Car Pros for Kids

It’s that time of year again, time for you to get the best deal of the year on oil changes, and help needy kids in our area.

Here’s the deal; donate $30 to Child Advocates through the Car Pro’s program and you will receive a certificate good for 2 FREE oil changes. You get 2 oil changes on your car for the price of one normal oil change. Now of course this doesn’t apply to diesels or cars that require special oils, filters or more than 5 quarts of oil. In cases such as that you simply pay the shop the difference in price between your oil change and the normal car cost. $30 still goes directly to Child Advocates and you still get a great deal.

Over the past years this program has raised more than $650,000 for Child Advocates making it possible to help more than 635 abused and neglected children. This year our goal is $65,000.

The program runs through the month of February and you can redeem the coupons for your oil changes until the end of the year. Come by the shop, or call the office, and reserve your coupons.

Everyone will need an oil change at least twice this year and here is a way to help others while taking care of your car. You can buy extra coupons for your other cars, or for your kid’s cars.

Toyota Recalls...
Another 2.3 Million Cars and Trucks!

Thursday, January 20, Toyota announced that they will recall 2.3 million cars sold in America because of a potentially sticky throttle pedal. This is apart from the recall recently of more than 4 million vehicles with a similar problem caused by floor mats that could jam the accelerator pedal down. 1.7 million of the subject vehicles could have both problems.

This recall involves 2007-10 Camry, 2009-10 Corolla, 2009-10 RAV4, 2009-10 Matrix, 2005-10 Avalon, 2010 Highlander, 2007-10 Tundra and 2008-10 Sequia.
A Toyota spokesman said the problem involves a specific accelerator pedal assembly from only one of several suppliers. "This is a wear issue," he says. "The owner will begin to feel that the accelerator is a little rough when they push it down. It doesn't operate as smoothly as it used to, it happens over time, not overnight.”

At that first sign of trouble, owners should call their dealer to get the problem looked at. They can also call Toyota's customer hot line at 800-331-4331
Toyota’s advice should the problem happen; “Brake firmly!”

If you have a Toyota that falls under this recall you should contact the dealer and arrange to have it checked. If you begin to feel any roughness, or dragging in the foot pedal as you press it you need to get it to the dealer very soon.

If you have a Toyota that was included in the previous recall and you haven’t taken the floor mat out of the driver’s side floor do it now. Eventually Toyota will fix you up with a new set of mats.

The Pot at the End of The Rainbow???

DID YOU KNOW: The first couple to be shown in bed together on prime time TV were Fred and Wilma Flintstone.

Made in America

Recently on the radio show I was talking about the latest recall by Toyota. I made the point that while Toyota has had one of the strongest quality reputations in the industry they are now the focus the 4th largest recall in auto history.

I may have given the impression that I was taking pleasure in Toyota’s seeming stumble from the pinnacle of quality. After the show I received an email from a listener who said, “You should tell the whole story, it is just the American made Toyota’s that have this problem.”

I did some checking. The Toyota’s in question are mostly built in this country, or at least assembled here. The part that is giving the trouble in the latest recall is the throttle pedal assembly made by an American company, CTS Automotive Components. However, CTS’s manufacturing facility is in Taiwan.

If I follow the trail it seems that we have a car, several car models, designed by Toyota, a Japanese company, assembled in America at a plant owned by Toyota, with parts specified by Toyota and contracted for production to an American company who in turn out-sourced the part to Taiwan. Hum, American made?

In my research I came across what I think is interesting information. How American is your car? The following list is from Cars.com and they update the information annually. It represents the percentage of American made parts used to produce your car.

GM: 69%
Ford Motor Co.: 64%
Chrysler Corp.: 60%
Honda/Acura: 58%
Toyota/Lexus/Scion: 44%
Nissan/Infiniti: 31%
Mitsubishi: 25%
Subaru: 20%
Mercedes-Benz: 16%
Suzuki: 12%
Mazda: 11%
Volkswagen/Audi: 9%
BMW/Mini: 5%
Jaguar/Land Rover: 3%
Porsche: 3%

I guess that Jaguar and Porsche make the price stickers here.

Smoking Hot Fuses!

I have heard that there are replacement automotive fuses on the market right now that do not blow at the specified amperage. A couple of years ago Dorman brand had some that were bad, and from what  I have learned so far these are not the same batch.

A friend of mine, who operates a high tech diagnostic and computer programming service in Houston, has seen 4 wiring harnesses burned due to fuses that did not pop when they should have. He tested a 10 amp rated fuse and it didn’t blow until 38 amps were running through it. A 30 amp fuse still had not blown at 100 amps when the test harness caught fire!

In a typical circuit the fuse is rated to blow well before there would be wiring or component damage from an electrical overload. When you replace a fuse and install one that is rated properly for the circuit you expect it to function correctly. If it doesn’t blow until it reaches 3 or 4 times the stated amperage you can imagine the results. Smoke!

If a fuse blows it usually means that there is a short of some sort in the system. It may be a dead short, or it may be an intermittent problem. Whenever you experience a blown fuse be sure to replace it with one rated properly for that circuit. Your owner’s manual, and on some models the fuse box lid, will tell you what should be used.

Most cars come with a few extra fuses in the fuse box. There will usually be one of each rating. If you blow a fuse use these first. If it blows again get to a shop and let the people who are trained to locate and repair shorts take care of it.

Until these bad fuses are all off the market take care what you buy. Do not buy the discount brands or from stores that are known to import everything they sell from China. I am told that if the fuse has raised white lettering on the top it is probably a good fuse.

I will follow up on this problem and next month hopefully I can provide more detailed information. In the mean time be careful and if you do see smoke pull the fuse, disconnect the battery and call a shop for help.