The Car Show with Dane Donovan 11/22/2025
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Term
air conditioning
Air conditioning in a car helps keep the inside cool and comfortable when it's hot outside. It's important to check that it works well before summer hits.
Term
check engine light
The check engine light is a light on your car's dashboard that tells you something might be wrong with the engine. If it comes on, it's a good idea to get it checked out to avoid bigger problems later.
Term
remote starter
A remote starter lets you start your car from far away, so it's ready to go when you get in. It's especially helpful in extreme weather to make the car comfortable before driving.
Car
2024 F-250
The Ford F-250 is a large truck that can carry heavy loads and is often used for work. It's built to be tough and can handle more than regular trucks.
Part
water pump
The water pump helps keep the engine cool by moving coolant around. If it fails, the engine can overheat, which can cause serious problems.
Part
drive belt
The drive belt is a rubber belt that helps run parts of the engine like the alternator. If it wears out, it can cause problems with those parts.
Car
Honda That Honda
The Honda That's is a small car designed for city driving, making it easy to park and use in tight spaces. It's popular in Japan for being practical and efficient.
Term
timing belt
The timing belt is like a rubber band inside your car's engine that helps keep everything moving in sync. If it breaks, it can cause serious damage to the engine, so it needs to be replaced regularly.
Term
preventative maintenance
Preventative maintenance means taking care of your car regularly to avoid problems later. It's like getting check-ups to stay healthy.
Term
tune-up
A tune-up is when you check and fix parts of your car's engine to make sure it runs well. This can include changing spark plugs and other small parts.
Car
Ford Explorer
The Ford Explorer is a type of SUV that many families use. Some older models have problems with a part called the water pump, which can cause serious engine issues if it breaks.
Term
coolant
Coolant is a special liquid that helps keep the engine from getting too hot. It moves around the engine to absorb heat and keep everything running smoothly.
Term
plastic bumper
A plastic bumper is the part of a car that helps protect it in case of a crash. It's made of plastic, which is lighter and cheaper than metal, and can often be fixed easily if it gets damaged.
Car
Buick LaCrosse
The Buick LaCrosse is a car made by Buick that is known for being comfortable and spacious. The 2007 version has a few different engine choices, including a V6 engine.
Term
3.8-liter V6 engine
The 3.8-liter V6 engine is a type of car engine that has six cylinders shaped like a 'V'. It's designed to provide a good mix of power and fuel efficiency.
Term
bulb grease
Bulb grease is a special grease that you put on light bulb connections to keep them from rusting or getting damaged. It helps the light bulbs work better and last longer.
Term
headlight bulb
A headlight bulb is the light that helps you see when you're driving at night. It gets really hot when it's on, so you have to be careful when handling it.
Company
Donovan's Auto and Tire
Donovan's Auto and Tire is a place where you can take your car for repairs. They promise to be honest and do good work on things like oil changes and fixing brakes.
Car
Honda Accord
Car
Honda Civic
The Honda Civic is a small car that many people like to drive because it's dependable and doesn't use a lot of gas. It's been around for a long time and is popular for everyday use.
Term
oil filter
An oil filter is a part of a car's engine that cleans the oil. It catches dirt and debris so that the oil can keep the engine running smoothly and last longer.
Term
7.3 liter diesel
The 7.3 liter diesel is a type of engine made by Ford that is known for being strong and lasting a long time. It's commonly found in larger trucks and is appreciated by many mechanics and truck owners.
Part
thermostat
A thermostat helps keep the engine at the right temperature. If it doesn't work, the engine can get too hot or too cold.
Term
oil change
An oil change is when you replace the old oil in your car's engine with new oil. It's important for keeping the engine running smoothly and preventing damage.
Term
oil level
The oil level is how much oil is in the car's engine. It's important to have the right amount of oil so the engine can work properly and not get damaged.
Term
quarts
A quart is a way to measure liquids, like oil. It's often used to tell how much oil your car needs.
Part
valve cover gasket
The valve cover gasket is a part that helps keep oil inside the engine and stops it from leaking out. It's important for keeping the engine running smoothly.
Term
gasoline engine
A gasoline engine is a type of engine that uses gasoline as fuel to make the car run. It's what most cars use to drive around.
Car
Ford F150
The Ford F-150 is a big truck that many people use for work or towing things. It's known for being strong and having lots of features that make it useful for different tasks.
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Good afternoon and welcome to the car show on 55 KRC.
Eddie Talk Station. I'm Dane Donovan from Donovan's Auto Entire Center. Taking your car
questions is the number to call 513-749-5500. That number again, 513-749-5500.
