The Car Show with Dane Donovan - 9/20/2025

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We're the four barrel car when it do look soft.

Good afternoon and welcome to the car show on 55KRC, the talk station.

I'm Dane Donovan here and alive.

I do apologize.

I have been absent for the past couple of weeks.

I have, you know, as, as you may know, it's a beautiful Saturday and but I have

three boys and they are in sports all year round and just and you know,

at the beginning of the school year starts football and football games are

always on Saturdays, mostly, everywhere, every once in a while.

We have a month Sundays, but I have just been last last Saturday.

For an example, I had to be at the football field at 730

and we had what I'm thinking, two football games, two birthday parties,

and we got home at nine o'clock.

So it was a very we we we don't stop.

So I do apologize.

But yes, I'm doing well.

I am here here to answer your car questions.

The number to call 513-749-5500.

That number again, 513-749-5500.

Again, we were out late last night.

We went down to the year we went up, I should say, or out to the Moller Xavier

football game, which was a great, great event, great game, Moller one.

And so we got home by by the time we got out of traffic and whatnot.

It was a little late, late for me.

I go to bed, you know, I, you know, I turned into a pumpkin after nine o'clock.

So late for me.

And then we had to get up early this morning because my youngest had a football

game and had to be at the field by by 830.

So I was I laid down right after the game.

You know, I, you know, I'm old now.

I'll be 41 on Tuesday.

OK. And and, you know, I I can't bounce back like I used to.

You know, when I was in my mid 20s, you know, you could go out

and stay out till till midnight or two o'clock, bounce back up and go about your day.

Well, I've realized and I'm telling you what, when I turned 40, I mean,

it was like a light switch all of a sudden.

And so I was like, you know what, I'm just going to lay down and relax,

which, again, in my opinion, I do need to do.

Don't stop. We just don't stop.

My wife and I, mainly my wife, she she does most of the running.

But, you know, laid down anyways,

as I'm I've got the TV on in the background

and I've talked about this is no matter what station you listen to,

they're always pumping these, you know, aftermarket warranty companies.

And I'm just I'm like, you know what?

I'm going to I'm going to I've got this platform.

I'm going to talk about it because it's something that I see daily

and it's something that you need to be aware of.

And that is these things are the biggest scam and waste of your money.

So, you know, I was like, you know what, I'm going to I'm going to bring it up.

We talk about this all the time on the show about changing the oil and getting it done.

But please, if you are buying a used now,

let me reiterate, if you're buying a new vehicle, OK,

and this is impaired, this is important that you ask these questions.

If you are buying a new vehicle,

ask them if they have an extended factory warranty.

OK, I recently had the opportunity to buy a new vehicle

and I asked, do you have an extended factory warranty?

And they said, yes, we do.

It's through Ford extends the factory warranty.

It's not an aftermarket.

It's through Ford and it extends it to seven years or seven years or 100,000 miles.

And, you know, it's it's an extra eight grand.

And I said, all right, let's do it.

I want to do it because, you know, an additional four years

or 100,000 miles is a lot.

So I purchased it.

But for those of you who are buying a used vehicle, OK, again,

if it's still under the factory warranty, say you buy a used,

you know, 2024 Hyundai or Kia, it's you are the second owner.

So it's not a 10 year, 100,000 mile warranty.

It does reduce it.

I think I don't owe me to this, but I think it goes down to

here, the second owner goes from 100,000 to 60,000,

which you might want to check with your manufacturer,

whoever you've purchased your vehicle through.

But it anyways, if you're buying a used vehicle

and your salesman and I'm not not dogging on salesmen,

they're just they're just doing their job.

They're trying to sell cars, right?

But if they're trying to sell you a aftermarket warranty for your vehicle,

please do not buy it.

I don't care who it's through.

I don't care what they're offering.

They offer you everything in the world.

And then by the time it gets to me and I'm working on it or I'm looking at it,

they are a headache and a nightmare.

I basically have to beg for my money.

They won't pay anybody's labor rate.

They only pay a certain, you know, these are the things they don't tell you.

They don't pay diagnostic fees.

They don't pay shop supply fees.

They don't pay any type of tax.

They only pay a certain amount of our labor.

