Ron Ananian, The Car Doctor - November 1, 2025 - Hour 2 - Doing A Honda Oil Change The Wrong Way - (855)560-9900 24/7 Hotline
Ron Ananian The Car Doctor
Ron Ananian, The Car Doctor - November 1, 2025 - Hour 2 - Doing A Honda Oil Change The Wrong Way - (855)560-9900 24/7 Hotline
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Term
rotate the tires
Rotating the tires means changing their positions on the car so they wear evenly. This helps the tires last longer and perform better.
Term
oil change
An oil change is when the old oil in the engine is replaced with new oil. This helps keep the engine running well and prevents damage.
Part
oil filter
An oil filter is a part of your car that cleans the oil before it goes back into the engine. It helps keep the oil clean and the engine running well.
Term
crush washer
A crush washer is a small ring that helps seal the oil drain plug so that oil doesn't leak out. It gets squished when you tighten the plug, making it fit better.
Part
engine oil
Engine oil is a liquid that helps keep the engine running smoothly by reducing friction and preventing damage. It's important to change it regularly to keep the engine healthy.
Part
drain plug gasket
A drain plug gasket is a small rubber or metal piece that helps seal the area where oil drains out of a car. It stops oil from leaking out and keeps everything working properly.
Car
Honda Civic
The Honda Civic is a small car that many people buy because it's reliable and doesn't use too much gas. It's a good option for those who want a budget-friendly vehicle.
Term
MSRP
MSRP is the price that car companies suggest you should pay for a new car. It's like a guideline for how much the car should cost when you buy it.
Car
Honda Crv
The Honda CR-V is a popular type of car called an SUV, which means it’s bigger and has more space inside than a regular car. People like it because it’s reliable, good on gas, and can fit a lot of stuff or people comfortably.
Part
throwout bearing
The throwout bearing is a part in cars with manual transmissions that helps the clutch work properly. It allows you to change gears smoothly.
Part
brake pads
Brake pads are the parts that help your car slow down or stop. They press against the wheels to create friction, and when they wear out, they need to be replaced to keep your brakes working well.
Part
brake rotors
Brake rotors are the flat discs that your brake pads press against to help stop your car. If they get damaged or worn out, they can affect how well your brakes work.
Term
6.6 gas engine
The 6.6 gas engine is a type of engine used in some Chevrolet trucks that provides strong performance, especially for towing and carrying heavy loads.
Term
gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR)
Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR) is the total weight a vehicle can safely handle, including everything inside it. It's important to know this for safety and to avoid overloading the vehicle.
Term
oil consumption test
An oil consumption test checks how much oil a car uses while driving. If a car uses too much oil, it might have problems that need fixing.
Car
Chevrolet Silverado
The Chevrolet Silverado HD 2500 is a strong truck made for heavy work. It's great for towing and carrying heavy loads, making it popular for people who need a reliable vehicle for tough jobs.
Term
catalytic converters
A catalytic converter is a part of the car that helps clean the exhaust gases before they leave the car. It makes the air less polluted by changing harmful gases into safer ones.
Term
oxygen sensors
Oxygen sensors are parts of a car that check how much oxygen is in the exhaust. They help the engine run better and use fuel more efficiently.
Term
SAE 5W30
SAE 5W30 is a type of motor oil that helps your engine run smoothly. The '5W' means it's good for cold weather, and '30' means it's thick enough when the engine is hot.
Term
dexos
Dexos is a special standard for motor oil used in General Motors cars. It helps make sure the oil works well and keeps the engine safe.
Term
warranty
A warranty is like a promise from the car company that they'll fix or replace parts of your car if something goes wrong within a certain time after you buy it.
Car
Jeep Compass
The Jeep Compass is a small SUV that can handle both city driving and some off-road adventures. The 2017 version has a nicer look and better features than older models.
Car
Dodge 3500
The Dodge 3500 is a big pickup truck that can carry heavy loads and is often used for work. It's built to be very strong and durable.
Car
Toyota Prius
The Toyota Prius is a special kind of car called a hybrid, which means it uses both gas and electricity to run, making it very good on gas. It’s popular among people who want to save money on fuel and help the environment.
Term
computer flashing
Computer flashing is when you update the software in a car's computer system. This can help fix problems or make the car run better.
Company
Opus IVF
Opus IVF is a type of tool that mechanics use to check what's wrong with cars. It helps them fix problems by reading the car's computer and sometimes updating its software.
