Ron Ananian, The Car Doctor - March 14, 2026 - Hour 1 - When Your Mechanic Says Don’t Fix the Car

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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.

From Toyota's to Aston Martin's,

eBay has thousands of cars in the largest online selection

of vehicle parts and accessories.

eBay, things, people, love.

Hey, it's Ryan Seacrest for Albertans and Safeway.

It is stock up savings time.

Now through March 31, spring in for store-wide deals

and earn four times of points.

Look for in-store tags to earn on eligible items

from Smart Water, Healthy Choice,

Continental, Arrowhead, Red Bull, St. James,

Tillamook, and Special K.

Then clip the offer in the app

for automatic event-long savings.

Stack up those rewards to save even more.

Enjoy savings on top of savings

when you shop in store or online for easy drive-up

and go pick up or delivery.

Restrictions apply, see website for full terms

and conditions.

No one knows what the future holds,

but you deserve a weather app that can help.

Weatherbug is easy to use

and provides forecasts for your every need.

From storm mornings to pollen levels,

write at your fingertips.

Get the fastest local alerts

and comprehensive 10-day forecasts wherever you are.

It's hyper-local, real-time customizable alerts.

Make sure the weather never takes you by surprise

so you can plan every day with confidence.

Download the free Weatherbug app from the app store today

and start getting accurate weather forecasts 24-7.

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.

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is brought to you by State Farm

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For me, it's painting my tabletop miniatures.

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Mental health matters and hobbies help.

Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there.

You're listening to Ron Ananian,

the car doctor, nationally recognized auto expert

trusted by mechanics, weekend wrenches,

and vehicle owners alike.

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Now, start your engines.

The car doctor is in the garage

and ready to take your call.

I have to go back a long way to think about,

God, what was the worst car I ever saw?

What's the worst car ever built?

What was the biggest piece of junk to work on

in plain English?

And it prompted me,

maybe instead of the repair of the week,

we should, I don't know, to be radio correct,

call it the third of the week.

I just, you know, I just, because boy, I'll tell you what,

there's some real junk out there.

And you come across it and you go,

ah, is this the worst one?

No, this is the worst one.

I'll tell you one that's in the contention.

I used to think the Chevy Chevette

was a very poorly designed vehicle.

And I often said,

what was going through the engineer engineer's mind

when they created a car where the AC compressor sat

right on top of the distributor cap?

So to do any sort of distributor maintenance cap,

rotor, spark plug wires, anything,

you had to take the AC compressor off.

And I'm thinking, I remember,

this was the best they could come up with

from the company that created, you know,

Tri-5 Chevy's and muscle cars in the 60s

and some of the neatest cars you'd ever see

come out of a showroom floor in the 70s.

And then along comes the Chevette.

Man, what a let down.

Until Chrysler came out with the 200C.

There's just something about the Chrysler 200C.

It evokes waves of, oh God,

you're working on one of those from everybody you talk to.

And it does, it's not just me.

And I, you know, I know we want positivity

out of the radio and no negativity.

But, you know, I had to call my Chrysler guys

at the dealer I, you know, get parts from.

And I talked to everybody, I talked to all four guys

at different points because you can't buy enough parts

for certain Chryslers.

And this one comes under that heading in a single day.

So you get to call back three or four times.

I need one of these, I need one of these,

I need one of these.

And every guy, you know, you have to give them the Vin.

And you give them the last agents of the Vin.

And all you hear is, wow, you got one of those.

What does that say?

We got this Chrysler 200C from a new customer.

And I said, first words out of my mouth was,

the car's not worth fixing.

It's a 2015 car, it's 11 years old.

It's got 130,000 miles on it.

I know nothing about the history of maintenance.

I know nothing as far as, you know,

who did what, where, when, and how,

who's taking care of the car.

It's up from Florida.

So it just went an 1800 mile trip,

which, you know, I told the owner, I said,

you should get a bravery for metal,

a metal for bravery, because it's like,

to drive 1800 miles in this would be like trying

to cross America in a covered wagon.

It takes guts.

And it ended up on our doorstep because as it wheezed

into the tri-state area, the radiator let loose, kaboom.

And it was just coolant all over the place.

So I said, you know, we've got to find out where, why,

you know, for a radiator to fail like that,

I won't say is abnormal, but it's not a common thing.

We don't see it every day like that,

especially not now, not this time of year,

not in weather conditions that are 65, 70 degrees at best.

It's not under a huge heat load.

But we had to put a radiator in it.

The radiator was confirmed, the radiator was bad.

It had, it was leaking.

There was a crack or some sort of a leak on the driver's side.

I want to know who designed this car

because I really think that guy deserves to be haunted

by Walter Chrysler from the grave.

It's just incredible.

To put a radiator in a Chrysler 200C, I lie to you not.

The bumper comes off, the high quality piece of aluminum

that sits across underneath the bumper.

That's the brace support.

That's the collision preventer or the collision protector.

