Drivability Archives - Page 3 of 9 - Transmission Digest
‘Test, Don’t Guess’ When Lightning Strikes

I have had the opportunity to deal with several vehicles that were actually struck by lightning. Usually, various modules are fried; however, there was one that just threw me for a complete loop. The vehicle ran, but no electrical circuits in the body worked (windows, door locks, radio, etc.) I expected to find a main power circuit problem, but much to my dismay, there wasn’t a single blown fuse. The problem turned out to be on the ground side of the vehicle. The main body ground circuits that ran along the rocker panel under the driver-side doorsill were completely melted away.

The New Lincoln MKZ Hybrid

This month we will examine the Lincoln MKZ. Two years after I closed my shop to pursue my career full time in hybrid technical training, Alan Mullaly was named CEO of Ford. That was 2006. Under Mullaly’s leadership, Ford was kept out of bankruptcy court and improved its products, but did the much-improved Ford consider the working technician who has to fix their cars or do preventive maintenance?

Oh, the Joy of Being a Technician!

One recent adventure involving intermittently inoperative headlamps on a 1996 Ford Explorer had me accessing multiple resources en route to the repair. Our customer reported that both headlamps would go out now and then, often for long periods. On occasion, a bump in the road would “jar” them back to life.

Shops Still Shy Away from Working on Hybrids

Troubleshooting takes knowledge and a great deal of hands-on experience, yet the payoff is worth it.

It’s been a busy time for hybrids in my shop. The training schedule has been hectic and the buying and selling is starting to get some movement. The Consumer Reports rating on the Prius as the best value in used cars sure hasn’t hurt either.

Serviceability Report: Toyota Highlander

Once more we will examine a new model that has just been re-engineered. Is fixing and maintaining a 2014 Toyota Highlander less difficult than fixing and maintaining the earlier model? Were technicians considered at the design stage? Let’s find out. Let’s examine the 2008 Highlander V 6 all-wheel-drive (AWD) system and compare it with the current 2014 model.

Craigslist ‘Deal’

For reasons I am still unclear of, my customer purchased a non-running 1997 Subaru Impreza for $1,500, and he had it towed to my shop. First impressions confirmed my suspicion that I was not the first person to work on this car (darn it!). The “Nationwide Productions” badge on the front grille, and the cold-air intake/K&N air filter combination (Figure 1) destroyed any hope that I’d have an unmolested car (darn it!).

Fast Fix on Chevy Snowplow

This particular truck is a 1996 Chevy 2500 series four-wheel-drive converted from a diesel to a 350 5.7-liter fuel-injected Vortex with an aftermarket powertrain wiring harness and a 4L60-E electronically shifted transmission. The guy bought it for his landscaping business strictly to plow snow. It had a bad transmission, which he had one of the local transmission shops overhaul. It came to me with the transmission banging hard when you dropped it into gear. It also had a rough 1-2 shift and didn’t shift at all from second to third.

GM’s Silverado: Did Redesign Make the Truck More Tech-Friendly?

This month I will take a second look at the Silverado. If you have been a reader for a long time you may remember that nine years ago I reviewed the 2003 Silverado. We compared it with the 1996 model.

This time, we compare a 2007 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 LT with 5.3L V 8 and automatic transmission with a 2014 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 LT with 5.3L V 8 and automatic transmission. Starting in 2014, the Silverado has joined other brands to include electric power steering as standard equipment.

No-Start after Fender Bender

When the ’96 Lexus was dropped at our door, it came with a simple concern: “Vehicle stopped running following accident. Airbags have deployed.” A trip to the ES300 confirmed that both airbags had indeed “popped” (Figure 1). With just over 100K on its odometer, and needing two airbags and a new front bumper, I wondered if this vehicle was worth saving. My customer was motivated to have us dig into the diagnosis, so we accepted the challenge.

Gen 1 Prius Keeps Going, Going

It’s no secret that the Generation 1 Prius is my pick for favorite commuter vehicle. When these cars are properly serviced and running as they should, you just can’t beat them for transportation. They were designed to be the best hybrid vehicle on the market, and there were few cars that could compete with them when they first came out. Toyota put the cars in service in 1997 and had time to work out the bugs and even redesign the high-voltage (HV) battery.

Serviceability Report: Mitsubishi Outlander

Recently Deb, my wife and partner at ACDC, pointed out that I had not covered Mitsubishi in this column. Was it because of the 1985 Galant that sat on my used-car lot for months and then after it was sold the transmission let go during the warranty? Or maybe it was because the Mirage had broken jet valves we hated to service?

I have never been a big fan of this Japanese automaker, but things do change over time. Just look at Ford as it improved and changed its ways over the past 10 years. This time I will break with tradition and compare not the best-selling but the top-of-the-line 2014 Mitsubishi Outlander GT with the 2007 Mitsubishi Outlander XLS. I will try to be fair and let go of the past, but some cars do get on your list.

Technician Turned Sleuth

How often have you accepted a repair knowing that others have been involved? How often are you required to channel your inner Sherlock Holmes? Two recent repair jobs led me to unusual conclusions.

One of my customers brought in a Nissan Sentra that had a habit of blowing its interior-lamp fuse. She would replace the fuse, and then it could fail within hours, or it could take days before it popped.

Most of the time when I see blown fuses, there is a direct connection to either rubbed factory harnesses that aren’t routed with enough free play – sometimes accompanied by a TSB – or it is due to the intervention of human hands during a repair or modification, such as an aftermarket installation.