Ron Ananian, The Car Doctor -March 14, 2026 - Hour 2 - From Paper Shredders to Engine Misfires: Life in A Repair Shop
Ron Ananian The Car Doctor
Ron Ananian, The Car Doctor -March 14, 2026 - Hour 2 - From Paper Shredders to Engine Misfires: Life in A Repair Shop
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Car
Porsche Cayman
The Porsche Cayman is a sporty car made by Porsche that has its engine in the middle, which helps it drive well. The 2020 version is a newer model with a smaller, turbocharged engine that still gives good power.
Car
Honda Civic
The Honda Civic is a small car that many people like because it doesn't use much gas and is easy to take care of. The 2003 version is from a specific group of Civics made between 2001 and 2005.
Term
AAA platinum
AAA Platinum is a special membership that helps you if your car breaks down. It can pay to tow your car a long way and gives you extra help on the road.
Term
flat towing
Flat towing means pulling a car with all its wheels touching the road, like when you hook it up behind a truck. Not all cars can be towed this way without problems.
Term
4.7 V8 engine
The 4.7 V8 engine is a type of car engine with eight cylinders that work together to make the car go. It was used in some Jeep Grand Cherokees and is known to be strong.
Part
blend doors
Blend doors help control how warm or cool the air is inside your car. If they break, your heater or air conditioner might not work right.
Company
Actron
Actron makes tools that help you find out what is wrong with your car by reading its computer messages.
Term
EVAP
EVAP is a system in your car that stops gas fumes from leaking out. A smoke test helps find leaks by filling the system with smoke and watching where it escapes.
Term
misfire
A misfire means one part of your engine isn't firing correctly, so the engine runs rough or feels shaky. It can make your car hard to start or run poorly.
Term
coil pack
A coil pack is a part that helps your car's engine start by making sparks. If it breaks, your engine might run rough or have trouble starting.
Term
limp mode
Limp mode is when your car slows down and limits power because it senses a problem. This helps protect the engine until you can get it fixed.
Car
Porsche 2020 Cayman GT4
The Porsche 2020 Cayman GT4 is a sporty car made for fast driving and fun. It has a strong engine and is good for racing or spirited driving on roads.
Term
scan tool
A scan tool is a gadget mechanics use to find out what's wrong with a car by reading messages from the car's computer. It helps fix problems faster and easier.
Company
Advance Auto Parts
Advance Auto Parts is a big store where you can buy car parts and tools. They also help you if you have questions about what you bought.
Company
ThinkCar
ThinkCar makes special tools that help find problems in cars by talking to the car's computer.
Term
oil change interval
Oil change interval means how often you should change the oil in your car to keep it working well.
Term
Honda synthetic
Honda synthetic oil is a special kind of engine oil made to work best in Honda cars, helping keep the engine healthy and safe.
Term
AMSOIL
AMSOIL is a special kind of engine oil that helps keep your car's engine clean and running smoothly for a long time. Many people like it because it lasts longer than regular oil.
Term
Mobile One
Mobil 1 is a type of special engine oil that helps keep your car's engine healthy and working well, especially in newer cars.
Term
Honda filter
A Honda filter is a part that cleans the engine oil in Honda cars. Using the right one helps keep the engine safe and the car's warranty valid.
Term
synthetic oil
Synthetic oil is a special kind of oil used in car engines that lasts longer and keeps the engine cleaner than regular oil. It helps your car run better and protects it from damage.
Company
eBay
eBay is a website where people can buy and sell cars and car parts. It's like an online store for cars and parts.
Brand
Ferrari
Ferrari is a famous car company from Italy that makes very fast and expensive sports cars.
Brand
Hyundai
Hyundai is a car company from South Korea that makes cars that many people buy because they are affordable and reliable.
Brand
Kia
Kia is a car company from South Korea that makes cars that are usually affordable and practical.
Brand
Ford
Ford is a big American car company that makes many trucks and cars. Sometimes, working on a Ford means following certain time rules for testing problems.
Term
fuse box
The fuse box is where small safety devices called fuses live. They stop electrical problems by breaking the power if something goes wrong. Mechanics check these when fixing electrical problems.
Term
roadside emergency toolkit
A roadside emergency toolkit is a box of tools and stuff you keep in your car to help fix small problems or stay safe if your car breaks down on the road.
Term
performance brakes
Performance brakes are special brakes that help a car stop faster and work better when driving hard or on a race track.
Term
suspension
Suspension is the part of the car that helps it stay smooth and stable when you drive, especially over bumps or around corners.
Term
body panels
Body panels are the outside parts of a car that you see, like the doors and the hood. Sometimes they need to be fixed or replaced if they're damaged.
LIVE
This is an iHeart podcast.
Guaranteed human.
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 and the largest
online selection of vehicle parts and accessories.
eBay, things, people, love.