Term
transmission
The transmission is like the part of the car that helps it change speeds. It makes sure the car can go fast or slow when needed.
Term
General Motors
General Motors is a big company that makes cars like Chevrolet and Cadillac. They also create technology to help cars run better.
Car
Chevrolet Express
The Chevrolet Express is a big van that can carry a lot of stuff, making it great for businesses or families that need extra space. It’s often talked about because it’s practical for moving things around.
Concept
AMG
AMG is a special division of Mercedes-Benz that makes high-performance cars. They take regular Mercedes cars and make them faster and more powerful.
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for exclusive videos, real repair footage and more. Now, start your engines. The CarDoctor
is in the garage and ready to take your call. So, where do we begin this hour? At 855-560-9900.
A couple of new videos up on the YouTube channel, by the way, I failed to mention it last hour.
We've got one up there. I think it's up now or it's coming tomorrow. The one about sunroof
drains where we talk a little bit about sunroof maintenance and some of the things to look
for, some of the simple things you can do because we're in that time of year. We're in that time
of year when leaves and sticks and all the junk seems to fall out of the sky and everybody ends
up with clogged sunroof drains and you know, gee, I've got these couple of thousand dollars
worth of wet interior to deal with and how do I deal with it? You know, as I point out
to everybody, a sunroof is a calculated water leak. It is. It's like Improvitia in one simple
thought. If a sunroof isn't designed to leak water, then why do they put drains in them?
Because nobody drives around with the sunroof open in a rainstorm. So, you know, you've got
to start thinking about sunroof drain maintenance. It's like the gutters on the house. It's got
to be cleared out. Let's, that's coming up on YouTube. It's not there now. It'll be there
tomorrow. So I speak to the guys. Anyway, let's, let's get going because we've got a
bunch of one, two, three or five, six. Okay, let's go to Tim. Let's go to Tim in Pennsylvania.
We're going to talk about oil changes. So go ahead, Tim, share your thoughts. What's going on,
babe? Well, I used to do my own oil changes, you know, to save some money back in the old
days. But the last all maybe 10 years, I go to the dealer. I tell you, my last, my last trip to
the dealer for an oil change, this is a Honda. Took it in. Now, when I, when I wash my cars
that twice a year, I'll take the wheels off. They're the wheels. They're not, you know, steel
wheels with a wheel covers. These are in a solid wheel. So I like take them off and clean them up
in the back, you know, and make sure they're good. So I rotate the tires while I'm doing that, of
course. So I go into the dealership and I say, change the oil and filter. Don't rotate the tires. I
just did that yesterday. So fast forward. He says, your car's done. He said, we changed the oil and
rotated the tires. I said, Hey, you know, I asked you not to do that. He said, Oh, I'm sorry. He said,
we'll put them back to the way they were. Who knows, you know, so long and short, he comes back and
all done. And he says, I start to reach for my wallet. And he said, there's no charge for the oil
change. I said, excuse me? He said, Oh, yeah, he said, since we messed up and rotated your tires,
he said, you know, we're not going to change it for the oil change.
An honorable shop.
Yes. And I said, well, I appreciate that. I said, but it's not that big a deal. I'd rather pay for my oil
change. Right. He said, he insisted. No, no, no. So about a week later, go ahead.
I'm going to say, so, so you're honorable as well. See, you're the kind of guy that you get it, right?
You're willing to pay for good quality service. And if they make a mistake, because people make mistakes,
that's why there's erasers on pencils, right? They, they, they stand up and they make good on it. You were
going to say something to him. Yeah. Well, I have this thing. I say, you know, if for one person to get
something for nothing, somebody else has to get nothing for something. Right. Yeah. And that's the
absolute truth. I think I get frosty about oil changes because we'll see new customers come in
from other shops or somebody come in and we'll do an oil change. It's rare when we see an oil change
done right by a previous shop. And I'm not sure if we're just too picky or, and I'm not bragging
about us. I just, it's just simple, obvious things. We'll see oil changes that, you know,
there's oil running down the frame. There's oil that's slopped and left over. There's oil filters
that are loose. There's drain plug gaskets that aren't changed. There's, there's no way any care or
consideration was given when that oil change was done, because it's done poorly. And, you know,
what are we paying for? If we're going to pay for it, let's get it done right. If we're going to do
it cockeyed, then let's not do it. You had mentioned about the crush washers. Yep. Well,
after a week after my oil change, I noticed a little pool of oil on my garage floor and I reached
down. I touch it and it's obviously clean engine oil. So we don't put many miles on the car. So,
you know, we hadn't driven very far, but so what had happened is the crush, the crush washer had
failed either at, you know, who knows, it maybe wasn't, maybe it was over tightened like he talked
about. Or maybe it wasn't, or maybe it wasn't changed. That's, yeah, that's possible. So I go
back to the dealer and he takes it back and he dropped, you know, they have that, that engine
cover underneath that aluminum cover. Yep. What had happened enough leaked out and it laid in that
pan until it found a hole and then started to drip through. So he says, you know, we cleaned that
pan really well for you. Replace the engine oil completely. Of course, you know what it's like
you take that drain plug out, you know, you're going to get oil. It's all gone at that point.
