Motormouth: The ‘sunshine treatment'
Q: In a previous column, you told C.W. that their car may have received the "sunshine treatment." I have never heard that expression and tried looking it up. No luck.
M.L., Evanston, Illinois
A: Allow me to shed some light. It's an industry euphemism for doing nothing but letting the car sit on the lot. (It also works on cloudy or rainy days.) The sunshine treatment is often used for cars whose owners complain of squeaks and rattles. For techs chasing it down, it is a time-sink. The industry term is NVH: noise, vibration or harshness. Ask your tech if the sunshine treatment is right for you.
Q: Really depressed. I am having trouble getting heat or air conditioning inside my 2014 Camaro. My mechanic said it was the actuator. He said it is a complicated and expensive fix requiring the windshield, dashboard and console to be removed and reinstalled. The Chevy service guy I called quoted about $5,500! That's a lot to replace a plastic part! Does this make sense?
J.B., Chicago
A: It does not make sense, but it is the truth. Building a car is complicated so carmakers rely on suppliers to provide complete assemblies. The entire HVAC assembly -- a single unit -- is then installed prior to the other stuff like the dashboard (which the industry calls the instrument panel) and windshield. By the way, there are two bolts that can't be removed because the windshield doesn't provide clearance. Find a mechanic who will trim a little off the bottoms of the bolts to avoid removing the windshield. It won't save much, but every nickel counts.
Q: I just read the question and response from T.D. regarding a digital rear-view mirror and wanted to add some thoughts. I recently test drove a vehicle that had the option of using a digital mirror with a rear-facing camera, or the standard mirror. When I flipped the switch to digital, the image was fuzzy, and it hurt to read it. When I flipped to the regular mirror, it was clear as day. I wear reading glasses. When "reading" a digital mirror, the eyes have to focus on something close. But with a standard mirror, the focal point is farther away, which makes it clear for those of us who need help seeing things that are close. If carmakers ever switch to permanent digital mirrors, this will cause issues for a lot of people. Hope this helps.
J.G., Hinsdale, Illinois
A: Gee. I would not have believed it until I saw it myself.
Q: I have a 2022 Toyota Corolla with 5,750 miles on it. I bought it second-hand from a Toyota dealer, in February 2024. I do not drive it much at all, probably put on 300-plus miles since then. The Toyota dealer changed oil before I bought it. It uses SAE OW-20. Since I did not drive this car a lot, should I get the oil changed?
M.L, Westmont, Illinois
A: Most oil change intervals are based on normal or severe driving. Believe it or not, short trips fall in the severe category and as such the oil needs to be changed often. When the engine doesn't reach operating temperature, and if it isn't run long enough to cook off any moisture in the crank case, engine wear is likely. Follow the owner's manual. Even an expensive oil change isn't as expensive as an engine change.
Copyright (C) 2025, Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Portions copyrighted by the respective providers.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Car and Driver
5 hours ago
- Car and Driver
A New Chevy Corvette Debuts Tomorrow, and It Might Be the Zora
Chevy released a teaser video for a new Corvette variant, which will debut tomorrow, June 17. The video doesn't reveal much, but it displays a stylized "X" logo, and the caption promises that "the hype is real." This makes us believe this could be the long-rumored Zora—expected to combine the V-8 from the ZR1 with the electric assistance of the E-Ray—although the "X" moniker suggests it may carry a different name. A new Corvette is always exciting, especially with the eighth-generation model that has ditched Corvette convention in pursuit of greater performance. The C8's debut in 2019 shocked the world with its switch to a mid-engined layout, while the Corvette Z06 impressed by extracting 670 horsepower from its naturally aspirated V-8. Then the Corvette E-Ray shook things up by adding an electric motor for all-wheel drive, and the Corvette ZR1 burst onto the scene with a whopping 1064 hp. Now, Chevy is teasing a new Corvette that comes out tomorrow, and we have a feeling it will break new ground. There isn't a whole lot to go off from the teaser video that Chevy posted last Friday. The video simply shows a Corvette logo, tomorrow's date of June 17, and a stylized "X." The caption reads "The hype is real" and confirms that a new Corvette is on the horizon. Otherwise, we're left to guess what Chevy is cooking up, although we won't have to wait long to find out. The caption does give us a sense of what to expect, however. Chevy references "the hype," and a wild top-of-the-line Corvette has been rumored to be on its way since the iconic sports car switched to a mid-engined setup. Rumors suggest that this ultimate Corvette will be called the Zora, named after the engineer largely credited for the birth of the Corvette in the 1950s. The presence of the "X" in the video suggests a different name could be used, though. Greg Pajo | Car and Driver The 2025 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1. It's believed that this Corvette Zora, or whatever it will be called, will combine the potent heart of the ZR1 with the all-wheel-drive E-Ray's hybrid setup, which will likely put output from the hybrid powertrain at around 1200 hp. All will be revealed tomorrow, and we are eagerly waiting. Caleb Miller Associate News Editor Caleb Miller began blogging about cars at 13 years old, and he realized his dream of writing for a car magazine after graduating from Carnegie Mellon University and joining the Car and Driver team. He loves quirky and obscure autos, aiming to one day own something bizarre like a Nissan S-Cargo, and is an avid motorsports fan.
