Last week we took our 2010 Acura RDX to our local repair garage, hoping for a minor rather than major issue. So far, so good. The initial thought that it might be a solenoid controling the turbo wastegate turned out to be “not” the issue … and digging deeper required several more hours of labor. […]
After taking Brenda’s 2010 Acura RDX to a local service garage in September, it ran fine for a few months. Beginning in December though, it started to stumble and eventually triggered lights on the dash that included emissions and an AWD code. So we have taken it back this week to see if there is […]
Our 2010 Acura RDX with 155,000 miles was sputtering and burning excessive fuel for the last couple of weeks (according to the car’s driver — Brenda) and by the time she asked me to take a look at it, a plethora of lights were on the instrument panel. A quick start-up and I knew something […]
After 5 or 6 years, a car batteries no matter their indicated warranties, lose some of their cold cranking amps (CCA). If I were a “maintenance-focused only kind of guy,” I’d probably just replace batteries every 5 years rather than waiting forthem to fail. BUT … as usual … I wait until the winter when […]
Looking at the rear brake wear on Brenda’s 2010 Acura RDX is not a sign that I’ve been taking good care of her car, but she did mention her brakes were squealing a bit last month. By the time I got around to ordering brakes and discs for both the dual-piston fronts and rears, it […]
We have always shuffled our “fleet” (as my son-in-law calls it) and strive to keep the loss through depreciation on vehicles to a tolerable level … while still driving reliable vehicles. Thankfully our current and recent vehicles have served us well and regularly hit the quarter million mile mark before we retire them. In my […]
So far I can endorse a couple of inexpensive “non-charging” Magsafe “magnetic” car mounts for our two iPhones (iPhone 14 and iPhone 16 Pro Max). Both were purchased together on Amazon with a minor discount for 2 items together … and for the low-price, I expected to be disappointed. Nope, I was not. The magnets […]
The advertising from Tesla is working on me as the range and charging infrastructure continues to improve. Having driven and watched my son-in-law use his Tesla Model3 (mostly for daily commuting) since 2019 with impressive success, a Model3 might make a great second car … IF the price were lower or incentives better (perhaps a […]
You would have to know my penny-pinching personality to truly understand my frustration over gasoline prices, but these receipts had me pulling out my hair. A little pretext: My wife has ALWAYS only purchased Shell gasoline for her cars. No matter the price, she always goes to Shell and has been loyal for decades. Over […]
In all likelihood, one of the next vehicles in our garage will have some kind of electric motor and rechargeable battery pack (or maybe a traditional non-plugin hybrid?) I’m not convinced yet that we are ready for a full EV … at least for our primary car … but admire what Tesla is doing and […]
The Throwback Thursday #TBT tag was just an excuse to ask the question: “How many flat tires does a person need to have repaired in their lifetime?” I don’t know the answer, but I do know that I’ve repaired A LOT. It seems I’m forever needing to add air (change in temperatures), have a slow […]
Well I don’t enjoy dealing with insurance companies or claims … that is for sure! Brenda’s Acura RDX was backed into in a Kroger parking lot last week so the insurance adjuster phone tag begins (a previous time it was the Honda Pilot and a CVS parking lot). This time the young driver who backed […]
Another nail or something in the tire, this time in Brenda’s Acura RDX. Thankfully it was in the tread and small, so an easy plug … but plugging two tires within 30 days? (the animated gif above is just a little soap water sprayed on the tire for leak detection) As for a video that […]
It isn’t easy to see this little magnetic bracket I made to hold my new Amazon Echo Auto low on the dash of the BMW X5 35d. I opted to make a little aluminum bracket that straddles the pushbutton switch blanks to the right of a few other buttons. It is fastened with automotive trim […]
Although the Late 2012 Intel-based iMac is “aging better than President Biden,” my desktop iMac is struggling and is no longer being used as my primary computer. Still … it does work as a larger twin 27” screens desktop computer along side my MacBook Air M2 these days. Recently I cross my fingers when updating […]
On Friday afternoon I stopped in to talk with Rick Benhase, the guy looking at the Packard transmission for me. He is a truly old car nut and can’t seem to get rid of his “fleet” once he buys or fixes them. This applies to more than just cars, too (read below if you must […]
This is not the Throwback Thursday #TBT photo I would recommend using when listing a car for sale, but the 2006 Honda Pilot we said goodbye to this week did have a few minor battle scars (1, 2, 3) and occasionally a little something that needed to be cleaned off (salt above and sometimes LoveBugs). […]