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Download the free weather bug app from the app store today
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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.
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It is stock up savings time.
Now through March 31, spring in for store-wide deals
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When we had our first baby, I had it all planned out.
Everything, apps, books, everything.
Now that baby number two is here,
I'm definitely going more with the flow.
Hi, I'm Wilmer Valdirama and I've learned that with family,
it's not about being perfect.
It's about showing up every single day.
Breathe, breathe, change a diaper, and I guess repeat.
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Now start your engines.
The CarDoctor is in the garage and ready to take your call.
You know, the things that occur in an auto repair shop,
some of them are just downright bizarre.
The things that just impede the flow of work and,
you know, you're trying to do what you're supposed to do
and fix cars and help people and stay educated.
And then every once in a while, something goofy comes up.
Well, probably every other day.
For the past seven months, we've been trying to find a shredder.
And I'm not sure if this story is even necessary,
but I feel compelled to tell it.
All right, so tough.
I'm taking advantage of my names on the top of the show.
We need a shredder in the shop.
We shred a lot of paper.
We shred a lot of information, you know,
customer information that's no longer needed to work orders.
You'd be amazed how many vehicles we inspect for state inspection.
And, you know, what is it with people collecting registrations,
going back to the day they were born?
I don't understand that.
You, and there's, you know, there's 42 registrations
from the last 75 years.
Like, you know, does it, does that prove to the police officer
when you get pulled over, have owned the car this long?
I don't know why we do that.
You know, if the registration's expired, throw it out.
You don't need to keep it.
Trust me.
So we shred a lot.
Somewhere in the last two years,
it seems like the last two years,
we've gotten to be a very safety conscious, litigious society.
And I know it's gotten bad in the last 20 years,
but the last two seem to have escalated and taken off.
I've gotten notes when I've purchased shredders,
and I'm just looking for a simple shredder
that I can, you know, put underneath the counter.
And when I've dropped a piece of paper in,
it shreds automatically and that's it.
It does it all by itself, so I don't have to turn it on.
It's shredded and we're done.
Why is it that we have to have notes and stickers all over the place
that, first of all, say, don't put your hand in the shredder?
Because, you know, really, are we that stupid?
That we, you know, I'm thinking to myself,
if you're that stupid that you want to stick your hand in the shredder,
you probably can't get it out of the box and plug it into the wall.
But what do I know, right?
We went through two shredders,
and I think I told you this story last week,
so I'm sorry if I'm being repetitive, but I have a point here.
And, you know, we finally found a very simple, basic shredder,
a la Amazon, that, you know, it works well.
I'm happy to report we've spent a great week shredding.
All right?
It's funny because I noticed it this week.
You don't notice the distractions until they become one.
And you look at how it slows down the shop,
because, you know, you're trying to dedicate your mind to this,
but you're still thinking about the stupidity of that.
It happens a lot when you're working on cars.
Probably the hardest thing, I think, to do working in a repair shop.
Never mind running a repair shop, because I sort of wear two hats,
is I can't think about the problem that I was working on yesterday
while I'm trying to fix the one that's in front of me today,
even though the one from yesterday, you know,
I kind of put off to the side while I'm thinking about it,
and I'm trying not to think about two things at once,
because it's difficult.
Somebody was saying the other day that they're using artificial
intelligence to fix cars, and, you know, the concern is, you know,
will it ever actually replace mechanics?
I don't think so.
I've tried artificial intelligence,
and usually I get pretty much the generic answer.
It could be the red wire, it could be the green wire,
it could be the purple wire, you'd have to test and measure
and do all the things that I would normally do anyway.
It doesn't give me a definitive, you know, it's G501,
the ground located at the back of the left cylinder head
on certain model year cars, but nonexistent after model year 2010.
It's nothing like that.
And it makes me think that we need to do more for the mechanics
of today and the future and recognize what it is that they go through
on a daily basis.
There isn't a repair shop in America.
Here's a bold prediction.
There isn't a repair shop or machine shop or parts house in America
that you can't go into and get a great story.
It's incredible what goes on each and every day.
We had a customer call this week.
You'll love this.
They're moving to Delaware, and there's an O3 Honda Civic in the family.
And the wife is afraid to drive on the highway.
And I get that.
I understand trauma, right?
But she's afraid to drive on the highway.
So instead of driving at the Delaware, they're going to transport it,
but they can't find anybody to transport it for a reasonable amount of money.
So they're trying to come up with other ways to do this.
Now, you know, in my mind, I'm thinking spend the $300 to $500,
transport the car to Delaware, and be over and done with.
Because even if you don't have the money, there's just no other way to do it to be safe
unless you have somebody else drive the car, which the car would make Delaware.
So the idea they came up with was, hey, Ron, do you know of a way we can disable the car?
