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Iqbal Taher on Muck Rack

Iqbal Taher

(He/Him)
As seen in: LinkedIn, Substack
Covers:  US car repair costs, engine oil and fluid specs, safety recalls and used-car reliability. Built from manufacturer manuals, NHTSA filings and the raw federal complaint file. Nothing sponsored.
Doesn't Cover: No new car reviews, press launches or motorsport. No buying, finance or insurance. No EVs, no brand recommendations, no tuning, and no step-by-step repair procedures.
I write about what cars cost to keep. Every number gets a document behind it, and when one turns out wrong I publish the correction. Editor of Oil & Miles.
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Articles by Iqbal Taher

11 Services Shops Push That Your Car Doesn't Need

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By Iqbal Taher
| oilandmiles.com
Short answer Ask one question Not one of the eleven services below is on a normal maintenance schedule at the mileage it gets sold. One sentence at the counter sorts every line on the estimate: is that the manufacturer's schedule, or your recommendation? The prices are here so you know what each answer is worth. There are plenty of lists of services you don't need. Car Talk has one, Consumer Reports has one, Haynes has one, and they're broadly right.
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The Repair Was Due at 150,000 Miles. The Engines Died at 70,000.

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By Iqbal Taher
| Substack
Start with two numbers, because everything else follows from them. Ford’s 1.0-liter three-cylinder EcoBoost has a timing belt that runs inside the engine, bathed in oil. For most of the engine’s life, Ford told owners to replace that belt at 150,000 miles. Thanks for reading Iqbal Publication! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work. Federal investigation records put the average mileage at which these engines are actually failing at 70,000 miles.
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High-Mileage Cars to Avoid: What 48,493 Complaints Show

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By Iqbal Taher
| oilandmiles.com
Short answer Judge the failure, not the number of complaints High mileage cars to avoid are usually picked by counting complaints, and that counts buyers. We measured what share of each model's own complaints describe a four-figure failure instead. On that measure the Chevrolet Equinox, the Nissan CVT cars and the Kia and Hyundai four-cylinders sit at the top.
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Ford 1.0 EcoBoost Wet Belt: Is Your Car in the Recall?

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By Iqbal Taher
| oilandmiles.com
Short answer Check your VIN, not a model-year list One US recall covers the oil pump belt on certain automatic cars. A separate, still-open federal investigation covers the timing belt on a wider set. The two don't overlap neatly, and only a VIN check tells you where your car sits. Ford's 1.0-liter three-cylinder EcoBoost has been fitted to a very large number of ordinary cars: Fiesta, Focus, EcoSport, B-Max, C-Max, Puma and Mondeo. It won engine of the year awards.
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