Year end deals will be here after year end PLUS, why are so many engines failing?...the answer is "swarf"

Well, we are running out of year and you are running out of time for a year-end car deal.

But do me a favor, please, please do not go out and buy a car in a hurry thinking that

you are going to save a tremendous amount of money by buying it before the year-end because

you are really not because there will be deals in January and in February and in March and

so on and so forth.

Hey folks, this is Lenny Lawson, the car guru and I am trying to give you the best possible

advice that I can give you at this year-end.

If you are in the market, you have already been doing some research and you have gotten

to this point then, yeah, there is going to be some special rate financing on certain vehicles.

I know on Nissan right now we have a 0% for 60 months which is very attractive but you

have to give up a $4,000 rebate to get it.

So folks, remember you have got to do the math, oh that is zero, we have got to do zero.

No you don't.

What if you can get a pretty good rate and still get the $4,000 rebate and if you plan

on trading in maybe three years from now, then it would really not make any sense to

take the zero, it could end up costing you more money.

You just got to, you know what an amortization schedule is, you have got to do that.

If you don't know what it is, just Google amortization schedule and it will show you

what you will pay out and what your balance will be in different months between the time

you finance the car or truck and the time that the vehicle is totally paid off.

So you can go out and look at 36 months and see what your payoff will be based on the

amount financed and the interest rate and you can compare that to financing it at 0%

versus 3.9 and if you finance $4,000 less because it has a rebate on it and you take

the 3.9 then maybe your balance will be better, maybe it will be less, you just got to do

the math or let the amortization schedule do it for you.

Okay, what else are we talking today?

Oh, you know, this weekend I was looking at my truck lovingly but I noticed my front

tires were wearing on the outside edges and then I looked at my rear tires because I rotate

my tires every 5,000 miles and I've got 15,000, well almost 16,000 miles on now.

I looked at the edges of my rear tires.

They're getting thinner also and then I looked at the inside edge of the tires.

They're getting thin as well.

The middle part's not.

What have I done?

Well I hate to admit this but apparently my pressures were down.

I checked my air pressure, 6 pounds less than they should be.

Now why didn't my tire pressure warning light come on?

I don't know.

I don't know whether it was a defect or just too cold for that.

I don't know but they should have come on and warned me that my tire pressures were low

and I wouldn't have thought that they would have lost 6 pounds.

Well I'll take that back because I'm just about due for an oil change.

See your tires can lose about, well it depends on the tire size and tire brands and so forth

but typically they'll lose about 2 pounds a month and so my last oil change was about

90 days ago so 6 pounds.

That's why you need to check your air pressures at least every other month and if you can't

do it somebody will do it for you, surely.

So just in case though I wanted to check my alignment.

Now about 2 years ago I made a big investment.

I bought a Hunter computer alignment system, a new lift and a laser scanner that when you

drive into my service drive there's 48 different laser beams that are hitting your front tires

and it tells my service advisors that you might have an alignment issue.

So what does that cost, Lenny?

Nothing.

It cost me a bunch but it doesn't cost my customers anything.

They just can drive right through, well right into my shop, get scanned and they know whether

they need an alignment.

Well my truck got scanned and said nope you don't need an alignment but just to be a

hundred percent sure and for kicks and giggles I asked my alignment guy put this on the machine

and just let's double check our scanner and he did and it's accurate.

So I guess the moral of this story is if you don't want to pay for an alignment check which

can cost anywhere from $49 to $79 somewhere in that neighborhood then all you have to

do is drive down the gateway and honk your horn and they'll raise the doors and you just

drive in and your alignment will be checked.

That's pretty cool, isn't it?

Now if it needs an alignment you pull a little bit further, they'll pull it on a rack and

do a four wheel alignment on your vehicle and you definitely want to have that done

if there is an alignment condition because you can wear out your tires prematurely and

none of us like premature tire wear.

I certainly don't so I'm going to monitor my tire pressures and make sure that they

stay where they're supposed to.

I'll probably put, I think it's got hand-cook tires on it and I've never really liked that.