Because we have AAA platinum, and I'm thinking, God, I don't like where this is going.
We want to get the car towed from New Jersey to Delaware,
and we'll get it done for free because we have AAA platinum.
And I'm saying to myself, and I said to them, but where are you going to drop it off?
You know, Delaware is 325 miles away.
They only tell you 200 miles.
So unless you're willing to pay the 125-mile fee, which could be $3 to $5 a mile,
like where's the insanity?
And you're going to commit fraud on top of it.
And then I'm saying to myself, I wonder if this is interstate fraud.
You know, is this a federal offense?
You know, you start to wonder about these things.
My answer was, listen, instead of doing that, why don't you spend $300,
get it flat towed, and get your wife some therapy with the $200 difference?
Like, you know, and this is real.
This is what goes through a repair shop, and you just, you just got to wonder, right?
So, you know, sometimes picking a shredder is a whole lot easier than fixing cars,
but it's definitely easier than dealing with some of the questions that come up.
And I just, that's my story for the today.
That's the, that's the opening to today's show.
I just felt compelled to tell that story.
Don't commit fraud.
Be a good human.
Do the right thing.
And just, just, just do it right.
It's not hard.
Real quick, let's start with Jeff.
We're not going to stay here long.
We're going to pull over, but we'll at least get his call going.
Jeff from Michigan.
Yes, sir.
How can I help?
Welcome aboard.
Good morning.
So privileged.
So my brand new Grand Cherokee in 2003 to keep forever.
And here we are forever.
It's the 4.7 V8 with the standard engine.
The Mercedes motor.
When Mercedes owned Chrysler.
Now I've had every Grand Cherokee problem over the history of owning this,
but I don't think it's a bad car and I would do it again.
And, but I've had a lot of Grand Cherokee problems, you know.
I even fixed the blend doors myself without taking the dash down.
So it's got its intricacies or idiosyncrasies.
They all have their quirks, Jeff.
You know, cars, I always say cars are like people.
They all have their quirks.
You just got to find the quirks you can get along with to hang out with them.
And that's, that's the reality of it.
So yeah.
And I'm a contractor and I miss your handyman.
I need, we need more handyman Steve stories.
So I told a trailer and, you know, the V8 and all that.
It really does everything well and it does Jeep trails and everything.
And I wouldn't, I wouldn't trade it, but I just wish I could get on top of it.
And the, the moral of the story I'm going to be asking you for,
is you always talk about year make model.
And I'm trying to find a code analyzer like that.
I don't know what to look for, but I have a little pocket actron,
little size of a tennis ball thing that I'm able to read my codes and reset them.
So with a 23 year old vehicle, I know time's going to be a restraint.
There is a lot of history, but I've always had ongoing O2 sensor and O2 heater codes
and small EVAP leaks.
And I know what the O2 sensor problems are.
The, the wires were kind of close to the engine block and they burned.
So I, I pulled them apart and I read insulated them with heat shrink tube,
tried to separate them and all that.
That's been the ongoing problem.
Well, as you know, now I've got a longer list and it keeps adding.
So those are my small problems that I really could never, you know,
the EVAP was, you know, who's going to do the smoke test and all that.
So I would just reset the codes and kind of go through life.
But now I got some more complicated codes and I've got a misfire,
which I have a coil in the trunk from what's it called?
Whoever.
You know, whenever I bought a coil pack.
So your question to me is what?
Okay. Do I have a limp mode on that?
Because I usually do 3000 mile oil changes all through its life.
And now I'm over because we had smoke storms and bombs and.
A limp, a limp mode with regard, with regard to what, Jeff?
Well, I have a misfire.
I have a rough idle and I have hard starting now.
But that's because I think I have a misfire on number seven.
Well, yeah, if you've got, if you've got a misfire,
it's going to affect overall engine operation.
And I'll tell you what, now stay put.
Let me pull over, take this pause when we come back.
We'll finish up. I'm Ron and Amy in the car doctor.
Don't go anywhere.
Lately, car buying has become a pretty dull experience.
But on eBay, behind every car and part is a story waiting to be shared.
Like this guy I read about who bought a 2020 Porsche Cayman GT4 on eBay.
It was well loved.
I mean, there are plenty of Caymans in great condition on eBay,
but this one needed some work.
That's just the start of the story.
So after this guy gets a great deal on his dream car,
he rebuilds the whole thing with all these parts he found on eBay.
Performance brakes, suspension, body panels, the works, guaranteed to fit.
Next thing you know, this nearly scrapped Cayman was out there on the track
as a full blown race car.
You're ready to go daily driver, your next Resto mod,
Hello Lotus Elon, and the parts to finish it.
eBay has thousands of cars and 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, pick areas you can scale.
Don't pick the shiny little toys on the side.
For example, if anybody has more than 10% 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% more productive today,
with the goal of being 70% more productive.