All right, you take this piece of aluminum tubing off

and I know aluminum is strong,

but I keep thinking about head on collisions

at 60 miles an hour, it can't be that strong.

And you take off the plastic, must be high impact plastic,

probably designed by NASA because the guy was a space shot.

And it's this plastic girdle like structure

that holds the AC condenser and the radiator together.

And there's one other layer of something in there

that's kind of hard to do.

So there's four layers to get to the radiator,

not an easy job.

You know, it's one of those jobs that you look at

and you say you want to use the best quality part you can find.

You definitely don't want to use the cheapest part you can find

because you don't want to run the risk

of having to do it over again for anything.

So we ordered a radiator and a Chrysler,

which interestingly enough,

this is one of the few times I've called Chrysler

in the last couple of months.

Oh yeah, we can get you one of those tomorrow.

Parts are readily available.

Here's a company that's, you know, Chrysler,

parent company, Stellantis,

is on the verge of going bankrupt, right?

You read about it every other week

in the financial papers and the trades

that they're just, you know, Chrysler is dying a slow death.

And yet we've got parts lying around for cars

that barely exist anymore,

that nobody wants to work on

and the people driving them aren't aware

of how bad of a vehicle it is.

I can get you a radiator tomorrow.

Great.

So we order up a radiator, we ordered up a thermostat.

You know, what the heck?

We're doing a car that overheated,

a car that came to a standstill

in the middle of New York City.

It ran so hot.

How hot is hot?

Hot is hot enough, it shut off.

Again, you know, gee,

I don't know if this car is worth fixing

because we don't know what took out the radiator.

There could be complications here.

No, no, okay.

You know, I always say, we're all over 18.

You know what?

It's fair game at that point.

I give you the warning, you want to go ahead.

Let's go.

So we get the radiator in the car.

Little bit of trial and tribulation.

We needed to put radiator hoses on it.

And this was the other thing.

So this is a 2015 Chrysler, right?

I need upper and lower radiator hoses right out of the dealer

because they're so convoluted and twisted and complicated.

It's nothing, I can't imagine the aftermarket

getting it right, not to mention

I couldn't find any in the aftermarket anyway

because they just didn't make it.

There was tees and branches and clamps

and not a traditional radiator hose.

This is not your 63 Chevy Impala anymore.

So we put hose in the upper radiator hose.

There's something about it, it won't fit

because we're missing the quick release coupling.

Well, after some research, another 45 minutes into this car,

we find out the quick release coupling

that's used to attach the rubber radiator hose

to the aluminum pipe that comes across the front of the engine.

That quick coupling no longer exists.

Doesn't exist anywhere.

It's not even listed in the Chrysler catalog, all right?

And through further research and trial and tribulation

we discover this car was built in January of 2015.

Up until December of 2014, even if it was a 15 Chrysler 200C

Chrysler issued a different aluminum pipe

and a different upper radiator hose.

I said, what are the odds that this will fit

a later model instead of an early model?

Well, the odds are yes because that's what it took.

So we spent another $300 on an upper radiator hose

because that's what it cost.

And we got that problem solved.

The long and the short of it is the car went together.

We were purging air.

We didn't release it.

We're still not sure that it was just a radiator.

We're gonna find out Monday.

But the point of this is when your mechanic says no,

when your mechanic says don't fix the car,

you're probably better off listening to them

because mechanics know things,

mechanics see things on a daily basis

that it's just living the life.

And that's really what auto repair is about.

You're living the life.

You're not just fixing cars, you're living the life.

You're seeing things from the floor of the shop

that like I tell any new mechanic

I've ever hired over my career,

I'm gonna show you things that are gonna leave you tired

and weary and scratching your head

and saying that defies all logic.

And that's what a Chrysler 200C is.

We'll see what Monday brings.

Is it air bound?

Is it an engine?

Is it something worse?

Is it no low speed fan?

Cause the fan doesn't come on till 229 degrees

and I kind of wince at that.

I haven't had time to research

where the fans supposed to come on yet,

but we're gonna find out.

Sometimes the best week is the week that's over.

We prayed for Friday and it came.

Here I am and I'll be back right after this.

I'm Ronanini and the car doctor.

Lately, car buying has become a pretty dull experience,

but on eBay, behind every car in part

is a story waiting to be shared.

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

on eBay, it was well loved.

I mean, there are plenty of Caymans

in great condition on eBay,

but this one needed some work.

That's just the start of the story.

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

he rebuilds the whole thing

with all these parts he found on eBay.

Performance 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.

Hello, hello, I'm Malcolm Gladwell,

host of Smart Talks with IBM.

I recently spoke with IBM's new director of research,

Jake M. Badda.

We discussed his vision for the future of quantum computing.

At IBM Research, what we always do is answer

what is the future of computing.

Whether it's coming up with new algorithms,

coming up with better AI,

coming up with quantum,

or coming up with just how do different accelerators

go together.

It's our DNA to answer the question of what is the future.

Isn't it a perfect problem for IBM

because you kind of need to have a legacy of building stuff?