Yes. You know, I'd be curious if you look on your invoice, your original invoice,
well, you didn't get one, right? No. Yes, I still got an invoice, but it said no charge.
I wonder if the drain plug gasket is on there at no charge.
See, because a repair shop in a modern age, where we use computers, if they're pulling
a part out of inventory, they always put it on the, they have to put it on the order so that
the computer knows to pull it down so they need to reorder when it hits the magic number. So for
example, if I stock 50 Honda drain plug gaskets and I probably stock a hundred because it's such a
common number. If I stock a hundred every time I use one, I put it on the order because we charge
for it and it pulls one down and then when it hits a certain number, when it hits 20 and I've
got 20 left, we reorder 80 so we maintain a hundred. So I'm always curious is that is any drain
plug gasket if the vehicle calls for it on the invoice because if it's not on the invoice,
either they're giving it to me for free out of the kindness of their heart
or they're not changing it. And you know, which is it? And I'm always curious.
Certain GMs don't take drain plug gaskets anymore. Certain Ford's don't take drain plug gaskets
anymore. Every Honda I've ever worked on takes a drain plug gasket. And I'd be curious if they
change that one. Now I have to check that, that invoice, you know, it's for me when I was doing it,
you know, why would you not do something for back then? It was probably a 50 cent item.
Right. Right. People would change your engine oil but leave the same filter in.
And I always say, why would you put half a quart of dirty oil in with the new?
Right. Well, and yeah, it's, you know, Tim, it's mind boggling to me
that when we look at the price of a vehicle, how much is a replacement vehicle for you now,
Tim? If you were going to go out and buy a car today, what's your budget? What are you going to
buy? 26. Okay. It's a Honda Civic. Okay. So you're buying a basic model?
You're mid-grade. Yeah. Well, have you priced a new Civic lately? Are they only 26,000?
This is a 24. Okay. Oh, okay. All right. So geez, they're only 26. See here in New Jersey,
I bet you that's a $30,000 car because New Jersey just somehow they find these things to
charge us for. I haven't quite figured it out yet when I look at prices of cars. But it's still
26, right? It's $26,000. Wouldn't you put a dollar drain plug gasket on it?
Exactly. Right. Because it's, and then if you get into something more, you know,
how much is an accord? How much is a CRV? You know, we see upwards of some cars,
$35,000 to $40,000 and a simple oil change. You know, it's just such an important part
of the maintenance plan that it keeps that vehicle running to 200,000 miles. How many,
what did you drive before this, Tim? And then I'll let you go. I'm just curious.
It was a 2016 Honda Civic. How many miles did you have on it?
I had 96,000 and I just, I wanted a change. Right. Hey, you know what? I get that, right?
Sometimes we see the bells and whistles on the newer car. We want the next shiny penny. I understand
that a hundred percent. So, you know, I get that a hundred percent and I always say life's too
short if you can afford it, do it. But you know, back in the day when I was doing work and big
work like that, you know, we'd put a clutch in a car, you know, and it's the same principle. You
know, why would you not replace the throughout bearing? If you had that all taken apart,
why wouldn't you replace the throughout bearing at the same time?
Sometimes the thinking is the factory part might be better than the replacement part.
Depends on what we're changing. And then sometimes the thinking is we're cheap
and we don't want to. And, you know, it's, it's kind of like people and I, I'm sorry,
I got to call it, right? There's people out there that'll do brake pads without replacing rotors
and they'll yell at me all day long how they've been doing it for years and they never have an
issue. And, you know, the brakes always seem to work well. My answer is, well, how do you know
they won't work better if you properly break them in, properly break them in on a brake rotor that's
been scored and cross hatched and designed to seat the pads correctly? You don't know. We don't
know what we don't know. I will say that auto repair is a very exact science done in an unexact
manner in multiple places around this great country of ours. And I always wonder how much
better things would be and how much longer cars would run if they were done properly all the way.
