AC lines are the hoses/tubes that move refrigerant through the AC system. If they leak, the AC can stop working well.
Concept
road trip readiness
Road trip readiness means getting your car checked and making sure important things work before you leave. The host specifically suggests turning the AC on before you go, because weather can change fast.
The transmission is the part that helps the car change gears and send power to the wheels. If it breaks, the car may not be able to drive, so you can get stuck waiting for help.
A Ford Escape is a compact SUV. In this episode, the speaker says the Escape’s transmission failed while the people were traveling, which left them stranded.
The Range Rover is a large, luxury SUV made by Land Rover. It’s designed to be comfortable for everyday driving, but it can also handle rough roads better than many regular cars. People bring it up because it’s a premium vehicle and ownership experience can be a big part of the conversation.
AC Delco is a well-known parts brand that makes replacement parts for GM vehicles. The point here is that the AC Delco sensor worked, while the aftermarket one didn’t.
A cam sensor tells the car’s computer where the engine’s camshaft is. If it’s wrong or not working properly, the computer logs a fault and turns on the warning light.
Aftermarket sensors are replacement parts made by companies other than the original equipment manufacturer. This segment highlights a common issue: some aftermarket sensors don’t provide the exact signal characteristics the vehicle expects, so they may not fix the fault or may cause the warning light to return.
OEM parts are the same kind of parts the car was originally designed to use. The idea is that for sensitive electronics, OEM parts are less likely to cause problems than generic replacements.
A mass airflow sensor tells the car how much air is going into the engine. If it’s bad (or a cheap replacement), the car may run poorly and throw error codes.
Oxygen sensors check what’s happening in the exhaust so the car can adjust fuel delivery. If the sensor isn’t working right—especially an off-brand one—the check-engine codes can come back.
Live data is what the car’s computer is seeing right now while you drive or idle. It can show which cylinder is misfiring so you don’t replace a bunch of parts blindly.
P0300 is the car’s error code for a misfire that’s happening in more than one cylinder (or can’t be pinpointed to one). You usually need extra diagnostics to find the exact cylinder.
Sometimes the car’s computer just says “misfire” without naming the exact cylinder. Live data can help you figure out which cylinder is actually causing the problem.
Spark plugs create the spark that lights the fuel in the engine. If they’re worn or dirty, the engine can misfire.
Concept
do the job twice
It means the repair didn’t stick, so the car has to go back in again. That often happens when the replacement part isn’t the right one or isn’t high quality.
VVT solenoids help control valve timing in the engine. Valve timing affects how the engine breathes, so using the correct replacement part is important.
Original equipment manufacturer (OEM) parts are made to match what the vehicle was built with. The host argues that OEM sensors and electronics are less likely to cause repeat repairs than generic aftermarket equivalents.
The Honda Odyssey is a family minivan, meaning it’s made to carry people and gear comfortably. It’s known for being practical and for holding up well over time when it’s maintained. The podcast mention is about an older Odyssey that has reached extremely high mileage.
An O ring is a small rubber seal that helps keep fluid from leaking. If it wears out in a power steering system, you can get leaks or air in the fluid, which can lead to weird sounds.
The power steering pump is what “pressurizes” the steering fluid so turning the wheel takes less effort. If the hoses and seals are fixed but the noise remains, the pump may be wearing out.
The power steering rack is the part that turns your steering wheel input into movement at the wheels. If it’s worn out, steering can feel stiff or weird—so they’re checking whether the problem is the rack versus the pump.
Viscosity just means how thick a fluid is. Cold power steering fluid is thicker, so the pump works harder and it can sound worse until everything warms up.
Term
main barrier
This sounds like they’re talking about damage to the engine’s main bearings—parts that support the crankshaft. When those bearings fail, the engine can be badly damaged and may need replacement.
“Throw a rod” is when something inside the engine breaks badly, usually involving the rod that helps turn the crankshaft. It can cause major engine damage and often means the engine needs replacement.
A Kia dealer is the official repair shop for Kia cars. The point here is to get the problem tested and documented so there’s a record if you need help later.
It’s a dealer procedure to figure out whether your engine is burning too much oil. They set the oil level, you drive for a short stretch, then you come back so they can measure how much oil you used.
The dipstick is the tool you pull out to check how much oil is in the engine. In this test, they control the setup so they can accurately see how much oil the engine uses.
Hyundai and Kia are related brands. The speaker is saying that for certain oil-burning problems, they may wait until the engine fails badly before replacing it.
The idea is to keep bringing the car in and getting the issue documented while it’s still covered. If the engine fails later, that paperwork can help show you reported the problem before the warranty ran out.
LIVE
Lissome Bay shouting down there.
Se food dus Downs, I was telling it sit.
Today, Good Saturday afternoon.
You're listening to the car show on fifty five KROSI.