You know, most repair shops are anywhere between 125 to 100.

Or I think the dealers are some of some of the higher end dealers.

BMW, Mercedes, they're over $200 an hour for labor.

And these aftermarket warranty companies will only pay, you know, up up to, you know,

the most I've ever seen pay is like $75 an hour.

And I don't know of any shops.

I'm sure there are shops out there that pay that.

There are ask or, you know, request $75 an hour.

But most shops, at least here in the Tri-State area, are not going to be paying,

you know, you're not paying $75 an hour.

So you factor that all in and then you have a sometimes most of the time

it's a $500 to $1,000 deductible, which you're responsible for.

And then they only want to put used parts or aftermarket parts on your car.

Right. So then you're fighting with them on that.

And then they want to put inferior parts and parts that are used and it's a nightmare.

And then you take a process that should be one day and you drag it out up to a week

because I got to call them, spend hours on the phone.

I then have to turn around and wait for their approval.

If the estimate's too high, then they have to send out their own

mechanic to verify that what I found is, you know, the right thing

it needs the vehicle needs.

And then they go, OK, well, here's the parts.

Well, we're going to get our own parts.

We'll have them shipped in.

You put these parts on, right?

And again, they're not dealer quality.

They might be a part, but it's not what you, in my opinion, should be putting on your vehicle.

And then, you know, and then, you know, you're left with, you know,

the bill might be $3,000 and you're still stuck paying half of it.

And in my opinion, they're just they're a nightmare, you know, you know,

if you had health insurance, you know, everybody has.

I mean, I understand that insurance is important.

Your health insurance, life insurance, car insurance, home insurance, those are important, right?

Those are.

But an aftermarket warranty is something that you should not buy.

They are a racket and they are a massive waste of time in your in your money.

OK, you know, if you had health insurance, right?

And you go to your doctor and he goes, hey, look, you know,

you have a problem with one of the, you know, valves in your heart.

And he's like, well, we can, you know, we can throw this cheap one in

just because that's what our insurance company wants to do.

You would probably say, I don't think so.

We're going to do the right thing.

We're going to put the right part, right valve in my heart, right?

Or, you know, you know, I'm not a doctor, so I'm a car doctor.

But, you know what I mean, when it deals with your body,

you're going to sit there and go, no, I don't want something that's cheap

just because the insurance company won't pay for it.

I want what's best for me and my body.

You should also feel that same way with your car.

And I just I have so many people are taking advantage of,

in my opinion, on these aftermarket warranties.

And I'm telling you, if you I mean, if you've purchased one,

it is what it is, right?

Most of them will be just a one time payment of, you know,

two thousand or three thousand dollars.

It's not the end of the world, right?

But I have seen some people, they buy these cars at these buy here, pay here lots.

And they're paying, you know, one hundred seventy five dollars a month

for the life of the car for this warranty.

And I had one gentleman, his warranty wouldn't pay for anything.

He's like, well, then why am I paying one hundred seventy five dollars a month?

And I'm like, how long do you have to pay one hundred seventy five dollars a month?

He goes as long as I own the vehicle.

I'm like, cancel that thing right now.

You could put one hundred seventy five dollars a month into your bank account,

or I mean, that's not really where you want to put stash cash,

but or into an investment account so that it makes money.

Because one hundred seventy five dollars for what you have is not doing you any good.

So, yeah, just listen, I keep seeing them

and I get phone calls every single day and they go, hey, I get this all the time.

Hey, do you take this aftermarket warranty?

No, we don't take any aftermarket warranties.

Hey, do you take because people are calling around?

People are calling around not because they want the best deal,

because nobody takes them.

They are a nightmare.

No, most after or most repair shops will not take these aftermarket warranties.

And people are finding that out the hard way.

So, on this show, I'm going to continue to tell you,

do not buy them.

If you're in the market to buy a new or used or primarily a used vehicle,

I do not recommend any aftermarket warranty period.

OK, so take that money,

put it in your investment account and let that money grow because you're wasting it.

So, it's there.

They're a nightmare.

So, all right, again, taking your phone calls.

I'm going to call 513-749-5500.

That number again, 513-749-5500.

Coming up, we have Paul and Jeff, you're listening to the car show on 55KRC,

the Talk Station.

