The Best of Car Talk - #2498: Hi Dad!

Episode Date: December 7, 2024

Christy melted the engine in her Dad's car years ago when she was a new driver. It's been gnawing at her all these years that she never came clean about it. Click and Clack mediate on this episode of the Best of Car Talk. Get access to hundreds of episodes in the Car Talk archive when you sign up for Car Talk+ at plus.npr.org/cartalkLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

From the online trends that dominated 2024, On the spectrum of Brat to Demure, where are you right now? to spicy TikTok viral reads, These romance fantasy books about dragons. NPR kept you up to speed on pop culture all year long. Give back to the news source that just hits different by donating today at donate.npr.org.

And thank you. Hi there, it's Ray. Well, the end of another year is here and our team is looking back at all the fun Donate.NPR.org And if you don't know what I'm talking about, NPR Plus is a sweet way to support the independent public media that you rely on from NPR. When you sign up for NPR Plus, you support our mission of creating a more informed public and you get special perks from more than 25 NPR podcasts like sponsor-free listening, bonus episodes, access to the Car Talk archives, and even exclusive and discounted items from the NPR shop and the NPR Wine Club. Donate right now and join us on the plus side at plus.npr.org.

And thanks. Hello and welcome to Car Talk from National Public Radio with us, Click and Clack the Tappers Brothers. That was a pretty... Whoa! Robust, wouldn't you say? Robust? More than robust. Alert?

Awake! Anyway, we're broadcasting this week from the Vacation Planning Center here at Car Talk Plaza. Now, seeing as how June is just about over and it's too late now to plan a trip to any of those really great vacation spots, except maybe that Saturn plant in Tennessee. That would be exciting. And even that's probably booked for the summer. We want you to know that there's still plenty of space available for all sessions of Mechanics

Fantasy Camp here in Cartier-Fortier. I like this idea. It's just like those baseball fantasy camps where you pay about four grand to get tips on how to hit, catch, throw, and scratch from some retired Hall of Famer who's really in deep to the IRS. Sure, where you get old Krusty to run the fantasy camp. Is he running it now?

Is he in charge? Well, not yet. No, we haven't revived him. It's a brilliant idea. Well, at Fantasy Camp, Mechanics Fantasy Camp, my brother and I, and Krusty, will teach you how to hit, catch, throw, and scratch. Mechanics style. Yeah?

Like, hit your knuckles as you're taking off nuts and bolts? Yeah, that's one thing, yeah. Catch hell for my rate customers. Throw your tools in disgust. Yeah. And scratching needs no further discussion. No, in fact we can teach the ballplayers what they can do about that. Anyway, if you'd like to sign up, just, you know, give us a call. You know the number.

Send a thousand dollars down payment for the deposit to hold your spot because there are many spots to be out. Oh, yeah Oh, yeah, there are plenty of spots. Don't worry and you can come to the camp Where is the camp gonna be right at the garage? Oh, no. Oh, no, we found a bucolic setting Fenway Park I don't name To be named in the future. I like it. Yes yet undetermined bucolic setting, but it will be something special You can rest assured anyway if you'd like to call us our numbers 1-800-332-9287. Hello. You're on car Talk. Hi, this is Mary from Atlanta Mary Mary from Atlanta with a Magnificent southern accent. Oh, I'm glad you like like it you probably don't notice that

you have an accent i don't have an accident you have an accident exactly i i knew you were gonna say that here from new jersey archer yes they shipped us to massachusetts i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i i Good. What can we do for you? Well, I have a problem and it's a car problem, but it's really a mechanic problem. Oh, geez. And I have these wonderful mechanics and they're great guys and they're really honest. It's just that I don't trust them to repair my car. Yeah, well see, you got two choices when you get a mechanic. Either you get competence or you get honesty.

Yeah. And as far as we know, those two things have never occurred in the same person. In the same person. the same part anywhere on this planet well you know why because if you're smart enough to be competent then you're starting to be dishonest. Exactly. But go ahead tell us your tale of woe well my tale of woe is that for regular maintenance and I've been going to these guys for twenty years they'll rescue me anywhere I mean if I broke down on the New Jersey turnpike

they would have a cousin who would come in fact uh... i feel like that what when i started listening to you i didn't it's not because the cars i just enjoyed you but i thought this is it you can tell me what the problem is and i can walk in and say hey harman i i need a new belt on my front right gaskets you'll be calling like every week now? No, I've got a 91 Toyota. I don't have any trouble with this car. I have to say that these guys, whoever they may be, are a treasure. I know they are. That's why I'm calling you, because I thought