I'm Dane Donovan, your host taking your car question. Is
the number to call five one, three seven nine fifty five hundred. That number again, five one three seven four
nine fifty five hundred and again. Hope everybody enjoyed their
Memorial Day weekend. It's always nice to have a three
day weekend. Leading into the summer. And speaking of summer,
we need to start talking about and getting our cars ready for the summer. I actually earlier this week already
started air conditioning. We need to start thinking about getting
our cars ready for the summer.
We're getting road trips.
I had several cars this week that people were taking road trips, and luckily they were, you know, getting them ready before they leave. A lot of people tend to
wait till the last minute, and we can't always get those cars in. So now, if you're taking a road trip,
most of us don't plan a summer vacation days in advance.
We you know, we do it weeks or months in advance.
So now's the time.
If you're taking your vehicle out, you need to start thinking about getting it ready. Most of you who are
listening right now are probably in your cars and although it's not too hot right now, turn on the air conditioning.
Just make sure it's working.
We again, we already had several vehicles this week that we are already doing air conditioning work on. And yes,
it is expensive, and we've talked about that on the show.
Air conditioning is one of those components and that it's not just one unit. You know, you have an AC compressor,
you have an AC condenser, you have an AC evaporator, and then you have lines, right, So a lot of times people have the misconception or the misunderstanding that if you have an AC compressor replaced, that we've fixed the air conditioning. Yes, we have to an extent, but there
are other components that can fail.
And sometimes people don't know that.
So a lot of times if we if we've replaced an AC compressor in the next summer it's not working again, they're like, hey, you fixed my air conditioning last week last year, and now it's not working again, and come to find out there's another component that's failed. So make
sure that when you're getting that car ready for your road trip. Again, turn right now, if you're in your vehicle,
turn an air condition on, whether it's hot or not.
I know it's not ninety degrees right now. We're gonna
you know, we're going to be there very soon. You
know how sinceni weather is. You wait ten minutes and
it'll change. It might be you know, it rained most
of the week this week, but you need to turn it on. If it's ice cold, great, If not, we
need to start talking about getting that car ready for that for that road trip. Fortunately, I had two young
people and come into my shop on Thursday. They were
staying and they're in the at Mammoth Cave and they just so happened to be crossing the river and as soon as they crossed that river, their transmission unfortunately went out.
And I felt so bad for him because they were on their way to They're like, oh, we're on our way back to Columbus, and I said, oh, I was in Columbus earlier this week, and I said, I was at the Memorial Golf tournament. So and they goes and
they had mentioned to me, well that's where we're heading.
So I felt so bad for him because they.
Were stranded in Cincinnati. Now again he was like, well,
how does this happen? And it's like, well, you know,
now the vehicle was a twenty sixteen four escape and it had one hundred and eighty thousand miles on it.
These things can't happen. But unfortunately they were at my
shop for almost six hours waiting for a ride, so.
You know, they're straining.
They had nothing to do, so I did the best I could to try to entertain them. Get them drinks,
get them coffee, and get them phone chargers because they were on their phones. But nobody wants to be in
that position where you're traveling and you're straineded somewhere right.
So again, I had a young lady that was getting her car worked on. She was heading to New York
and I think in late June, and she took the proper steps to get the car in and get it looked at, so she's ready to go for that trip.
And come to find out, she came in from a WORL change and just said, hey, make sure it doesn't need any other maintenance. We'll come to find out she
needed all four breaks. Now had she taken that road
trip and not had those breaks inspected, she probably wouldn't have made it because her brakes were so close. So again,
we all we need to make sure that we're planning for our road trips. Again, I hope everybody has a
safe summer. It's gonna get hot, you know how it is.
Last week I was in Texas. It was ninety eight degrees.
It was extremely hot, and you know, you know in Cincinnati some days it gets that hot. And I'll a
lot of times we want to take at Donovan's.
We want to take care of everybody's car. We really
do as best that we can.
But what happens is that first real hot streak that we get the nineties, the early nineties, mid nineties, everybody wants to schedule their appointment. Everybody wants to get their
car because they're like, we need our air conditioning fixed.
It's too hot.
And I get that, and again, I want to get to everybody's car, but unfortunately, when I have a massive influx of people that all want to get their car in, we can't always get to it, and then it becomes a crisis. And then you go, well, I'll just go
somewhere else, and I don't want to do that to my customers. I want to take care of all my customers.
So again, if you've got a road trip coming up, we need to get these cars in, We need to get them inspected.
Again.
Tires too, Tires are important. Make sure your tires are
properly inflated. Make sure your fluids are full, coolant, air conditioning,
break fluid. Making sure again we're up to data on
oil changes. I talk about this all the time on
the show. Making sure that these cars have the proper
oil level in them. That's so important and yet and
it's the easiest thing that you can do for your car, especially on a long road trip. So you know, get
them in, get them inspected, to make sure that your car is ready for that summer road trip. Okay, I'm
Dane Donovan from Donovan's Auto entire Center taking your car questions.
You listen to the Car show on fifty five KRC, the talk station.