This is 55KRC, an iHeart radio station.

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Taking your car questions again, the number to call 513-749-5500.

Then again, 513-749-5500 again.

Yes, I am alive.

I am here in studio.

It is a gorgeous day.

If you guys are listening,

you probably have the windows down.

It's one of those you don't need air conditioning days.

You just put the window down and listen to a little bit of music.

That's what I was doing on the way in here and thought about bringing

to get my bike out.

But I don't know.

It was just too much hassle.

So not the pedal bike.

Those days are over.

I'm I'm too old for that stuff.

So anyways, all right, let's go to the phones.

We have Paul. Hey, Paul, welcome to the car show.

How can I help?

Well, a quick follow up on my 2007 element, a new air fuel sensor,

fixed the problem with that one.

But I've got a 2008 element that started.

I guess the best way to describe it is like a high frequency

clatter or not quite clatter,

but it's almost a high frequency buzzing when it started.

But it's gotten louder.

It's and and and the oil pressure started dropping as well.

OK, it's it's run almost

well, 60 to 50 to 60 percent of what it normally runs.

I guess I suspect an oil pump.

The oil pump is failing.

But, you know, people tell me how to oil pumps never fail.

But I've never seen one.

Yeah, well, OK, but the frequency of the noise is

you know, it follows engine speed.

It doesn't sound like rods or rods or pistons.

It had new

piston or connecting rod bearings at two hundred and five thousand.

It's now at two hundred and sixty eight.

How many miles are on it?

Two hundred and sixty eight thousand.

So that the clattering or the noise that you're hearing,

obviously, when you rev it up, it it intensifies, correct?

It yes. OK. All right. Yes.

And I mean, that vehicle, correct me if I'm wrong.

It doesn't have it.

Does it have an oil?

Does it have a gauge or does it just have a red oil light?

I have an I have an aftermarket gauge installed.

So I can because it had it had an oil pressure problem

where with the VTEC system and I started running

five W 40 oil to help keep the oil pressure up.

So I've been I've been limping along like that for

thirty some thousand miles.

And it seemed to be seem to be happy enough with it.

So to we got to evaluate the oil pump,

you got to drop the pan, you know,

because it's on the bottom of the box.

You got the pain, you either have to drop the engine cradle

or or lift the engine off the cradle in the vehicle,

which I've done before.

But would would you bother trying to diagnose that one?

Right. I actually have a rebuilt engine ready to go.

Would you just go ahead and put the rebuilt in and

well, I mean, take your time to diagnose, you know,

if it's an oil pump, I could probably put one on

and then drop the engine back back down and go on my merry way.

But well, I mean, like I said, I have never.

Again, I just I just celebrated 26 years at Donovan Tire that, you know,

and I have never in 26 years,

I have never seen a Honda oil pump fail ever.

So now with that said,

the clattering that I think you're hearing is probably

does it seem like it's coming maybe from the passenger side of the engine?

Like it's hard to it's hard to tell.

I could actually send you a video if you wanted to see it.

I could if you can email it to me.

It's hard to tell it.

It sounds like it's it's almost the same noise from the top

versus, you know, the bottom looking from the passenger side.

Man, well, well, I did take the valve cover off.

And that, you know, the cams and rocker arms all seem fine.

The timing chain, at least the upper chain feels like it's still tight.

So I don't think it's I don't think it's in the top end like that.

Yeah. Well, I'd be much further.

Yeah. I mean, I mean, I'd be interested in you sending me that video.

But here's what I believe.

So here's here's what happens.

The not now probably ninety nine percent of any type of engine

noise that comes from a Honda or Acura engine is going to come from the timing chain.

Now, there's a couple of things that can cause it.

One, the timing chain tensioner is usually the biggest culprit.

OK, now it runs off of oil pressure.

OK, now again, if you have low oil pressure,

that tensioner is not going to get the proper oil pressure

and then not put enough tension on the chain. OK, so we could again

just because I haven't seen it doesn't mean it can't happen. OK, but

the tensioner itself most likely has failed.

Resulting in not put enough tension on that chain, resulting in the chain

slapping and hitting the side of the case.

That's what I see the most of now.