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 in our technology is 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.
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.
You won't see the engineer that slams the Nissan Rogue's door 13,920 times,
or the corrosive chamber that simulates 15 years of life in five months,
or the Rogue heat-baked for over 300 combined hours.
What you will see is a vehicle that can take punch after punch and keep rolling.
Nissan, number one in new vehicle quality among mainstream brands by JD Power.
We put it through the worst, so you get its best.
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.
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.
And you'll have fun, fun, fun, till the day it takes a Tee-Boo.
And fun, fun, fun, till the day it takes a Tee-Boo.
What's more fun than listening to Ron and Annie in the car doctor
and getting that car fixed right?
855-560-9900, give Ron a call.
Now back to Ron.
Jeff, you're still there, sir?
Yeah.
Okay, so let me answer your one question first regarding a scan tool.
You got a local advance auto parts?
Yes.
Okay, get over to your local advance auto parts.
See, I like buying a scan tool from somebody that's going to give me support.
Right?
So, you know, we can have the conversation about buying something used on eBay or from whoever,
but you know what?
At least at advance, they've got a selection of scan tools.
They've got a Nova, they've got ThinkCar,
they've got a variety of stuff out there,
because everybody and their mother is making scan tools today.
All right?
They've got something I came across just the other day that I started playing with,
the ThinkCar Platinum.
I think it's the ThinkCar Platinum 191, I think was the model number.
This thing is like 600 bucks, it's a tablet, it's got lifetime software updates,
and let's face it, you can't reasonably expect to buy any scan tool
and expect it to last forever, right?
Unless you're keeping the same vehicle.
You know, within the next, I mean, how often do we throw out our laptops, right?
How often do we throw out our computers, you know, every five to seven years?
So, you know, if you got five years out of a scan tool, wouldn't you be happy?
Sure.
Right?
So, go take a look at that.
Advance Auto Parts has it.
It's the ThinkCar Platinum, it's got maintenance reset,
it's got software updates, and at least they'll, you know,
you have a problem there to take care of you,
you're not mailing it in, so on and so forth.
That's the first comment.
The second comment, the P0307 that you're getting, the misfire fault.
Before we start assuming, let's diagnose, right?
You know, if we've got a scan tool that'll show us misfires,
now Chrysler, early Chryslers and misfires didn't get along,
they didn't show us that until later on in life on a lot of vehicles.
So, if we've got a P0307 and we want to go without having any data to look at on a scan tool,
because now I don't want you to go get your new scan tool and start
diagnosing a broken car with it because you don't know the tool, all right?
Ron's rule, three months with a new scan tool before you try to diagnose something,
to be successful or at least look at a healthy car before you start looking at a broken car,
right? Because you don't know what good looks like, you don't know,
is the tool lying to you, is it the car, the tool?
You know, you didn't get enough spaghetti last night at dinner,
there's a thousand and one reasons why cars don't get fixed.
So, you know, it's, it's, let's just be a little common sense.
Why don't we take, if Seven is being reported as a misfire,
instead of replacing parts, why don't we take the coil out of Seven,
put it into a different cylinder, take the plug out of Seven,
put it into a different cylinder, mark everything, write it down on paper,
because good Lord, the phone's going to ring, the dog's going to bark,
the cat's going to scratch you, somebody's going to come along and tap you on the shoulder
and distract you and you're going to be like, what did I do? Did I put the coil in three or
how did I do that? And then, and then clear the code, drive it. Where's the misfire?
All right, this is like, this is like musical chairs. If the misfire stays on Seven,
we're going to start to talk about valve train and fuel injector issues.
If the misfire follows the coil, it's a coil, if the misfire follows the plug, it's the plug.
Right? Right. And, you know, that's step one, step two.
Let's do those things, okay? You've got, listen, you've got enough on the ball,
I can tell in the four minutes that we're talking to each other, you've got enough on the ball
that, you know, right from wrong, you know which way to go and how to do it. All right?
So let's not hesitate. Let's not go into analysis paralysis. Let's just start there.
All right. And then give me a call back and we can talk further. Let's do it that way.
Gus in Florida, what's going on, Gus? How, I'm naming the car doctor. How can I help?
Hey Ron, how are you? Good, sir. What's cooking? Good. Hey, I just purchased a brand new 2025
Honda Civic, the type R, the performance version. Oh, nice car.
Nice car. Oh, it's on a rail. Yeah, you're one of the lucky ones. You got one, huh?
I did. I got it at MSRP. Yeah, there, and you got it at MSRP. That's,
that's amazing because those things are in demand, brother. All right.