Yes.

Building actual physical machines.

Yeah, it's why I came to IBM.

I wanted the experience, the culture

of building hard things that others have not done before.

Where do you imagine we are in the timeline of this technology?

There will come a point when it will mature, right?

My cell phone is a mature technology at this point.

How far are we from that point with quantum?

By 2029, we'll build the first fault-tolerant quantum computer.

That is one that can run a very, very large, large problem.

To learn how IBM is building the future of computing,

visit IBM.com slash quantum.

Hey, it's Ryan Seacrest for Albertans and Safeway.

It is stock up savings time now through March 31.

Spring in for store-wide deals and earn four times of points.

Look for in-store tags to earn on eligible items from Goldfish,

Kebler, Doritos, all M&M's, Drumstick, Outshine and Kellogg's.

Then clip the offer in the app for automatic event-long savings.

Stack up those rewards to save even more.

Enjoy savings on top of savings when you shop in store or online

for easy drive-up and go pick up or delivery.

Restrictions apply.

See website for full terms and conditions.

No one knows what the future holds,

but you deserve a weather app that can help.

Weatherbug is easy to use and provides forecasts for your every need.

From storm warnings to pollen levels, right at your fingertips,

get the fastest local alerts and comprehensive 10-day forecasts wherever you are.

It's hyper-local, real-time customizable alerts.

Make sure the weather never takes you by surprise,

so you can plan every day with confidence.

Download the free Weatherbug app from the app store today

and start getting accurate weather forecasts 24-7.

Come together and discover why JD Power ranks Nissan number one

in new vehicle quality among mainstream brands.

For JD Power 2025 U.S. initial quality study award information,

visit jdpower.com slash awards.

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

Keep Ron's number handy, 855-560-9900

for when you really need advice on your car.

Here's Ron.

And it's not really serious,

it's just showing you the lunacy of working on some of these cars.

But also next week on The Car Doctor,

we are going to sit down with Deputy Sheriff Frank Slope

from the Pinell County Sheriff's Office,

and I say Deputy Frank Slope of the Pinell County Sheriff's Office.

And we're going to be talking with Frank about traffic, safety,

driving habits, driving styles, things to do to make us better drivers,

what to look for in the other driver, all of that.

We've already had the pre-interview meeting.

Great guy, an excellent human is the best way I can describe him.

And we're looking forward to that.

So if you're out there on YouTube, just look up Fridays with Frank.

We're talking to him in a week here on The Car Doctor exclusively.

Let's get over to Bernie in Pennsylvania with the 21 Toyota

and some questions about oil.

Bernie, welcome to The Car Doctor.

How can I help?

Ron, I love you, Sheryl. Thanks for taking my call.

I'm the son of a mechanic.

Actually, you mentioned Chrysler.

My dad was a Chrysler master technician service guy

that didn't take a part in a torque slide transmission

and reassembled it, rebuilt it without instruction.

He is one of those guys.

That was a rare and great generation, wasn't it?

And you know, but you know what the sad part is, Bernie?

I think this generation could do that as well, but they don't let them.

And now it's all R&R, right? Replace the transmission.

They don't I don't think they do any real rebuilds in the in the

in at the dealer level or in the shop level anymore.

And I think part of that's the you know, the complexity of the vehicle.

It's it's it's just it's just sad.

But yeah, those they could rebuild an eight.

I think it was a 727 torque flight.

They could rebuild those in their sleep, those guys.

They were just a great bunch of great bunch of mechanics like today.

So how can I help you, sir? What's on your mind?

Sure. Yeah, I've heard you to great find that the viscosity in the oil

that they're recommending in, like my raves, zero to 16

is really not doing well for these engines.

And from what I've heard, they were talking about switching to a 530.

But Toyota apparently isn't making that official as yet.

And I was just curious who you know, we hear so many things.

There's there's so many bathroom rumors out in the world

to say it cleanly on radio that you just wonder

where you're hearing this on the internet from an official forum,

from an official, you know, and I I'd be cautious about that, Bernie.

I really would. Nothing official yet.

But, you know, from some of my mechanic buddies have said

they've actually switched over to a heavier weight oil

and it really improves the overall sound and feel of the engine.

Right. So but then I can understand the lower viscosity in the winter.

You know, easier startups.

But maybe summertime, switching to a little heavier weight.

Are you a start stop vehicle?

It is, but I don't use it. OK.

You know, part of part of the lower viscosity or part of that zero 16,

that correct viscosity is to gain acceleration RPM during start stop operation.

So that's part of it.

But let's let's look at it this way.

All right, because this is how I encourage everybody to look at oils.

I think there are better oils in the world.

Some are better than others.

You know, are they worth the price?

What is the planned longevity for that vehicle?

And and I say that because we use zero 16, whatever, whatever calls for,

we put in, we don't even think about it. All right, knock wood.

Right. In all the cars we pour zero 16 in,

we haven't had a failure yet.