if you could tell me the problem, then I could have the best of both worlds. Oh, so you have an existing problem right now? The existing problem right now is that about a couple of times a week, I go out and I turn my key on and nothing happened in it's always been it's been sitting because my first thought is that got a lot more like done you know that did silencing out yeah with no battery i turn it off trying back on starts right up been going on for about three months and of course math

fear is that i'm gonna turn at the second time and it's not going to go on this a Corolla. It's a Toyota Corolla 91. I've had no trouble with stick shift No automatic automatic. It's one of two things what either. It's the ignition switch Okay, it isn't that one, but I don't think it's the ignition Okay, I since since you said that it's an an automatic, I think it's the neutral safety switch. Okay, it isn't that either. Oh, come on! Oh no.

This is getting beyond Herman's expertise. Those were two zingers in there, man. Those were two zingers. However, I must fall back on my vast experience with Corollas. It's the starter motor. It's the starter motor? Yeah, these starter motors are gear reduction starter motors. Not that somebody couldn't make one that worked correctly, but two of them.

Oh, okay. So, I'm going to go back to the starter motor. I'm going to go back to the starter motor. I'm going to go back to the starter motor. I'm going to go back to the starter motor. I'm going to go back to the starter motor. I'm going to go back to the starter motor. I'm going to go It's the starter motor. It's the starter motor? Yeah, these starter motors are gear reduction starter motors. Not that somebody couldn't make one that worked correctly, but Toyota has had trouble making these work right. And while it could be something like a bad battery or a bad connection at the battery, it's more likely the starter motor itself. And the symptom is classic. You turn the key, nothing. And sometimes when it gets bad, you'll turn the key again and again and again and nothing will happen.

You will hear, however, the solenoid in the starter trying to motorize the starter. You'll hear the solenoid click. If you listen carefully, you'll hear a thunk, thunk, thunk. If it's not cursing, you'll hear the thunk, thunk, thunk. And eventually, the thing, you'll go th go and start right up and what's going to happen over the long run is that the thunk thunk thunks will get more frequent and eventually it won't start at all for you and you'll have to have the starter replaced How many thunk thunk thunks did I go through before I was having to repair it? I would go to five or six thunks. Five or six thunks. Oh. So you can tell them that and if you want some corroboration you can they've had the car overnight and haven't been able to reproduce it no I haven't taken it in I want to know what's wrong before I take it. Right, she's using her new strategy. She's not going to bring it in until she just says replace my starter motor that's it

and they'll say and how do you know Mary you need a new starter motor yeah and I'll just say trust me trust me that's it there you go yeah listen you guys are great I love your program well a pleasure talking to you, Mary. Good luck, Mary. Uh-huh. Good luck. Bye-bye. Bye. 1-800-332-9287. Hello, you're on Car Talk.

Hi, this is Gil in Phoenix, Arizona. Hey, Gil, is that with one L or two? You know, this is not a fish part. It's the guy you're talking to. Okay, it's one L then. One L. Yeah, so what's up? We get some weird people that call the show with. 1L. Yeah, so what's up?

We get some weird people that call the show with weird names with weird spelling, so you never know. I never know. And we have to ask. I'm glad you did. Yeah. So what's going on? So what's going on is I've got a 1987 Toyota Camry.

It's got 249,000 miles on it. No. Yeah, man. I've driven across the country about four times well would you be forgetting something well from the east coast and uh... ended up out here and the problem

well the opportunity is to figure out where my clutch fluid is going uh... what route do you take when you drive back or forth across the country? Generally the northern route and then drop down through Houston and go across 10. That's where it's going. That's where the Clutch Floor is going. Right on that route. It's in Houston. It's in Houston. I have to go to Houston. You gotta go to Houston to get it back.

Okay. Well thanks guys. Yeah, park in Houston and put a can underneath the... Um, the... there's no leak on the ground, there's no fluid... I know that. That's right. I'm gonna tell you where the leak is, and you're gonna go out to your car right now, and in five minutes you're gonna say... With the first finger of your right hand... You're gonna say, Taro Lepinski's tutu!

That's exactly where it is. The reason there are no drops on the ground is because it's coming out so, so, so slow. Well, that would be true, except it ain't leaking there. Ooh. So my brother thinks it's leaking from the slave cylinder. Oh, I don't know. I wasn't gonna jump into that.

I wasn't gonna do that. Which would leave spots on the ground if you stayed in the same place for like three months. But he doesn't. He drives back and forth across the country. The guy's got a million miles on his car. But if it was a slave cylinder, somebody would have seen it, and maybe you would have even seen it because there'd be a mess under the hood. Eventually, it would make a mess.