I hope everybody's doing well. I talked about it a couple of weeks ago and I said that the
unwanted word, S word, snow, and we got a little bit. It wasn't too bad, but yesterday I had a
vehicle right in front of us lose control and you got to make sure you've got a good set of
tires on your vehicle. It's so important and we're getting into that time of season, but
let's not talk about that at the moment. Let's talk about we're going to be traveling,
obviously in five days, we're all going to be sitting around the table having some turkey and
celebrating Thanksgiving and we're all going to be traveling. Most of us may not be traveling
states away. You might just be traveling 15-20 minutes to your relatives' house, parents' house,
whatever. You want to make sure that that car is ready to go for what's coming. Again, mother nature
loves to throw us curveballs all the time, especially in Cincinnati weather. We want to make
sure we're going into that. We've already had several vehicles coming in with no heat. I talk
about this in the spring like, hey, make sure your air conditioning is working now. When it gets to
90, you're not dying and you're like, I need to get in there right now. Think about it. If you're
in your car now, just turn the heat on. Just make sure it's working. With all these newer cars out
there today, there's so many components that can fail. You have a car that's 20 years old.
You basically had one door that turned it from hot to cold. That was it. Nowadays, it's dual
climate. There's a lot of other components that can fail. Now's the time. Again, I know it's not
too cold outside, but turn it on just to make sure it works. Just throw it on like, oh, yep, it works.
That way you're not in scramble mode when it's, you know, because, you know, in a week, it could be
in the in the teens, right? And then you're freezing. So something to think about.
The other thing I want to talk about too is, you know, I have a wide variety of vehicles, not a
ton, but I have a vehicle that I've had since I was 18 years old. I'm 41. I bought it when I was 18.
Check engine lights on that. My wife's car is a 2018. It comes on. It's not currently on, but it
comes on. And I bought a little car from a customer mine just to toy around with it. It's a little
accurate and I'm driving it the other day yesterday and the check engine light comes on that. And then
I have a 2024 F 250. And the other day I'd go to hit the remote starter won't start. I'm like,
that's weird. I go out and I go to start it up and check engine lights on on that. This car has
17,000 miles. I'm like, every vehicle I own has a check engine light on. I'm like, I cannot win.
So if you if you feel like, man, I just I can't catch a break. Listen, I'm in the same boat.
These vehicles, whether it's a year old or 20 years old, these lights will they will haunt you.
And it's something that, you know, can be frustrating. Some people can live with it. Some
people can't. I can't live with a check engine light on just I can't do it. Some people can go,
Oh, that's fine. Other people I've had come in and they they put a piece of black electrical tape on
it, you know, but you really shouldn't do that. You really need to have it fixed. It's on for a
reason and certainly could be a performance issue as well. So it's something that you want to think
about. But if it's on, don't be like, Oh, I got a lemon. It's I'm telling you, it just it never ends.
So again, taking your phone calls. I never call 513-749-5500. Let's go to the phones. We have Scott.
Hey, Scott, welcome to the car show. How can I help?
I've got a question for you about my 2015 Honda Cord LX.
It, it's got 107,000 miles on it currently. When I hit it into the dealership, the Honda
dealership earlier this year, it had just crossed over 100,000 miles and they were
recommending that I replace the water pump, which involves, I guess here, a tensioner kit and a
drive belt. And is that something that you would recommend to a customer to have that
water pump replaced at, you know, 100,000 miles? No, not, no, not on that. So let me ask you
something. Do you know, do you have a four cylinder or is it a V6? It's a four. It's a four cylinder.
Okay. Most of them do. I mean, there was years that Honda had V6's that they'd throw them in there.
No, I would not, I would not recommend that simply because, you know, in the, in the past,
when you had a belt driven timing belt driven engine, you would want that to, you would,
at 105,000 miles, the timing belt needs to be replaced. The water pumps right there, you do it.
But if you have a chain engine, that, that water pump is external. So if it fails
at some point, you can do it when it fails. It's kind of, if I could use the analogy,
if you went into your doctor and he was like, Hey, look, you know,
I'm not, I don't know how old you are, but I'm just saying like, Hey, you're 60 years old,
you probably should just go ahead and replace both of your knees. You'd be like, well,
there's nothing wrong with them. So I wouldn't do it. I don't feel, if it's not leaking,
it might be a preventative maintenance item, but listen, it's going to give you warning signs.
You'll see coolant leaking in the driveway or you might, but no, I, I, there, there are some
things that you want to do in advance or prevent fluids, a tune up filters, you know, things like
that. But not a, I would never, you're, you're, you're going down a slippery slope. If, if, if,
if, if it's the water pumps, if they recommend the water pump, then why not do the alternator?
And why not do the power steering pump? You know, so I know I, it doesn't make any sense to me. I
would never, we would never recommend replacing a water pump unless it's leaking or the bearing in
it is making noise and you have issues with it. But now it's, it's one of those things. I hate to
say it, but if it ain't broke, don't fix it. It's not leaking. It's not doing anything. And it's,
it's again, you know, you want to make sure the fluids are changed, brakes are done, tune up,
things like that. But now I would never recommend a water pump, especially if it's internal. And
if, if they're like, Hey, we're in there. We're going to put a timing belt on it. Do the water
pump. Absolutely. But if it, if you've got a chain engine and it's external now, I wouldn't,
I wouldn't do it. I would not recommend replacing it. Okay. So that's what I have. I have an external
unit that's driven by a chain drive. Correct. Yes. Okay. Okay. Well, and I just learned something.
