Mark: Hi, it’s Mark from Top Local. We're here with Bernie Pawlik, Pawlik Automotive in Vancouver, working on cars for 38 years in Vancouver, and 18 time winners of Best Auto Repair in Vancouver. How are you doing, Bernie?
Bernie: I'm doing very well.
Mark: We're talking about a 2017 Hyundai Tucson, which is an A Service that was done on this vehicle. I've got a couple of questions. First, are a lot of fairly new or brand new vehicles coming to see you for service?
Bernie: We do some. We don't do a lot of them. A lot of people seem to go to the dealer because they feel either obliged, or that's where they should take their car. But we do a lot, we have a number of clients who have new cars that bring them to us. We provide every bit as good service if not better. It's all warranty approved. We use all the right oils, the right filters. Whatever needs to be done. If you're concerned, "I should take my car to the dealer because of warranty", the only thing you need to do is provide receipts that you've done it. I think do it yourself receipts are not valid if you're a do it yourself kind of person, but as long as you have the service done somewhere with the proper fluids, it's all covered.
Mark: An A Service. What is that specifically referring to?
Bernie : An A Service, and we use that term in our shop. I'm actually not sure if Hyundai refers to it as an A Service, but an A service is basically a level one maintenance service. It's an oil change with an inspection. With a basic inspection. That's sort of, generally with car servicing you want to do an A service and a B service. A lot of manufacturers have C, D, Z, and all sorts of things. We won't get into that. But essentially all those other letters add in different items. Hondas will use a B One Two service. The one and two might mean, a one might mean a tire rotation, a two is a brake fluid flush or something. A lot of these things are automated. But for our purposes here on this Hyundai, an A service is a basic maintenance service. An oil filter change, adjust the tire pressure, inspect the lights, inspect all the fluids, and a visual inspection of the vehicle.
Mark: Pretty straight forward in a brand new car?
Bernie: Yeah. There's really not much that needs to be done. We don't ever, I think of all the new cars we service, we don't ever find fluid leaks or anything like that. Although if we do, we can certainly refer you right back to the dealer to have it repaired. But it's really pretty basic.
Mark: What sort of service would be needed on this vehicle going forward?
Bernie: Again, with modern vehicles there's not a lot that needs to be done, as I mentioned. The A service we've done, now I think this vehicle has about 13,000 kilometres. The next service would be a B service where we would do a brake inspection, possibly a brake service. Cleaning and lubricating the brake parts. Rotating the tires. That's sort of going forward. One other item going a little further forward, and this engine, I'll share a few photos in a minute. It's a gasoline direct fuel injection engine. Doing combustion chamber cleanings on these things at a regular interval is really critical to prevent carbon buildup in the engine and on the valves. It's something that happens over time. The nature of direct injections, it actually sprays fuel right into the cylinder, like a diesel engine, which gives these engines amazing efficiency. But the drawback is that you don't have any fuel being sprayed on the back of the intake valve like with traditional, so the carbon buildup will develop and cause performance issues. We can talk, just share a photo here. Here's our 2017 Hyundai Tucson. Good looking vehicle. They've been making this model since 2015, and design wise it's still pretty much the same. The engine, this one has, is says 1.6 litre turbo gasoline direct injected engine. It's got all the nice bells and whistles of modern technology. Variable valve timing. Twin scroll turbocharger. Direct fuel injection. This thing is, for 1.6 litres it's got, I believe, I looked at the specs, it's a bit under 200 horsepower, 185 horsepower or something, which is pretty darn good for a little car like this. I would imagine the fuel efficiency is awesome. Anyway, there's a little view of the engine.
Mark: That carbon buildup sounds like a pretty serious concern. Are there other vehicles that need this kind of service?
Bernie: Yeah, actually there is. There's a lot of engines that use direct fuel injection these days. Some Toyotas actually for the last while, they use a combination between direct fuel injection and, for some reason the name alludes me, but the regular fuel injection system in the intake manifold. They actually used a dual fuel injection system, which is going to be fantastic, but will be extra complicated when things start to go wrong. But being Toyotas, they're pretty reliable. Gasoline direct injection is extremely popular. This is why a lot of cars that have been built in the last few years have extremely high fuel economy, because of the direct injection. But the combustion deposits can create a huge problem, because as they build up over time, if you leave it too long you actually have to dismantle the engine. Take the cylinder head off, take the valves apart, and have the carbon actually physically removed from the engine. You may want to ask, "What does one do about it?". We have a fuel system cleaning service that we can do. I would say about every 30,000 kilometres is a good time to have it done. That's about 20,000 miles if you're in the US. That's a good interval. It's not a very expensive service. It's easier to do than the motor back fuel injection cleaning that we've done on the traditional fuel injection systems. It's easier and less expensive. It's something that you should do. Also, use good gasoline. There's a greater gasoline, it's called Top Tier Gas. If you go to somewhere like Chevron, any name brand gas station uses that kind of gas. They put additives in that prevent carbon deposits too, so you should use good quality gasoline. It doesn't mean premium. It just means a top tier gas.
Mark: I guess it's probably too early to ask how reliable these vehicles are, but what do you think? What's your first impression of a 2017 Tucson?
Bernie: It's a really nice vehicle, and yeah, it is too early. I always figure you need to give it a few years. As I said, this model has been out for about two years. If there's problems already, that's probably not a good sign. I know the Ford 6 litre, by the time it was two years old there were already a lot of problems being found. But as far as I know, these are pretty reliable. I think the way Hyundai builds their cars, they've been building in there, overall quite reliable, although they have had some engine issues in certain models. But those have all been covered by warranties and recalls. I think overall it's going to be a good car.
Mark: There you are. If you're looking for service for your new vehicle in Vancouver, or for your Hyundai, the guys to see are Pawlik Automotive. You can reach them at 604-327-7112, or check out their website,
pawlikautomotive.com. Or check out our YouTube channel, Pawlik Auto Repair. Thanks, Bernie.
Bernie: Thanks, Mark.