No, there's no mess. I would suspect the master cylinder is leaking, and it's leaking behind your carpet. If you pull up the carpet where you rest your left foot, there's gonna be like a gallon of fluid there. Cause you've been adding fluid to this thing regularly. And the fluid is leaking out the back of the Clutch Master cylinder, flowing down the firewall and behind,

underneath rather, the carpet. And that's where the fluid is. So there should be a puddle underneath my carpet. You could wring out that carpet and back into the bottle and use that to replenish the leak. Or sell it back to the store. No, you need to replace the Clutch Master cylinder. I'm there, I'm on it. Go for it, Gil.

Thank you so much. And while you're at it, do the slave cylinder, because that's going to blow next week too. Do them both. And while you're at it, buy a new car. I'm not even talking about the starter, really. You guys have been great. Thanks so much. See you later All right time you drive this way stop by all right Hey more calls are coming up after the break so stick around This message comes from wise the app for doing things in other currencies.

Send, spend, or receive money internationally and always get the real-time mid-market exchange rate with no hidden fees. Download the WISE app today or visit wise.com, T's and C's apply. Hi, I'm Laurel Wamsley and I cover personal finance for NPR. That means I report on some of the questions that might keep you or your loved ones up at night. Like, will I ever be able to buy a home? What about retirement? As interest rates drop, where should I put my money?

Economic headlines can be confusing, but NPR is here to help you make sense of them. To support this coverage, please give today at donate.npr.org. Hi, it's Mariel Segarra from Life.Kit. There's a first time for everything, including giving to NPR. Whether you're a brand new listener or a longtime fan,

please join the community of NPR network supporters today. Make your gift at donate.npr.org and thank you. Tis the season for rich meals, twinkly lights and New Year's resolutions. At LifeKit, NPR's self-help podcast, we're here to help you make those resolutions less of a December and January thing, and more like a year-long affair.

We've got shows that'll help you draw up plans to meet your goals, whatever they are. Get the tools you need all year round with the LifeKit podcast from NPR. Okay, it's time to answer last week's puzzler. I have no idea what the puzzler was because all I know is it was the last puzzler of the year and I said I'm not even gonna think about it. I don't care. Really?

Wow. I have no idea. Wow, I feel great. Yeah, I thought you would. Well, here it is, stupid. Jerk. Moron. I had no idea. Well, I feel great. Yeah, I thought you would. Well, here it is, stupid. Jerk. Moron.

Look, not everyone knows Doug Mayer. He's our web lackey slash web master. Yeah. Used to be assistant producer of the show until Berman got rid of him. Anyway, Mayer lives up in the wilds of New Hampshire in the mountains someplace. And because he works so hard on our website, he no longer has a social life. No. In fact, his entire social life has been confined

to tending his flock of sheep. That's good. Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha Anyway, while out one day looking for his flock, he noticed that one of his sheep was missing. In fact, it was his favorite. I think her name was Honey. Anyway, Mayor went and talked to his neighbors to see if they noticed any strange cars in the area, and he thought it was possible that someone had kidnapped his dear honey. Well, wouldn't you know it that one of his neighbors said yeah I did see a car but I couldn't tell you the make or model but it did have an unusual license

plate. Now considering there are only about seven people that live within 100 miles he figured he could stake out the feed store find the car with this license plate and then go to the police. So he asked his neighbor what the license plate was. His neighbor told him that the plate read 4x4, that is 4x8. Four by four by eight. And man said, I know what kind of a car that is, and I know who stole my sheep. The question very simply was, what kind of a car was it? The license plate?

Gave it gave by four by eight right told you the make and in more and model Well told you the model anyway the maker you everyone would know everyone would know and and I should have given the hair I gave enough hints up country and all that it is an up country or woodsy kind of puzzler It is because there's people that colic burn would in this tolls no four by four by eight is eight court of what all of all this is a honda coli

pretty good act and that that all k i was i went out and we have a winner The winner is Bob Jepson from Redmond, Washington. Oh, great. The conspiracy theorists are going to have a field day with this. No sooner does Microsoft take over our website, we start getting puzzler winners from Redmond, Washington company headquarters. Ah, it's going to look bad. Sheth, this is the gnome de plume of Bill Gates. He'd do anything to win one of our best of tapes.