And I'll leave it there. All right, sir.
All right. Thank you.
You're very welcome, Tim. Good luck to you and yours. 8555609900.
Ronan, the car doctor, I'll be back right after this.
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Hey, let's go to Russell. And then I want to go talk to Tom
somewhere around in the rest of this hour. But in any event, let's go to Russell up in
Maine first. Russell, Ron Anning, the card doctor at your service, sir. How can I help?
All right, yeah. So I've been driving Chevy's for years, and that's all I buy. And
14,000 miles on it, has the 6.6 gas engine in it. And between oil changes,
I'm losing two to three quarts of oil between oil changes.
What's your oil? What's your oil change interval, Russell?
What's that? What is your oil change interval?
I think it's like 5,000, whatever it is on the thing when you reset it,
and it tells you to change the oil around that time.
Because it can be, don't assume. I mean, I would look at it. Are they giving you a
sticker when they're doing the service? No, I do all my oil changes.
Okay. So you're doing it every 5,000 miles, and you're losing two to three quarts.
You've seen GM Bulletin, and I've got a number for you if you want to write it down.
Sure. Okay. 03-06-01-023L. Okay.
All right. And it talks about higher than normal engine oil consumption. Are you 8,600 GVW and above?
What do you mean by that? What's the gross vehicle weight rating?
It's the three-quarter ton. I don't know what the...
I think you are. So I think you are probably 8,600 and above.
There is an oil consumption test as outlined in that Bulletin,
and I'm going to tell you point blank. I think that's too high. And I drive that same truck.
I own that same truck. All right. I have a 22 Silverado HD 6.6, 2,500, etc.
And I haven't had that problem yet. Not good.
Yeah. Like I said, I only have 40,000 miles on it now, and I've done every one of the
oil changes, and it's odd to me. Like I said, I had the 6.0 before. I've had all the 5.3s.
I've never had a problem like that. And I don't see it leaking anywhere.
I think... I don't know what powertrain coverage is on that, but I mean, you're close to it.
I know base coverage was 3.36, and you're just on the cusp of getting out. But I would just
make a fuss about it now before you go any further down the road. And I wear that Bulletin in hand
because they're going to start to... And understand, I've read the Bulletin because
it's my own truck. I remember it. And they start to talk about cockamamie things like,
well, we're going to start talking about quarts of oil consumed versus how many pounds of fuel burned.
I'm thinking, what? We're going to... I don't understand. So we've now come up with another
cockamamie way to understand and explain why oil consumption is okay. And it's not just the oil
consumption. Frankly, Russell, I almost don't care about the quart of oil. It's the damage it's
doing to the rest of the vehicle. The oxygen sensors, the catalytic converters.
Well, that's what I'm thinking. It's going out the exhaust. Getting down in there somewhere.
It's got to be causing some kind of damage. Because it's going out and it's becoming carbon on the
strata of the catalytic converter, and that's going to become an issue long term. That's a problem.
And yeah. Now, I haven't seen this as a common problem. I've seen this on a few. You fall into
that category, unfortunately. So whether there's a fix for it, whether they're just going to say,
well, it's okay. I don't know. But that's the bulletin. For them to write a bulletin means
they've had more than a few problems. Know that going in. They don't write bulletins just for
the sake of doing it. Because for a car company, think about what goes into writing a bulletin.
Right? Hey, if you own this vehicle, here's the potential problem. Here's the potential solution.
They have to go through engineering. First of all, if somebody has to write it,
then they have to go through engineering. Then they have to go through legal, right? Think of
all the things a car company would have to run past a bunch of lawyers to justify, hey, we're going
to put this notice out and tell us that it's okay, that we're not going to get sued, that we're not
going to lose our shirts, that we're not going to be in court 5,000 times because of this bulletin,
et cetera, et cetera. For them to publish a bulletin, more than two guys have the problem.
Let me ask you this. The oil that you're using, I'm just going to ask some dumb questions if I
can. Obviously, it's the right viscosity. Obviously, it's dexos-rated, right?
Yeah, it's SAE 5W30. Yep, with dexos.
Okay, all right. That's an eight-quart system, if I recall correctly, right?
Yes, it is. Maybe that's why they think two quarts is okay.