We haven't had one, you know, come up to us at 80, 90,

one hundred and fifty, two hundred thousand miles and say, you know,

hey, it's been a rod bearing. It's consuming oil.

Where we see the problem, where I specifically see the problem with oils,

whether regardless of viscosity, is that longer oil change

and that that cheaper oil filter and, you know, low level.

The mile. Well, yeah, I do mine every five thousand.

And then I buy some good filters, two highly rated filters that are important.

And I think I think doing that,

I think an oil that meets manufacturer's spec

and a good quality filter every five.

I think that's probably the best weapon against it.

There's a lot of there's a lot of hearsay in the automotive world.

Right. I read an article the other day.

I matter of fact, it was on the YouTube video.

I posted a YouTube video that, you know, talked about mobile one.

And I'm not saying mobile one is the only oil.

It's just something I happen to come across.

Mobile one has a rated five thirty.

That's not Dexos approved for GM vehicles and a rated five thirty.

That is Dexos approved.

And the guys that kind of jumped on that and said, well,

Dexos is just GM's way of marketing.

You know, I got to tell you, if a car company comes out and says,

this is the oil we want you to use and this is the editors we want in the oil.

And this is the way we want you to use the oil.

They've they've engineered that.

They've lawyer it up.

They've gone through legal.

They've looked at the best possible scenarios.

You know, do I think that that oil change scenario as far as interval matches?

No, I'll defend that to my die in day.

But if they tell me to use zero sixteen or five thirty or Dexos one rated,

what's the harm? Right.

What's, you know, until I see a real world scenario.

Now, regardless of viscosity, regardless of brand type,

rating and correct rating is important.

But I'm saying to me, what I've seen real world so it's no longer hearsay.

It's what I see on a repetitive basis every day in the shop is the car that goes

short trips, longer oil change intervals,

you know, and or now combined poor quality filters, wrong viscosity.

It's and to me, it's such an easy thing to do, right?

They tell you zero sixteen.

They tell you meet this spec.

Just go buy that and put it in.

What? Why are we wasting all this time thinking about it?

You know, it's it's where funny human beings are a funny bunch, Bernie,

and then I'll let you go.

I've got a customer.

I've got a customer with an F one fifty and oh nine F one fifty Ford pickup truck.

Father and son, they bought there.

They're like serial number 031 and 032 off the assembly line.

When they bought those vehicles, right,

every oil change for the first three years, we had to do an oil analysis.

So they spent the money.

They kept sending it out.

I think it's Blackstone Labs or Keystone Labs, whoever it is.

And they kept getting back reports and they kept spending the money for this oil

analysis and I didn't understand that.

And I don't understand it today because now is these trucks have finally

they're 15 years old now when these trucks need something.

Well, I don't know if I want to spend the money.

I want to know why did we worry about it so much in the beginning?

And now when we're more concerned about what's going on inside the vehicle,

we're shying away from the maintenance and the care.

Shouldn't it be equal throughout the life of the vehicle?

And that's my point.

Poor zero sixteen, Bernie, use a good filter.

Do your oil change intervals.

Think about the other fluids in the car.

They're just as important.

And I bet you that car goes two hundred thousand miles and then some good talking

to you. You have a great rest of the weekend.

I'm Ron Anini in the car doctor. I'm back right after this.

Lately, car buying has become a pretty dull experience.

But on eBay, behind every car in part is a story waiting to be shared.

Like this guy I read about who bought a twenty twenty Porsche Cayman GT4 on eBay.

It was well loved.

I mean, there are plenty of Caymans in great condition on eBay,

but this one needed some work.

That's just the start of the story.

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

he rebuilds the whole thing with all these parts he found on eBay.

Performance breaks, suspension, body panels, the works, guaranteed to fit.

Next thing you know, this nearly scrapped Cayman was out there on the track

as a full blown race car.

You're ready to go daily driver, your next rest or 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.

Hello, hello, I'm Malcolm Gladwell, host of the podcast Smart Talks with IBM.

I recently sat down with IBM's Chairman and CEO, Arvind Krishna,

and I asked him, how can companies use AI to its fullest potential

to create smarter business?

My one advice to them, big areas you can scale.

Don't pick the shiny little toys on the side.

For example, if anybody has more than

10 percent of what they had for customer service

10 years ago, they're already five years behind.

If anybody is not using AI to make their developers who write software

30 percent more productive today with the goal of being 70 percent more productive.

Yeah. So we are not asking our clients to be the first experiment on it.

We say you can leverage what we did.

We're happy to bring out all our learnings, including what needs to change

in the process, because the biggest change is not technology.

It's getting people to accept that there's a different way to do things.

To listen to the full conversation, visit IBM.com slash Smart Talks.

Hey, it's Ryan Seacrest for Albertsons and Safeway.

It is stock up savings time now through March 31.

Spring in for store-wide deals and earn four times of points.

Look for in-store tags to earn on eligible items from Goldfish, Kebler, Doritos,

all M&M's, Drumstick, Outshine and Kellogg's.