I understand he's quite a fan because when we signed this deal with Microsoft he said Who? Anyway, congratulations to Bob Jepson from Redmond, Washington. Good work Bob. Okay, now get this. we won't have a new puzzler coming up during the second half of our talk because what the puzzler is already headed to the airport for summer vacation

well but we will tell you we can go to get your puzzle of fixed out the summer you can go to car talk dot msn dot com in the meantime we'll take your questions at one eight hundred three three two nine two eight seven hello you're on car talk hi it's Christy Christy Christy wait wait don't tell us don't yeah no she's gonna tell us where she's from we're gonna tell her how to spell it I'm from Chicago oh from Chicago oh so it's just CH R I STIE right T Y T Y that's what he meant T T. Y. That's what I meant. If you had been like from... Like from some other place.

Like from L.A. K. I. Y. S. T. E. I. E. No, E. E. E. Not the way a cheerleader spells it. Right, that's a cheerleader spelling. You got it. So what's going on, Kristy?

I want to ask you guys about a car problem that happened about 15 years ago to my dad's old citation that I was driving. I've been feeling bad about it for a while and I just kind of like to find out exactly what happened. You want closure. They call this closure. Yes, it is closure. This is something that's been plaguing you for 15 years, causing you nightmares, sleepless nights. Is this something he's been blaming you for for 15 years? Well no, he doesn't really know.

I mean, it's, you know. But there's still reference to it after all these years? Well yeah, I mean, you know, the car died and I think he was kind of surprised. Lay it on us. Okay, I was driving, I was about 16 years old and I was driving from Southend, Indiana. Oh, it was your fault.

Well, shut up. Okay, I'm driving. It's a 19, I think it was about a 1982 Chevy Citation. What year would this have been? This would have been like 1982. This was in 83. I think the car was maybe a year old. Yeah, so you're driving from South Bend to where?

I'm trying to get down to the Indiana University down in Bloomington, Indiana. It's about a four and a half hour drive. Yeah, I'm with you. Okay, I get about, I drive for about like half an hour and the temperature light starts kind of coming on. I mean, it's kind of coming on, it's going off, it's coming on. It's not doing it in any kind of consistent way. You know, it'll blink on for a while.

And so anyway, I was just like just like okay this is an electrical problem so so it's like this is a glitch yeah right yeah we've had some glitchy cars before we've had some real lemons so I'm like this is just another weirdo car thing yeah so I go into the glove compartment get out a piece of tape put it over the lights I just don't want to be dealing with this were you listening to our show at that time? no I didn't know you guys were were you guys on the air that time? Well yeah, we used to sell the special tape in fact. Yeah, we still have it. Yeah, so you put the tape over the light. I put the tape over the light. You keep driving. I keep driving.

Well, I start losing acceleration, but that doesn't really stop me. I keep going until the car actually just stops. I mean, I can't actually go any further. And now mean can kind of like in southern indiana get towed down to this little mechanic shop uh... they put a new thermostat in the car and they told me to go back to south bend they're like this is you know at the beginning of the band-aid but you know go back to that band and of course i didn't i drove another three hours went down to india and you know bloomington drove back the next day four and another three hours went down in the end bloomington

job back in a state for a half hours you drove down the bloomington because your boyfriend was a part of our party to get you down there and i was down so you turn around you drive four hours back yeah and and you know i'd be at the car was fine i don't like it on on all takes off in the lights out by not blinking anymore

problem-solved got yeah okay okay so i get back to south bend and at you know i i i think it's fine i think it's fixed it you know thermostat problem whatever and uh... might get then got in the car to get it work he worked about ten minutes from our house and car just blood up

it's not a big it just uh... and black without melted together. It was a really, it was a major, major problem. And my dad was just utterly confused. And of course he came home and asked me if anything happened. And I said, I don't know. Gosh. You know, I don't know what was going on. Car ran like a dream all the way down and all the way back. So what I'm trying to don't know why the car why did like to just putting a thermostat in

and and and i really bring it back i guess it was just a random thing that you random my foot you overheated the engine because of the because of thermostat was malfunctioning in the light started to come on it was telling you the engine was running hot you would be ordered and i i i i i did the light just stay on? Why was it going on and off? Well it was probably staying on after you put the black tape over it but you couldn't see it. So the light was staying on enough to let you know

that the thing was overheating and the engine got hotter and hotter and you began to melt the pistons and melt the rings and deform the crankshaft and stretch out the connecting rods and then when they put the rings and deform the crankshaft and stretch out the connecting rods. And then when they put the thermostat in, the new thermostat, you must have just averted a meltdown by seconds. Oh, you think, oh, okay. I think so.

