Comments by "Trevor Sutherland" (@trevorsutherland5263) on "Royalty Auto Service" channel.

  1. About 5 yrs ago I got brave enough to try to do a brake pad job myself on my Jag XKR. I watched a video on how to do it and all your tips were in that vid: use an S-clamp to hold the caliper, clean all debris, use a thin layer of grease on back of pad, break-in, etc. After my success with that, I had the confidence to do the brakes on my Enclave, Camry, Giulia....etc. Good to know I was well trained. 🙂
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  2. A few years back I had a 2012 Buick Enclave with about 90K miles I felt (what I later learned was torque converter shudder). Never had that before in any car I had and was thinking "ok let me just change the fluid". I DIY the fluid, just pop out drain plug and when it stops dripping, put it back and put in the same amount that came out. It got better for a while, but at 130K miles the shudder was back and I was about to get rid of the car soon so I just put a couple of bottles of Lubegard shudder fix in there, and within a few hundred miles the shudder went away. Gave it to my daughter and it now has 190K miles on it; she came over the other day, I took it out for a beer run to see how it was holding up, shifted like butter. 🙂
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  3. Shops near me have arrangements with local tow guys and if you are within 10 miles or so they'll come get your car for maybe $80 tops; one shop will get it "free" if you do the repair with them. A few years back I tried to do the trans service on a my 2011 Jag XJ and I got it all off and buttoned up and started refilling it when I saw a leak from ONE (of 20!) tray bolts. Tried to tighten and the thing snapped right off. Called the shop "come get it!" 🙂 That's when I learned NEVER buy parts off ebay.....maybe a light fixture or interior part you can get away with, but serious critical parts? No way. Cheap isht from China-----don't bother.
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  4. Agree on this. I recently learned the hard way you cannot assume even a car under warranty its whole life before you bought it, was maintained.
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  5. My first BMW was a 1991 525i that I bought in 1996 with 60K miles. I was not a "gearhead" at the time but I knew enough to get the oil changed every 5K miles. The only thing I ever replaced on that car were the front shocks when they wore out. I sold it to a friend in 2001 with 120K miles on it; original water pump, AC compressor, alternator, etc. I never changed the trans fluid, brake fluid, power steering fluid, not even the brake rotors. It never leaked, rattled, made funny sounds, spewed blue smoke, shifted hard or shuddered. An absolute TANK of a car. Once BMW stopped making them like that, I stopped buying them.
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  6. diesel oil , not diesel fuel ..... 🤣
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  7. What are your thoughts on the built in oil service indicators? Specifically GM? I watched a 15 year old video where the GM engineers who came up with the algorithm discussed how they did it, and how accurate it was in their testing. Almost any GM in past 15 years has this oil life indicator (and if you reset it after your oil changes) it is supposed to be very accurate at estimating the time when your oil needs to be replaced. I have a 2012 Enclave with the 3.6 V6 and its at 190K miles now purrs smoothly; I have no idea what my OCI has been as I just changed it when the indicator reached "0%".
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  8. Hey, you are on my wavelength! The recent loss of reliable cars (normally aspirated, torque converter auto) has made older cars that have those simple reliable powertrains more desirable. I had a 2017 get t-boned and I replaced it with a 2013 Acura with 101K. All records, fully serviced at Acura dealer and had just had its 100K mile service done. Put a two year powertrain warranty on it and out the door for $14K. I expect to put at least another 150K on it. My kid went to college, bought him a 2015 Infiniti Q50 with 102K; trans and diff service done at Infiniti dealer at 80K. Leather, amazing Bose sound, 328hp bulletproof V6...all for $11K. Manufacturers were forced to build all this unreliable turbo garbage; they get crazy good mpg but they don't last.
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  9. How can a 2024 with 10K miles NOT be under full Nissan warranty?
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  10. No part in a 2021 should fail unless due to lack of maintenance. If you do everything right, and a part fails in just four years, that is a crapmobile, imho.
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  11. I'm more auto nerd than professional and motivated mostly by just not having an expensive repair. 10 years ago I just waited until the car said "oil life 10%", however now I just change all my cars at 5K. I don't care what the computer says; I can get Mobil 1 ESP at Walmart for $27 for 5 qt. In my opinion there is no better engine oil on earth, so why bother wait? Most filters are less than $10. I have a 2012 Enclave with the GM 3.6 that was notorious for timing chain stretch. Mine is at 180K and idles so smoothly you can't tell it's running; no engine flush, no oil treatments, nothing but 5K OCI for a decade. No problem.
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  12. OCI too long; pretty clearly stated. If you are putting Mobil 1/Pennzoil/Castrol/Motul etc. in there every time, maybe an average of 8150 miles between changes will be OK. If you are using Supertech or Kirkland or auto parts store house brand oil, you probably need to have that average at 5000 between oil changes.
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  13. I expect to see black electrical tape under the hood of my 2006 Lexus ES330 (as I put it there LOL), but under the hood of a 2024???
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