DENNIS O’SULLIVAN
Answers your questions
QUESTION
I am ready to buy my first new car and I was wondering what your opinion is on getting it rustproofed. The dealer is pressuring me to get it done while others have said that the manufacturer rustproofs the car therefore I do not need to do it. My dad, who buys a new car every two years, tells me that I do not need to get it done so he has asked me to write to you to see what you have to say about rustproofing.
ANSWER
You really want to do all that you can to protect your investment especially with the cost of today’s vehicles. Rust protection is going to do two things. If you live in the country with gravel roads, rust protection will dull the stone to car noise that you get. Secondly, it will protect your investment and add to the sale of the vehicle when you are going to trade it in. Your dad made the decision to trade the car in every two years so he believed that he did not need to do anything beyond the factory warranty. If you are of the same mind-set then you can follow your dad’s advice but if there is a chance that you are going to keep the car beyond the warranty period then I suggest that you protect your investment
QUESTION
Dear Dennis, can you please help me? I am a 75-year-old lady who owns a 2010 Hyundia Accent. I bought it new in 2010 and it only has 35,000 km on it. I just had my spring oil change done and they told me that coolant was leaking into the oil. When I asked the garage what I should do about it, he shook his head and said that I will need a new motor. I then went to the dealer and explained what I was told and he checked the oil. He said it was clear but I had just had an oil change so it should be clear. He then said to just keep an eye on it and keep driving. Could you please give me some advice as to what I should do? I am on a fixed income and cannot afford a lot. Anita from Kitchener
ANSWER
I am surprised as to the advice that you received from both the dealer and your oil change garage. I am wondering if the garage that changed your oil was confusing condensation in the oil to be engine coolant, caused by your short driving trips. The advice to keep driving the car till you ruin the engine was not good advice to give to any customer. It may just need a head gasket, which is leaking coolant into the oil chamber or as I first suggested, it might only be condensation. I do not know of any auto coolant specialist in Kitchener but if you know of one, then have them do a coolant pressure test to find out if you are loosing engine coolant. I suspect that your car is not loosing or leaking coolant into the oil chamber and your fears have been intensified by bad advice. If you do not know anyone in Kitchener who can help you properly diagnose your vehicle then contact me again. I will then refer you to someone in Hamilton who can set your fears to rest. When this comes to print, there may be a garage in Kitchener who, after reading this column, will contact me and can do the test on your car. I will let you know who they are.
QUESTION
Hello Dennis, we enjoy your column and the things that we have learned from you. Last week, when we had summer tires put on by the dealer, we were told that in the fall, we would need to replace the 20 lug nuts since they were swollen. We have done some online reading to try to understand this. We have had much older vehicles and never heard about this previously. Another professional suggested that we could save some money by getting a special locking key instead. Could you advise us? Many thanks, Sue and Norm from Guelph
ANSWER
It is my understanding that there is a class action suit going on in the US but as to date, nothing has been done nor is there any indication that the auto manufacturers are taking any responsibility for the wheel nut problem. There has been some allegations that the wheel nuts have been over-tightened and that is what is causing the swelling of the wheel nuts but I have not to date, seen any evidence to support that allegation. Some have suggested that the mixture of steel and the chrome topping of the wheel nuts will cause swelling between the steel nut and chrome top which then, in turn, prevents the wheel wrench from fitting properly on the wheel nut. The chrome or aluminum covers on the nuts were for cosmetic reasons only and helped to get rid of wheel covers but it has turned into a nightmare for many car owners when they have reason to remove the wheels. The alternative for now is to replace the wheel nuts when necessary with solid after market wheel nuts. However, because of the large variety of after market wheel nuts that come from countries with poorly manufactured steel, I cannot advise you to use anything other than the factory replacement wheel nuts. Whatever you do, keep the receipt for any replacement of the wheel nuts just in case the lawsuit comes to Canada.