How you made it back, how you did another six hours of driving is somewhat miraculous actually. Oh. And you are right in thinking that you had nothing to do with it, but you are wrong. And it can only be attributed to the fine engineering of this of the Chevrolet engine. Yeah Really? I thought that was a crappy car, but maybe not what was it you got a hold of it when people say that the engine Melted typically what happens is you throw a rod. It's very common and And you did that. You absolutely, you are absolutely responsible for this engine.

Oh, okay. Everyone knows that when that temperature light comes on, you stop. No, not everyone. Because that- Not everyone knows that. Because driving with the temperature light on is the kiss of death.

Is dad still alive or did this kill him? No, he's still alive. alive well how do you feel now I mean now that we've told you that absolutely well almost without a doubt you were responsible for the demise the very early demise of this wonderful car that dad had I feel bad because he I know you know he really never knew what happened and he just thought it was just another bad car what if we told him would that be bad would it be cathartic for you no Christy I think you need I think you need to resolve this I mean just knowing your knowing is not enough you don't think dad we need dad's number but you know We need his number. Is he home? Okay.

Go ahead. He's at work. We'll take the number off the air, but we're calling dad at work. Okay. Go ahead. Yeah. And what's his name? Richard.

Richard. Right. How old is Richard? Richard. He's 60. He just had a birthday. He's 61. 61. He probably would be retired

now if he were still making car payments they offer that early retirement he said no I gotta pay off this Buick that I'm driving we're gonna try to get him can you stay on the line I mean you don't mind confronting him about this he's got real bad phone manner I'm just warning ya. Oh don't worry so do we. Okay. Okay we're dialing him now. Okay. Dick Conklin. Hey Richard. Yes. This is Tom and Ray Maliotti from Car Talk. I'm blessed. Well not necessarily. We were just talking to your daughter Christy. You're right. Yeah, you know she called to cleanse her soul. Okay. She called to describe to us a little incident that

occurred in 1982 with your Chevy Citation. You may not remember this. You may have tried to block this out. Yeah, seared I think is a proper verb. Yeah, she said it's like threw a rod. You threw a rod. And you have no idea why this happened. Have you had your suspicions all these years? Lack of oil. Yeah, but do you know anything else about it? No. You don't know all the dirty details. There are some things that Pater Familius doesn't want to know. Okay, well we're going to tell you all the details. She was driving the thing to Bloomington.

You knew that. Yes, I knew that. And along the way, the temperature light began flashing. You didn't know that. I know. No, you didn't know that. She's never told you this. And it was annoying.

She kept driving without the water and the radiator? Well, worse than that. She put black tape over the light because the light went off. Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha and send her back home. Oh, wonderful. She didn't go home. She didn't go home. She didn't take their advice because the light went out, she went to the party down in Bloomington, then drove all the way back to South Bend the next day. Ooh. And gave you the car, making you think that everything was just hunky-dory, and she's been living a life of sin, crime, and deception.

Deception. She's been living a life of sin, crime, and deception. Well, in all. Now I think you would ask, if she recounted the story to us correctly, you would ask her if anything unusual had happened on her trip and she denied it. Yeah. She said, no, no, fine, no problems.

Well, she can't live with this lie anymore. She's with us right now, Dick. Oh no. Yeah, Christie? Hi, Dad. Hi, Dad. Hi, Dad. Sure. Hi, Christie. right now dick oh no yeah Christy hi dad Christy you didn't tell me about the broken axle on the 1966 beauty

I didn't break that axle Come on Christy come clean I thought I had nothing that hard I bought the new radiator in 1984 Nova Dad you bought me that broken axle car for $500 and sent me like on my merry way That's why the axle broke that thing with a lemon Tom and ray you've got to realize that my daughter is the car is what L band bear gives to melody The country ought to be thankful that she's now in a city with decent public transportation.

So you don't hold it against her that she withheld this crucial information all these years? Well, not in this public forum, you know. I love my daughter. That's my only daughter. You love your daughter. Isn't it something? Thanks, Dad.

Is Christy your only child? She's my only daughter. She's my only daughter. She's my only daughter. My only limits tester. Well Christy, do you want to make a formal public apology to Daddio both for wrecking his car and for living this life of deception for 15 years? But I've suffered for this. Well, so has Dad. You have suffered.

You didn't suffer any more than my pocketbook I can't remember Fred and Jim's garage bought a boat It was terminal and to be reconstructed from scratch, oh yeah, no, it's terminal really I think this is this warrants a full-scale Apology come on you guys come on Christy and some groveling and maybe a few tears, like, Dad, I'm sorry. It's 15 years ago. Ah! There is no statute of limitations on deception to your father. Oh my God.