I didn't, I wasn't aware that there would be some warning signs like linkage, you know,
from underneath the car. Yeah. And I'm not having any of those things happen at all. Yeah,
it just seems like, you know, and this was, and they, they quoted me a price of almost $1,500 to
replace this. Yeah. I mean, they might, they might have to, I'd have, I'd have to know I,
it might be driven by the, it might have to remove the timing cover to do it, but
I've never seen them. They almost never fail. Like now, if you, if you call me and said, Hey,
I have a, you know, three, five forward explore those when those water pumps fail, the coolant
leaks into the engine ruin and then coolant goes into the oil ruins the engine immediately. But
no, I would not, I wouldn't recommend it. Okay. Okay. Well, thanks for taking my call. I learned
something today. Absolutely. Not a problem. Thank you. Okay. All right. You too. Bye-bye.
You know, that's again, I hate to use the, the, the verbiage, but you know, if it ain't broke,
don't fix it. I wouldn't recommend replacing water pump unless it was leaking it. So doesn't,
doesn't make a ton of sense. I have not just because I haven't seen it doesn't mean it can't
happen, but I've never seen one fail and ruin a Honda engine or anything like that. So
I'll have to look into that. But anyways, taking your phone calls and recall 513-749-5500.
That number again, 513-749-5500. Coming up, we have Ray and Randy. You're listening to the
car show on 55KRC, the talk station. This is 55KRC, an iHeart radio station. Do you have a truck,
camper, RV, or a trailer that needs body repair? If so, call Frank's heavy truck
collision repair located just all 575 around 63. It's convenient to both Cincinnati and Dayton.
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It's Glenn Beck, weekday mornings at 906 on 55KRC, the talk station.
Taking your car questions, the number to call, 513-749-5500. That number again,
513-749-5500. I'm Dan Donovan from Donovan's Auto & Tire Center. You can find your nearest
location in the Cincinnati Tri-State area by going to DonovanTire.com. We just about do everything
except for no body work, no pain or bonda or anything like that. No transmission work. We can
service a transmission, but as far as rebuilding transmission, we don't do that. It's surprisingly,
it's amazing to me how many times people know who I am and they're like, oh, do you guys do body
work? And I get that question more than anything else. And in fact, a buddy of mine said, hey,
my daughter had a car accident and he sent me a video. I said, everybody okay? And he said,
yeah, everyone's fine. He goes, I said, it looks like it's just cosmetic. And he's like,
what do you think I should do? I said, it's a plastic bumper. A lot of these cars are all
plastic. And I said, I can just heat it up and pop it out. He's like, you think you can pop that
out? I'm like, absolutely. So we got the torch out and just you got to be careful. But you know,
heat it up, get a little hot. And it just, I didn't use a plunger. You can do that on doors,
like door panels or maybe a hood or a trunk. But on plastic bumpers, typically the best thing to do
is heat it up, get a little warm, you know, kind of hot to the touch, but not get too close to the
paint and just push from the from behind and nothing just pops right out. And we're able to
get to there's a little bit of paint scuffs and got some rubbing compound got them out and
but yeah, don't do anything. If you have a little plastic bumper, we could probably do it. But
anything that involves paint or Bondo or anything like that or, you know, taking care of rust,
we do not do so. All right, let's go to the phones. We have, we have Ray. Hey, Ray, welcome
to the car show. How can I help? Hey, I got a question. It's an odd ball and I'm almost embarrassed
to call you. I don't like the concept of helicopter parent. But my wife turned around and went to a
local shop before my daughter went away to school. And she had just had a headlight out.
I bought a new headlight lamp. The car is an O seven Buick lacrosse. Okay. So it's got the three
eight engine on it. And a lot of the stuff it'll turn around tell you you got to spend a whole lot
of time and money ripping off the front bumper and the cow and everything to get to it. There's
a snake your arms up there and change the lamp real easy. And she mentioned it to the local guy
that I talked with and she was literally just driving by. He turned around and he snake his
arms up there to get it done in less than 10 minutes. So it's easy access the O seven. Now
you get to the 808. No, that's not not not an easy thing. What's the normal book time if she's just
replacing a socket because it worked. It was fun. But my wife didn't turn around and say anything
about smear and bulb grease on it. And I got a feeling that it's just an oxidized socket for the
headland. Yes. Okay. So the bulb. So when she left the bulb worked or no. Yes, sir. Yes. But now it's
not correct. Okay. Yeah. So typically those bulbs burn really, really hot. And a lot of times,
like you said, the connectors probably burn up the pins or probably burn up or there's corrosion
or something like that. It's 18 years. I don't know if the guy was smart enough to wear gloves,
you know, for the well, he could have done that too. There's a believe it or not. There's a lot
of people like especially, you know, typically, if you got a little marker ball or something like
that, you can touch it. But a headlight ball because they burn so hot, you cannot touch the
oil. Yeah, the oil on your skin will will yeah, the oil on your skin will you cannot touch a
headlight ball when you're installing it. So he could have done that. But I will tell you GM for
some reason, and I'm not picking on them. But GM, their sockets always always burn up.