Silky smooth six feet. Yep. Yep. Anyway, my question is, you know, I hit the forms and
everyone's got their idea of when they said do oil changes. I'm wondering for my first oil change,
they got, you know, they give me two complimentary. Okay, I'll take those, but
for a performance car like that, would you change the first time the oil before 3000 or would you
wait till 3000? There's a myth and I call it a myth going around about Honda years ago. I haven't
seen proof of it. Otherwise, I haven't heard of it lately, but at one point within the last eight
years, it was rumored that Honda was putting break in oil into their engines, you know,
for the first oil change. And that's why they were extending their oil change intervals longer.
I haven't heard it in a while. So as long as that is not true, and I'm going to have to
leave it to you to research that, I'm going to do my first oil change between 500 and 1000 miles.
All right. And I'm going to do it on my own. You know, I'll tell you what, in all the cars
I've bought in my lifetime, and there's been a few, nobody's ever changed the oil on my cars,
but me. All right. Me or one of the guys in the shop, because I just see too many stupid things
happen, it only takes one moment and the road downhill is paved with ice and then all of a
sudden it's all over, you know, either. And I'm not saying that I have to do that. It's just that,
you know, I don't have a relationship with the shop for obvious reasons. So if you've got a
relationship with the dealership that you bought the car from and you trust them and you know the
guys and they're going to do a good job, you know, by all means, let them. But I would, I want to do
it early. I want to do it early. And I have a trusted guy that, you know, he's not a quick
loop. I got a guy that, that maybe I might not even take the two free oil changes, but
that actually leads me to my next question. After the break in, would you go with like a mobile
one or an AMSOIL or just Honda synthetic on that type of car? I mean, it res out 7200 to the red
line. I think the issue is going to be getting Honda spec. Well, Honda direct oil, right from
the Honda dealer. Somebody's making it for Honda. I would find out who that is. Do I do that? No.
I pour mobile one at the shop all day long. I've poured AMSOIL for people all day long,
because I've come to the conclusion that motor oils are kind of like who's got the best pizza in
town. It's all pizza. As long as it doesn't give you indigestion and the meatballs are made just
right. I'm good. Right. As long as it meets spec. All right. That's, that's what I'm chasing.
Obviously, obviously I want a Honda filter on that car. All right. At least for the warranty period
and whatever they call for as far as mileage for fluids and how long and how few in between.
I'm going to make it shorter. I'm going to air to the side of caution. That is a great, sexy,
exciting car. Good luck with it, Gus. Enjoy the ride. I'm Ron and Annie in the car doctor. We are
back right after this. Lately, car buying has become a pretty dull experience, but on eBay,
behind every car and part is a story waiting to be shared. Like this guy I read about who
bought a 2020 Porsche Cayman GT4 on eBay. It was well loved. I mean, there are plenty of Caymans
in great condition on eBay, but this one needed some work. That's just the start of the story.
So after this guy gets a great deal on his dream car, he rebuilds the whole thing with all these
parts he found on eBay. Performance brakes, suspension, body panels, the works guaranteed to
fit. Next thing you know, this nearly scrapped Cayman was out there on the track as a full-blown
race car. You're ready to go daily driver, your next Resto mod, Hello Lotus Elon, and the parts to
finish it. eBay has thousands of cars and is the largest online selection of vehicle parts and
accessories. eBay. Things. People. Love.
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, right? Yeah. 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.
You won't see the engineer that slams the Nissan Rogue's door 13,920 times or the corrosive chamber
that simulates 15 years of life in five months or the Rogue heat baked for over 300 combined hours.
What you will see is a vehicle that can take punch after punch and keep rolling.
Nissan, number one in new vehicle quality among mainstream brands by JD Power.
We put it through the worst so you get its best.
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. 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&Ms, Drumstick, Outshine and Kellogg's. Then clip the offer in
the app for automatic event along 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.
Boy, I'm ready to testify. I really am. That sounds like the, we got the
Mormon Tabernacle Choir back there. Tom, what's going on? And just think, what if we had pie in
the green room? Everybody would really be happy. Well, somebody told me that you didn't have a
prayer on the show, so I figured you needed some help. Hey, you know? You know, we're gonna prayer.
Listen, sometimes that's how you go to work some days. You look under the hood of a car and, you
know, and religion does come into auto repair. It does because there are moments you lift the
hood. True story. I'll tell it to you real quick. Two minutes, right? I'm standing at the deli
counter a couple of years back and the priest from the local church is standing there and he's
kind of yelling at the kid behind the counter because he didn't come to church on Sundays.
You know, well-known family. The family always shows up and the kid, for whatever reason, didn't go
to church. And he really made the kid feel bad. And I don't think that was his intention. And I'm
standing there waiting for my sandwich and I said, excuse me, Father. I said, but isn't God
everywhere? And he kind of looked at me startled like somebody would actually get involved. But,
you know, it just kind of annoys me when, you know, I don't like to see people get hurt or beat up
like that. And he said, well, of course God is everywhere. I said, I think God is everywhere.
