24/7 – (855) 560-9900
-
Join the conversation LIVE – Saturdays 2–4 PM Eastern
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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