Then clip the offer in the app for automatic event-long savings.

Stack up those rewards to save even more.

Enjoy savings on top of savings when you shop in store or online

for easy drive up and go pick up or delivery.

Restrictions apply, see website for full terms and conditions.

No one knows what the future holds, but you deserve a weather app that can help.

Weatherbug is easy to use and provides forecasts for your every need

from storm warnings to pollen levels right at your fingertips.

Get the fastest local alerts and comprehensive 10-day forecasts wherever you are.

It's hyper-local, real-time customizable alerts.

Make sure the weather never takes you by surprise so you can plan every day with confidence.

Download the free Weatherbug app from the app store today

and start getting accurate weather forecasts 24-7.

Big adventures, family chaos, untethered exploration.

The Nissan Pathfinder is built for it.

Powered by a lauded V6 engine and smooth 9-speed automatic transmission,

the new Nissan Pathfinder is adventure on wheels.

With seating for up to 8, a premium interior and available 2nd 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.

You know what? We need to talk.

Okay.

I was just back in the green room and I had to convince the band to come out and play

because today is March 14th, which is 314, which is Pi Day,

and you were supposed to have the Pi. There's no Pi in the green room, Ron.

Well, well, well, I would blame the HR person.

Let's, let's, it was your day to bring it. You promised.

No, see, Kathy's in charge of that.

So it's, it's, it's really up to her.

Well, that's what, that's what research Kathy does.

She, she brings the Pi, she does the research and she's in charge of HR.

So you just threw her under the bus.

I just threw her, I just threw her under the bus.

Well, but go complain to HR, which is her.

So either way, you'll end up having to talk to her.

So either way, the problem is solved.

Let's go to Bill in Colorado.

Bill, save me. How's it going on, babe?

Oh, I'm not saving you, man.

Oh, man.

I'm not supposed to bring the Pi.

Yeah. You, you, well, listen, if you show up, I'll bring the Pi.

How's that?

Yes.

Okay.

So what's going on?

My friend's got a 2014 Civic EX, 215,000 miles on it.

Right.

He brought it to me complaining of a light perform.

The acceleration was a little bit off, it seemed like to him.

And I couldn't really tell from the feel of the car, but the numbers were weird.

The fuel trends were zero at idle and negative under acceleration.

I'm sorry, they're positive under acceleration.

Okay.

I was thinking fuel pressure.

Yeah. Well, wait a minute.

How, how, how positive?

40%.

For 40% short term, 40% long term or total.

Short.

Okay.

Short. No codes.

All right.

Nothing, nothing pending, nothing close, nothing close to being a fault.

Nope. But the,

the calculated load, volumetric efficiency, there we go, was under wide open throttle was 40%.

Okay.

So I get in there.

First thing I find is the intake tube was completely torn up,

which I thought was weird because I wasn't showing any,

disparity on mass airflow.

That's at idle.

Right.

Yeah. And the mass airflow looked about red, looked a little high.

And so I, I was to replace the tube, didn't throw out a body, relearned it.

And the fuel trims were now positive.

I'm sorry.

Fuel terms are negative at idle and going positive under acceleration.

So once again, I'm thinking fuel pressure flow.

So fuel pressure was 57 PSI in, in spec.

And the flow was 12 ounces in 10 seconds.

Okay. So it sounds right.

Yeah.

So, so, so let's, let's, let's, let's look at this.

And I heard you say you reset fuel trim because this car is confused.

Right.

I relearned the throttle body after I cleaned it.

All right.

And did you by chance disconnect the battery cables and just tie them together?

I didn't do that.

Try that. See where that takes you.

This, this is a confused car.

All right.

And there may be a learning curve to it.

We may have to send it back to school for remedial math.

All right.

I would also just, and I'm not sure if you did or didn't,

but I would definitely do some sort of a fuel system cleaning

beyond the throttle body.

So I sent him home with a prescription for a CRC one tank.

Let's see what that does.

Right. Well, so keep in mind CRC one tank is a wonderful product.

All right. Now, but I would also do a formal, I would do, I think it's

zero, five, three, two, zero is the part number for CRC.

They're, or is that the one tank?

The, where we, where we actually do an induction spray.

I know they make a product, but I would, I would do a CRC fuel system cleaning kit

where it's the formal cleaning.

And, and, you know, I'd want to go through and clean carbon deposits,

piston tops, back of the valves, all that stuff.

200,000 miles, Bill.

Yeah. 215.

215, you know, 13 year old vehicle, ever been done?

I actually, he had a shop do some induction cleaning recently.

Right. Making a difference.

Right. And just keep in mind Ron's rule, right?

What's Ron's rule?

If I didn't do it and I didn't see it done and I don't see the results of it,

I question it every time.

You know, it's, it's just, you know, did they do it right?

Did they, did they do what they were supposed to do?

Did they actually do it?

You know, it's not that I'm a doubting Thomas, but you know what?

I should have been born in, where is it?