I do. I said, every day I thank God. I get to go to my little building and put the key in the door
and open it up and face the day and look at the challenges and the opportunities. And I said,
that means God is everywhere. He says, well, of course he is. I said, I said, because I have to
tell you, you don't know how many times I've looked under the hood of a car and God, oh God,
please help me. And he always does because I always end up at the end of the day and the car
gets fixed. So, and the priest looked at me. He got the point. So he laid off the kid and,
you know, I think the kid went to church the next week and whatever. But yeah,
God's everywhere. Leave him alone. So let's go see where Joe is. Joe, what do you think? Is God
everywhere? Yeah, absolutely. He is everywhere. Absolutely, brother. He's with me out in the
oilfield whenever I had problems with the wealth or with my equipment. And I would seek the Lord's
help and always got it. Yep. It's, you know, and it's, it's for those that don't believe it,
I always say there's no atheists in foxholes. All of a sudden everybody gets religion.
How can I help you today, Joe? With the increased drain intervals with synthetic oil nowadays,
do the oil additives need some replenishment about midway through the interval?
No, not if you're using a good quality oil and an oil that meets manufacturer's spec. And that's
key. And I encourage everybody, you know, if you're pouring your own oil, you want to, if you're in
the arrangement of oils, because there are so many oils to choose from. Pick a brand, stay with
a brand, you know, stay with what you think you can afford, all right, and be consistent over the
life of the vehicle. All right, whether it's a mobile one, an AMSOIL, a Penn's oil, whoever.
The most important thing is that information that's on the back of the bottle that I've
noticed has gotten smaller and smaller as time has gone by and it's harder to read.
But it meets this particular spec, that numbered spec, MS-9027N or whatever the spec says,
because that's what the engineer is requiring for that oil to meet spec and for longevity.
Not all 530s are the same, not all 020s are the same. You know, and listen, it's, it's,
there are doubters out there, there are internet trolls out there that'll say,
no, that's not true. And we think Dexos is, you know, just GM's way of marketing and calling for
a different oil to force you to use that. I don't know, I think if I was a car company,
I would want somebody to buy a product because of what I believe is the quality and build it that
way. Although I agree, I think car companies do some of the most stupid things I've ever seen
in my life, you know, and I just, we have to deal with it because you throw your hands up and say,
why? But, you know, the answer to your question is if you're using an oil that meets manufacturer's
spec, right? And sometimes you have to go to a service bulletin to find that spec or the owner's
manual to find that spec. And you're using that oil with a good quality filter. You want to go,
you know, if the manufacturer says 10,000 miles, if you want to do that, okay, I'm not going to
argue it. Would I do that? No, sir. I'm a 5,000 mile, five month oil change guy. And, you know,
you will have to pry the wrench out of my cold dead hands to get me to change from that because I
just won't. You know, I see time, time is a factor like mileage is a factor. I remember when I first
put black together the hot rod, this is 16 years ago now, and it sat through its first winter.
And I thought I was doing such a great job. I kept it in the shop, up on the lift, wrapped up like,
you know, like, like nobody could get to it and just under my watchful eye because I was still
doing some nip and tuck. I had taken it out for the first season. And I wanted to look at something
under the valve train, under the valve cover that first, that first year of storage, pulled the
driver's side valve cover off. Now, here's, here's an engine that had about 1100, maybe 1200 miles
that first season. You had to see the globs of water that had collected from condensation,
from sitting in what I consider environmentally sound environment, right? The shop, I would leave
the heat on at night, you know, just, or I wouldn't let it, I wouldn't, I just wouldn't let it get
cold. I'd, you know, turn the heat down to 60, whatever, but during the day it was 68, 70 degrees
we're working and moisture had permeated into the engine. I changed the oil, I ran it, got it hot,
did another oil change. So time counts, right? If, if, if I had gone that mileage or waited
till the mileage, I, I don't imagine, I can't imagine where I would be now, but I think the most
critical thing is what's on the back of that bottle. I challenge everybody the next time you're in the
supermarket. This seems to be the easiest place because we all seem to eat. And the next time
you go down the automotive aisle, start turning oil bottles around and reading them and look at
what they actually say. And some of them will say rated for Ford, rated for Toyota, rated for GM
and so on. That's, that's the key. All right. That's the key.