This is fifty five KARC and iHeartRadio station. Your car
isn't just a machine, it's your daily partner.
And with new cars becoming more expensive than ever, smart maintains for your current vehicle just makes sense. Hi, I'm
Dane Donovan, third generation owner at Donovan's Auto entire Center.
That's why at Donovan's we give you everything you need and nothing you don't. Honest expert service to keep your
car running longer. Donovan's Auto entire Center Cincinnati's honest choice
for auto repairs.
That's nineteen fifty eight.
Three locations in Blue Ash, pleasant Ridge, and our new location near Xavier. Donovan's Auto form find yours at donovantire
dot com. Taking your car questions again the number to
call five one three seven.
Again.
We were talking earlier about making sure we get our cars ready for the summer. We talk about this, I
talk about this when we go we're going into the winter, We're gonna.
Talk about this.
This the the extreme heat really takes a toll on your vehicle. Okay, takes a toll on your starters, takes
a toll on your back, on your alternators, and on your batteries as well.
And again, a lot.
Of times batteries don't always give you signs that they're gonna fail. They can literally shut you can You could
be traveling go to shut your car off at a gas station.
You're in the middle of wherever, on your road trip.
And all of a sudden, you know, click click click, car won't start. I was getting gased just last week,
gentlemen was getting gas and two and and they popped the hood to see what's going on. Because I said,
what's going on, They're like, well, it's not doing anything.
The car won't start. And I assisted them. Now, unfortunately
I did not have any jumper cables, but I was able to express to them, Hey, look you have a battery issue.
You need a battery.
You can be jumped. I said, I don't have any
jumper cables. They didn't have any jumper cables. So, you know,
that's that's the other thing that you need to think about when you're taking these long road trips. You know,
a lot of times you can buy an emergency roadside kit, and it's something that you should always keep in your vehicle.
And you know, jumper cables, gloves, oil, coolant, water, just the essentials just in case. You know, pair of plier,
is a screwdriver, something, just in case if this does happen, you're able to make sure that at least you have some essentials, right, maybe pack some food.
I know we went to like I said, we.
Were in Columbus earlier this week for the Memorial Golf Tournament, and I was able to take my wife and two older boys. And you know, we had plenty of food
because we can't leave the house without food. I wasn't
going to Chick fil A, you know, it's just it's just too much. So but we had our snacks packed
and we had everything ready to go just in case there was an issue or a problem. So just think
about that. I know we get lacks a days ago
where we get so worried and so worried about prepping to make sure that we can get to our destination with all our food, our you know, our clothes, and you know, maybe you know your ten or your hammock or whatever you plan on doing this summer, But make sure you think about, Hey, if the car doesn't start, if the battery dies, or the vehicle overheats, what's our plan of action?
What are we going to do in case this happens?
Right?
Making sure our phones are fully charged. I made the
mistake again.
I was in.
Texas last week and my wife even specifically said, hey, do you have your phone charger?
And I said, yes, I do, but I didn't. I
thought I packed it.
I was almost certain I packed it, and I got to my destination in San Antonio, Texas.
And my phone was almost dead.
Now it was fully charged when I left, but I was on it while we were in transit, and so I just decided I was going to buy a phone cord to charge my.
Phone and lo and behold.
In that process, I unfortunately left my luggage in the airport and had to go back through TSA in order to get my luggage right, So I didn't plan properly.
So these are things as again we're hitting the road Memorial Day again at the unofficial start of summer. We
want to make sure that any road trips we take whether again like the couple that was in my shop earlier.
You know, they were traveling from the Mammoth Cave to Columbus, not too far, but they didn't have any they didn't have a they didn't have any plans, so they were stuck at my shop for six hours. So it's something
that we need to think about when we prepped. When
we're talking about traveling, we need to make sure that the car is ready to go. Now, make sure you
give yourself enough time to get it in and get it inspected. And again, in the case of the young
lady that brought her car and that was going to Texas or I'm sorry, New York, she brought her car in and she had four weeks before she needed to leave town.
And again she needed all four breaks.
So we're able to get her home, get her car fixed, and now she knows that, you know, her car is taken care of, so when she gets to New York, she's not gonna have any issues at least with her car.
So again, those number, those those those are the important things when we're traveling, So always keep that in mind.
Get yourself a little emergency A lot of stores combine.
I mean, I'm sure you can go on Amazon or your local store and you can find a roadside emergency kit.
Make sure that when you're traveling, you got a flashlight, you've got jumper cables, because you just never know.
When car problems will happen.
And I expressed to this young couple when they were traveling, I said, look, you just you never know what's gonna happen, so you always just be prepared. So that's the thing
that we need to think about going into this summer season.