Yeah, but this last one, that's why I'm calling it because the last oil change I did,
three quarts, three quarts. I was like, wow, I've done two quarts before. It was three quarts of
this last time. Yeah, so whatever it is, it's getting worse. I think you're probably going to
start with the dealer. You're going to end up at the corporate level because you're probably going
to have to call somebody at corporate and say, you want an oil consumption test and tell them,
hey, I'm a lifelong Chevy fan. I've been driving Chevys for the last 25 years,
and this is the first one I've got a problem with. Open your mouth as mom would say.
Don't be afraid. It's interesting in business, and I'm small business, right?
But it's interesting. I look at something as a warranty. Customers will come in with their
invoices in hand, and I kind of laugh at them and say, you don't need an invoice. I remember
doing the job. It was two and a half years ago. You got 15,000 miles out of it. You're 3,000
miles past. You should have gotten 30,000 miles out of it, right? And you always do the right
thing, and that's what you're supposed to do. So you're going to find out who these people are.
You're going to find out what GM is all about. G Russell, we're sorry you went through this.
We're going to warranty this. We're going to find out. We're going to get to the root cause of it.
Car companies somewhere down the line, or maybe even now,
have got to realize that they can't continue to, I'm going to say cheat. Cheat the American consumer.
People have had it. Especially with the price of vehicles these days. A truck like that,
you know, it's like $50,000, $60,000. A truck like that. Is that a WT or what body style is that?
It's the custom. It's four door. Yeah. That's probably a $65,000, $70,000 truck now.
It's nuts. So do that. You're armed with the bulletin, Russell. You got some knowledge.
Call me back. Let me know what they tell you. And gee, as another vehicle owner,
I'm kind of curious myself, but you keep fighting the fight, Russell. Let me know what happens.
I'm Ron Naney in the car doctor. We'll be back right after this.
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Oh, thank you.
Back in the green room. So let's go to Rochelle and then we'll come to Tom in Wisconsin.
Rochelle, how can I help you? Am I saying that name right?
Yeah, Rochelle. Okay. How can I help you, dear?
So I got a 2017 Jeep Compass and I bought it new. It's got the body style as B. They switch the
body styles right in the middle of the year. But I've never had to put brakes on it yet.
This is the first time I got 142,000 miles on it. But I always take it into the dealership to get
the oil changed because I still have a warranty that I bought the extended warranty. So I took it
in. They did the oil change and inspection and the rotor was warped. I could feel a little bit of
the shimmy, you know, and I asked them about it and they said it's completely safe. You got over
half your brake life left. Don't worry about it. Three weeks later, I got metal on metal.
But they quoted me $970 for front brakes and rotors. And I'm like, well, crap,
I don't have that. So I called around and I found an actual brake, especially place,
and I got it for $550. So let me ask you this question. Your extended warranty,
does it? It doesn't cover brakes. It doesn't cover brakes. Okay. So that being said, all right,
unless your warranty policy says something contrary, most extended warranties and most
base warranties don't require you to service a vehicle at the dealership. They don't.
I know. I know. I just...
You're trying to build a relationship. I don't feel more comfortable.
Well, yeah, you're trying to build a relationship so that when you do have a problem,
they go in, you go in and, you know, they know, hey, it's Rochelle. They're going to take care of me,
right? Right, right.
Now, how do you feel?
Oh, I really feel that because I'm a woman, they quoted me in an unreasonable price thinking
that I'm going to pay it because this is the only place I go.
Right. Well, that, and they've shown you that they're incompetent.
Yeah. Don't rule that.
Because they hire college kids and the brakes place that I went to, they showed me the little
gauge thing that you use to measure the brakes and they're like, it's so simple to use.
Yep.
And I'm like, how did they mess this up?
Congratulations. You found a bad repair shop or they were, you know, and I can't say,
I can't say, oh, give them a second chance. They were having a bad day. You know what?
There's too much, there's too much at stake. There's, there's, you know, when,
when somebody's car is on the lift, you know what? I hold your life in my hands.
Well, and I'm a, I'm a transport driver. So I transport people back and forth to hospital and
stuff. Right.
And they know that.
Yeah. And your, your time is important. Your skill level is important and your life is important,
obviously. Yeah.
Yeah. Unfortunately, bad experience. And you may want to write and talk to the front of,
you know, the owner, talk to the front of the horse, as my dad used to say, and let them,
let them know why you won't be coming back because of this concern and see how they handle it.