For some reason, they're I think they just use cheap parts or whatnot. But either one of two
things either he touched the bulb, and it blew already, or, you know, those contacts, if they're
making if they're not making good contact, it'll, it'll, it'll melt it, it'll melt that. And he
probably trying to get his hand in there, he probably didn't even look at the socket. But
I'll be honest with you, if it probably if it's going to need a new socket, the old lamp might
have actually, yeah, the old lamp might have actually been good. Right, correct. Yes, sir. Yep.
Yeah, I mean, anyway, most likely at 17 years, it's not going to be a wiring problem going back
into the harness. No, no, it's going to be a sock. No, it's going to be right there at the socket.
Absolutely. And we replaced more GM headlight sockets than any other manufacturer out there.
Can you tell me what you show on a no seven book tag?
I don't have my I don't have my software in front of me at the at the moment.
I could find out, but I'm willing to bet it's probably well over an hour. I guarantee you,
they're going to my software is going to probably tell me to take that bumper off. And like you said,
there is a, you know, a cheap if you can replace the lamp from below, you'll be able to pull the
socket. The biggest thing is whether or not you can snap some wires, you know, cut and snip some
wires and throw a longer set of wires going to the new headlight socket.
Yeah, I'll tell you what, I'm making a I'm making a note right now to take a look at this and write
this down. I'll look at it's 07 Buick lacrosse and which side is it is drivers or head or passenger?
It's a right side passenger. Right side passenger. Okay. All right. I'm writing it down. Let me
because every year making models different. And here's the deal to the 08. The 08 is very
different than the seven. Yeah, right. And this is a trick where it and probably when you're reading
the book book, you know, when you guys are making money, it's going to be whatever generous motor
says. So you get dealer time versus wrench time. You know what I mean? Yeah, absolutely. So,
but you're thinking it's probably an hour, hour and a half, even if she goes through the
expensive side of it. Yes, that's what I'm that's yeah.
No, but but let me let me watch you guys do it in 10 minutes. But it's if it's another rate,
I know you have to go the other way. Okay, I will look it up. Call me on call me next Saturday.
I'm not going anywhere. I'll be here next Saturday. I'll look it up.
You're going to be I'm not going anywhere. So, you know, I'm, you know, I only live 10 minutes
away from the studio. So it's convenient. That's why I'm, I know that's why I'm right on time.
In fact, you know, my producer's always like, Are you here yet? Are you here yet? And I'm like,
Yeah, I'm here. So I've got a time pretty well because
no, she couldn't get she couldn't get through last weekend. And the other thing is
she's got to get on the road. And her appointment, it took two weeks where she's at the closest
ranch is every bit of about 45 to 55 minutes away. Wow, really? I mean, she's, yeah, she's
mountains. Where, where, where she live at? I mean, not exactly just the state.
It's, it's a smear is the closest city. It's called Western Carolina University.
Okay. I mean, it's, it's pure mountain. So when she comes home, she's like, well,
I'll be able to get home fine. I'm like, no, right? You're going through the smoky mountains.
There's no telephone service. At some point, I really do got to play like a daddy.
The damn car. I don't have any money. You got money. Your job, put the money in the account,
shut up and fix it. But I don't, but at the same time, she has no other place to go.
Right. Yeah. And if she doesn't encourage them now, that socket should be off the shelf even
down there. As far as finding a socket, what I'm more worried about is that it would get
went into the main harness. Yeah. Right. I mean, anything's possible, but no, very unlikely.
I'm almost 99% sure. Again, we replaced more GM sockets than the other manufacturer out there.
So I think it shows the socket. He probably just, and again, they burn those things burn
hot and it'll burn up the socket. So it probably just needs a socket. So
there's one other feature. The car came out of Pittsburgh. There might be a little bit of
snow and salt in Pittsburgh. Just a little bit. Yeah. Yeah. And it's 17 years old.
Anyway, I just wanted to make sure that my ideas weren't garbage and I was correct. We'll see what
happens. But she's got to get that thing done because she's at a real estate on the calendar.
Yeah. I mean, look, everybody, everybody always like, Oh, maybe it's a fuse. Maybe it's,
listen, I mean, I'll be honest with you, nine out of 10 times, we have a headlight out. It's,
it's, it's just a socket issue or bulb issue, believe it or not. And this, this is no lie.
