Goss’ Garage
Pat Goss, MotorWeek's resident master technician, helps consumers understand car problems and how to speak the same language as their technician. As cars becoming increasingly complex, fewer repairs can be accomplished at home. Effective communication with a repair shop is vital to keeping consumer and operating costs under control. From rattles and squeaks to leaks and drips, Pat covers a myriad of issues designed to keep cars on the road and out of the repair shop.
Hybrid Maintenance Episode 2914, Episode 2931
Hybrid sales have been driven by fluctuating gas prices and consumer demand for fuel efficiency. But with so many hybrids on the road today, how do you properly maintain them? As is typical with any new technology there are a lot of myths floating around out there. So, to give us the true story, we are joined by Chris Peterson who is an instructor with Toyota.… Read More
Finding a Certified Technician Episode 2912, Episode 2928
How do you know if a car care pro really knows his or her stuff? Well, one thing that’s very important is finding a good repair shop and a trained technician to repair your automobile. Well, we’ve come to a Toyota training center and we’re joined by Tony Molla from ASE to give use some tips. Well, Tony, welcome to Goss’ Garage, but my goodness, what have we got… Read More
Paintless Dent Repair Episode 2911, Episode 2927
So you've got a small dent or ding in your car, how do you get it out? Well, three little letters... P-D-R... that's paintless dent repair. A skilled technician can repair dings and dents without a trace. We get a lot of questions here at Goss' Garage about PDR, and joinnig us to share some pointers is Mr. Bob McConkey from DentBusters. Welcome to Goss’… Read More
Garage Solutions Episode 2910, Episode 2926
This time, solutions to a couple of common garage problems. First is how do you check the brake lights on your car without two people-one to push the brake pedal, the other to walk around the back of the car and see if the lights actually work? Well, that is unless you do what we’ve done here. We’ve purchased an inexpensive mirror and mounted it beside the garage… Read More
Flushing Episode 2909, Episode 2922
I was really shocked when I read an article in a major consumer-oriented magazine that said that certain types of preventive maintenance weren’t needed, especially things like flushes. Well, you know, one of the things that’s very important toward keeping your car for a long time is to change the oil and change the oil filter and always use high-quality products… Read More
Jump Starting Episode 2908, Episode 2921
Old-fashioned booster cables can be big problems for late-model cars. You see, they were good back in the day, but back in the day, cars didn’t have a lot of computers and electronics. These can damage computers and electronics because of voltage surges through the electrical system. Throw ‘em away. You can replace them with a couple of different things: this is a… Read More
Aerodynamics Episode 2907, Episode 2920
One of the more important aspects of designing an automobile these days is the aerodynamics - you see aerodynamics, or the way the air moves over the vehicle, controls all sorts of things: first it gives the engineers and the designers the ability to make the car look good, but further than that it affects handling of the automobile, it affects engine cooling,… Read More
Hidden Accident Damage Episode 2906, Episode 2953, Episode 2919
If you have a very minor bumper-tapping accident, don’t fool yourself into thinking that there is no damage because you can’t see any. Take a look here. We’ve taken the cover off of this bumper and here we have one type of energy absorbing material. It’s an egg crate material made out of plastic and we can see right here that it’s all deformed. Well, there was no… Read More
Jacks and Lifts Episode 2905, Episode 2918
Back when this car was young, in an emergency, you lifted it with a bumper jack such as we see here. Well, it wasn’t much in its time, and, you know, things haven’t improved all that much over the years. Here’s what we have in today’s cars. These are scissors jacks, and they’re okay, I suppose, in an emergency but never when you’re working on your car. Working on… Read More
Slurpie in Your Seats Episode 2904, Episode 2917
You say you like to live dangerously? Well here’s a great way to do it. Buy yourself some syrupy drink like we have here, put it in one of these flimsy cup holders, and then find a back road with lots of bumps, or a railroad track, or a couple of speed bumps, or maybe a couple of kids in the car holding on to the drinks, and you are courting disaster. How so?… Read More