Right it's the unofficial start to summer, and we want to make sure that our cars are ready for any road trip. Or again, maybe you're maybe you're not traveling,
and it's just making sure that you get you can get yourself back and forth to work. Right. Sometimes we
get stranded on the highway because not because our cars broke down, but but somebody else had a car accident, and you know, making sure that the car has enough gas in it. I know my wife likes to run
on fumes. She for some reason just refuses to put
gas in her car. That's why I will never buy
her an electric car, because her phone is always on ten percent or less. So I don't want to give
her a car that she has to charge because I'm gonna have to pick her up.
So but so let's go to the phones. We have Eddie. Hey, Eddie,
welcome to the car show. How can I help?
Hey, good afternoon.
Yeah, I spoke to you a couple of weeks ago about my wife's twenty eighteen vall ball with the Stott stop issue.
Oh yeah, yeah.
He told me to give you a call back that maybe you did some research.
Yeah, correct me if I'm wrong. You did the auxiliary
battery and the main battery.
You did both batteries correct?
Correct?
And I just did a voltage check the concept for two days and the main battery had twelve point five two volts, the auxiliary had twelve point ninety five volts.
And then when I started up, the main battery jumps to fifteen point one seven volts in the auxiliary jumped to fifteen point two to two votes while it was running, still having the issue.
Yeah, I did do some research.
I did do some looking and digging, and I I did not find anything that was alarming or glaring or anything that I could pinpoint put my finger on. I'm
wondering if at I think, I'm sure you were trying to avoid this. You haven't taken it anywhere? Correct, No,
I have not my opinion and thought process. I mean,
like I said, I didn't see anything glaring, Nothing popped out in.
Front of me.
I'm wondering if it's just a software glitch or a software update or issue.
A lot of times.
There might just be a software update. To try to
get that to work, have you tried the other thing that we can try to do is disconnect the main battery and put both battery cable ends, disconnecting them, holding them together for about a minute.
What this does is it's kind of like a hard reset. Right,
if your.
Cell phone's acting up, you turn it off, right, if you know, if your computer's acting up, you turn off to a restart. So by taking both battery cable ends
off on the main battery, holding them together a lot of times that will Basically it's a hard restart for the car. You can try that. If the start stop
features still is not work work, it's probably a software issue that is only unfortunately, gonna have to go back to the dealer.
Okay, I'll give it a shot.
Try it. Let me know. Thank you and.
Congratulations on your reward. O.
Well, thank you. I appreciate that. Have a great week too,
Take care bye bye. I don't know. I don't know
what it is, but I get.
A ton of callers from Boston, Ton at least one or two a week, and I've been to Boston. Wants
beautiful city to love it. I told my wife I
was gonna take her up there one time. One of
these days. We're lucky if we can even go down
to go out to dinner. So we've got just sports
on top of sports on top of sports, and I'm leaving here going to two more games, and we actually are going to try.
To do a movie tonight, but we'll see how that works out.
So all right, again, I'm taking your phone calls and number call five one three seven hundred. That number again,
five one three seven four nine fifty five hundred. You're
listening to the car show on fifty five KRC, the station at Donovan's Auto entire Center. We've been Cincinnati's honest
choice for auto repair since nineteen fifty eight.
From all seasons to high performance.
Browse our huge selection of tires and you can easily find the right tires for your exact vehicle by entering your license plate number on our website.
With three local locations, we're right around the corner.
Trust Donovans to keep your family safe and your car run smoothie. Schedule your appointment today at donovantire dot com.
Donovan's Auto entire Center, your honest choice for auto repair.
Taking your car questions the number call five one three seven nine fifty five hundred. That number again, five one
three seven nine fifty five hundred.
Again.
Phone lines are wide open, promised to get you in here.
I wanted to talk about Eddie who just called from Boston.
You know, he's got this the software issue, and more and more every day we see things like this with these new cars and the software issues, and it is challenging in our industry because for a shop like us, it's so expensive to have everybody's software. Mercedes, you got
to have different software, BMW, Jaguar, Land River, I mean, they're all different softwares and it's really really difficult to have all of them right. So you got to make
sure that you know, you're taking it to a reputable shop and you know, making.
Sure that they have the equipment and the tools to do that.
Now, there are some times where we might not right, and the best thing to do is and is just say hey, listen, you know I don't have the software or I might not have the proper tool to do this.
Mainly it's just software.
I mean anything that pertains to you know, the breaks, the tires of the engine and everything like, that's fine.
But you know, we get a lot of phone calls about people wanting us to you know, hey, do you program keys. I need a new key, you need a
new ignition key. And that is like that's like Fort Knox.
I mean really, the dealerships have that market wanted pretty well.
And I mean I remember heck, when I first started driving, you would have two sets of keys, right, or two keys.
You have one for the ignition, one for the door.
You know.
Now nowadays you don't even have to take your key out of your pocket, which my wife never ever loses her car keys anymore because she never takes them out of her purse.
So it's kind of there is a good feature, but it's it's funny.
A lot of people come in that are dropping their car off and they're wanting to uh, I'm like all right, can I have your key?
And they're like, oh yeah, and they're just like just digging.
