Blogs

On 1999 and later Volkswagen A4 platform cars: Customer complains of a “flashing coolant light when first started cold”. When verifying this complaint, coolant must NOT be warmed up. Back probe the signal wire with a DVOM set to the A/C voltage scale, turn the key on and check the voltage reading. A reading above 0.5v will turn the coolant light on.

With the meter still connected, open the coolant reservoir and gently clean the coolant level probes with a flat tip screwdriver or similar tool and watch for the voltage to drop.

Toyota's not having a good year. The NHSTA reports two more Toyota recalls for accelerator pedal/floor mat related issues:

2006 - 2007 Lexus GS300 and GS350 AWD models.

According to the NHSTA, a plastic pad that is part of the floor mat may interfere with normal operation of the accelerator pedal. The accelerator pedal can become stuck on this plastic pad in a partially depressed position and not return to idle position.

2008-2011 Lexus LX570, 2003-2009 Toyota 4Runner, and 2006-2010 Toyota RAV4 models.

The Detroit News is reporting that 44,000 Toyota Highlander hybrid's are being investigated by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration over concerns that their engines can stall and fail to restart.

On January 10 Toyota launched an online poll to solve what Automotive News calls "one of the most vexing questions in the automotive lexicon"… what the plural form of Prius should be. "Prii" won.

BMW has announced a new sub-brand it will call "i", focusing on a range of advanced stand-alone hybrid, range-extended and plug-in electric models.

Honda is raising the stakes for fuel efficient gasoline powered compact cars by announcing two new versions of it's Civic, both more fuel efficient current Civic models.

The 2012 Civic HF has a 1.8 liter gasoline engine and is expected to to get 41 mpg highway, compared with 36 mpg for the current gas powered Civic.

The folks at Volkswagen continue to confuse us with products that just don’t make sense from any angle.

Consider the 2011 Touareg Hybrid, with a base price over $60,565 and EPA estimated mileage at 20/24. Really? That’s $12,615 MORE than the base price of the TDI version, which by the way has EPA estimated mileage at 19/28.

Our intrepid traveler lands at the airport in Munich, Germany and bumps into the unexpected...

Well my fellow readers, I am on the plane to Raleigh, NC. thanks to all of the Technicians and Shop Owners that attended my Mercedes Hands-On Diagnostics II Seminar!

Especially the Members of my EDR Technical Support Group that attended this class to continue to support my efforts. a BIG thank YOU!

A Thank You to Joe "The MBGuru" for the Field Feed on the Technical Side of the presentation. It made it easier for the Techs that have been struggling with some Mercedes issues.

Detroit News
February 3, 2011

The Detroit News reported today that a study by Indiana University says that the US is unlikely to meet President Obama's goal of putting 1 million electric vehicles on the roads by 2015.

Here's a bit from the story:

"The production intentions of automakers are currently insufficient to meet the 2015 goal, and even the current plans for production volume may not be met," the report released Wednesday said.