I just don't like if somebody says what kind of tires you have, I don't like saying the

word hand-cook and maybe that's not how you say it but that's how it's spelled and they

may be decent tires, they're quiet so I don't hear a tire noise when I'm driving down the

road but if I replace them, I told you what I'm replacing them with, Michelin, my favorites.

Okay so after this break we're going to talk about why are all these engines failing in

vehicles.

I've done a little research and I'm going to pass that on to you.

Yes, there are a lot of companies, General Motors, Summit Ford, a lot at Toyota, Summit

Honda, a bunch at Hyundai.

Engines are failing and they're failing while they're under warranty and after the manufacturer's

warranty runs out so we'll do that here in just uno momento.

That's Spanish for one minute.

Okay, here we are talking about why are all the engine recalls, why are all these engines

failing, why are they using oil, what's causing these very expensive problems to occur, and

who are they occurring with, well you're getting ready to find out.

So the auto industry basically they've had a decades long push for cleaner, more efficient

engines and it's had a consequence.

Today's motors are far less tolerant of manufacturing imperfections than the older engines were.

Have you ever heard that older technology is sometimes better than new technology?

Boy I have.

So basically this explains why more than five million engines from five different automakers

are currently under recall or federal investigation and it's costing them a lot of money and

it's costing them a lot as far as reputation is concerned.

So what's happening is that because of improper machining of connecting rods and crankshafts,

tiny metal particles called, get this name, SWARF, S-W-A-R-F.

So if a piece of metal was referred to as a piece of metal, a microscopic piece of metal,

they don't call it microscopic piece of metal, they call it SWARF.

So I had to get to the bottom of this.

It is an old term.

It's been around since they've been honing out engine blocks or cylinders out of engine

blocks.

So it's nothing new.

The name isn't new, but the problem is becoming much more prevalent.

Automotive news asks engine engineers and other experts what's causing the failures.

And here was the consensus.

Today's cleaner running engines that are delivering record amounts of power per liter and running

at hotter temperatures are creating higher in-cylinder pressures.

That places greater loads on critical parts such as bearings and crankshafts, which are

separated only by a film of oil thinner than a human hair.

So if you take two engines, and they're the same exact engines, and in one you put thin

oil, the other one you put thick oil, which one's going to run more efficiently?

That's right.

The one with thin oil because there's less resistance to all the spinning and the reciprocal

motion and the rotational motion that's going on inside that engine.

So the automakers have been under a great deal of pressure to get better fuel economy

and have lower emissions.

And because the consumers want it, they got to have power.

I mean, who wants to drive a vehicle with a three-cylinder engine that has 89 horsepower?

Nobody.

Well, how about a three-cylinder engine that has 325 horsepower?

Because we have them.

Well, how did they get there?

Well, three primary ways.

Direct fuel injection, squirts the fuel directly into the cylinder.

No more carburetors.

No more throttle body injection.

No, that still went through an intake that sat on top of the engine or beside the engine.

No, they wanted to get that fuel directly into that cylinder.

And then they have multi-valves, which they have two intake valves and two exhaust valves

per cylinder, which lets more air in and more air out.

And then finally, turbocharging, which forces air into the combustion chamber.

Cooler air, if it has an intercooler built into the system.

And that just makes the engine have more power.

And so they have smaller engines, and they're requiring more out of those smaller engines,

and they're looking for even more ways to increase efficiency.

So what they do, they introduced zero-weight oil.

And in order for that to work, the engines had to be produced at very close tolerances.

And what's happening in the manufacturing process, they're getting a lot of swarf,

tiny little particles that act like sandpaper if they get into the wrong places.

Like between the connecting rod and the bearings.

What is a connecting rod?

Well, at the top side, it's connected to the piston that goes up and down inside the engine.

So that's basically what a connecting rod does.

But the connecting rod itself is connected to something called the crankshaft,

which spins and rotates in the heart of the engine.

So it's spinning round and round while the piston and the connecting rod are going up and down.

And there are bearings, which is, it's a piece of metal, really smooth and curved.

And you've got two of them, and they complete a circle.

And that's basically what allows the connecting rod to spin on the crankshaft.

Well, those bearings are failing because of the swarf that's left in the engine

during the manufacturing process.

They're just not getting them clean enough.

And they're leaving this residue that didn't used to be a problem

because the older engines weren't made to such close tolerances,

and they used heavier weight oil.

