Answers to your car questions

QUESTION

I read an article in the news about a person who was stuck with a bill from a towing company for a car that he sold. I had a similar issue in the past. I received a call from the OPP relating to a 2002 Grand Prix GT. A young man had purchased the car from me and I signed half of the ownership to him and kept the other half. I also wrote a bill of sale, as I have done in previous times. The officer informed me that the car was used in a break and entry. The young man had not changed the ownership in over a year. The officer wanted to know if I had sold the car or was it missing. I told him that I had delivered the car to the farm where I took my plates off and the father gave me a ride home. I asked the officer what my responsibilities are when selling a car. The officer said that once I sign the car over, the responsibility is off me and on the person who purchased it. Can you please advise?

Thanks Rick from Kitchener

ANSWER

The officer was correct when he told you that all liability is off of you when you sell a vehicle with a bill of sale and have removed the licence plates. The Ministry however still has you on record for ownership of the vehicle unless the person whom you sold the car to changes it. You may unneces-sarily get pulled into situations if the vehicle is involved in an accident or robbery where police are relying on the se-rial number to trace the owner and your name still shows up as the owner. You can prevent this from happening when you privately sell a vehicle by taking your part of the ownership to any Service Ontario outlet and have your name completely removed from the serial number of the car that you sold.

QUESTION

I look forward to your column every Friday in the Waterloo Region Record. My question relates to a preventative maintenance recommendation for my daughter’s 2020 Kia Se-dona van. As I am usually the one tasked with getting her car in for maintenance or re-pairs, I usually follow the service advisor’s recommendations. Just recently the van had a brake service done at the dealership, which I agree is a valuable service on a regular basis. However, today the advisor recommended a brake fluid flush for $140 plus HST- something that has never been recommended for any of my cars (most recently a 2014 and 2018 Dodge Journey).

This would be due now at 54,000 kms. The mileage on the van is 53,870 kms. What is the purpose of a brake fluid flush and is it really necessary? I admit that I’m not a mechanic but I have never heard of this. I am trying to keep my daughter’s van maintenance affordable and not blindly following every suggestion in the book.

Thanks, Lowell from Kitchener

ANSWER

In my column many years ago, I have spoken about brake fluid and the necessity for making sure that the brake fluid is tested every two years for contamination. This column will go into a little more detail.

The brake systems on today’s cars are comprised of a me-chanical, vacuum and hydraulic system. All these systems have to be in good working condition, conducive to one another for the brakes to properly stop the vehicle. As the vehicle starts to slow down and depending on the pressure applied to the brake pedal, the heat generated between the brake fric-tion material and the brake rotor is great enough to actually cause low Vapor Lock Point brake fluid to boil. Brake fluid works very well under normal conditions but it has one draw-back and that is, it is “hydroscopic”. Hydroscopic means that it will over time absorb moisture. When this happens, the boiling point of the brake fluid will be greatly reduced. If the brake fluid absorbs enough moisture to cause the vapor lock point to decrease and enough heat gets generated during the braking application, the brake fluid can actually boil within the hydraulic system. This situation is known as vapor lock. Vapors, unlike fluids, can be highly compressible and cause the brakes to monetarily malfunction. When this happens, the driver would experience low brake pedal and very little braking action because the pedal would be on the floor. A few minutes after the vehicle has stopped or after an accident has occurred, the brake fluid would cool down and the brake pedal would again appear fully functional.

It is only in the last ten years or so that we in North America are just starting to recommend that brake fluid be checked or changed around two years or fifty to eighty thou-sand kilometers. The reason for this change is that years ago, the brake pads and brake rotors on North American cars, were much thicker and the brake pads were much larger and able to more efficiently absorb the heat generated between the brake pads and rotors. In today’s cars however, in order to in-crease mileage and lower weight, the brake rotors and brake pads are much thinner and the heat generated between the two now goes directly to the brake calipers and/or wheel cylin-ders that contain the brake fluid. That is why it is now im-portant to have the brake fluid changed and/or at least test-ed for its vapor lock point every two years and then changed if necessary.

To my readers: Please indicate the town, city or village that you live in. Be advised that unfortunately not all emails can be answered. Send your questions (including address) by email to: dennis.osullivan@cogeco.ca