Answers to your car questions

QUESTION

I am a long time weekly reader of your column in The Record. We have a 2015 Honda CRV Touring with a 2.4 litre normally aspirated engine with 40,000 kms.

Recently, it has started to hesitate whenever I slow down for a turn or otherwise take my foot off the accelerator. When I try to speed up, there isn’t any initial response and then it stumbles before it ultimately engages. My efforts to ascertain the source of the problem have been unproductive.

First, I replaced the air filter. I am aware that gasoline with ethanol can allow moisture to accumulate in the fuel system. I have replaced the air filter and I have tried a gas line treatment that includes protection against any moisture in the fuel. I have also added some highoctane gasoline because it does not contain ethanol. I always maintain more than half a tank of fuel year round.

My next guess and that is all it is, would be that the mass airflow sensor needs cleaning but to be honest, I doubt it because of the low number of kms.

Before I throw more money away, I thought that I would write to ask you.

Thanks, David from Kitchener

ANSWER

Hi David! I am not sure that your car’s problem is with the engine or your CVT transmission (continuously variable transmission). It is relatively easy to do an in-car scan to make sure that the in-car computer is properly corresponding to the transmission computer. I would ask the dealer to do a scan to determine if the problem that you are experiencing is related to the engine and the transmission not properly reading one another.

QUESTION

Hello Dennis.

I’m a regular reader of your column and I’m hoping you can lead me in the right direction. My 2016 Murano has become very noisy with the sound of wind that appears to be coming from perhaps the front top corner area of the driver’s side door. There has been some noise from there for quite some time but now it’s much noisier to the point of being annoying. I’m not sure whether I should take this to a garage, a car window repair place, or whether there’s something that I can do to fix it myself. I’d greatly appreciate any suggestions that you may have.

Thank you,

Diane from Cambridge

ANSWER

The wind noise that you hear is usually coming from the upper doorframe. You either have a damaged door rubber weather striping or the top of the door needs adjusting. Take a piece of paper and put it between the upper doorframe and the car and then close the door. If the paper comes out easily then you will need to adjust the top of the door and the best and most experienced people who can do this for you is a body shop. The cost should be minimal and done in a very short time while you wait and most body shops will not even charge you.

QUESTION

Hello Dennis,

I have a question that I’ve never seen addressed before, about converting existing cars into electric vehicles. Is it possible to do? If so, why are not more companies doing this? With vehicles being better built and the bodies lasting much longer, this would seem to me to be a better way to get more electric vehicles on the road faster and cheaper than building brand new cars - just curious.

Thanks Don Robertson from Hamilton

ANSWER

Great question Don and in all pretence, you would think that that would make sense. That transformation would be extensive and the cost for labour and parts would far exceed the cost of a new car. Let’s say for example that you purchased a car for fifty-thousand dollars five years ago and the car now is in great shape so you decide to convert it over to an electric car. You would need to replace practically everything mechanical except the tires, wheels and the shell of the car. Buying the needed parts one by one would cost more than the original cost of the car. To clarify that statement, just think of a new car today that is worth around fifty-thousand dollars. You then decide to build another identical car yourself, piece by piece and the shocker to you would be that the cost to build it like the one you now have, would be close to double the cost of the original car.

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.osullivan665@gmail.com