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.
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
Running Hot and Cold Episode 2903, Episode 2916
If something’s wrong with your health, you go to the doctor, and the doctor runs a series of tests to find out what’s wrong. One of the first things they do is take your temperature, because that’s a good indicator of what’s going on. Then they listen-they listen to your heart and your lungs and so on-to see if there’s any problems there. That also applies to your… Read More
Code Reader Myths Episode 2902, Episode 2915
Check engine lights can be a real problem. You see the thing with the check engine like number one; you have to understand what it’s telling you. The yellow check engine light means you have an emissions control problem on your vehicle. Do you have to stop right now? Now you don’t have to stop right now, but you have to prepare that you need to get your car… Read More
Gimme My AC…Please! Episode 2839
Air conditioning problems can be difficult to diagnose and often very expensive to repair, and one of the real big problems is when you have a slow leak of the refrigerant out of the system. It may take weeks or months for it to go away. Well, the cure for that is dye, such as we have here. This comes from TracerLine, and this dye gets injected into the air… Read More
On A Rim And A Spare Episode 2838, Episode 2852
We have a problem and a problem solver. Let’s start with the problem solver first that comes in the form of the Super Bumper. This is a pretty clever device that prevents damage to the back of the vehicle, damage like we see so frequently where the bumper is all caved in. Now, how does it do it? It does it by means of energy absorbers that are mounted onto the… Read More
Vision Savers Episode 2837, Episode 2851
Being a safe driver requires good visibility, both to the front and to the rear. Now we’ve got some problem solving products today. First, when was the last time that you looked at your headlights? Maybe you’re not seeing quite as well as you used to after dark. That could be because the lens on the headlights has discolored. This happens from the ultra-violet… Read More
Beware Of Inflation Episode 2836, Episode 2850
Unfortunately many drivers don’t pay a whole lot of attention to their tires, and that means that they could be riding around in a dangerous situation. You see, tires are our only connection between the car and the road, and if they aren’t properly maintained - and that includes tire pressure, which is one of the most important things that you can do - you could… Read More
Curing Cooling System Blues Episode 2835, Episode 2849
Cars are constantly evolving and so are the test procedures and the problems that go with those evolving cars. One of the more common things that we see these days: overheating, or continuous loss of coolant. How do you go about testing that? Well, it’s pretty simple. First thing that you check of course is the thermostat, you want to make sure that the… Read More
Gas Cap Capers Episode 2834, Episode 2848
There is something that every driver hates to see: the miserable check engine light. There’s one light but a thousand things that can cause that one light to come on. So what can you do? Well, there’s not much that you can do by yourself but there is one thing you can check, and that is the gas cap to make sure it’s installed properly and it’s tight. If that… Read More
Brakes And Rotors Episode 2833, Episode 2847
Even though they’re made of steel, brake rotors wear out. The big question is when do you need to replace them? Well in order to do that you have to determine how thick the rotor is, because when a rotor is worn out, it’s simply thinner than it was when it was new. This can get to be really cumbersome. What you have to do is check the VIN-number and record the… Read More