What would you look for in an electric bike? | Car Doctor
Q: With the warmer weather coming, I am thinking of going electric, not with a car but with a bike. Have you ever road tested an electric bike? What would you look for?
A: I am currently testing an electric bike made by Fiido (fiido.com). They make a variety of bikes; this one is a multi-speed, full-sized commuter-style bike that has a full electric range of about 35 miles and about 55 miles in pedal assist.
Although the bike is a bit heavy at about 55 pounds, it is easy to ride, even pedaling as a conventional bike.
Looking at the construction, the frame welds are very well done, and paint quality is very good.
Fiido added some nice features such as hydraulic disc brakes, removable battery, adjustable front suspension, a good headlight, and even a brake light.
The top speed is set to 15 mph but, with a little hacking, I unlocked it to 24 mph.
I admit I don’t have a lot of experience with electric bikes, but for less than $900 this one is well done and fun to ride.
Depending where you live and how the bike is purchased some e-bikes are eligible for state rebates.
Q: I recently inherited a 2008 Lexus ES 350. I mistakenly thought the yellow emergency pull cord in the trunk to be an aid in pulling the lid down. Now the trunk latch will not catch when I close the trunk. Is there a way I can correct this myself?
A: With a small screwdriver, try to manually manipulate the lock mechanism. If that doesn't work, you may need to take the panel off the inside of the trunk to see what happened to the cable/lock mechanism.
Apparently, you are not the only one to do this. Lexus has updated this part because it does break when pulled hard.
Q: I just purchased a 2023 Hyundai Santa Fe Limited. In addition, I bought temporary spare kit (the car had a mobility kit). The temporary tire is a T135/90 D17 and it looks too small. The car has 255/45 R20 tires. Is this correct?
Also, the owner’s manual calls for 0W-30 oil (2.5 Turbo) oil ILSAC-GF-6 or API SN PLUS/SP. Mobil1 seems to meet these specs and Pennzoil Euro LX meets or exceeds API/SN. What is your opinion on these oils? I have been using Pennzoil Platinum for many years.
The car has 600 miles on it now. I hear dealers are using 0w-20 oil. What are your thoughts on all this?
A: The temporary tire is 2.5 inches smaller than the factory full size tires. Small spare tires are designed to get you out of trouble and realistically designed to get you to a tire store or repair shop.
A smaller tire is likely to affect ABS brakes, traction control, and even speedometer operation, but in my opinion any spare tire is better than no spare tire.
According to AllData, the correct oil is what is listed in the owner’s manual as API SN PLUS / SP or ILSAC GF-6 / 0W-30. Pennzoil Ultra Platinum, Mobile1 and Quaker State full synthetic are all oils that meet this specification. Unless Hyundai comes out with a technical service bulletin that recommends 0W-20 oil, I would use only 0W-30 oil when it is time for your car’s first oil change.
Q: I am having a few problems with my Nissan Pathfinder and wanted to run them by you. The first problem is the interior dome light is not reliable. When the doors are open, it sometimes doesn’t illuminate. This happens maybe 15% of the time and is with either driver or passenger doors. The car has been to the dealer twice and they can’t duplicate this, even after keeping the car for days. The last time is was at the shop, they changed the light assembly but I still have the problem. Any thoughts?
A: There was a time when dome lights and such were simple circuits. Power to the light and the door switch was the ground, open the door the switch grounded, and the light went on.
Now, the switch sends a signal to the body control module which in turn sends a signal to the lamp relay to turn on the light. The body control computer turns the interior room lamp relay on to turn on the interior room lamp when any door opens (except back door).
The body control computer activates interior room lamp timer in any of the following conditions to turn interior room lamps on for a set period of time.
What I am saying it is It's not a simple system. The issue could be the computer/software update, wiring, or even a battery with low voltage.
John Paul is the AAA Northeast Car Doctor. He has more than 40 years of experience in the automobile industry and is an ASE-Certified Master Technician. Write to John Paul, The Car Doctor, at 110 Royal Little Drive, Providence, RI 02904. Or email jpaul@aaanortheast.com and put “Car Doctor” in the subject field. Follow him on Twitter @johnfpaul or on Facebook.https://twitter.com/johnfpaulhttps://www.facebook.com/Mrjohnfpaul
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: What would you look for in an electric bike? | Car Doctor