You never know. You never know what they might do.
You think so, or should I just drop it?
What do you feel best about? Is it going to eat at you?
Well, I've been so angry. I haven't been wanting, I want to call them, but I've been so angry.
I don't want to blow.
Why don't you, why don't you, why don't you write a letter?
Okay.
I like writing, I like writing letters because I can sit down. I can have a cup of coffee,
a cup of tea, whatever, a donut, a little of this, a little of that. Write, write, write my
letter. I can get my thoughts straight. I can, I can say what I want to say clearly.
And then I would find out who the owner of the dealership or the general manager is.
And, and send it to him, spend seven bucks, send it to him, certified mill.
Oh, that's a good idea. Thank you.
And then you know we got it. And if they ignore you, well, then you've got a reason to pursue it
further, maybe deceptive fraud practices, et cetera, with the attorney general of your state,
maybe just a bad review on the website. Hey, I took these steps. Nobody can ever argue
with a rational approach, right?
Oh, well, that's why I haven't wanted to call when I was angry.
Right. I took these steps. This is what happened, you know, whether it's because I'm a woman,
because they don't like people with blue eyes, green eyes, red eyes, whatever,
just because maybe they were having a bad day, not acceptable, but whatever, it happened.
I'm asking, I'm asking you to make it right. I'm asking you to look at it from my perspective
that I come to you because I trust you, I count on your professionalism,
and when I needed you the most, you let me down.
Right.
You want me to write the letter?
That'd be great.
All right. But that's, you know, that's what, don't be emotional. You know, you need to talk
about safety. You need to talk about how you trusted them up to this point,
and they've lost one soldier, so to speak.
Okay.
All right.
Right.
And see how they react. Don't be accusatory. It's funny how businesses react, right?
Okay.
You know, maybe dealer parts are more money. I'd have to look the job up.
To me, that's an hour and a half, two hours worth of labor. What's their labor rate?
You know, go figure that out. If the dealer's labor rate is $200, so it's $400 in labor,
is it $600 in parts? I know parts have gone up. Everything's gone up, and I would think
that's probably not far off the mark, actually, because I've seen Chrysler.
I've seen, yeah, I've seen Chrysler rotors. Chrysler break parts are through the roof,
and I don't understand why. So I'm not trying to make an excuse for them, Rochelle.
Okay. I'm just saying, I wouldn't be surprised. We bought a set of rear rotors for, of course,
that was a full-sized Dodge 3500 diesel duly pickup something, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.
I think the rotors were $400 a piece or some crazy number. Yeah. But that's a truck, but even so.
All right. How about a parts breakdown? You know, can you explain it to me in English?
You know, expertise at the counter. Hey, Rochelle, you know what? Our labor rate is $200.
It's about two hours for us to do this job. You can do the math. That's 400 bucks.
And, you know, Chrysler parts are super expensive. Now, Chrysler does, at least Chrysler in this part
of this country in the Northeast, they have an ulterior, what they call their economy line.
It's not a bad break rotor. It's not a bad break pad. We use them all the time. We've had great
success with them. We've had probably zero comebacks. You know, so it's as my parts guys tell
me, Ron, it's a cheaper alternative to Chrysler because Chrysler's break parts are just out of
sight for some reason. And, you know, it kind of makes sense. It's, you know, do you need OE stuff
on a 17 Jeep Summit? I don't think so. And where I went, where I took it at the actual break
dealerships or break specialty place, I would think they would be more expensive, but they were,
you know, half the price and also warranty for two years. Right, right. So lesson learned.
Write a letter. Yep. All right, kiddo. Okay, I will do that. Thank you. You're very welcome. You
be well. Tom has an interesting comment about oil changes. I know Tom wants to get in here today.
Well, I've been listening to all this stuff about oil changes and the price of oil changes and,
you know, the price of quality and such. This actually doesn't involve oil changes. It involves
changing an oil company with my house. I've been with a company for 27 years,
called to have them come out and clean the furnace. And they said, okay, and by the way,
here's what your service contract will be this year. So it went up 100 bucks. And it used to
cover everything at 100%. Now I get a whopping 20% off all parts and labor and I went, whoa, whoa,
wait a minute. You increase the price of the package. And I'm getting less. Right. And they
said, yeah. And I said, well, I'm going to shop around. Well, I found a mom and pop place across
town. And their service contract is just a little bit more on what these guys wanted,
but it covers everything 100%. And the woman apologized. She said, last year it was this,
I said, lady, I'm a small business guy, parts, parts, labor, everything is up in price. Right.
