CARDOCTOR Q & A
Q. I own a 2011 Toyota RAV4 Limited with a V- 6 engine and all-wheel- drive. It now has 48,000 miles. I Purchased the car new and when it reached 25,000 miles, I changed the transmission fluid, with the fluid I purchased from Toyota. They told me that just a fluid change at that mileage is all that is required. I would like to change the transmission fluid and filter which I will purchase my local dealer. I worked in the automotive Industry back in the 50s, 60s, and 70s and always enjoyed working on cars. Before I attempt to change the transmission filter, I just wanted to double check to see if it has the same type of filter that I was used to back then and no other surprises?
A. This service operation really hasn’t changed much. Remove the lower cover, drain the fluid and remove the transmission pan. You will see a large filter/screen, the filter is held in with a couple of bolts and a good-sized O-ring on the filter. When you remove the filter look to make sure the O-ring is still on the filter. Reinstall the new filter, tighten according to the specification, clean and install the oil pan and tighten evenly to 67 inch-pounds. When adding fluid, be careful no to over fill the transmission.
Q. I have a new 2021 Honda Pilot Special Edition with only 400 miles on it. When I come to a stop, I get amessage that reads “AUTO ENGINE IDLE STOP UNAVAILABLE “. The dealer did not find a code for this message. Any thoughts?
A. Certain parameters need to be met, engine temperature, seat belts on and shifter in drive normal mode, not sport or manual gear selection etc. Also important is the battery needs to be fully charged. If the battery voltage is low, it may still be able to start the engine, but will limit the “Auto- Stop” feature. With the vehicle being newand such lowmileage, it is possible the battery is not fully charged. The first thing to do would be fully charge the battery at a slow rate with a battery charger.
Q. I have a 2014 Mazda CX- 5 with 94,000 miles. About 2000 miles ago I noticed that the steering wheel shook back and forth a little when stepping on the brakes. I assumed a warped brake rotor. Since then I have; balanced all four wheels, and rotated them, changed front rotors and pads, and even took a guess that one of the new rotors was warped and changed it again. I also replaced both front brake calipers, and careful bled the air from the system. Then replaced rear brake pads. The car does not pull to one side or the other either while driving or gently breaking or slamming on the brakes. The vibration (slight left and right motion) is more noticeable when braking at highway speed. The brake pedal does not pulse. I recently took it to a local garage and put it on the lift to check the ball- joints and tie-rod ends and controlarm bushings, motor mounts, and transmission mount. Nothing seems out of sorts, I am stumped. Any ideas?
A. I will assume the shop also checked the axles, C/ V joints and other front- end parts when it was in. The symptoms to me still present as an out of round brake rotor. At this point I would want to put a dial indicator on the rotors and measure for out of round. It is also possible if there is a rust ridge on the hub where the rotor mounts that could be causing the rotor to become out of round. You may be able to match the any high spotswith thehub/flange to the low spot in the brake rotors to find the least amount of movement. Finally, you could find a shop with an on-the- car brake lathe. The on the car lathe will compensate for any excessive rotor runout.
Q. This isn’t a nuts and bolts question. What is the best method for cleaning the interior windshield glass and rear window of my 2020 Toyota Camry? The windshield has the front camera and heads up display. Currently both interiorwindows are all fogged up. How can I clean them and avoid damaging the glass?
A. I like to use a foaming spray window cleaner. Two that are approved by my wife are Sprayway Glass Cleaner and Stoner Products-Invisible Glass. When cleaning windows I use plenty of cleaner and lots of paper towels. Sometimes you need to clean the glass more than once. Then once I am satisfied, I go over the glass with a good quality microfiber cloth. This seems to clean up the film. The greasy appearance is typically caused be out gassing of the plastics and foam in the car. In addition, always when possible keep the climate control on the fresh air setting, rather than recirculate, to eliminate fogging of the windows.