The other thing is, is these chains,

if they are ran low, the engines, if they're ran low on oil,

the chains themselves will get hot.

They will stretch and they will jump a tooth again, resulting in a,

you know, an engine slap on the side of the case.

The other thing is a lot of times there are plastic guides that are

got that those chains run on and those guides over time.

It happened to me on my, I have a 2007 F-150.

My plastic guides broke and

and I mean, I had engine problems immediately, right?

But those guides over time will break.

And then that chain is riding on metal, right?

So that plastic guides gone is riding on metal.

So in my opinion, I again, I would like to hear the noise.

In my opinion, you either have a tensioner that's failed

and it's not keeping the proper tension on those

which I think that's your case.

Two, you've got a chain that's stretched, that's hit in the case.

Or three, you've got a plastic guide that's broke on one of those chains

and the result of your noise as well.

So I don't, I personally don't think that you need to go

to the point of dropping the pan, replacing the pump and so on and so forth.

I really do believe, I mean, I do timing chains and guides

and tensioners on Hondas almost weekly.

It's a very common problem.

We do those all the time.

And in 26 years, I've never seen a Honda oil pump fail.

So I think you're dealing with the chain or tensioner or guide issue.

And I would look into that.

Now, like you said, you pulled the valve cover.

Now that chain is going to run between those two top gears,

those two VVT gears at the top.

Now, I'll be honest with you, you're not going to see a ton of tension.

You're going to sit there and go, oh, yeah, it seems pretty tight.

But really, you need to get in the belly of the beast

and pull the side of the engine off.

And I guarantee you one of those guys with that tensioner is loose.

I mean, I would, I would result, I mean, you could put a chain on that car

to put a chain, new guides and a tensioner.

I mean, fifteen hundred bucks, I would at least start there.

I don't think you have a pump issue.

But if you want to, I love for you to send me that video.

Let me listen to it.

OK, and and then call and then send it to me.

Send it to me. Can you send it to me? Email.

Yeah, OK, well, I could send you to a short YouTube video

so I could send you the link. OK.

I agree. So it's just my name, Dane, D-A-N-E at DonovanTire.com.

Dane at DonovanTire.com. Send it to me.

Let me listen to it.

And then if you want, put your content information in there

and I'll call you back or you can call me back next Saturday.

It's your discretion, but put your contact information there.

Let me listen to it.

I think you I think we're dealing with the chain issue.

I really do. OK.

So maybe I don't don't give up on a job here.

Yeah, no, I'm not going to give up on it.

Because the rest of it, even at six to eight

and however many years it is, it's too good a shape to give up on.

All right. Well, I appreciate the phone call and send it to me.

And we'll we'll be in touch soon.

All right. Thank you, sir.

Thank you very much. All right. Bye-bye.

All right. Again, I'm taking your phone calls.

The number to call 513-749-5500.

That number again, 513-749-5500.

The phone lines are wide open.

Love to hear from you.

Coming up, we have Jeff.

You're listening to the car show on 55KRC, the talk station.

Way back in 1958, my grandfather opened

Donovan's Auto and Tire Center right here in Cincinnati.

A lot has changed since then,

but our commitment to honest auto repair hasn't.

We believe in making sure your vehicle gets everything it needs

and nothing it doesn't.

Because as a family owned business with our name on the wall,

integrity matters.

From 1958 to today,

Donovan's Auto and Tire Center is still Cincinnati's honest choice

for auto repair and we're proud to keep this city moving.

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Taking your car, questions and number to call 513-749-5500.

I'm Dane Donovan from Donovan's Auto and Tire Center.

Find your nearest location here in the Tri-State area at DonovanTire.com.

And again, third generation, my grandfather started the business back in 1958.

And I truly am passionate and love what I do.

And I think in this day and age, that's important when you take your vehicle

or your child to the doctor or even maybe your favorite watering hole or restaurant.

I think if somebody is passionate or likes what they do,

I think nowadays that's very important.

After COVID, I feel like the entire culture and workforce has changed

dramatically and people just don't have the heart anymore and anything that they do.