Missouri show me, you know, cause that's always on the back of my mind.

Also a vehicle this age, right there with you, a Honda this age.

And I don't do a lot of these cause we haven't seen it.

Well, I don't, we don't do a lot of valve adjustments on Hondas.

Haven't seen the need, haven't run across it, but 215,000.

Yeah, just for the 1.8 liters and adjustable valve.

Um, no, maybe not.

Oh, is it?

I'd have to look.

I would just consider it.

If it's an adjustable valve car, I would look at that.

I don't remember now off the top of my head that you say that.

I didn't think of that at all.

Cause I almost did a compression test, but then I was like, no, why bother?

So well, yeah, you know, it's, it's a case of I'm just looking at mileage

and I'm starting to consider how many of them get to 215.

You know, we, we, most people, I gotta remember, we, we live and work in Bergen

County, New Jersey, when the S trades get full and the gas tank gets empty,

people throw cars away here.

You know, it's, it's the car gets to 150,000 miles and they're driving around

in a used car.

It drives them insane and they go out the door, but we have seen some go over that

200,000 mile mark and that seems to be where the valve adjustments on the Hondas

actually come into play and they get a little bit more critical.

So it's just again, we're looking for, we're looking for reasons.

Now you ran VE, you ran a volumetric efficiency test.

Yeah.

After I replaced the intake to the one up to a whopping 50.

Right.

You know, you've done VE before.

I know when talking to you, Bill, right?

Sure.

Okay.

And you know, there, there are things you can go look at this.

This almost sounds like it's got a breathing issue.

Right.

Because VE should be higher than the air filters clean.

Well, so do we, do we have a, do we have any restriction and exhaust?

Do we see where, you know, where do the numbers go after we do the relearners?

What I want to sort of say, how long was that intake boot torn?

That intake boot will wreak havoc because that is unmetered air after the mass airflow sensor.

So it's, it's, it's unaccounted for.

So depending upon how long he was driving it like that,

the longer he was driving it like that, the worse it is.

I would almost venture to guess that the throttle body was disgusting.

It wasn't great.

Yeah.

And you know, where did, where did all that come from?

But I'd be, I'd be looking at, I mean, listen, you're doing it right.

You know, fuel pressure and volume is good.

You know, it's got a good intake duct now.

I'd reset fuel trim, disconnect the battery, tie the cables together,

let it bleed down for five to 10 minutes, put it back together.

Okay.

I would consider a valve adjustment.

If it's an adjustable valve, I would want to do a real fuel system.

I just looked it up.

Yeah.

I want, I would want to do a real fuel system cleaning.

Okay.

And make sure that that's done.

And how about manifold vacuum?

Can we do a manifold vacuum check?

What is it at idle?

What is it off idle?

You know, manifold vacuum, old school, but it tells us a lot.

Right.

And you know.

Yeah, vacuum looks good.

Right.

What is it?

Guys, it does 16, 18 range, which is really good for Colorado.

All right.

And if you, yeah, I know then you have to play that too,

because you're up in the mountains.

And then if you put your foot to the floor, will it, will it go to zero?

You know, a dynamic load test under, under operation tells you a lot too.

And when you check fuel pressure,

did you look at fuel pressure while you were driving?

No.

Do that.

Always look, always look under the condition.

Right.

Because cars change, cars change day and night,

cars change on the road and in the, in the bay.

All right.

There's, there's, there's nothing wrong with,

and I'm probably known around Bergen County,

is every once in a while I come across that weird guy with the

fuel pressure gauge taped to the windshield.

That's me.

Because I'm out driving around with fuel pressure gauges on the car.

And, you know,

I'm a little scared by that because that thing,

you got to split the system open and do.

Right.

Yeah.

No, I get it.

I don't know.

And you got to be safe, however you do it.

But it's just something to consider.

But let's do the easy stuff first,

and then we'll come back and do the hard stuff.

How's that?

Cool.

All right, kiddo.

Have a great one.

You too.

Happy Pi Day.

So thank you, Bill.

We'll think, we'll think of you later on.

We'll have you having apple pie and ice cream.

Now we have to have strawberry.

And we'll talk to Kathy.

We'll get some pie from her.

855-5600-9900.

I'm Ron Anani in the car doctor.

I'll be back right after this.

Lately, car buying has become a pretty dull experience.

But on eBay, behind every car and part is a story waiting to be shared.

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

Smarter business.

With the goal of being 70% more productive.

Yeah. Wow.

So we are not asking our clients to be the first experiment on it.

We say you can leverage what we did.

We're happy to bring out all our learnings, including what needs to change in the process.

Because the biggest change is not technology.

It's getting people to accept that there's a different way to do things.

Hey, it's Ryan Seacrest for Albertsons and Safeway.

It is stock up savings time now through March 31.

Spring in for store-wide deals and earn four times of points.

Look for in-store tax to earn on eligible items from smart water,

healthy choice, Continental, Arrowhead, Red Bull, St. James, Tillamook and Special K.