I said, I get it. Right. It's not about the money. I want I want the peace of mind that I'm not
going to get hit with a big bill if this thing dies. And as the moral to the story, you're looking
for quality. I'm looking, I'm looking for quality. I don't care about it. Well, I care about the price.
But I mean, you know, we're arguing 100 bucks, 200 bucks, we're not arguing $10,000. Right.
Right. It's like, come on, just stop. So I changed companies. And the other company was like, well,
this is, this is what we're doing. I said, well, that's nice. It's not for me. Have a nice day
that even didn't even try to keep me. Well, and see, and that's, see, and that's, you know,
that's, that's the sad part that they don't try to keep you. So let me ask you this, when the price
of bagels gets to be $30 a dozen, you're still buying them? No, I'm going to come over to your
place when you buy them. By the way, I think we owe Dodge an apology. I think I misread his letter.
So yeah, I think you did. He was being funny. But you know what, he says it's your fault.
So I'm going to blame you. Of course. Well, hey, well, wait, you find out what we're paying for
that band. So we're going to, so we're going to apologize to Dodge, but we're going to blame
Tom Ray. Let's go to break. I'm Ron Anini and the car doctor 8555609900. I'll be back right after this.
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You know, you wonder if kids went drag racing today in like a Prius or an EV or something with
crash avoidance. Would Dead Man's Curve really apply because you got close to the edge? Would it
just sort of bounce you back so you couldn't go over the guardrail? It wouldn't. Think of what a
dramatic movie cultural type icon that would be 50 years from now. Be boring. I want to talk to you
about computer flashing. I don't know where I get these ideas from. I want to talk to you about
computer flashing. Flashing once again. We had a 2013 Buick in the shop this week and the customer
complaint was a harsh engagement into drive and it was true. It came to us from another shop. The
shop had done a couple of trans services trying to alleviate it. They found a bulletin that talked
about doing flashing, do a flash update for software. You know, this is a 12 year old,
60,000 mile vehicle and the customer woke up one day and one day it worked and the next day put
it in gear and it bangs so hard it would rattle your fillings. It was just like a hard hit.
I had my doubts. I won't lie to you about it. I had my doubts that, gee, how would a software
update on something that was good one day, bad the next fix the problem. But you know what?
I think you have to try. I think computer flashing, software updates to a modern vehicle,
anything made in the last 20 years has gotten to the point that a software update is an important
piece of the diagnostic solution. It really is. It's just part of the process. You've got to do it.
So we dialed up our opus. Of course, we've got an Opus IVF scan tool set up and we dialed up
and logged in with them and they dialed back into the shop and it's great. I'll tell you,
I don't know why anybody tries doing flashing on their own. If you have an Opus, you've got your
problem solved because it's just being done for you. The hardware is up to date. The software
is correct. And we did the update and it didn't work. And I was ready to hand the car back to
the other shop and say, we tried like we agreed and it's X number of dollars and it's time for a
trans. And then the tech at Opus said, by the way, there's an internal memo that I'm reading.
Hang on a second and I waited. There's an internal memo that says, if you're doing this bulletin
and this software update and it doesn't work, try this bulletin and this software update.
And it's a note from General Motors that talks about and it's not a, it's not a public released
memo is the way it was explained to me. So if this doesn't work, try this. So do this update.
It's sort of like a Windows update. Let's do this Windows update. If your computer doesn't
work right, we'll try this computer update. The second update fixed the car. It fixed this
transmission that you put it in drive. It was just like factory brand though. And the shop
that we were doing the workforce said, what did they do to it? And that's the beauty or that's
the horror, depending on your perspective of software updates. You don't know what they did.
You don't know what the engineer was thinking. You don't know what they modified. You don't
know what they changed. All you know is you tried and it's fixed. And that's the world of
auto repair. That's what auto repair has come to. And I think it's forward thinkers like the folks
over at Opus that are marching us down this path that are keeping us current, that are allowing
us to repair all these vehicles because without software updates and more importantly, without
having the ability to access the hardware and the software at some sort of economical cost,
you know, you've got to look at that. But I just wanted to tell you, it's a tale of two software
updates. The first one didn't work. The second one did. Thanks to Opus. I'm running any in the car,
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This is Rob Gronkowski from Dudes & Dudes with Grant and Jules. For the second season in a row,
I partnered with T-Mobile's Friday Night 5G Lights, powering up hometown football across America.
