Answers to your car questions
QUESTION
I really enjoy reading your column in the Spectator. My problem is that I was recently cleaning my rear window and accidentally caught the rag on the rear window defogger wire and ripped it from the grid. Is there a dielectric glue that I can purchase to re-attach it to the grid myself or can you recommend a glass replacement company that will do it for me? My only other option is a replacement window from a wrecker, which will likely have the same problem or a new window at a cost of $350, which is not really needed. Thank you. Wayne from Caledonia
ANSWER
I checked around with the various auto glass shops and none of them are prepared to try and repair the defogger wire. Canadian Tire does however sell a repair kit for such a repair but I have no idea if and how the repair would stand up to the heat generated when the defogger is on. I know that I did do many rear defogger wire repairs years ago but I have not found any shop that is willing to try the repair. Go on the Internet; type in rear defogger repair kit and it will show you how to make the repair. I would like you to let me know how that repair went.
QUESTION
I would prefer that you do not try to chastise me for something that you have said many times not to do but my ex-husband talked me into getting the brakes done on my van by a mechanic who does repairs out of his home garage. I would prefer that you help me instead of berating me for going to a backyard mechanic. He replaced the front brakes on my 2009 Dodge Caravan and he cannot get rid of the vibration when the brakes are being applied. I have had the van back four times now and he cannot seem to fix the vibration when the brakes are applied. He is now telling me that I have to live with the vibration and that he will do no more for me. My ex-husband has no backbone and will not stand up to him. He told me that they have been friends since high school and that he is not going to let the brakes on my car ruin their relationship. I think that the brakes are dangerous and would like your help in getting them fixed properly. If you cannot do anything for me, I would like your help if I take the mechanic to court. What do you say? Donna from Hamilton
MY PARTIAL ANSWER
I do not have a lot to say but your husband does and here is his email to me just one day after I received yours:
“Hello Dennis, just to set the record straight so that you do not malign my friend, I am going to tell you the correct version of what happened with the brakes on my ex-wife’s van. My exwife had an estimate of six hundred dollars to have the brakes repaired at a dealership. The brakes were steel on steel and she drove it for over a month like that. When the dealer gave her the price, she flipped out at them and they asked her to leave. That is when my friend, who I have known for many years, offered to repair the brakes for her for much less. He gave her two options: one would have cost her about three hundred dollars with good quality parts and the second option was to repair with overseas cheaper parts for around one hundred and fifty dollars. She chose the cheaper junk overseas rotors and I think that she bought the brake pads from the Dollar Store. That is why the brakes are pulsating when she is coming to a stop. He has offered to do the work again free if she was to purchase the better parts but she continues to claim that he is a huckster and a grease monkey, so before you start to come down hard on my friend, make sure that you speak to my ex-wife to ask the question about the cheap parts that she agreed to and purchased.”
Dan from ?
MY ANSWER
You have said it all Dan and I will leave it at that. I would however, recommend that you persuade your ex-wife to get the brakes fixed properly with the better parts, especially if the mechanic is going to redo the work for free. Your mechanical friend should have refused to put the parts on her van if he felt that the parts were inadequate and we would not be having this problem.
QUESTION
I had the tire repaired on my 2012 Van and about three kilometres down the road, the tire went flat and I ruined the tire before I was able to pull over to the side of the road. I immediately had the van towed back to the garage that had done the repair and they refused to do anything for me other than to offer me a discount on a new tire. I told them no thanks and feel that they owe me a tire. I have also emailed you the bill for the tire repair - they removed a nail from the center of the tire. Can you help me with this?
Mat from Paris
ANSWER
When I spoke to the garage, they told me that they had told you that there wasn’t any guarantee that the tire repair would hold because the nail had made a hole in the sidewall of the tire. They also told me that they had put that notice on your invoice as well as theirs. I did not see that on your invoice so I took your invoice to the garage to see why it was not on yours but on theirs. After a few tense moments, the garage has agreed to pay you back the thirty-five dollars for the tire repair but will not, under any circumstance, take any responsibility for the ruined tire. That’s the best that I can do for you. Most tire repair outlets will not try to repair a sidewall hole in a tire since the repair usually does not hold. To my readers: If possible, it would be appreciated if your emails would indicate the town, city or village that you live in. Please be advised that not all emails can be answered. Send your questions (be sure to include your address) by email to:: dennis.osullivan@ cogeco.ca