Then clip the offer in the app for automatic event-long savings.

Stack up those rewards to save even more.

Enjoy savings on top of savings when you shop in store or online for easy drive-up

and go pick up or delivery.

Restrictions apply.

See website for full terms and conditions.

No one knows what the future holds,

but you deserve a weather app that can help.

Weatherbug is easy to use and provides forecasts for your every need.

From storm warnings to pollen levels, right at your fingertips.

Get the fastest local alerts and comprehensive 10-day forecasts wherever you are.

It's hyper-local, real-time customizable alerts.

Make sure the weather never takes you by surprise

so you can plan every day with confidence.

Download the free Weatherbug app from the app store today

and start getting accurate weather forecasts 24-7.

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.

And look at that.

We are back once again.

Let's go to Tom in Florida, O5 Chrysler.

Tom, welcome to the car doctor, sir.

How can I help?

Thank you, Dr. Ron.

How are you?

I'm good, sir.

Rocking along.

I didn't think I'd have much to talk about today,

but so far I'm doing well.

I got to drink more coffee.

Well, down here, it's beer time.

Anyhow, I have a 2005 Chrysler Sebring convertible.

2.7 engine with 89,525 miles on it.

My problem is the temperature gauge keeps rising,

but when I turn the heat on, it goes back to normal.

Well, you don't want the heat on in summer tires.

Why not?

Yeah, I know, I get it.

Well, I put the top down.

Right.

But does it, will it actually get to the point

where it's running too hot and overheating,

or are you going on the basis of the gauge?

Or I'm going on the basis of the gauge,

and it doesn't overheat.

It doesn't smoke.

There's no milk residue on the oil stick.

You own the car since, you own the car since new, Tom?

No, I've owned the car for five years.

I replaced the radiator, the cooling fans, the condenser,

and what is the housing on top of the manifold.

Right.

Because the thermostat is not where people think it is.

There's that black plastic housing.

It's at the bottom.

Right, it's at the bottom.

It's kind of bizarre.

So you have good heat, correct?

You put your hand down there, the heat's scalding.

Right?

So, and this engine, you know what,

maybe I have to rethink if the Chrysler 200c was the worst,

because this car is a whole concept away from that.

This is the predecessor to it.

So, if you were to take the thermostat out,

that the housing and the thermostat, all right,

there's with the thermostat out,

you'll notice a little machined area

and a small drilled hole about a pencil diameter above it.

We call it the reefing hole.

Yeah, if you take some shop air and blow through there, all right,

and take the plastic outlet off the top of the engine,

you want to put a rag there because you're going to load debris out.

You may get out debris.

If that hole or that passage is clogged,

it will affect regulation of engine temperature

and how it signals the fan to come on

and actually cause the cooling system to run hotter.

Not much, 10, 15, maybe 20 degrees, but it skews it.

And over time, let's face it, that's now a 21, 22-year-old vehicle.

It's just sort of you want to flush that passage away from time to time.

It tends to collect debris.

Now, believe it or not, early on, Chrysler says that that happened

because of coarse sand left in the block during assembly.

But yeah, we still see it.

I've seen it as long ago.

The last one of these we saw was probably a good five years ago,

but we saw it then, it was just before COVID.

So, what was that, 2018, 2019?

It's something like that.

It's not an impossibility so many years later.

So, and then it's the obvious stuff.

Do we have a cool-intemp sensor that's not reading correct?

Do we have a fan assembly that's not being triggered correctly?

Do we actually have an overheat condition?

I'd want to be looking at it on a scan tool.

And what does my scan tool say in comparison to what the temperature gauge says?

Am I looking at an incorrectly calibrated temp sensor?

And keep in mind too, all right, if is it really overheating?

That's what I kind of want to know.

The fact that you turn the heat on and the temperature goes down,

that's the laws of physics, my friend.

That's just the way cars and heating systems work.

Until I prove to that I've got an overheat condition or a problem,

I don't know that I'm going to bank on that.

I would be cautious.

I'd want to know what temperature that you're seeing,

what's the maximum it's going to.

I don't trust gauges.

I want to see what the temperature is by scan tool.

And I want to look at it with a thermal imager,

which is a scan across the front with a handheld.

So, do those things, call me back.

Let me know where we stand.

I appreciate the call, Tom.

8555-609-900, the car doctor's cruising 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.

Hello, hello, I'm Malcolm Gladwell, host of Smart Talks with IBM.

I recently spoke with IBM's new director of research, Jake M. Badda.

We discussed his vision for the future of quantum computing.

At IBM Research, what we always do is answer what is the future of computing.

Whether it's coming up with new algorithms, coming up with better AI,

coming up with quantum, or coming up with just how do different accelerators go together.

It's our DNA to answer the question of what is the future.

Isn't it a perfect problem for IBM because you kind of need to have a legacy

of building stuff, building actual physical machines?

Yeah, it's why I came to IBM.

I wanted the experience, the culture of building hard things

that others have not done before.