And so there was a thicker barrier of oil between the metal parts than there is now.

And so when you have a thinner barrier and you have these little particles,

it's like I say, it's like sandpaper and the engines are failing.

So who's having a problem with this?

I started to say General Motors, obviously.

Toyota is expecting a bill of about $300 million to $500 million to replace

102,000 V6 twin turbo engines installed in Toyota pickups and SUVs and Lexus SUVs.

On November 6, Toyota added 127,000 engines made in 2022 through 2024 to the recall.

And their excuse, debris in the block that could cause the engines to seize.

Swarf.

Hyundai, now they've had the biggest problem, is spending an estimated $5 billion

to replace engines and settle lawsuits and pay fines related to more than 3.3 million

potentially defective engines.

The Korean automaker extended the engine warranty up to 15 years or 150,000 miles,

but a lot of those people that are driving those cars, they bought them secondhand.

Now, is Hyundai going to replace their engines too because they're not the original owner?

I mean, that's on Hyundai to figure out.

That could be scary.

You know, you really need to think about buying a used Hyundai, especially if it's in

a certain within certain model years.

Honda is dealing with nearly 250,000 V6 engines from the 2023 model year that could have again

improperly machined crankshafts that cause the bearings to wear out and the connecting rods

to seize.

NHTSA, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, added 1.4 million engines

to its investigation after receiving complaints from 414 Honda owners.

Ford has had some issues as well.

More than 700,000 vehicles are being recalled.

Really, the cost is unknown at this point.

So what's contributing to this is the drive for thinner oils, and that's been driven by

greenhouse gas emissions and better fuel economy requirements.

And as I said, the spinning metal parts inside the engine are not supposed to touch.

They are highly stressed components such as connecting rods and crankshafts and piston rings

and cylinder walls, and they're all separated by a very thin film of oil.

And the thinner that film is, the more susceptible the engine is to failure if they didn't get

all the different swarph and other pieces of metal out of it.

So automakers have reduced the clearance between rods and crankshafts and other components in

order to be able to use this thinner oil.

And as I said, the downside is that the cushion between these moving parts is smaller,

and tiny bits of metal or other debris get between the moving metal parts,

and it acts just like sandpaper.

Just to give you an example, 2010 Toyota Camry V6 used 5W30 motor oil,

and today's V6 Camry requires, get this, 0W16 weight.

That's not much weight.

When you pour that out and you see what it is, what it feels like, it's thin.

It's more like WD40 than oil.

So that old style Toyota oil, it reduced fuel economy because it required more of the engine's

power to circulate it under pressure through the small passages in the block

to the rods and the heads to lubricate the moving parts.

Toyota and GM have both cited metal shavings in their engines as one reason why some have seized.

The shavings grind down the thin metal bearings between the connecting rods and the crankshaft.

I already said that.

The recalled GM engines that pass inspection are getting thicker oil.

They're putting 0W40 instead of the 0W20.

What does all that 0W20 and 40 and all that mean?

Well, it's called viscosity, and I'll talk about that here in just a minute.

Okay, I am back.

Let's clear up this viscosity thing.

So obviously, it is a measure of how thick or thin an oil is.

And it also, really more precise definition, would be how resistant it is to flowing.

So think of it this way.

Low viscosity equals thin oil and flows easily like water.

High viscosity equals thick, and it flows more like honey, which I like honey,

but I don't want my oil to be like honey when it's really cold outside.

So a low viscosity number like the zero part, 0W, the W stands for winter,

stands for cold.

So it tells you how the oil is going to flow when it's cold.

The second number tells you how it's going to flow when it's at normal operating temperatures.

So 5W30, 5W means winter, that's how it flows in cold temperatures,

the lower the number, the better cold flow.

The 30 is how thick the oil is at normal operating temperature.

You know, you would think that when it gets hot, the oil would get thinner,

but it does the opposite.

It gets thicker when hot.

So there's 020, that's the thinnest right now, or 016, like they're using in that Toyota,

very thin, great for cold starts, and better fuel economy.

10W40 is thicker, better for older engines, or high heat.

And then 1540 is common in diesel and heavy duty applications.