And we see this all the time. People come in and they're like, Hey,
something's wrong with my car. Both my headlights went out at the same time. And 99% of the time,
it's like, no, you had one out. You didn't realize it. And then once the other one went out,
and there's like, no, they went out at the same time and you put two bulbs in it and it's like,
Oh, it just needed, like, yeah, you've been, you've, you've, you've been driving around with one
bulb out. You didn't realize it. And then when the other one went out, then you're like, Oh,
they went out at the same time. It's like, no, because there was like, Oh, it's just a fuse.
Like, no, they're on most of the time they'll run them on separate, you know, separate fuses,
and they'll run them separately. And everyone's like, Oh, no, no, they ran out. They went bad
at the same time. I'm like, bulbs don't go out at the same time. I've, it's possible. But it's
everybody, everybody always says that. And it's like, we put balls in it.
Where she is at, there are no street lights. Once she leaves the Walmart parking lot,
or the campus parking lot, it becomes very evident. I've only got one eyeball.
It's not hard to figure out even by her. Yeah. Yeah, it's damn dark.
Yeah. I got you. I'll turn around and I'll let you know what you learned.
And otherwise catch up with your other guys. Make some money. All right. All right. Thanks,
Ray. Take care. Bye-bye. All right. Taking your phone calls and number to call 513-749-5500.
The phone lines are wide open. Excuse me. Coming up, we have Randy. You're listening
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As promised, let's go back to the phones. We have Randy. Hey, Randy, welcome to the car show. How
can I help? The question I have today, it's more your opinion. Well, of course, all of them's your
opinion. I do it and I do my own oil changes. I've been doing them since December 2022. I've
got a 1.8-liter, 08 Honda Civic and a 2.4-liter, 09 Honda Accord. Been tremendous vehicles as far
as reliability and the Accord gets good gas mileage. The Civic gets better gas mileage.
But ever since I've been doing my own oil changes, the very first time I tried to feel the oil
filter up and every time I get under the car, I don't have a steady hand. I can't keep the oil
spilling on the ground out of the oil filter. I've heard some people say, oh, you need to
fill the oil filter. And some people say, and then I've even heard some YouTube videos that say,
no, you don't need to fill the oil filter because there could be impurities that's in the manufacturing
process that wouldn't be caught. And then the ones that say, fill the oil filter, well, they say,
well, that second or two that is dry could be detrimental over time. But I don't fill the
oil filter because I don't have a steady hand. And then I understand also other manufacturers,
you couldn't do it in no way because some manufacturers, the oil filters put sideways
on the motor. And some of them is upside down on the motor. And so the question is, what,
does it even matter? Is it even an issue to feel the oil filter? And do you do that on
your personal vehicles as well? Okay, great question. All right. So first and foremost,
no, we do not do that. I've never done that on any of my vehicles.
You know, just never have. And now I will tell you, when I got into the industry 26 years ago,
we had the 7.3 liter diesels. And those filters would literally hold a quart of oil.
And again, they spun on from the bottom. And we would, on the diesels, we would do that. The
old 7.3s, we would do that. But other than that, no, correct. I mean, most of those, these things
are canister filters. They're upside down or they're sideways. I do not and have never seen,
you know, a failure of an engine or any type of catastrophic issues down the road because
the oil filter wasn't full before you filled it up. You know, most of your, especially your
harness, I mean, you look at that filter, that filter is pretty tiny. I mean, you know, as soon
as you start that thing up, it's doing its job. But no, I, you know, it's funny that you bring that
up simply because years and years ago, 20 years ago, yeah, we would do that on the diesels because
again, they would hold a quart of oil and put a diesel is a little bit of a different engine, right?
But no, we've never done that. I've never recommended doing that. I've never seen
any type of catastrophic issues or problems down the road because that wasn't done.
We have changed thousands and thousands of cars oil and there's never been an issue where,
by not doing that, we don't, we don't do it on any of the cars, even, even the new diesel. I have a
new diesel and I don't do it on my new diesel. So I just, I don't, I think it's unnecessary.
I don't think now, now what I would tell you though, too, is it can't hurt if you want to do it.
I don't think it's going to hurt anything, but I mean, these, you know, maybe years and years and
years ago, you know, on a tractor or something like that, it may, it was necessary, but these cars
nowadays, no, it's, it's not necessary. I don't see any upside or downside to doing it either way.
Yeah. My car was, like I say, 186,000 on the Accord and 298 on the Civic. And like I say,
that I hadn't had any major problems. I had to get a thermostat replaced on the Civic because it
wouldn't, it would not, it wouldn't, the heating hand would only go up to a quarter.
