Ask the Motor Medics®

Dear Motor Medics,I have a 2014 Ford Fusion and I want to repair my air conditioner. It stopped working a couple of years ago and I didn’t have the money to get it going so I didn’t even take it in the shop.

Saving on auto insurance

Dear Savvy Senior,Can you offer any tips to help seniors save on their auto insurance? I recently turned 70 and got hit with a 25 percent premium increase on my car insurance and am looking for ways to save.

Navigating Social Security

Dear Savvy Senior, My local Social Security offi ce was recently shut down because of staff layoffs and large- scale downsizing by the Department of Government Effi ciency. All this disruption makes me very nervous, as I’ll be applying for my Social Security retirement benefi ts later this year.

Ask the Motor Medics

The Under the Hood Show Dear Motor Medics, I have a 2017 Ford Escape with an EcoBoost 1.6 engine and I am having a heating problem. Over this winter the heat has been getting less warm inside of the cabin.

At risk for kidney disease?

Dear Savvy Senior, What are the risk factors for kidney disease? My mother died from kidney failure a few years ago at age 75 but didn’t even know she had a problem until it was too late.

Ask the Motor Medics

The Under the Hood Show Dear Motor Medics, My Sierra diesel truck has developed a fuel problem. I use the truck for towing daily and it now has over 200k miles on it. I replaced the fuel injectors about six months ago and the cylinder heads were replaced about 30k miles ago.

Replacing important lost documents

Dear Savvy Senior, How do I go about replacing some important documents that were lost when our home of 50 years burned down? We lost everything including our house deed, car titles, old tax returns, Social Security and Medicare cards, birth certifi cates, marriage license and passports.

Ask the Motor Medics

The Under the Hood Show Dear Motor Medics, I am having issues with my 2009 Chevy Tahoe. When I try to turn the heat from hot to cold it sticks on the cold position on just the passenger side. If I use a scanner to reset and calibrate the doors once the engine is hot, it will be fair but not great.

Worrying about memory loss

Dear Savvy Senior, At age 70, I’ve become more and more forgetful lately and am concerned it may be an early sign of dementia. Are there any memory screening tools or services that you can recommend to help me gage my problem, without going to a neurologist?

Ask the Motor Medics

The Under the Hood Show Dear Motor Medics, With winter on its way out, I’m wondering about things I can do to help with all the salt that I am picturing eating my car alive while I am sleeping.