Where do you imagine we are in the timeline of this technology?

There will come a point when it will mature.

My cell phone is a mature technology at this point.

How far are we from that point with quantum?

By 2029, we'll build the first fault-tolerant quantum computer.

That is one that can run a very, very large, large problem.

To learn how IBM is building the future of computing, visit ibm.com slash quantum.

Hey, it's Ryan Seacrest for Albertans and Safeway.

It is stock up savings time now through March 31.

Spring in for store-wide deals and earn four times of points.

Look for in-store tax to earn on eligible items from smart water,

healthy choice, Continental, Arrowhead, Red Bull, St. James, Tilemook, and Special K.

Then clip the offer in the app for automatic event-long savings.

Stack up those rewards to save even more.

Enjoy savings on top of savings when you shop in store or online.

For easy drive-up and go pick up or delivery,

restrictions apply, see website for full terms and conditions.

No one knows what the future holds, but you deserve a weather app that can help.

Weatherbug is easy to use and provides forecasts for your every need.

From storm warnings to pollen levels, write at your fingertips.

Get the fastest local alerts and comprehensive 10-day forecasts wherever you are.

It's hyper-local, real-time customizable alerts.

Make sure the weather never takes you by surprise,

so you can plan every day with confidence.

Download the free Weatherbug app from the app store today

and start getting accurate weather forecasts 24-7.

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.

So we come to the end, and here we are at the end of this hour.

By the way, I guess it's next hour.

If I can pry it out of Tom's hands, we're giving away a toolkit for the road,

a road tool kit for courtesy of the folks over at Advanced Auto Parts,

the die-hard 73-piece roadside emergency kit.

It's going to have Tom's fingerprints all over it,

because I saw him playing with it before.

But just know that, you know what, I looked at this kit, it's kind of neat.

It's a neat piece, tote bag, very well-made tools.

Everything you sort of need for that last-minute emergency on the side of the road.

You know, it's just a good thing to have.

So we're giving that away courtesy of Advanced Auto Parts.

That's next hour.

This week, next hour.

Next week on The Car Doctor to make you aware of it one more time.

We're going to sit down with Deputy Frank Slope of the Pinell County Sheriff's Office.

And Friday's with Frank, right?

He's out on YouTube. You see him all the time.

Some of the crazy things that he goes through pulling cars over

and what people do and say.

And, you know, I'm not getting out of the car

and all the other crazy things people think they can get away with.

It's really kind of interesting.

Frank's got some great stories and some very sound advice on, you know,

what to do if you're pulled over, how to be pulled over safely, how to drive better.

You know, I never really thought about it.

Making a left turn is the worst thing you can do driving a car.

It's the most dangerous moment.

Frank's going to explain that next week.

You've already had the pre-show interview with him.

And we look forward to that.

So that's coming up next week here on The Car Doctor.

By the way, we wrote Mike Rowe.

Info at MikeRoweWorks.com.

We wrote Mike Rowe.

We've yet to hear back.

If anybody's got the inside track, we'd appreciate it.

We'd like to get Mike Rowe up here on The Car Doctor and talk to him next.

I'm Ron Ananey in The Car Doctor.

It's been an absolute pleasure.

Till the next time.

Good mechanics aren't expensive.

They're priceless.

See ya.

He's a car doctor.

Car advice done right.

Stack up those rewards to save even more.

Enjoy savings on top of savings when you shop in store or online.

For easy drive up and go pick up or delivery.

Restrictions apply, see website for full terms and conditions.

Make sure the weather never takes you by surprise,

so you can plan every day with confidence.

Download the free weather bug app from the app store today

and start getting accurate weather forecasts 24-7.

I want to take a second to talk about something that's personal to me.

I've had the privilege of working closely with Robert Kraft for a long time,

and one thing I've always respected is how seriously he takes up standing up to hate.

As a Jewish athlete, my identity is something I am proud of,

but I also know what it feels like to be singled out for it.

That's why this new commercial for the Blue Square Alliance Against Hate

that aired during the big game really hit home.

It's about showing up for someone when they're targeted,

even if you don't have the perfect words.

And sometimes standing next to someone is enough,

and you can show support by sharing the Blue Square.

It allows the Lego Star Wars Galaxy to play back.

May the Force be with you.

Shop Lego Star Wars sets now on Lego.com or in Lego retail stores.

Ron Ananian, The Car Doctor - March 14, 2026 - Hour 1 - When Your Mechanic Says Don’t Fix the Car

About this episode

rebuild

Aston Martin

Toyota

V6 power

Nissan Pathfinder

JD Power Initial Quality Study

Chevrolet Chevette

AC compressor

distributor cap

Tri-5 Chevy

radiator

bumper

aftermarket

Porsche Cayman GT4

Chrysler

oil viscosity

0W-16 oil

start-stop vehicle

oil change interval

oil filter quality

fuel trim

throttle body relearn

fuel system cleaning

CRC

suspension

performance brakes

cooling fans

condenser

body panels

towing capacity

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