And I think that's just imperative and it's important when doing anything,

whether it's, I don't know, cleaning my windows or cleaning windows

or giving somebody a burger or fixing your car,

especially a car that you need in order to get your family safely to their next destination,

getting your car to work so that you can get there, make money so you can provide for your family,

keep a roof over your head, food on your plate, that's important.

And I can tell you I can't speak for every repair shop out there,

but at Donovan's, we want to make sure that, you know, we do that 110%.

You know, unfortunately, mistakes do happen.

Sometimes there can be a mistake, right?

But I think if everybody jumps on it, if there is a mistake, you jump on it, you get it fixed, you get it fixed, right?

You take care of the customer, it's imperative, it's important, it's part of doing business.

That's what you have to do.

And that's what we take pride in at Donovan's.

So always important.

So I love what I do.

All right, let's go back to the phones.

We have Jeff, who's been patiently waiting.

Jeff, I appreciate you waiting.

How can I help you?

You can hear me, right?

Yes, sir.

Okay, I've got a 2017 Toyota SR four-cylinder C-Cab, also a four-by-four-access cab.

I'm reading this from the paperwork.

So two questions with that.

Number one, I have 120,000 on it with no problems,

but I have never changed the transmission oil or transmission fluid.

I know your dad had always said years ago to never flush it for different reasons.

First of all, is this a sealed transmission or do I need to look into this?

What year is it? A 17?

Yeah.

Okay.

It's probably not a sealed transmission.

Do you know, does it have a dipstick, a transmission dipstick?

Embarrassingly, I don't know.

Okay.

However, I have to take it back just to add.

I'm particular, I bond my own oil and the filter and all that until the mechanics to use that.

And they do all the fluids and nothing has ever been mentioned for the entire life of that truck about the transmission fluid.

Okay.

I, you know, with it being a 17.

So typically if you have, this is something that you can check.

But if it has a transmission dipstick where you can pull it out, check the fluid level and put it back in.

And it's not, it's most likely not a sealed transmission.

Okay.

Usually a sealed transmission is literally does not have a dipstick.

There's no way for you to check it.

You have to have a scan tool and a special tool in order to put the fluid in.

If you're able to check it and you have a transmission dipstick, then most likely it is not a seal transmission.

Now what I should I, I'm sorry, go ahead.

No, I would check.

I mean, it most likely it's going to be on a Toyota Tacoma.

Most likely it's, you said it's four wheel drive, correct?

Four by four.

It's not full time four wheel drive.

Okay.

And is it a four cylinder or six cylinder?

I'm sorry.

Four cylinder.

Okay.

Four cylinder.

All right.

So I'd have to, I'd have to see it.

I'll simplify the question.

Let's just say hypothetically it can be changed.

So I know I've waited too long.

So should I instruct them to simply replace the fluid or flush it?

Okay.

So great question.

You're right.

So two things.

One, even if it's even if it's sealed or not, even a sealed transmission, should the

fluid should be changed.

So regardless if it's a sealed transmission or not, it still needs to be changed.

Okay.

Now there are a couple manufacturers out there that recommend it never be changed.

And I, I think Volkswagen, Audi, BMW, Mercedes, they're all sealed.

They're all transmission fluids that are lifetime fluid.

However, Honda, Toyota, your Ford's, your GM's, those all fluids need to be

changed.

What I'd recommend is no flush.

You don't, you don't want to flush a Honda or Toyota because they do not have filters.

They do not have transmission filters.

They have screens.

Okay.

And the screens cannot be replaced.

Okay.

Unless there's some new technology that's out there, which, you know, it's, it's hard

to keep up with it all, but most of them just have a screen.

So you don't want to do a flush, especially with 120,000 miles because it's, it's

pretty evasive.

I mean, you're changing all that fluid and you're forcing all that fluid, that dirty

fluid through that screen, you run, you could potentially run into an issue.

So what I would recommend is you just do a transmission drain and fill.

So your transmission, most vehicles will hold anywhere between, it depends on the

vehicle, but you know, you know, anywhere 10, 12, 14, 16 quarts of transmission

fluid, right?

And so if you do a flush, it's too evasive.

You're forcing all those, all that fluid out, putting new fluid in.

It's too, it's too hard on it, right?

You, what you'd want to do is you'd want to do again, just to drain and fill.

You drop the drain plug, drop it, let what's in the pan out.