Okay. Thank you for all that information. You're welcome, Joe. You're welcome, Joe. You be well,
take good care. Brian up in Maine. Let's, uh, let's start with you and then we'll come back
and finish up on the other side. Brian, what's going on? How can I help? Hi, Ryan. Thanks for
taking my call. You're welcome. I'm wrestling with a 2011 Ford Fusion. It's got everything. It's
got the anti theft. It's got remote stat. It's got the sink thing. It's got Bluetooth and I've
got a five and a half amp draw on this car and we bought it. It's only got 60,000 miles on it. We
bought it right off. Uh, somebody who bought it off a lot. They didn't have it for long. We've had
it since 2015 and all of a sudden out of the blue, I've got this five and a half amp draw
coming on this car. And I get under there, twisted to get into the pulling fuses and do the
parachute draw test. I put, I put a one ohm 10 watt resistor wire between my, uh, negative
battery pole. Once I took the negative side off, put that between, you know, and so I wouldn't fry
my, I'm afraid of frying my meter because what kind of time, what kind of meter are you using,
Brian? Well, it's in an over. It's got a 15 amp non fused spot on it. So I just, so anyways, I did
a volt, but it's a five and a half. I think it's a five and a half amp draw that this car, and I
think it's part of this sink. How are you time, time out? How are you, how are you finding this
five and a half amp draw? How are you hooking up your meter? Well, uh, to save the wife's car,
the battery, I'd be, I put a, a spin on shut off on the negative terminal. Yeah, that doesn't
matter to me. I'm not saying, how are you physically attaching your meter to the vehicle?
Oh, well, I put, I put that, like I say, a wire without alligator clips with that,
one ohm 10 watt resistor in between, the negative terminal is taken off the battery
and the negative stud on the battery. And then I, I put my leads on each side of that resistor
on each side and I do a volt test. Okay, do this. Let's, let's, let's do this. I'll tell you what,
stay put. Let me pull over, take this pause when we come back. We're going to reinvent the wheel
here. I'm Ron Ananey in the car doctor. Don't go away. 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 rest of 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, Jay Gambetta. 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, right? Yeah. 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. 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 weather bug app from the App Store today and start getting
accurate weather forecasts 24-7. You won't see the engineer that slams the Nissan Rogue's door
13,920 times or the corrosive chamber that simulates 15 years of life in five months
or the Rogue heat baked for over 300 combined hours. What you will see is a vehicle that can
take punch after punch and keep rolling. Nissan, number one in new vehicle quality among
mainstream brands by JD Power. We put it through the worst so you get its best.
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.
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 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. Okay, Ryan, you're there. Yes. Here's what I want you to do,
kiddo. All right. All right. Let's talk about how we're going to test the circuit.
I want you to set your meter to amperage, right? And I want you to be in series,
meaning negative side to the battery post, positive side to the cable, right?
Sure. Yeah. And if you're worried about the meter not having a fuse in it, which I find odd,
but okay. It's an unfused 15 amp. That's where I get to put it on the 15 amp.
And it's unfused. Right. So if it's, if the meter is unfused,
why can't we just put an inline fuse holder with a fuse in it?
Oh, okay. Right? I mean, if we, if you're worried about it, if, if that circuit in the meter is
rated for 15 amps, let's put a 15 amp fuse in a holder. All right. Let's put a 10 amp fuse in
a holder. Let's, let's make it. I think I've got five and a half, I think I got five and a half amps
of draw. Well, wait, now wait a minute. You're, you're, you're ahead of me, brother. Hang on.
All right. But first, I want to get rid of this, this, this resistor that you're using. I don't
want to reinvent Ohm's law here. All right. So I want the meter hooked up. You want to put a fuse
in line, put a fuse in line. Next, how long are you waiting before you measure your draw?
Oh, I waited like an hour. Okay. Trying to sleep. But this is the other thing.
This Ford fusion is an S E and it's fully loaded with all of these electronics.
Good. So is every other car on the road today. How long are you waiting? 60 minutes?
So I'm a simple, I mean, believe me, the last time I called, it was Paris,
it was a draw for a 2011 GMC Sierra work truck with crank up windows.
Right. I, I, I get it. I, I get it. I get it. I get it a hundred percent, but I'm just saying,
I don't care if I'm working on a Ferrari, a Chevy, a Hyundai or a Kia,
parasitic draw is parasitic draw. The procedure is the same. All right. So get the meter hooked up
right. In this case, an hour is an acceptable timeframe on a Ford product. Then with, with the
doors closed window, you want to put the driver's window down, doors closed, right? Key out of the
car sitting for an hour. Right. Well, what about the hood? I can't seem to figure out.
Well, just close the hood latch. Or if there's a sensor, you're going to have to disconnect
and jump for the wire. But you know, the either way, because we need to get access to the under
the hood fuse box, because we're going to start there. Right. Right. Let's, you know, the under
the hood fuse box is the door. I already been there though. I went on there and I'm still
bruised up for trying to get with that. You listen to me. You went through every fuse under the hood.
Well, 90% of them. Okay. Well, 90% isn't 100. Right. But I'm looking for the easy way out here.