Digging through that purse to try to find that key because they just don't take it out. But you know,
the software and that's why sometimes you want to make sure that you're taking it your your vehicle to you know, a reputable shop that can do these updates. And like
I said, most vehicles, we can all your your hond As, your Toyotas, your Fords, your GMS, we can do BMW.
But you know, sometimes the land Rover range Rover Mercedes.
Uh sometimes those they they don't release that software and it's uh, you know, it's hard to it's hard to do that. So you know, you just want to make
sure that you're getting it to a to another great shop.
So all right, we've got John. Hey, John, welcome to the
car show. How can I help?
Yes, I just wanted to do I called last week about my Cobalt and you told me to get a C Delco cam sensor.
Oh yeah, yeah, THEID.
Yep, and I replaced replaced the one and kept kept one old old one and replaced the one that's harder to get to, which is in the back, and uh clear to clear the codes and then started up and no checking and light came back. So that worked really
And AC Delcos yep, because I had you used a uh a different company that read codes for you and you bought it from there and they didn't work.
Yeah, well, well I'm glad.
So so you put the two AC Delco sensors in it and light didn't come back on and.
It's been good ever since.
Great.
Great, that's awesome. Thanks for the follow up. I appreciate it.
Yeah, yeah, I know.
Next time, if it's anything electronic wise.
Yeah, it's you know, and I've said I've said it a million times on the show, but look, if you're doing the work yourself, just spend the extra money and buy.
The factory part.
I know it's more, but really, when it comes to something like this, right, it was able to fix your problem, right, A lot of people will be racking their brains like, oh, maybe I need a computer. Maybe it's the wiring. No,
it was just the aftermarket sensors just you know, weren't working, you know, and I'm not you know, we put aftermarket parts on cars. It's it's but it depends on what
you're doing, right, If you want to put after market breaks or an alternator starter, I'm okay with that, right, But when you get into the electronics of the vehicle, especially timing parts, you really want to stick to the original you know, the OEM manufacturer, just because they're really, really finicky and you've got to put the factory part in otherwise, you know. So well, good, I'm glad you called.
I appreciate the follow up. And yeah, electrical parts, especially
when it comes to timing stuff or also mass airflow sensors, that is the biggest racket out there, uh, mass mass airflow sensors will fail all the time, and oxygen sensors, and people put after market ones in and then they have the same code and they're like, well, that obviously wasn't the problem and just the aftermarket ones just aren't good quality.
So yeah, yeah, And one thing that made me do is go ahead and get me a code reader for myself, and that and that and and I bought one that you can actually do live data with it too, so that, yeah, I figure that that'll be more of a beneficial and I can do it like sell for and someone else will read it.
Well absolutely, and then and then you can see too, you know, if you've got a misfire or whatnot.
I will read active missfires, do you know. I believe
that it will Okay, because a lot of yeah, you'll get a check.
Yeah what uh you know via one thousand I think it was that I got.
Okay, Yeah, I mean when you when you get one that can record live data, that's really helpful because a lot of times, if you've got a vehicle that's you know, V six or V eight and it's misfiring, right, And sometimes these cars will just flag a PO three hundred, which is a random cylinder misfire, and you're like, well, which one's missfiring.
It's not flagging that particular cylinder.
So if you can watch the live the live stream and watch the DA and you and you can watch which cylinder is misfiring or how many times it's misfired, allows you to pinpoint exactly which cylinder is your problem, so you're not having to do you know, a major, major tune up, you know, replacing all the spark plugs and all the coils, which can cost a lot of money.
So yeah, yeah, I think it'd be worth the investment.
Yeah. I do appreciate your Hey, I'm.
You know, hey, I appreciate the follow up and uh yeah, so well, thank you so much. Good luck to you.
If you need anything else, you give me a call. Okay,
thank you, take care. Uh that's always good news to hear.
Uh, you know, sometimes I sometimes I guess right now.
That's the thing we've talked. I've talked about this on
the show.
Look, if you're doing the work yourself, and I'm never will I ever talk anybody out of doing the work themselves.
You're saving yourself a lot of money.
That's and that's what the show's about, is I'm here to help you out in any way, shape or form that I can. And the gentleman called last week said, hey,
I've got these codes. I put in the sensors and
I still have the same codes. And I told John,
I said, look, put in an ac Delco sensor. Put
in the factory part. Are they more sure? But in
this case, you never, especially with timing parts. You really
don't want to do aftermarket. You want to just do factory.
And the sensors aren't much. The sensors, I think they're
around like seventy six bucks a pieces too of them.
There's an intake and exhaust. There's seventy six bucks. Can
you buy some on eBay for I'm sorry, Amazon for twenty bucks? Yeah, but you know this gentleman had to
do the job twice because he bought a cheaper part.