And I noticed whenever I got the thermostat replaced, it actually just now, now it's going up to
halfway where it's supposed to be. It actually got just a, maybe two or three more, better
extra miles of gallon, it seemed like, because now it's going, is now it's the motors at the
optimal, optimal temperature. But nonetheless, those cars have been phenomenal. And that's,
that's why I get those cars and there's nothing wrong. People won't get other cars. They won't
get Jaguars and things like that. That, you know, they'll have, I don't, I don't, I don't think
it has a good track record as far as the history of reliability. That's fine. But I value reliability
because it ultimately costs me. I love, I love to drive anything, driving a car or, you know,
versus owning a car or two different, two different ball games. And, but nonetheless,
but they've been phenomenal vehicles as far as reliability. No, no, no, no, no major things
has happened. And I do, but I do between five and 6,000 miles as well. That's all, that's all the
oil. That's the only, that's, that's as long as the oil stays in my car. I don't, I don't go any,
I don't do this 7,500, 10,000. That ain't staying in my car. That old, that old is not staying in
my car. I don't care what the manufacturer says. Yeah, I mean, the, the, I mean, it's a great
question. And to be honest with you, and I talk about this all the time, almost, and some people
probably go, oh my God, here he goes. He's talking about it again. But the biggest, the, the question
or the thing that we need to be talking about is making sure that you're changing it regularly.
Like you said, five, 6,000 miles, that would be, yeah, absolutely. That's when you need to do it.
And making sure that you're just checking it, checking the level. I have more cars with more
problems because one, I mean, I had a car just yesterday. It was running bad, had no oil in it.
They didn't change the oil since 2023. You know, and it's like the question, everything that, you
know, everybody's always confused as to wanting to do it. And I, and I feel like I've got this
platform like, Hey, change it every 5,000 miles. Oil, has it gotten better? Have the cars been
engineered better? Yes. But every single day I have a car that comes in that has a running issue,
a check engine light, or a problem with the vehicle. And it's because it doesn't have any oil in it.
And nobody does it. And it's the simplest and cheapest thing that you can do. Again, I talked
about it earlier in the show that I have a 2024 F-250 diesel. Manufacturer says, change it every 10,000
miles. I'm like, over my dead body. I'm not doing that. Now, yes, I have a little bit of a different,
you know, yes, I can change it myself. But I'm not going 10,000 miles on an oil change. Can cars
do it? Yeah. But I don't, that's right. I want to get 298,000 miles like you have out of my vehicle.
So I'm going to make sure that I'm going to check the level and I'm going to make sure that I change
it regularly. That's the best thing that you, it's the lifeblood of your vehicle. And it's the
number one reason why vehicles come into my shop and all my shops, because the cars don't have any
oil in them. And you know, it's always like, Oh, the dealer said this, Oh, well, the car says this,
Oh, well, the sticker says this, there's too much confusion out there. That's why I'm like, Hey,
5,000 miles is where you should aim for. Because again, if you tell somebody change role every
3000, what are they going to do? They're going to probably go six. You tell somebody every 5,000
miles are going to go 10. You tell somebody every 10,000 miles or once a year, they're going to do
every other year. So, you know, people are going to, you know, that's what we do as society. That's
what we do. You know, it's like, Oh, that's what they said to do. So I'll just keep and then
these cars, these newer cars, I don't know, does that, does your vehicle burn any type of,
do either one of your Honda's burn oil? The, uh, and you're talking about checking, Oh, I do at
least three to four weeks, every three to four, at least three to four weeks at least I go out there.
I check, Oh, I look at the trans, at least to look at the fluid smell, the transmission fluid,
see if it's, see if it smells burn or whatever. Um, you know, I checked the air filter, uh,
could make sure that's not clogged up, uh, you know, and, but the Civic, uh, so it takes,
it takes 3.9, almost four quarts. Okay. So, uh, the Civic, I noticed between oil changes,
I have to put in so that, so, so, you know, I get the five quart jugs. So that last court
that I don't put in there when I do the original oil change,
typically that court has to be, uh, you know, it doesn't get out of the safe zone,
but I noticed it goes, it does, uh, go down a little bit between the, between the top of the
safe zone and the bottom of it, it little by little, um, uh, creeps down, uh, or, or, slowly.
And, uh, so, so I do have to replace maybe a quarter over, over an oil change. And like I
say, I do five to 6,000. I don't think that would be, uh, looked at as, as excessive,
especially at 298,000. That's tremendous. I think at 298, there's some cars today
that'll do that in new cars today. Oh yeah. I mean, I have, I mean, I've seen outies,
I've seen outies go through a quarter oil and 500 miles. I mean, their, their outies are outies are
just absolutely worse. They are for me. I'd like to drive one, but not for me. Yeah. Yeah. They,
they, they burn oil like it's their job. So, but, uh, yeah, great question. And then I got these
cars, uh, uh, yeah, 100, 100 and, uh, to 62 and a half thousand miles of the Accord August 19,
and then, uh, March of 23, uh, the Civic 255,000 and, uh, you know, 7,500 and 3,000 is what I
paid for both of them. 10,500 dollars all together and tremendous vehicle. And that's why you're
getting 300,000 miles. I know you got it. I know you, I know you said, I think you said you have
a Civic. What year is your Civic? Mine's a 2000. Mine's a 2000. It has like 146,000 miles on it.