And there's no statute of limitations on forgiveness either, Chris. Oh, God bless you, Richard. See? Isn't he nice? Okay, I'm sorry, Dad. Boy, that sounded real heartfelt there. Sorry, Dad. Hey, that's as much as you're gonna get out of it. It sounds that way. Well, she's your daughter, not ours. Good luck. Thank God. Hey, Richard, you're a wonderful guy.

Oh, thanks, Mike. Have a nice day. Okay, you too. See ya. See ya later. See you Kristy. Bye Kristy. Try to be good. Okay. Okay Kristy. See ya. Yeah we'll leave you two to chat. Bye bye. Oh don't I love solving these little familial conflicts. Wow. Hey stick around for more calls coming right up. Wow. Hey, stick around for more calls coming right up. What are the best albums of 2024?

Find out on the latest episode of NPR's All Songs Considered. There's a lot of people who could sing that exact line and I would be like, you're under arrest. But she pulls it off. Download new episodes of All Songs Considered considered every Tuesday wherever you get podcasts. It's cuffing season, the cold months where we might look for a warm somebody to cuddle up to. But dating isn't always warm and fuzzy.

And this year, there were so many big debates about how we love. On It's Been A Minute, our cuffing season series will help you answer some big questions like what is the ick really about? Or is it okay to date for money? To find out, listen now to the It's Been A Minute podcast from NPR. After the election, the economy feels like one big, huh? Good thing there's the indicator from Planet Money podcast. We take a different economic topic from the news every day and break it down in under

10 minutes. Topics like the home building shortage or the post-election crypto rally. Listen to the Indicator from Planet Money podcast from NPR and turn that huh into an ah. The Indicator is a podcast where daily economic news is about what matters to you. Workers have been feeling the sting of inflation. So as a new administration promises action on the cost of living, taxes and home prices, the S&P 500 biggest post-election day spike ever, follow all the big changes and what they mean for you. Make America affordable again.

Listen to The Indicator, the daily economics podcast from NPR. Click and Clack the Tappert Brothers and we're here to discuss cars, car repair, and doesn't it come as a surprise? Boop boop boop boop boop boop boop boop boop boop boop boop boop boop boop boop boop boop Associated Press and all the ships at sea. In a complaint filed this week in U.S. District Court in New Haven, Connecticut, Robert Jordan claims that the city of New London discriminated against him based on his intelligence and violated his constitutional rights. Jordan, it turns out, applied for a job as a police officer in New London.

Okay. Jordan says that assistant city manager Keith Harrigan, who oversees hiring for the city, told him, we don't like to hire people that have too high an IQ to be cops in this city. Really? Why? Is this good? The guy takes the test to be a cop and they say, sorry, too smart. And that's why I say, doesn't this come as a surprise to you?

Yeah. Well. The city's attorney, Ralph Monaco, declined to comment, saying he has not yet seen the lawsuit. Harrigan, a defendant in the lawsuit, also declined to comment. That's the guy who does the hiring. Jordan seeks injunctions against the city that would stop the alleged discrimination and unspecified compensatory and punitive damages.

Whistling. Well, you know, it's little known fact that we took a test before we did the show. I remember that test. Yeah, they hired us. Yeah, Robert Siegel took the test too. They didn't hire him. How about that Ray Suarez? Hey look, if you were listening earlier on in the broadcast, you heard me mention that the puzzler is about to go on vacation for the summer to try to rejuvenate itself for

the fall. You know, I've been meaning to ask you about the puzzler's vacation. It's a paid vacation. Where exactly does the puzzler go on vacation every summer? How should I know? Well, we'll see about that. I had a hunch and I went and checked the books from last summer. It seems we were mailing the puzzler's check to a very familiar address. Alright, alright, alright, alright. The puzzler spends the summer at my house. Yeah, right. What is the grass and the shrubs.

Yeah, sure. I thought so. You crook. You thief. No, he looks after the place. I'll stop your whining. Now if you can't wait until the fall to waste your valuable time. Geez.

Excuse me, your employer's valuable time trying to solve one of our puzzles, then you've got to check out our weekly, weekly, W-E-A-K, the weekly selection from the CarTalk Puzzler Archives at cartalk.msn.com. Just click on radio and look for the link to the puzzler, then you can disagree all over again with the answers to some of our favorite past puzzlers. And just to make it interesting for you, we changed the answers on these puzzles every week. So that if you think you knew the answer last week, it'll be a different answer this week.