There's a little, most of your transmissions are going to have a magnet on that drain

plug.

And you want to clean all the metal shavings and debris off that plug.

You put it back in and then you, you, whatever you pulled out, you want to

put back in.

So most like, most of the time it's about four quarts.

You do that.

It's less evasive.

Again, I use this analogy all the time, but on a transmission with 120,000 miles,

right?

Your transmission and all the clutch packs and everything in that thing are,

or basically they're the fluid that you're, the fluid that's in there,

it's like swimming in a pool of water, right?

You go and you change all of the fluid.

It's too evasive.

It's too difficult.

Now you've changed the viscosity.

You've changed the thickness of that fluid.

So now you're running in a pool of jello.

It's going to be a lot more, it's going to be a lot more harsh where if you're

only changing four quarts of it, it's not, you know, you don't want to run

yourself into a corner and get yourself, you know, hemmed up and have

transmission issues.

I don't think you will, but if you just do the four quarts or just drain

the pan and refill it, I think it'll be perfectly fine.

And then you slowly introduce that fluid.

You know, you're introducing some of the old fluid with the new fluid and

it's not as harsh, right?

You know, it's like going to have, you know, turf toe surgery and then trying

to run on the football field the next day and try to, you know, you got to,

you got to try to slowly introduce that.

And so again, regardless if it's sealed or not, you still want to get it done

and I would just do, I wouldn't do a flush.

I would just do a drain infill.

That's what I would do.

So I would instruct the transmission people to drain and drain and fill,

but only fill with like four odd quarts of new and put the rest of the old back

in, come back some number of miles later and put another four quarts in,

et cetera.

I mean, so when you, when you drain the plug for the pan, just four

quarts are going to come.

That's it because you've got fluid in the, the cooler lines and the

torque converter and still in the, so all you're doing is saying, Hey,

I just want to do a transmission drain infill empty.

They four quarts come out.

They put four quarts in, boom, you're good to go.

And then maybe in about 30,000 miles, maybe at about 150, then have it done again.

I don't, but you know, you don't want to go back every, you know,

six months or anything like that.

Just change what's in the pan and about 30,000 miles do it again and

just stay on that every 30,000 miles.

Just stick to that, that regiment and you'll be, you'll be fine.

Okay.

Second question.

And this will be easy.

Do I have a timing belt or a chain on my truck?

You have a chain to worry about.

And you have a chain, no belt, you have a chain and they are, they are

in theory, they are supposed to last the life of the car.

Now, if the car is you keep an oil in it regularly and you know,

that engine is running great and it's not ran low on oil.

You'll never have to change it.

Okay.

Primarily what happens is some of these vehicles, not toys don't.

Well, some toys do, but most of your newer vehicles burn oil.

People don't know it and they run the engines low on oil.

They stretch the chains and that gentleman that called about the Honda

element, that's, that's what happens.

But you have a chain.

Make sure that you're checking the oil regularly, change it regularly.

You'll be fine.

You'll never have to replace that chain.

Excellent.

Thank you very much for your time.

All right.

Thank you so much.

You take care.

Bye-bye.

All right.

Again, taking your phone calls and never to call 513-749-5500.

That number again, 513-749-5500.

Um, man, I'm telling you, you know, he had a great question

and the gentleman before to Paul from Westchester, you know,

these, these chains are designed and it's a great engineering

feat.

I mean, they, they, you know, some of these cars have two, three,

four, you know, I think I've only seen three.

It might be exaggerating a little bit, but three, some of these

cars have three timing chains and, um, you want to make sure

that you're keeping the oil in them.

Otherwise, uh, you're going to have major engine problems

and, um, you run them low on oil, you burn up the engines.

I have a, I have a 2017 Audi Q7 at one of my shops and, um, it's

running bad.

It's misfire and it has two burnt valves on it in it.

And, um, it's going to be pretty expensive to repair.

And so the customer already bought a new car and they said,

well, we'll get you the title and, you know, so you can

get rid of it, but, um, we still owe $20,000 on the car.

And the repair was going to be half of that.

And they decided not to fix the car.

And they said, hey, we'll figure out how we're going to pay the

car off and then we'll get you the title because without the

title, you really can't do anything.

