BMW repair changes AWD to two-wheel drive. Is this safe?

QUESTION

Hi Dennis, I wrote to you a few years ago about our 2013 Audi that had a clutch burn out after less than 20,000 km and you wrote back with a much appreciated response that helped me get back almost half of the repair amount ($1,100) from Audi. I have another question for you. My son-in-law purchased my 2004 BMW X3 as a used car in 2008. I didn’t sell it to him directly. The dealer took it in as a trade and then sold it to him. It has become a third car now and his daughter (our granddaughter) uses the car while she is in university. The car held up well but recently it needed an $8,000 repair according to the dealer. My son in law said UIBU IF LOPXT hB HVZv XIP NBZ CF BCMF UP lY JU VQ GPS B GFXhundred dollars. I thought that it seemed impossible, probably another case of false economizing, pouring more money into a car that is now a money pit. Then I hear he actually did HFU JU lYFE GPS B GFX IVOESFE EPMMBST CVU OPX JU POMZ IBT UXP

wheel drive (it had AWD). He says that his daughter won’t drive it in the snow or on the highway. Do you think this is safe? Would a real mechanic repair a vehicle this way? I would appreciate your thoughts. Thanks, Steve B.

ANSWER

I would not do it unless it was my own car because I am BXBSF PG UIF DPOTFRVFODFT PG OPU IBWJOH UIF TBGFUZ CFOFlUT

of a four-wheel drive vehicle. To bring a repair job from eight thousand dollars down to a few hundred dollars suggests to me that the shafts to either the front wheels or the rear wheels have been removed. There isn’t anything that I am aware of that says that a technician cannot do this for B DVTUPNFS CVU BMUFSJOH B ESJWFS T CFOFlU DPVME DPNF CBDL

to haunt the technician if his or her action caused a mishap related to the removal of the four wheel drive vehicle. DisDPOOFDUJOH UIF SFBS BYMF JT GBS MFTT QSPCMFNBUJD UIBO EJTDPOnecting the front wheel drive. Your son-in-law says that his daughter will not drive the car in the winter or on the highway but that obviously is not going to happen since going anywhere, you need to drive on some type of highway and a teenager can very quickly forget a promise. To ease you mind however, converting to a two wheel drive vehicle, by removing power from the rear wheels, is not going to affect the standard operation of a normal front wheel drive vehicle. As long as your granddaughter is aware of the fact that in the winter, she is driving a two wheel drive vehicle and not a four-wheel drive vehicle.

QUESTION

I would like you to advise your dealerships and garages to put their eyes back in their sockets when an attractive young women walks into their establishments. What happened to me the other day should not happen to any young woman. I took my car in for service and sat in the waiting room. I had OP GFXFS UIBO TJY NFO GSPN UIF EFBMFSship come into the waiting room pretending to look for some customer that they knew was not there. I admit that I did look pretty good but that was for my boyfriend who I was going to meet just after the service was done to my car. It was not for all the goggle eyes at the garage and it made me feel very vulnerable. I hope that you will make it known that we women are there for TFSWJDF BOE UIBU FYUFOET UP POMZ PVS

cars. Donna from Waterloo

ANSWER

Your assumption that I own the dealerships or garages is wrong. About two years ago, I was dragged into a TJNJMBS DPNQMBJOU BOE JU UPPL BMNPTU TJY

months for the nasty letters to stop so you can forgive me if this time I keep my answer very short. NO ONE should have to feel uneasy in any situation but whether you are a MAN or a WOMAN, appropriate dress code for the occasion should be considered before you put yourself in any type of uneasy situation.

QUESTION

I went to my car and after trying to start it, I had it towed to my garage that found out that the gas tank was full of water. I could not at the time afford to have the tank cleaned out so it has been sitting in my driveway for about two weeks until I get the money to have it repaired. I have since heard through the grapevine that it was the former boyfriend of my girlfriend that put the water in my gas tank. I am told that the car will need all the JOKFDUPST HBT lMUFST BOE UIF TZTUFN UP CF mVTIFE PVU * TQPLF UP B CVEEZ PG

mine who is somewhat mechanically inclined and who does all his car repairs and he told me that I only need UIF HBT UBOL mVTIFE PVU $BO ZPV

give me some type of idea as to what should or should not be done and also what I should do about the information on the former boyfriend? Thanks Marty from Hamilton

ANSWER

Since the car has never been started, the water will not have passed UISPVHI UIF UXP HBT lMUFST TP UIFSF

shouldn’t be any need to worry about the injectors. I suspect that you have DPNQSFIFOTJWF JOTVSBODF TP UIF lSTU

thing that you should do is to notify your insurance company and let them make the decision as to how the repair should be done. If for some reason you do not have comprehensive insurance, you will have to remove the HBT UBOL SFQMBDF UIF lMUFST BOE CMPX

out the lines from the engine. As for the grapevine information that you received, I would be very carful about accusing anyone since that type of information is generally erroneous and a false accusation will end up costing you much more than the car repair.

QUESTION

I discuss your auto column each week with my neighbour and we apQSFDJBUF ZPVS FYQFSUJTF * N TVSF ZPV

receive all sorts of oily stories and now another. We have used synthetic oil in all our late model autos for years with good results. I tried once in an older car and the engine started knocking so back to regular and the knocking stopped. My neighbour tried synthetic in an older lawn mower and it started leaking oil so back to regular for that mower. Before changing my oil in a 12 year old Ford and a 13 year-old Toyota, I realized that I had 5 litres of 5W20 and MJUSFT PG 8 CPUI $BTUSPM TZOUIFUJD TP XJUIPVU UIJOLJOH * DBSFGVMMZ NJYFE the two equally. Now the question! Will NZ GBVY QBT DPTU NF UFO MJUSFT PG PJM John from Greensville

ANSWER

You have not wasted ten litres of oil. "MM TZOUIFUJD PJMT DBO CF NJYFE XJUI POF another. It is recommended however, UIBU ZPV EP OPU NJY TZOUIFUJD PJM XJUI

regular oil because the additives may interact or the oil may become weakened CZ UIF NJYUVSF BOE ZPV NBZ MPTF UIF CFOFlUT PG UIF NPSF FYQFOTJWF TZOUIFUJD PJM *G ZPV EP BDDJEFOUMZ NJY UIF PJMT CFtween oil changes, this is not going to do harm to your engine but I would have it changed anyways. The only real difference in the two oils is that the synthetic PJM JT NPSF SFlOFE BOE IBT B HSFBUFS

ability to help cool the engine. For every day normal use of your automobile, the regular oil, when changed at the manufacturer’s recommendation, will work KVTU lOF BOE UIF POMZ SFBM EJGGFSFODF

you’ll see is that the synthetic oil costs more up front but lasts longer between oil changes.