So I don't, I don't, I only live three and a half miles from work. I don't do a ton of driving,
but now I bought it when I was, I'm 41 years old. I bought it when I was 18 in my senior year of
high school and that thing is still running strong. And, um, I, I have changed the oil on that car.
Now this is excessive, but I'm, I'm kind of a, you know, anal retentive weirdo. I change
the oil on that car every 1500 miles. I have done that since I purchased it. Now that's excessive,
but again, I have the, you know, I can do that. I, you don't need to do that, but I've just always
done that on that vehicle. And the last time I had to put a valve cover gasket on, I'm telling you,
you could eat a, you could eat your dinner off of that, that engine. There's no sludge. It looks
like the day it came off of the, it's just, it's just something that's so simple and important.
You know what I mean? And it's like, if you could go to your doctor and hey doc, I want to live to
him 150 years old, what do I need to do? And he's just like, you know, make sure that you drink a,
you know, check and make sure you're hydrated, you know, for every day or, you know, just,
it's something so simple. And yet there's just so much mass confusion out there. So people just go,
well, I don't know what to do. So I'll just do it when I decide I want to do it. And then they
blow up their car, you know, they spend $90,000 on a car. Five years later, it's, it's a paper weight
and they're like, well, I'll just go and buy a new one. And not everybody can afford to do that.
You know what I mean? And that's why it's like, it's so important just to make sure you maintain
and check it. It doesn't have to be this big, you know, we all have to go for most, most of us,
we all have to go to the gas station and get gas, right? For the majority of us. If you have a
lunch car, you don't have to worry about it, right? But if you've got a gas, gasoline engine,
you're putting gas in it anyways, you got to wait about, you know, two, three, four minutes,
right? Just pop the hood and check it. Instead of getting back in the car, getting on your phone,
checking social media, get out there, pop the hood, check it, and just make sure it's full. I mean,
that's the, if you want to get 300,000 miles out of your engine like you have, making sure you
maintain the oil level and change it regularly, that's all you got to do. And again, 5,000 miles,
that's all you got to do, change it every 5,000. I don't care what the mechanic said, not the mechanic,
I don't care what your neighbor said, I don't care what the salesman said, I don't care what the,
oh my, the oil light says it's, no, 5,000 miles, you get a little sticker when you get a little
change, focus on the sticker, every 5,000 miles, that's it. And you'll get 300,000 miles out of
your car all day long, so. And my goals are, see if I can't get it to 400 or 500, that's the
interesting, if I could do that. All right. Well, Randy, thank you so much, you have a great day,
happy Thanksgiving, all right? Happy Thanksgiving. All right, take care, bye-bye. All right,
taking your phone calls, coming up we have, we have Jack and Mike, you're listening to the car
show on 55KRC, the talk station. Do you have a truck, camper, RV, or a trailer that needs body
repair? If so, call Frank's Heavy Truck Collision Repair. Located just off I-75 at Route 63,
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and get in your vehicle back on the road. Call 513-829-9030, 829-9030. This is 55KRC, an iHeart radio
station. Taking your car questions, I'm Dane Donovan from Donovan's Auto and Tire Center,
here every Saturday from one to two. And I want to go, because we're running out of time here,
I want to get back to the phones. We have Jack. Hey, Jack, welcome to the car show. How can I help?
Hi, Dane. I just had a suggestion for the Buick guy with the headlight issue. Yeah.
But then I want to make a quick oil change comment that you're not going to like.
Okay. But on that Buick, sometimes if you just like slap the headlight from the outside,
if it is a bulb going out, it'll come back on for a night or two.
Yeah. But if the film, it's broken or whatnot, if you smack it, yeah, you're right. Yeah,
it'll come back on. So that could be something for him to check. I drive over 4,000 miles a month.
I deliver for tractor supply and home depot. And I get to a lot of farms. I got that four-wheel drive.
And I change my oil every 15,000 miles. I know you're not going to like hearing that.
Do you really? Yeah, I use synthetic blend.
I've always used Toyotas for my jobs for the last 25 years. I'm on my high lander now.
I got 260,000 on it. And it does consume about a half a quart every 5,000, but I just top it off.
And I change it every three months. If I did 5,000, I changed my oil every month.
And there was a period of time when I used to do that with regular oil.
And it would be a little dirty. But on the synthetic, I was like, whatever,
I'm changing clean oil. This is nuts. So I just gradually until I came to the 15,000-mile conclusion.
And that's how I've done this vehicle. And I've got a much better account that she still runs like
this. Everybody's different. It's just my own experience. Well, yeah, no. And you're right.
You're right. And you know, the thing is, is two things, you made two good points.
And that's the biggest thing that I want to get out there is nobody checks their oil.
And like you said, hey, Dane, my car does use oil, but I top it off.