So it's imperative and important that you make sure that

you're changing your oil regularly.

And, um, that's important.

So, all right, again, taking your phone calls and the

number call 513-749-5500.

Coming up, uh, we have Kevin.

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Taking your car questions, the number to call,

513-749-5500.

We are getting close towards the end of the show.

So if you do call, I will get you in.

I may be a little quick, not to be rude,

but I have to be out at certain times.

I do appreciate everybody that has called.

I've had some great questions.

Again, if you may be catching the tail end of the show

and you do have a question,

you can always call me during the week

or you can call me next Saturday.

I should be here.

I will be barely on time.

And that's kind of how I run my life.

I literally wake up in the morning

and I look at my wife and I go,

what do we have to do today?

Where do I need to be at after work?

My wife does a phenomenal job

at being a wife and a mother.

And she keeps not only me,

but the boys, all three boys in check

and has all of their schedules, knows what's going on.

So I lean on her.

And again, she does a phenomenal job.

I lean on her to say,

hey, where do I need to be at today after work?

And she'll say, you know,

well, we have this practice, this practice, this game,

or that someone's got to be here

and you need to be here.

You need to do that.

And I don't have a problem with it.

She might, but I like just going,

hey, I don't live my life weeks in advance.

I live it day by day.

And I live it with, hey,

hey dear, where do I need to be at?

And she tells me and some day she goes,

we don't have anything tonight.

And I'm like, oh, thank God I get to go home and sit.

No, I don't get to go home and sit on the couch.

Well, I do, but she's not happy with me when I do it.

But you know, you need that every once in a while.

So, but she does a great job.

So, I love her to death.

So, all right, let's go back to the phones.

We have Kevin.

Hey, Kevin, welcome to the car show.

How can I help?

Hi, Bob, I've got a quick one.

I was listening to you talk to the guy who had the Toyota

about doing a transition drain and fill instead of a flush

because they have the screen instead of the filter.

I'm coming up on 140,000 miles in my 2013 Ford Escape.

And we have the money set aside to do a flush on the transmission.

Should I go ahead and do that?

Or you should I do a drain and fill instead?

Great question.

Well, and I, and this is a question that you might not know.

And I don't know off the top of my head.

I would have to look at the transmission.

But do you know if your transmission is a,

what's called a CVT transmission?

I, oh, I'm not sure about that.

I know it does not have a dipstick for the transmission.

Okay.

It's probably CVT then.

Man, CVTs are, and I'm not, I, you know, I'm not picking on Ford

because I have multiple Fords, but nobody in the industry,

nobody can build a CVT transmission that's worth a day without a,

they just, they just cannot build one.

Nobody can.

So I'm always leery about changing the fluid on a CVT.

I'm actually, I have, I have two escapes at my shop right now.

Both of them need transmissions because they're CVTs and they're,

they're, they're a nightmare.

If you do it, like I said, I would go back to that,

the last gentleman, I would recommend that you just do a drain infill.

But you, you, you got to make sure that you use the right fluid.

And you got to make sure that whoever does it has the proper tools.

Cause a lot of these vehicles, it's again, a lot of them are sealed transmissions

and you got to have a proper tool.

You have to have a scan tool because the transmission has to be at a certain

temperature.

It's something that you, most people can't do in their driveway.

It's something that you're kind of have to take to a specialist simply because

I just, I'm right down the road from the Ford dealer in the middle town anyway.

Okay.

Um, it has it, how many miles are on it?

One, I'm sending it right now. One, three, nine, six, nine, five.

Okay.

And has it ever been changed before?

I, my sister thinks she did.

Oh yeah.

It was done around 74,000 miles.

Okay.

Well then you, okay.

Then good, good, good.

If it's been done once, I think you're good to go ahead and do it,

get it done again.

But like that last gentleman at 120, you got to be careful that you

don't open up yourself a can of worms, right?

If you've, if it was done at 70, you should be fine to go ahead and

get it done again.

You should be fine.

And like I said, get it to the, the proper people that have the

right tools and then, you know, so if you're taking it to the

dealer, that's perfectly fine.

Yeah.

And I know they'll use the motorcraft.

Correct.

And I think that's important.