So you want to be careful, especially in aftermarket. And
again we use aftermarket parts. I'm not knocking them, but
you need to be You need to make sure that you do your homework and especially if you're doing it yourself, spend the money on the on the good part. If
you're doing after if you're again, if you're doing a starter, alternator, breaks, wiper blades, you know, something like that you can do after market, that'd be fine, you know, but when you get into the electronics modules and sensors mass airflow sensor, oxygen sensor, you know what's the What John was talking was VVT sylenoids, things like that. You really want to
stick the original equipment manufacturer, Okay, and uh, you know, if it's a it's a it's If it's a GM product, it's a c Delco, it's a Ford product, it's Motorcraft.
If it's a Honda, it's it's Denzo. And uh, if
it's Toyota, it's Denzo. So you know, you want to
make sure that you know, use a good quality part and save yourself from having to do the job twice.
So all right, again the number to call five one three seven fifty five hundred. That number gain five one
three seven nine fifty five hundred.
Uh.
I wanted to I had a gentleman. I wanted to
bring this up.
And I didn't argue with him, but I tried to steer him in the right direction. The gentleman brought his
vehicle in for a ninety five thousand mile service, which it really isn't much. It was just an oil change,
and kind of checked the car over, looked the car over, and he goes, hey, when did I have my oil change last? And I said, what you Look, I go
back in his history and this oil was changed at ninety thousand and he's ninety five, so he's due. And
he goes, I want to bring it in for a ninety five thousand miles service, but I don't want to change the oil.
And I said, is there any particular reason why?
He goes, well, I've been my car says to change in every ten thousand, and I said, well, that's I mean, that's what they that's what the dealer record, that's what the vehicle recommends, but really you should be changing every five thousand, and he goes, you know, so we kind of went round around as to why he wanted it done in ten and you know, all, if that's what he wants, that's that's perfectly fine. But I tried a
little bit kind of course him into like, you really should be changing every five thousand miles, especially if I mean he's bringing it in every five thousand miles.
I mean he was on top of his maintenance. I
checked his maintenance schedule.
I mean everything he was doing was was right on time for maintenance. But he only changes oil every ten
thousand miles. And I tried to. I tried like heck
to try to get him to get his oil change, but he didn't want to do it. So but again,
we want to focus on the sticker that's in your window.
It's every five thousand miles. The oil should be changed
every day. I have a car in my shop that
it's in there because it has an oil problem, either timing chain issues. John just called about that very live
timing celenoids those go bad because of lack of oil pressure, and time and time again, it's a conversation that we need to have, and I know I talk about it a lot, but it's it's just it's just something.
That we we need to I need to.
I just feel like I need to pound it in everybody's head that it's five thousand miles that we need to be changing this oil. Okay, I recently again had
the opportunity to buy a new vehicle myself and guess what the truck tells me. I need to change oil
every seventy five hundred and ten thousand miles. You know
what I did at five thousand miles? I changed oil
that on that vehicle. Okay, and can the vehicles? And
I watched a great, great there's a there's a gentleman that I follow on Instagram and uh and I was watching it before I came, before I came to the studio, and he was talking about, you know, he had a Nissan sixty thousand miles, had one oil change in sixty thousand miles.
They pulled the valve covers off of the thing. And
there's just mud. It's just tar, it's just mud.
And uh man, it's the simplest and best thing that you can do for your vehicle. And yet I do
believe that there's a lot of misleading and I think confusion, right, And so when there's confusion, everybody says, well, I'll just I don't know, I'll just do every ten thousand or I'll just do with the No. I'm telling you, five
thousand miles is when you spake you these cars aren't getting any cheaper. These things are you know, fifty six
sixty seventy I means one hundred thousand dollars for a vehicle.
And the single best thing and cheapest thing that you can do to keep it on the road is to change the oil. And I just want everybody to know that.
I'm telling you, every five thousand miles is when it needs to be done. I mean, my father in law
was talking to him last week when I left the show.
He had another basketball game and he goes.
Hey, we were listening to your show, and he goes, my mother in law was actually saying, hey, listen, we just bought a new car and we're at like twenty five hundred miles, so we change it now. And I said, no,
change it at five thousand. Just stick to five and
you'll be fine. But far too often, you know. He
actually bought a Toyota and when he took it in there, they gave him free oil change, like three free oil changes.
He took it in there at five thousand miles and they're like, oh, no, no, you don't need an old change yet.
So they wouldn't honor the free oil change at five thousand, Like, no, you need to bring it back in ten thousand, which in my opinion is wrong. If the customer, if you
give him three free oil changes and he wants to change at five thousand, I that you should do it at five thousand.
So make sure, please. I just can't harp it enough.
Please every ten thousand, every five thousand miles, it needs to be changed. I don't care what the book says,
I don't care what the car salesman that sold you the vehicle sad. Look at that little sticker in your
window every five thousand miles and you will get I guarantee you two hundred thousand miles out of your vehicle.
And so often that's not what we're seeing. I mean,
I've got a vehicle. I have a Mini Cooper at
my shop right now, eighty six thousand miles on. It
won't run needs chains because there was no oil in it and it stressed the chain jump time. And so
the gentleman was like, you know what, I'm not going to fix it. I mean, eighty six thousand miles. We
shouldn't be junking our cars at eighty six thousand miles.