This year, T-Mobile invested over $4 million in prizes to help schools take their Friday nights
to the next level. The votes are in and now it's time to crown our $1 million grand prize winner.
Congratulations to Derek's High School and Derek's Arkansas, home of the Outlaws and your 2025
T-Mobile Friday Night 5G Lights champion. The Outlaws and their community rallied to help
them score a game-changing home field upgrade, a Grant Fitness weight room makeover, an epic
2026 tailgate party and a VIP trip to the SEC championship game. To every school that competed,
posted and rallied your communities, thank you. And to T-Mobile for making it all possible.
This season may be over, but the story isn't. Stay tuned for Season 3 in 2026.
Congratulations again to Derek's High School Outlaws. This is Sophie Cunningham from Show Me
Something. Do you know the symptoms of moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnea or OSA in adults
with obesity? They may be happening to you without you knowing. If anyone has ever said you snored
loudly or if you spend your days fighting off excessive tiredness, irritability, and concentration
issues, it may be due to OSA. OSA is a serious condition where your airway partially or completely
collapses during sleep, which may cause breathing interruptions and oxygen deprivation.
Learn more at Don't Sleep on osa.com. This information is provided by Lilly, a medicine company.
And we come to the end of another exclusive hour of The Card Doctor. And it's been a pleasure
to be here with you next week. We're going to get to talk to Matt DiLorenzo. Matt wrote a great book,
Mercedes AMG, which is Mercedes hot rods, right? And Mercedes race cars and things like that.
And at first you go, oh, come on, a Mercedes can't be fast. And then you start to read the book and
you listen to Matt and you go, wow, you know, it's, it really is a hot rod. And we're actually going
to get an explanation. I'm not even going to attempt to pronounce it here. But you know, Matt
in my preliminary interview with him, he did explain to me what AMG stands for. It's very German
and it's very hard to pronounce. But because I've always looked at it and said, American,
no, it's got nothing to do with it. It's, it's related to the town in Germany where the whole
corporation started some 40 or 50 years ago, but we're going to go through the history of Mercedes.
They're racing prowess. We're going to talk about flying pigs. That was one of the cars
that wasn't supposed to be as fast as it was and do what it was supposed to do. But that's next
week. And maybe we'll give this book away. I've got a copy of it in front of me. It's got my
fingerprints all over it, but it's got some great color pictures and a complete explanation of what
it's all about. So I hope you got something out of this week. And I guess that the point of all of
this this week is, you know, we've been talking a lot about maintenance. We've been talking a lot
about different kinds of service is know what you're getting, you know, know what you're paying for,
know what you're getting. And, you know, understand it's still a machine, no matter how many computers
they hang on it, it still requires annual maintenance. It still requires some scheduled
service. And you've got to learn to break down the estimates. And don't be afraid to ask, hey,
it's like the one lady, Rochelle with the Jeep $970 for breaks. How many hours of that is labor?
How much of that is parts? Are they factory parts? And we never even addressed that in our
conversation with her. I just made the assumption. But, you know, they could also be using the economy
line of break part and double dipping, as I like to say. And I don't like that. So always ask for
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things are going up and learn to look at things from a perspective of, is it worth it? And, you
hold on to the part of the conversation, because there's nothing worse than getting a very bad
and stale bagel. I'm Ron Ani and the car doctor till the next time. Good mechanics aren't expensive.
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About this episode
Ron Ananian shares insights from his extensive automotive experience, discussing the importance of proper oil changes and maintenance. A listener recounts a mishap at a Honda dealership where an oil change mistake led to a free service, sparking a conversation about the quality of oil changes across shops. Ron emphasizes the significance of using the correct parts, such as drain plug gaskets, and the potential long-term effects of neglecting maintenance. The episode also touches on the importance of understanding service costs and the value of quality repairs.
Original notes
Sunroof Drains, Honest Oil Changes & a Flash-Fixed Buick
Quick hits this week: why sunroof drains are “house gutters” for your car, the oil-change must-dos most shops skip (clean work, proper torque, new crush washers), and a Chevy 2500 6.6L gas with rising oil consumption—what to ask the dealer and why it can cook cats/O2 sensors. Plus, a 2013 Buick’s harsh “slam into Drive” solved by the second factory software update (Opus IVS). Next week: Mercedes-AMG with Matt DeLorenzo.
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