Um, you know, my guys, I have a, I have a little Honda Civic.

It's 25 years old.

In fact, I can probably get his, I can get historical tags on it,

but, uh, um, I won't let that thing go.

Cause I've had it since I was 18.

I'm like I said earlier in the show, I'm going to be 41 next week.

Um, I've had to think forever and it's, it's a great little car.

But anyways, I only put Honda parts on it.

Everybody makes fun of me, but I think it's important.

Um, now they are more expensive, but I think it's important,

you know, but that not, that might not always be the case.

Right.

I have a, an old truck that needed, um, ah, what did it need?

It needed something.

And I put it, they're like, oh my God, you're not putting a Ford

port on that.

And I'm like, well, it's not available anymore.

I mean, if it's not available, that's one thing.

But if it's available to me, I'm going to try to put on factory parts.

That's, I think it's important.

And you know, so, but no, I, no, it's a great question.

But, um, yeah, I'd get to them and have them do it.

And you'll be, you'll be in good shape.

But changing the fluids is so important.

And it's something that we've gotten away from now has technology

and the fluids that are out there, has it come around?

Has it improved?

Absolutely.

Do I think it's to the point where we just get in the car and

never worry about any of it other than just changing the oil,

putting gas in it?

And I don't think so.

I still think we need to have the conversation.

The car still needs to be tuned up.

All the fluids need to be changed.

You know, in some of these vehicles that are four wheel drive,

you know, you've got front differential fluid,

transfer case fluid, rear differential fluid, transmission fluid,

coolant, power steering, brake.

Those are, those are all fluids that need to be changed.

So for those of you who are listening, you know, get your

owner's manual out.

Some cars, I just, like I said, I recently had the opportunity

to buy, purchase a new vehicle.

Guess what doesn't come with an owner's manual.

Guess what?

It's in my screen.

Let's go to the screen to figure out what my maintenance schedule

is because that's how with technology today, there's no owner's

manual on these cars anymore.

So, or you can always call Donovan's or you can call your local

repair shop or your local deal and say, hey, listen, I have

30,000 miles on my car.

What should I be doing?

Those are the questions that we should be asking.

Right?

So it's important, but right.

All right.

Well, hey, listen, I got to go.

Great question.

I really do appreciate it.

Have a great weekend.

I will be back next Saturday to answer all of your car

questions.

Thank you so much.

Enjoy the weather.

Hopefully we get a little bit of rain, but in the meantime,

everybody have fun.

I'll be back next Saturday to answer all your car questions.

Thank you so much.

I'm Dane Donovan from Donovan's Auto and Tire Center.

Have a great weekend.

Thank you so much.

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Your house burns down or your partner passes away and

the claim gets denied.

No payout.

No safety net.

Just loss.

It sounds extreme, but it happens every day.

Insurance policies are full of exclusions that leave

people vulnerable.

That's why My Policy Advocate exists.

They review your coverage, uncover gaps and explain

everything in plain English.

They don't sell insurance.

They help you understand what you already have.

Visit MyPolicyAdvocate.com and protect what matters most.

Imagine this.

Your house burns down or your partner passes away

and you call your insurance company and the claim gets

denied.

No payout.

No safety net.

Just loss.

It sounds extreme, but it happens every day.

Insurance policies are full of exclusions that leave

people vulnerable.

That's why My Policy Advocate exists.

They review your coverage, uncover gaps and explain

everything in plain English.

They don't sell insurance.

They help you understand what you already have.

Visit MyPolicyAdvocate.com and protect what

matters most.

Imagine this.

Your house burns down or your partner passes

away and you call your insurance company and the claim

gets denied.

No payout.

No safety net.

Just loss.

It sounds extreme, but it happens every day.

Insurance policies are full of exclusions that leave

people vulnerable.

That's why My Policy Advocate exists.

They review your coverage, uncover gaps and explain

everything in plain English.

They don't sell insurance.

They help you understand what you already have.

Visit MyPolicyAdvocate.com and protect what

matters most.

The Car Show with Dane Donovan - 9/20/2025

Audi 100

Ford F150

Toyota Tacoma

Honda Element

Audi Q7

Ford Escape

Honda Civic

About this episode

Original notes