And it all led to the fact that he wasn't changing the oil or it was ran low on oil multiple times, which led to the demise of the chain and him not fixing the car. So now he's got
to go out and buy another, you know, fifty sixty thousand dollars vehicle. So it's important and I can't stress
it enough. So you're listening to the Car Show on
fifty five KRC, d talk station.
Do you have a.
Truck, camper, r V or trailer that needs body repair?
If so, call Frank's Heavy Truck Collision Repair located just All five seventy five or Route sixty three.
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Monday morning at nine on fifty five KRC the talk station.
You're listening to the Car Show on fifty five KRC.
I'm Dane Donovan from Donovan's Auto entire Center and here every Saturday to take your car question. So, uh, we're
gonna run out of time. So we've got two calls share.
I want to get to the phones. Let's go to
Donnie Honey, welcome to the car show. How can I help?
Hi, sir? I have an O seven Honda Odyssey approaching
two hundred and sixty nine thousand miles.
Wow, good for you?
When well, she's a wonderful car man. She's been strong.
When it starts cold, I get a groaning noise out of the engine bay that buries as I turned the turn based steering wheel. Yes, I'm in my seventies on
fixed income, and I don't want to just throw parts at it. So I wanted to if you could help
me diagnose definitively that the power steering pump.
Now, so here's here's what I want you to do.
I don't want you to replace the pump yet. There's
an inlet and an outlet O ring. Okay, so you've
got glacer you replaced them both.
And a power steering hose already.
Okay, So you did the pressure hose and you did both O rings and it's still growning. Yes, okay, is
it bubbling like when you started up? If you take
the cap off, the reservoir is the the the power steering.
Is the fluid bubbling up at all?
You know?
I haven't noticed that, so okay.
I know the fluid level it is fine.
Okay, fluid levels fine.
And so typically when those O rings go bad, the fluid itself will bubble up. But if you've replaced them
and the fluid itself is not bubbling up, and you've replaced the pressure line in both.
O rings, then uh, the only thing left is the pump.
That's it.
Okay.
I've never seen a rack cause a whining noise.
I've seen a power steering rack, opinion cause a stiffness.
In turning the wheel.
But you're not experiencing that, correct, You're just getting a grown When the car is warmed up, does that groan come down a little.
Bit or does it stay the same it goes away? Okay?
Yeah, so and here and so the pump's just probably so the you know, when that fluid is cold, the viscosity, the thickness of it is, it's a lot thicker, right, and then once the car warmed up, it's nice and hot, that fluid gets thinner, so it's less for the pump to have to pump that fluid. So it sounds like
you've covered all your bases. The only thing is it's
gonna need a pump.
Was one friend of mine told me that there's a filter at the bottom of the reservoir, and I was winning with the second viscosity. If that could hinder the
flow of the fluid when it's cold.
Umm, you know, I'm sure it has a screen in it, but I've never seen one cause a parasteerings. I've never
seen one. I've never replaced the reservoir on a Honda ever. Now,
just because I haven't seen it or I've never done it, doesn't mean it can't happen. I mean you could probably
take there if you wanted to. You can probably take
the reservoir out and clean that screen. You could try
that before you replace the pump. Okay, I mean has
the pump ever been replaced?
Uh? Well, not since I've owned it. I'm the second owner.
Okay, all right, I mean it's worth a shot.
I mean, if you take to take the reservoir off, is going to take you know, fifteen to twenty minutes.
You know it's gonna make a mask. But you know,
take the reservoir.
You know, if you could try to suck out as much of that fluid as you could, take that reservoir out and try to clean that screen at the bottom.
You could try that. It's worth a shot. And if
it's if it doesn't change, it's it's got to be the pump.
Okay, thanks so much, sir.
All right, take care, bye bye. All right, let's go
back to the phones. We've got Wayne. Hey, Wayne, welcome
to the car show.
How can I help?
Oh?
Thank you, Dane. I got a twenty eighteen Optima and
every fill up I have to put uh not a half a coord in but a quarter of afret of oil.
Is I didn't know if they had a recall on a WALS consumption. If you got fifty thousand miles all
that was one hundred thousand wards.
Yes, so I understand you got to throw a rod or a main barrier before they'll replace that boat.
Wow, yeah, pretty much. I mean, so here's what I
want you to do.
I want you to schedule it with your local Kia dealer.
And what I want you to do when you schedule it you say, hey, listen, I would like to I'd like to schedule appointment for an oil consumption test. Right,
So what the what they'll do is will go in, they'll change the oil, they cap off the dipstick in the you know, the oil cap itself, and they'll do an oil consumption test, will tell you to bring it back in a thousand miles, they'll reassess it and whatnot.
But it is I have been led to believe that basically Hyundai and Kia, which pretty much the same man in fact, there's same. Basically, they're not doing anything until
the thing locks up. And over the summer I had one.