TechCrunch
9 hours ago
- TechCrunch
How Toyota Repair Technicians Leverage AI with NLX
We extend our thanks to our partner NLX for their support and active participation in TechCrunch Sessions: AI, held on June 5, 2025, at UC Berkeley. 'How Toyota Repair Technicians Leverage AI with NLX' took place on the main stage from 2:20 p.m. to 2:40 p.m. PT, where Kordel France (Toyota) and Andrei Papancea (NLX) revealed how they brought AI from concept to scale. They showcased how AI-powered conversational tools are now helping Toyota technicians instantly access complex repair data — significantly boosting productivity and improving dealership efficiency through smarter, faster workflows. The session was moderated by Sara Bloomberg, Staff Reporter at the San Francisco Business Times. SPEAKERS Sara Bloomberg, Staff Reporter, San Francisco Business Times Kordel France, Principal AI Engineer, Toyota Andrei Papancea, CEO & Co-founder, NLX
Miami Herald
10 hours ago
- Miami Herald
Mazda Leans on Toyota to Survive EV Disruption and U.S. Tariffs Shake-Up
At a time when the auto industry is undergoing massive change, even the largest manufacturers can run short of cash. For a small player like Mazda it's become increasingly difficult to keep up. Unless, that is, it can find some help from an industry giant like Toyota. The two erstwhile competitors have found a growing number of reasons to cooperate. They've partnered on several new products and have even set up a joint venture assembly plant in Huntsville, Alabama. But that could be just the start of a beautiful friendship, Mazda CEO Masahiro Moro told Autoblog during a meeting in his office in Hiroshima. "Our collaboration is broader than you might think of it," said Moro. "We are doing it because of global competition. In the era of electrification and of software-defined vehicles, we have to go after too many things at the same time." With internal combustion technology, the CEO explained, it made sense for manufacturers to maintain complete autonomy. That's changed with hybrids and EVs, though, as electric motor drive systems "have the same characteristics, almost." "We are moving from an automotive industry into a mobility industry. That's a game change and you have to help each other to save your resources. Mazda and Toyota first started working together back in 2017. Their first two jointly developed products came to market four years later. They've since doubled that to four models, two for each manufacturer, with the Mazda CX-50 Hybrid and the Toyota Corolla Cross Hybrid. Both roll out of the Mazda Toyota Manufacturing factory that opened in Huntsville in 2023, at an initial cost of $2.3 billion. It's still in the ramp phase, noted Moro, operating at just two shifts and last year producing about 100,000 vehicles. Mazda is looking to boost that to 150,000 in the near future. The tie-up with Toyota is clearly paying off. With its expanded line-up and its ability to produce locally, Mazda saw sales in the U.S. market grow 16.8% last year to 424,382 vehicles. By comparison, its global volume grew a much more modest 2.6% to 1.278 million. The plant not only gives the Hiroshima-based automaker more product to sell but will reduce its potential hit from the new Trump import auto tariffs. Like other automakers, Mazda continues to explore its opportunities to minimize the impact of those new trade sanctions – which formally went into effect on May 3. For his part, Chief Financial Officer Jeff Guyton said Mazda's board has been looking at what he described as "Plan A and Plan B" strategies. The plans explore a variety of options, including what products to offer in the U.S., as well as where both parts and components, as well as fully assembled vehicles, will be sourced. The ability to increase production in Alabama is just one option. But CEO Moro stressed that even changing parts suppliers "takes a long time so it won't be an immediate switch. Meanwhile, we need to consider and reevaluate our business priorities, investment priorities and timeframe." The relationship with Toyota, meanwhile, adds more potential opportunities, according to Moro. Asked whether the bigger automaker eventually might try "swallow" Mazda, Moro downplayed that possibility. In decades past, Toyota was loathe to form alliances unless absolutely essential, such as the 1980s-era partnership with General Motors that helped the industry giant see what it took to set up manufacturing in America. Toyota was more likely to acquire smaller manufacturers, as it did with Daihatsu and Hino. Today, however, Toyota has several alliances, including Subaru, as well as Mazda, and the three are now finding ways to work together. Their initial focus will be optimizing hybrid and EV drive technology. But the alliances aren't limited to product. "It is not just a technology and product collaboration," Moro said of Mazda's expanding ties to Toyota, "but also a business collaboration, like sales and finance in the U.S. We switched from a bank…to Toyota Financial Services to provide us flexibility to interact with customers." That's not to say Mazda is bound to become little more than a downsized clone, Moro stressed. It continues to maintain its independence in many areas. The widely acclaimed Iconic SP concept underscores the high premium Mazda puts on design. And it has a number of technologies that it so far hasn't shared, like the G-Vectoring system designed to minimize body roll and harshness. It's also working to revive the Wankel engine technology that was one of its defining features back in the 1970s and 1980s. Mazda, said Moro, knows it would be challenging to go it alone in today's environment, but it also knows that such a small company must also have a unique business proposition if its to stand out from its bigger competitors. Copyright 2025 The Arena Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
