iFixit

Coffee Grinders, Bulging Batteries, and Lots of Teardown Discoveries — Repair Radio Episode 14

On this episode of Repair Radio, we talked about broken coffee grinders, bulging UPS batteries, and how your car’s computer and engine work together so you can get to work on time. We also recapped a busy week full of teardown.

How to Listen

Hosts: Craig Lloyd, Kevin Purdy, and Whitson Gordon
Music: Gypsy (@ArchaicsHipHop)

News Topics

  • iPhone 11 Pro Max Teardown: The rumor mill has been hard at work surrounding the iPhone 11 Pro Max release, and we’re hard at work to put these rumors to rest. How much RAM is there? What’s with that bilateral charging? How did Apple boost the battery life? Join us for a teardown, as we tackle these questions and dive into this mystery of a phone!
  • iPhone 11 Teardown: For the first time ever, Apple released three new iPhones all at once, and our teardown team has never been busier. We focused most of our efforts on the iPhone 11 Pro Max teardown last week, but we also took a look inside the mid-sized and decidedly non-professional iPhone 11. This minty green machine may be the middle sibling in this year’s iPhone lineup, but it’s no less worthy of time under the screwdriver.
  • Apple Watch Series 5 Teardown: The big new feature on the Apple Watch Series 5 is its always-on display. Now you can tell the time, anytime—an “innovative” feature that my $20 Timex has had for ages, but it’s easier said than done on a complex device like the Apple Watch. That’s why what really matters is on the inside. Here’s what our teardown uncovered.
  • How Apple’s Newest Watch Achieves an Always-On Display (Probably): While announcing the Apple Watch Series 5, Apple did a very Apple thing: they touted a new feature, hinted at some of the technology behind it, and left some of us with a lot of questions. The biggest one for us under-the-hood types: what is an “LTPO” display, and how does it allow for an always-on face?
  • The 40mm Apple Watch Series 5 Has a Radical New Battery Design: This week we tore down the 44mm Apple Watch Series 5 and discovered only a handful of minor differences from last year’s Series 4. However, we eventually got our hands on inside the 40mm model and noticed a fairly significant change not present on the larger model.
  • iPad 7 Teardown: Apple’s 7th-generation iPad has arrived on the scene with some new bells and whistles! Along with the new 10.2” display, there’s … hmm. As the most basic tablet in Apple’s lineup, this iPad mostly inherits hand-me-down features from its more prestigious kin. What else has Apple re-purposed? We’re here to spill the beans with a teardown.
  • Nintendo Switch Lite Teardown: In case you haven’t heard, there’s a new Switch on the block: it’s the Nintendo Switch Lite, and it comes with less in order to cost you less. It also arrives in some hot new colors—which only distract us momentarily, before we remember we’re here for a teardown. Grab your tools and let’s take apart the new Switch Lite.

Listener Questions

Breezy_folarinn on Instagram asked: “My car (which is a 2018 Toyota Rav4) has 10,600 miles (bought it brand new), automatic transmission and was wondering if it’s normal for the RPMs to increase for a quick second when putting the car in drive from park on a cold start. The car idles at about 1500 RPMs and when you shift to Drive the RPMs increase for about a half second and then go down to normal idle. Is this something I should get checked out or is this something modern cars do?”

When going from park to drive (or vice versa) the RPMs will fluctuate slightly. That’s normal. However, if 1,500 RPMs is the idle when the engine is fully warmed up, then that’s a bit high and should get checked out. (Normal idle is around 700-800 RPMs.) If there is a problem, it’s likely the idle air control valve that’s attached to the throttle body, and can be cleaned using electrical parts cleaner, but may just need to be replaced if it’s faulty.

Have a Question You Want Answered on Repair Radio?

You can email your repair questions to repairradio@ifixit.com, or tag us on Twitter and include the hashtag #RepairRadio in your tweet. Your question can be anything repair-related, whether it’s how to fix something, tools you should buy, maintenance advice, or anything in between. We’ll pick some of our favorite questions and answer them on the podcast! And if you have general feedback about the podcast, we’d love to hear that as well!

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