There is no easy way out. All right. The easy way out is to go buy a new car and you don't
want to do that. And I don't want to let you. All right. Listen, I'm going to leave you with
these pearls. I'm going to leave you with two pearls here. All right. Dad, who's gone a long
time, once said to me, Ronnie, and he was one of the few people that could call me Ronnie. Ronnie,
if there's 10 steps, you don't go to four, six, eight, 10, one through 10, you take each step
and you don't miss one. All right. So I want you to go back and I want you to take all the steps.
All right. One at a time, one fuse at a time. All right. That's number one. Number two,
stay on the line. Tom's going to get your information. We're going to be sending you out
the 73 piece roadside emergency toolkit, the diehard 73 piece emergency roadside toolkit,
courtesy of advanced auto parts. And I want to add to your, I want to add to your tool collection,
my friend. And then you call me next week when you need more and we'll talk further about your
parasitic draw. All right. You be well. You have a good week, Brian. I appreciate it. And enjoy
your toolkit. I'm Ronnie Nanny in the car doctor. We are back right after this. Lately, car buying
has become a pretty dull experience, but on eBay behind every car and part is a story waiting to
be shared. Like this guy I read about who bought a 2020 Porsche Cayman 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.
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, right? Yeah. 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.
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.
You won't see the engineer that slams the Nissan Rogue's door 13,920 times,
or the corrosive chamber that simulates 15 years of life in five months,
or the Rogue heat baked for over 300 combined hours. What you will see is a vehicle that can
take punch after punch and keep rolling. Nissan, number one in new vehicle quality among lean
stream brands by JD Power. We put it through the worst so you get its best.
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.
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, Cottonel, 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.
I missed a time to get one back in the day. I wonder if you know where to find one that's
reasonably priced, don't know about all the numbers matching and such. I just want a car.
See what you can do, Kurt. Well, how about this, Kurt? I mentioned it on air. I don't think I can
do much more than that, brother, but you know, I just have to comment. There's something about
that request, right? It's that moment of romance. It's that time period in America with muscle cars,
and there was something sexy and snarling and gripping about the cars we drove. They didn't
all look the same. They didn't all sound the same. They definitely didn't all smell the same,
right? Because there was some bike and bark and just snotty-ness, and they were all different.
They all had a different personality to them. And 100 years from now, nobody's going to write
about, hey, I was cruising along in my 25-camry hybrid, getting 42 miles to the gallon. They're
gonna be talking about grandpa doing the burnouts and the GTO and how much fun that was on a Friday
night. I absolutely guarantee you. So if anybody knows where Kurt can find a 65 GOAT TriPower 389,
you email the car doctor and we'll pass it along. Till the next time, good mechanics aren't
expensive. They're priceless. See ya.
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.
You won't see the engineer that slams the Nissan Rogue's door 13,920 times,
or the corrosive chamber that simulates 15 years of life in five months,
or the Rogue heat-baked for over 300 combined hours. What you will see is a vehicle that can
take punch after punch and keep rolling. Nissan, number one in new vehicle quality among lean
stream brands by JD Power. We put it through the worst so you get its best.
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.
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&Ms, 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.
This is Julian Edelman from Games with Names. 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.
At CVS, it matters that we're not just in your community, but that we're part of it.
It matters that we're here for you when you need us, day or night. And we want everyone to feel
welcomed and rewarded. It matters that CVS is here to fill your prescriptions and here to fill
your craving for a tasty and healthy snack. At CVS, we're proud to serve your community
because we believe where you get your medicine matters. So visit us at CVS.com or just come
by our store. We can't wait to meet you. Store hours vary by location.
About this episode
Ron Ananian shares stories and insights from his auto repair shop, including the challenges of finding a simple shredder, dealing with car misfires, and the complexities of diagnosing parasitic battery drains. He offers practical advice on scan tools, oil changes for performance cars, and emphasizes the importance of thorough diagnostics over quick fixes. The episode also touches on the human side of car repair, including humorous and thoughtful anecdotes, and the evolving role of technology like AI in automotive diagnostics.
Original notes
This week on Ron Ananian, The Car Doctor, Ron opens with a funny but all-too-real look at the strange little things that can disrupt the flow of a repair shop, including a months-long search for the right paper shredder and the everyday distractions that make shop life more complicated than most people realize. It’s a reminder that fixing cars is only part of the job—staying focused through the chaos is the other half.
Ron also answers listener questions on a wide range of issues, including scan tool recommendations for an aging Jeep Grand Cherokee, how to approach a cylinder misfire without guessing, first oil change timing on a new 2025 Honda Civic Type R, and the importance of using the correct oil specification and a quality filter for long engine life. There’s also a good step-by-step discussion on parasitic battery draw testing for a Ford Fusion, plus a closing reflection on why older muscle cars still leave such a lasting impression.
Good mechanics aren’t expensive — they’re priceless.
- Grab your Car Doctor gear – T-shirts & more at CarDoctorShow.com
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