But oil thins when hot and thickens when it's cold.

Multi-grade oils are engineered to act like thin oil when cold,

and act like thicker oil when hot.

So the oil is intelligent.

Well, I wouldn't go that far.

So the automakers, they choose viscosity based on the engine design,

the tolerances, the operating temperatures, the fuel economy targets,

longevity, wear protection.

If you use the wrong viscosity, if you just decide to change it yourself,

you could have increased wear in your engine, reduced oil pressure,

poor fuel economy, and possible warranty issues.

So I guess my tip here would be not to go messing with your oil viscosity.

Until you clear it with the dealer.

Make sure that they are giving you some type of a guidance

based on a technical service bulletin that they've received.

You know, if some mechanic says,

yeah, just go ahead and change the oil viscosity.

Now, no, thank you.

I don't want to avoid my warranty.

You give me some kind of proof that the manufacturer will take care of me

if something happens after I change this.

For example, with the GM vehicles, if there are no obvious signs of failure,

like, well, how do they tell if there are signs of failure?

They pull the oil pan off and they look for metal.

You know, usually there are some metallic, I'm sorry, some magnets in the oil pan.

Matter of fact, many drain plugs are magnetized.

So if there's any metal floating around in the engine,

then, you know, those magnets will capture it in the oil pan

before it goes back up to the engine.

Because the oil circulates, you know, it runs through the engine,

goes all the way to the top to lubricate the valves and the rocker arms

and the push rods and all that stuff.

And then it just, gravity takes it down to the bottom of the engine,

it's circulated through, gets down to the oil pan,

then there's a pump down there that sucks it all up

and pushes it back to the top of the engine.

And it flows back down through the engine again.

It's all under pressure.

That's why oil pressure is important.

If oil pressure goes down, the oil doesn't flow through the engine properly.

Now, most cars, they don't have oil pressure gauges.

If yours does, then you need to pay attention to that.

But trust the dealership.

I know that's hard sometimes.

But you just have to trust the dealership before you trust the quick lube place.

They change a lot of oil, but they also break a lot of rules when it comes to

what the manufacturer requires.

And it's not an issue as long as your vehicle runs perfectly

and you never have an engine failure.

But if you do and you're under warranty or you're just out of warranty

and you haven't darkened the door of the dealership to have any service done,

you can forget about getting a repair paid for by the manufacturer

if you're beyond the warranty period in time or miles.

Yeah, but it costs more to have the oil changed at the dealership.

No, it doesn't.

It does not.

If you shop the prices, you will see that the dealership doesn't charge anymore.

They use the same oil that the manufacturer recommends.

They use factory oil filters.

And plus they use multi-point inspections, which is a lot more than what the fast lube places will do.

And the reason is because the fast lube places don't have time.

It's fast food for cars.

Going to dealership is like, I don't know, going to a nicer restaurant.

The food's better.

They're not in a big hurry.

They want you to enjoy the experience.

Just slow down.

Everything doesn't have to be fast.

When it comes to my car, I'd rather it not be fast.

I want them to take their time, check everything, make sure I'm safe,

make sure my car is serviced properly.

If I have an issue, I know where to go to get it resolved.

So I hope I've educated you a little bit.

Maybe you didn't know about an engine problem.

Engines failing left and right.

I bet you did if you owned a Hyundai or a Toyota Tundra.

You know, these are things that people need to know.

Well, thanks for listening to this edition of My Car Guru.

If you need me, 423-552-2020, that's my cell phone.

Send me your email address and I'll send you a copy of the My Car Guru guidebook,

and it will help you make better decisions when it comes to your car life.

Well, thanks for listening and I'll see you next time.

Year end deals will be here after year end PLUS, why are so many engines failing?...the answer is "swarf"

About this episode

year-end car deal

Nissan

0% financing

amortization schedule

tire rotation

tire pressure

oil change

alignment

Hunter

laser scanner

Hankook

Michelin

General Motors

Hyundai

Honda

manufacturer's warranty

engine recalls

swarf

engine block

cylinders

power per liter

crankshaft

bearings

emissions

fuel economy

horsepower

direct fuel injection

intercooler

defective engines

Toyota Camry

Toyota Tundra

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