Now I should mention that we're obviously in dire need of some good new puzzlers for the fall. And fall will be here before you know it. I mean summer's almost over right now, right? So if you have any puzzles, and I don't want the ones about the balloons in the car, I don't want the ones about the liars and the truth tellers, I've got a thousand of those and you've

got to send an answer. Yeah, that would be good. Yeah, because I can't use the puzzle if I don't have the answer and fourth, you've got to send the right answer. I mean it's really embarrassing. When I take it on faith and I use a puzzle that someone has submitted with a perfectly plausible explanation and Then I get five thousand emails saying what a dodo I am

They're having uses. What was the one there was one recently that was really bad. I think they're about 48 So if you have any puzzles that you that might measure up to our high standards, okay, you can send them to us via the Talk to Cartalk section of Cartalk.msn.com, or you can make my brother's day by actually putting pen to paper and sending your puzzle submission to puzzletower slash new puzzler division, Cartalk Plaza, Box 3500, Harvard Square, Cambridge, Our Fair City, Math 02238. If you have good mail that my brother might want to read on the show, you can also send that along too, because he moans and groans

that the mail has been terrible lately. Anyway, if you'd like to call us with a question about your car, the number is 1-800-332-9287. Hello, you're on Car Talk. This is Bridget. Bridget. Bridget. Bridget Bridget Bridget Bridget B-R-I-D-G-E-T-T-E

it could be the the Nordic Bridget or it could be the French Bridget it's actually the Irish Bridget oh so it's B-R-I-D-G-E-T-T-E. Correct. It is? It is. Holy cow! Where are you from Bridget? I'm calling from Colorado Springs.

Colorado Springs. Wonderful place. It's a beautiful place. It is, it is. So what's on your mind today? Well, I have a 1993 Dodge Spirit, which is a very dependable car for the most part except i have one little problem and that is when the temperature outside goes above about seventy five degrees

i would be great occasionally uh... and and uh... i had a bs break standard uh... and i have become a master of downshifting because if uh... as i said the weather that's been seventy five occasionally my a bs light will go on i'll go to hit my break i will have no break

bomber yeah i hate when that happened uh... i've taken it to a dealer and they sure may be more space on the story, but they told me it was the master cylinder. Had it replaced and two days later I had the same problem and they told me to have another master cylinder put in and pay again. When the pedal goes to the floor, it really goes right to the floor and you have zero

braking, you don't just have reduced braking. No, I will have zero braking. You don't just have reduced braking. No, I will have zero braking. The pedal will be a little bit sticky when it goes to the floor. Yeah. But I will have no brakes. And then a couple of minutes later, if I tap on the brakes a little bit, they'll come back.

And then I'll have them for a little while and then they'll go again. Tara Lipinski's toot toot. Holy cow. Yeah. Wowzy. And I've taken it to local mechanics here and they just sort of scratch their head. They have no idea. So the guys who put in the master cylinder, when they found out that that didn't work, did they give you back the money for the master cylinder? No, they did not. No, in fact they wanted to put another one in and pay for that one. In fact they wanted to put another one in and they wanted

me to pay another $400 for that. How long ago did they put the first master cylinder in? It was about two years ago. I have learned to live with this problem because I don't know what else to do. Oh, you live with the problem, you're going to die with the problem. It's a choice of words, yeah. When you first get in the car, let's assume you get up some morning and it's 80 degrees. You get up at noon like my brother does. And it's 80.

You get in the car, the brakes working initially and then fail as you drive the car. Because what I suspect is happening is somehow or another there's a brake line that's getting heated up and the brake fluid is boiling. And just like, if you overwork your brakes, for example, if you ride the brakehuh your brake fluid will begin to boil and then you will you will have bubbles in the brake lines and then the pedal will go down to the floor

and then once everything cools off it'll be okay is that what you experience yeah generally if it's a real nice day if I get in the car I'll have brakes for about a half an hour and then yeah I'll go right well you need to go first of all to another dealership you need to have them the zone rep See this thing. I think you want to insist that they replace at their expense the entire brake system All your heirs will sue the pants off You have heirs. I do not have air. Well, you need sign us up We will volunteer I mean you do you have a sizable estate? No, I do not

Yeah, I mean you've got to get to higher ups Then these guys at the dealership because if they can't figure it out I'm telling you if the Chrysler corporation knew about this problem They would be down at your house tomorrow morning to fix it. Huh. Well, I guess I will have to take it to a new dealer. Yeah. I would definitely take it to a new dealership. Tell them what's happened. Tell them how strange it is and that you can't drive the car because it's a death trap.