I had a customer that had one locked up and he was number ninety eight in line to get an engine replaced. Number ninety eight. I mean, it's taken months
and months to put an engine in that car. I mean,
but they're they're honoring it, they're replacing them. But what
I would say is get it on the books, go to the dealer. Get that way it's in your history
that yes, you know you have an oil consumption issue.
Get it on the books that yes, you brought it into the dealer, and basically it gives you a little bit more leverage. So if you're you know, I would,
I would, you know, I would do it several times, you know, over a course of a year or two.
Yeah, I have them tested at each time or change your work.
Yes, I need an oil consumption test done, and that way it's on there. So if you ever do get
out of warranty and it locks up and they're like, hey, you're out a warranty, Sorry, I can't do anything for you, and say, hey, listen, I was here multiple times, yeah, telling you, showing you that this thing is burning oil.
But I think I think.
It's I think it's up to one hundred and fifty thousand miles that they're covering these engines. So oh really,
I'm almost certain it's one hundred and fifty thousand miles.
I love the car, I mean I love it. Yeah,
good on gas, I mean it handles grade.
Yeah, it's a huge problem.
Actually I got two of them. I got a two
thousand and four.
Yeah, I mean, oil consumption is a huge problem.
That kind of goes back to what I was talking about getting the oil change regularly, because he's you know, if you if your car, if your car is burning a quart of oil every three thousand miles, and you go ten and these cars are only holding four courts by the time you get in for an oil change.
If you even bring it in at ten and that twelve or fifteen thousand miles, the cars don't have any oil in them in a chain stretch and it causes massive It's a huge domino effect.
So you know, I'm not.
I'm not.
I'm not paid by any oil companies.
I'm not.
I'm not. You know, I'm just telling you.
Every single car that comes, just about every single car's got an oil problem.
It's because he sings a burning oil.
So yeah, get it, get it to the dealer and do an oil consumption test.
Okay, great, Great, I appreciate it.
You show all right, he man, have a great weekend.
Appreciate the phone call. The moral of the story. I'm
going to talk about it next Saturday and the following Saturday and the following Saturday.
Please, if you're out there, you're listening to me.
If you're driving a vehicle five thousand miles on an oil change, that's it.
Period.
If anybody would love to call me and prove me wrong, please feel free.
You can't do it today. Call me next Saturday.
But I'm telling you it's it's a huge problem and I want you to be aware that is important and imperative that the oil gets changed every five thousand miles.
Do that your car will last you three hundred thousand miles.
So also again, if you know I am, we are hiring technicians.
If you know anybody, please send them my way.
You can go to Dane at donovantire dot com or call me at Donovan You go Donavtire dot com. I'm
at Donovan's Auto forn and give me a call. And
love to hear from anybody that's looking for for aech or technician looking for a job, So really do appreciate it.
So I will be back next Saturday to answer all of your questions. And everybody tomorrow enjoy the Super Bowl.
We already know who's gonna win. But anyways, I'm not
even gonna get on that topic. But hey, everybody, have
a great and safe weekend. I'll be back next Saturday
to answer all of your car questions. I'm Dane Donovan
from Donovan's Auto entire Center.
You're listening to the Car show on fifty five KRC, the talk station
About this episode
Summer road-trip prep turns into a whole maintenance checklist: air conditioning can fail across multiple parts, and replacing just one component may not solve the problem. Heat also stresses batteries and electrical systems, so they recommend inspections plus roadside basics like jumper cables and a flashlight. Calls then dig into diagnostics—start/stop issues, sensor choices (OEM vs aftermarket), and using live data to pinpoint misfires—before circling back to oil-change intervals and oil-consumption testing at the dealer.
As the unofficial start of summer approaches, car owners are gearing up for road trips and long drives. But before hitting the open road, it's essential to make sure your vehicle is ready for the heat. This week on the Car Show, host Dane Donovan emphasizes the importance of getting your car inspected and prepared for the summer season. He shares stories of customers who've experienced car troubles on the road, including a young couple stranded in Cincinnati after their transmission failed, and a woman who needed all four brake pads replaced before her road trip to New York.
Dane discusses the need to check and maintain essential components like air conditioning, tires, and fluids, and warns listeners about the dangers of neglecting routine maintenance. He also shares tips on how to prepare for emergencies, such as carrying a roadside emergency kit and knowing how to jump-start a dead battery. Additionally, Dane addresses common issues like software glitches in new cars and the importance of using original equipment manufacturer parts.
The episode also features a Q&A session with listeners, including a caller who's experiencing a software issue with his car's start-stop feature and another who's concerned about oil consumption in his Kia. Dane offers advice and guidance on how to troubleshoot and resolve these issues.
If you're planning a road trip or just want to ensure your car is running smoothly, tune in to this episode of the Car Show to learn more about the importance of summer car maintenance and how to prepare for any unexpected car troubles.