That's what we need to talk about. And that's again, part of the reason why I like to stick
to 5000 because majority of people do not check their oil. So if your car is using a quarter oil,
if your car only has four quarts of oil in it, and it's using a quart every 1000 miles, and you
go 5000 miles, and you're going to kill it, you're going to kill it. A lot of manufacturers are like,
well, that's within tolerances. Well, it'll be every time these cars come into me, they don't
have any oil on them. So that's, that's, you know, I, you know, again, are the cars more
sophisticated today? Can they go longer? Yes. Are the oils better that are available out there today?
And can they last longer? Yes. However, the problem is there's too much confusion as to when to do
it and how long you should go. Again, use genuine filter, not going to interrupt you. Make sure you
use a genuine filter for your vehicle. Yeah. Yeah. Because my wife one time stopped at one of the,
I'm not going to say the name of the place. Yeah. But they put the wrong filter in.
Yep. That's a problem. And then when I did her oil change the next time I'm like, well,
this was a completely, I'm surprised the car even ran. Right. I really am, Dave. I don't
know how to explain you. They look like they put some kind of tractor filter in there or something.
There was no way that oil could circulate. Oh, yeah. That's, but I love your show. I used to
listen to your dad all the time. You're a good man. All right. Well, thank you.
Have it up for a little time. It might be the light bulb. All right. Thank you. All right.
Real quick, Mike, welcome to Thorser. Mike, I'm so sorry I'm running out of time,
but I'd like to get to your question. That's okay, sir. Can you hear me? Yes, sir.
Okay. I have a 2014 Ford F-150. I bought it brand new in 2014. And ever since I've had,
when I turned the heat on, I get fumes inside their car. And I've had to, I'm up for shop,
pop something was loose underneath. They found no trouble. I don't know what it is. Can you
help me? Real quick? I'll hang up and let you know. Okay. That'd be great. Thank you. All right. So
what I would tell you to do, you can call me back next Saturday. I'd like to go a little bit more
in depth. If you're smelling fumes like that, I don't believe it's exhaust a lot. Nine out of 10
times that somebody brings a car to me and says, Hey, it's, I can smell exhaust fumes. It's not.
It's an oil leak. You're leaking oil. It's probably, it's a 14 F-150. It's probably an eco boost. So
either the turbos are leaking or one of the lines are leaking or the valve cover gasket's leaking.
That's why you smell the fumes when the heater's on. So, all right, everybody have a great
Thanksgiving. I'll be back next Saturday to answer all of your car questions. But again,
I think it just, it's just, it's leaking oil, but thank you so much. Everybody have a great
weekend. Happy Thanksgiving. I'll be back next Saturday to answer all your car questions.
You're listening to our show on 55KRC, the Talk Station.
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About this episode
Dane Donovan tackles a variety of automotive questions and concerns, focusing on winter car readiness, the importance of regular maintenance, and common issues like check engine lights and oil changes. He shares personal anecdotes about his own vehicles, emphasizing the significance of checking heating systems before the cold sets in. Listeners call in with specific queries, including a discussion about oil filter maintenance and the necessity of replacing water pumps. The episode is filled with practical advice for car owners, especially as the holiday travel season approaches.
Original notes
# Car Talk with Dane Donovan: Preparing Your Vehicle for Holiday Travel
Are you ready for holiday road trips? In this episode, Dane Donovan from Donovan's Auto & Tire Center tackles crucial winter maintenance issues just in time for Thanksgiving travel. From ensuring your heating system works properly to understanding those persistent check engine lights, Dane shares practical advice that could save you from roadside emergencies. He also debunks common maintenance myths, addresses headlight problems, and reveals the truth about oil change intervals that manufacturers won't tell you.
The episode opens with Dane urging listeners to test their car's heating system now, before temperatures plummet. "Just turn the heat on and make sure it's working," he advises, noting that modern vehicles have complex climate control systems with multiple potential failure points. With winter approaching, this simple check could prevent a freezing emergency later.
## Timestamps and Key Takeaways:
**5:30** - Check Engine Light Reality: Dane confesses that every vehicle he owns currently has or has had a check engine light on, proving these warnings are common across all vehicle ages.
**12:45** - Water Pump Replacement: Caller Scott asks about a $1,500 water pump replacement recommendation for his Honda. Dane explains why this preventative maintenance isn't necessary unless there's an actual leak.
**28:20** - Headlight Socket Issues: Ray calls about his daughter's Buick headlight problems. Dane identifies GM socket failures as a common issue rather than the bulb itself.
**38:15** - Oil Filter Pre-filling Myth: Randy asks if oil filters should be filled before installation. Dane explains why this old practice isn't necessary with modern engines.
**45:30** - Oil Change Intervals: The most passionate segment where Dane recommends 5,000-mile oil changes regardless of manufacturer recommendations, explaining how this simple maintenance can help vehicles reach 300,000+ miles.
Whether you're planning a cross-country journey or just visiting family across town this holiday season, this episode provides essential maintenance tips to keep your vehicle running smoothly. Listen now to ensure your car is ready for whatever winter throws your way!
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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