Answers to your car questions
QUESTION
Hello: After retiring a much-loved Infiniti which has passed 300,000 kms, I decided to treat myself and purchase a 2017 Mazda CX 5. I broke with past practice and used a dealership rather than engage in a private sale. I felt that this would guarantee me a vehicle in good shape, without any major repairs immediately.
I was told that the brakes were not done because they would last the average driver 20,000 kms. Surprise! I am less than 5,000 kms out and they squeak everyday. Do I have any recourse? That statement was clearly misleading –actually, I find it dishonest. I paid $22,000 for the vehicle and bought power train warranty. It wasn’t a cheap deal and the trade in deal was lousy for me. They clearly saw me coming. Very frustrating! Any advice would be appreciated. I already had to fight with them to get a second key (promised at sale but not given) so I am not going to engage unless I have a chance to remedy this.
Thank you Tobj from Brantford
ANSWER
Hi Tobj, I understand your frustration but squeaky brakes do not always denote that they are worn out. If an inspection of the brakes shows that the wear bars are making the noise then the reassurance of twenty thousand kilometres from the dealership was definitely not accurate. I would be interested in knowing what the measurement of the brake shoes were on the mechanical inspection sheet, which you have. The measurements of the brake lining thickness must be taken and recorded on the mechanical inspection. On average, the brake pads on most cars start with a thickness of around 12 mm and are recommended to be changed at or around 3 to 4 mm. When the assurance of twenty thousand kilometres on the brakes were made, that would have been the time to ask for them to be done before the purchase of the vehicle which, if you had to pay for or partially pay for, would have been less money for you at that time. Brake pads are a very difficult thing to argue about in dealing with mileage, simply because one’s driving habits can dictate the mileage that one can get on a set of brakes. I have seen many situations where new brake shoes were required with less than thirty thousand kilometres and other vehicles of the same make can get anywhere from fifty to ninety thousand kilometres. It is also a fact that the thinner the brake shoes get, the faster that they will wear out so to predict, that you would get another twenty thousand kilometres without being aware of how the vehicle was going to be used, was stretching the fact to say the least. If they are worn out at this time, I do not think that you would have much chance in getting the dealership to put on new brakes free of charge. I would not hesitate however, to go to the dealer and see if you can get some sort of discount on the brakes needed since they did tell you that you had around twenty thousand kilometres left on the brakes, if in fact, they are worn out. If your technician claims that there is still lots of brake pad left, then he or she might try to put squeal kits on the brakes in question.
QUESTION
Good day sir. I always read your column in our KW Record with great interest and I’ve never really had a question until now. Last March, I purchased a 2018 Santa Fe. I let the dealership talk me into putting on an electronic rust control. I’ve had some people tell me that this item works great and others tell me that I should get actual rustproofing done. What is your recommendation? Should I just leave well enough alone or should I take my baby to Crown or some other trusted name and get actual rustproofing done. I look forward to hearing from you.
From Geoff’s brain to my fingers and then to you. Kitchener
ANSWER
There are those that claim that the electronic rust control components have worked on their vehicles but as of today, I have not read or seen any reliable information that proved that these devices would stop rust on your vehicle. This device was originally designed to work on boats, bridges and in mines where water was present. Without going into too much detail, in order for this unit to work on vehicles, you need to be able to complete a circuit for it to work on vehicles. In other words, your car would need to be damp at all times which is not the case with a vehicle. There are some states in the US that have prohibited the sale of these devices claiming that they do not work. We do know however, that rust protection does work.
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