All right. And tell them that you don't want to pay them for this master cylinder because you already paid one dealership for it and it failed immediately afterwards. Yeah. And you want the zone rep to see the the car and I think you want them to replace the whole brake system everything wow yeah it'll cost them about 10 grand serves them right don't drive it really I mean it's really very very dangerous yeah well good luck Bridget well thank you so much ETT and and keep us posted because I'm very curious. I certainly will thanks Take care. Bye. Bye. Bye 1-800-332-9287

This is a whole new format to the show people call us they tell us their problem They research the day find out what's wrong and they call us back and tell us. Yeah So much easier this way This is good no we can we could just be the method by the clearinghouse So much easier this way. You got a problem with that? Yeah. It's good. No, we gave her... We could just be the method by... The clearing house. We told her how to go about solving it.

She hadn't a clue. She was content to be downshifting for the rest of her existence until she crashed this thing. Jemma, to tell her, you know what's right nearby where she lives? Pike's Peak. She ought not to go climbing Pike's Peak with this thing. No, I would say not. Although, it would be probably below 75 degrees.

I'd give it a try. On the other hand, it's a good thing. It's a good thing. It's a good thing. It's a good thing. It's a good thing. It's a good thing. It's a good thing. It's a good thing. It's a good thing. It ought not to go climbing Pike's Peak with this thing. No, I would say not.

Although it would be probably below 75 degrees. I'd give it a try. On the way down, it would probably. Well, you've wasted another hour of your precious youth listening to Car Talk. Our esteemed producer is Doug the Subway Fugitive, not a slave to fashion, Berman. Our associate producer and dean of the College of Automusicology

is Ken Babyface Rogers. Our assistant producer is Catherine Cathode-Ray. Our engineer is Karen I've Already Given. And our technical, spiritual and menu advisor is John Bugsy, free lunch lawler. Is he here? Did he make it today? Yeah, he's here. In spirit. Our public opinion pollster is Paul Murky of Murky Research, assisted by statistician Margin O'Vara. Our director of new product repair is Warren T. Myfoot. Our staff butler from the Car Talk Mumbai division is Mahatma Kot. Our document security expert from the island of Jamaica is Euripides Uppman.

Our director of upward mobility in Eastern Europe is Zibignuk Chrysler. Our director of Turkish indigestion is Mustafa Malox. Our base of driving instructor is Vera Bruppley. Our marriageestion is Mustafa Malak. Our invasive driving instructor is Vera Bruple. Our marriage counselor is Marion Haste. Our head of used car purchasing is Yul B. Hoofnett. Our behavior consultant is Wyatt B. Hoofzja. The chairman of the Federal Lubrication Board is Alan Griespan. The manager of our weekly shrimp buffet is Sheldon Devane, the curator of Tom's Car Collection.

Of course, is Rex Galore. What a guy. And our chief counselor from the larphery with Dewey Cheatham and Howe is you, Lewis Dewey, known in the public fountains of Harvard Square as you-ee-loo-ee-doo-ee. Thanks so much for listening. We're Click and Clack the Tappet Brothers, and don't drive like my brother. And don't drive like my brother. We'll be back next week.

Bye-bye. And now with an important announcement, here is Card Talk Plaza's Chief Mechanic, Vinnie Gombatz. Yeah, thank you very much. You know, if you just want to taper this year's show, it's number 25, and here's what you got to do. You click on the shameless commerce division of CardTalk.msn.com, or you can call 303-823-8000. Now, you can get the best of Card Talk, another Card Talk chunk the same way, from CardTalk.msn.com, all by calling 303-823-8000.

Are you guys hungry? I'm starving. Card Talk is a production of Dewey, Cheetahman Howe and WBUR in Boston. And even though Ray Suarez has a good cry every time he hears us saying, this is NPR National Public Radio. Breakup stories are going super viral online. Normalize posting why you broke up on the internet. I cannot believe I'm about to tell this breakup story and expose myself like this. On It's Been A Minute, we're asking the big questions about dating.

Like what's the line between a juicy story and an invasion of privacy? To find out, listen now to the It's Been A Minute podcast from NPR. You might have heard this song on TikTok blow up this summer. I'm looking for a man in finance. Trust fun. Six-five. On It's Been A Minute, we're asking the big questions about dating. Like, is it okay to date with money in mind? And what are we really looking for from a man in finance?

To find out, listen to the It's Been A Minute podcast from NPR.