Archive for March 2022The Part You've Never Seen (Flat Tires and Solutions)Posted March 27, 2022 12:04 PMThey say your vehicle has one, but you've never seen it. And you might not even know it if you stumbled on it accidentally. We're talking about the jack, that tool that allows you to lift one corner of the vehicle up so someone can change a flat tire. So you say you'd never try to change a flat anyway, so you don't care where it is. But one day, you may find yourself in a spot where you're stranded with no cell service and you'll need to at least know the basics of what to do. Well, here's the ironic part. Many of today's vehicles don't even have jacks and spares! Recently, manufacturers have been saving weight by supplying another solution for a flat tire, such as an inflator kit that has a tire sealant in it, or a small compressor. If your vehicle has one of those, it's a good idea to get to know how to use it before you need to use it. Hopefully you'll be able to call roadside assistance and they can take care of things, but circumstances may prevent help from coming for a long time. The next time you're here at Auto Authority LLC for routine maintenance, ask one of our pros to show you the basics of your vehicle's flat tire tools. Consider watching an online video, too; there are plenty out there and may be specific to your make and model. Some vehicles have a space-saving spare, a smaller one that is meant to get you on the road long enough to find a place to have it repaired or replaced. Those vehicles will also have a jack. Then there are vehicles that have a full-size spare tire and a jack. Again, you may prefer to call roadside assistance, but if no one is available or reachable (which is sometimes the case in a major storm), you may have to fix your own flat. Some drivers do a "dry run" of changing a tire in their driveway during daylight hours so they at least know where the jack and spare are and how to use them. Our service experts may be able to help you locate each part and give you some tips. And again, there are many videos online that can show you the fundamentals of jacking your make and model of vehicle. Nobody relishes a flat tire. You may be lucky and never have to change one. But in this case, a little knowledge is better than no knowledge at all. In the unlikely case you are stranded at the side of a highway at night in the middle of the rain with no cell service, you'll at least be one step ahead.
A Turn for the Worse (Using Turn Signals)Posted March 20, 2022 11:54 AMDistracted driving is bad, you know that. Daydreaming, talking on the cell phone, putting your makeup on in the rear view mirror. All bad. But there's something else that causes more than twice as many accidents, according to a recent study. And that's people who don't use their turn signals. Maybe you're one of them. One survey said nearly a quarter of drivers were just too lazy to use their turn signals. Others said they didn't use them because they weren't really necessary. Traffic laws may dictate otherwise, but statistics show police don't write that many tickets for turn signal violations. You may have encountered the driver who cuts into your lane without signaling a change. Often, that person does it deliberately to catch you off guard so you won't invade his or her space. And when it comes to young drivers using turn signals, one insurance company survey showed more than two-thirds of those they talked to admitted it wasn't their regular practice. Knowing that, you may wonder why you should use your turn signal. The reason is simple. It lets other drivers know what you plan to do. Driving it tricky enough with all the moving parts on the road. The more you know what other people are doing, the more you can prepare for that with the way you drive. How many times have you seen someone turn left without putting their turn signal on? That's a leading cause of rear-end accidents. Not only does using your turn signal promote safety, it also shows courtesy to other drivers. There are some drivers who don't use turn signals because their turn signals don't work. What a lousy excuse! All of the safety equipment in your vehicle should be working; if it isn't, head over to your repair facility. Often it's as simple as a burned out bulb or a broken wire. Finally, the number one reported reason for not using a turn signal is that drivers just forget to do it. (And the ones who DO use their turn signals and forget they're on? We won't even go there.) Engineers put turn signals on vehicles for a reason. They help drivers communicate with other drivers. Using them could save accidents… and lives.
Muffler: Victim of Winter (Muffler Repair)Posted March 13, 2022 9:44 AMSo you almost got through the winter until, one day, your muffler started sounding like a dragster, loud and obnoxious. It's not surprising. All that road salt and brine can cause rust to punch holes in a muffler, and that should raise a big, red warning flag about the safety of your vehicle. One big concern is carbon monoxide, a poisonous gas that can drift into your cabin if your muffler is leaking. You've probably heard about people whose home furnaces have leaked carbon monoxide and overcome families inside. Carbon monoxide can first cause you to feel dizzy and nauseous. It can even render you unconscious—even kill you. So if your vehicle's muffler is leaking that gas, well, it's nothing to mess around with. Oh, and how about that noise? You may get a ticket since many municipalities have laws against noisy exhausts. Your muffler may be making a clunking or rattling sound when the engine's running or it may be spewing thick exhaust smoke. All of these symptoms are telling you to get to your vehicle service facility soon. A technician may find it's the muffler or another part of your exhaust system that is coming apart or is busted. Sometimes the repair can be as simple as replacing a section of pipe or clamps, but sometimes you'll need to replace more components. Your service advisor can recommend several different options to try to help you meet your performance and budgetary needs. You'll drive out with a vehicle that doesn't sound like a teenager trying to hotrod the family car, is a whole lot safer and sounds a lot less obnoxious in the process.
Beware Dangers of Spring Driving (Seasonal Driving Tips)Posted March 6, 2022 11:11 AMSure, winter is quickly fading in the rearview mirror, but the peril of icy roads is replaced with a whole new set of driving challenges in spring. Deer and other wildlife. You are not the only one who gets spring fever. Animals do, too, and spring is the time they start looking for mates and food. Be extra careful at dawn and dusk when deer are especially active. Hitting a deer (or having them jump into your path suddenly) is a frightening experience, and even a deer/vehicle collision at slow speeds can cause injury and/or loss of life for both animal and humans, let alone expensive damage to the vehicle. Be extra vigilant during spring. The angle of the light. As the seasons progress, you'll notice sun angles change. The sun is rising earlier every morning and setting later at light. When the sun is low in the sky, that glare can render you almost completely blind. Make sure your windows and windshield are clean; don't forget the inside glass, too, which can build up a haze over the winter. Potholes. The freezing and thawing of pavement is shockingly effective at busting up asphalt and concrete. The holes left behind can seem like moon craters, and if you hit one or more hard, they can cause you to lose control of your vehicle, increasing your chances of an accident. They also can cause some significant damage to your vehicle. If you feel your vehicle pulling to one side, notice it has a rough ride or hear noises you haven’t heard before, have your suspension's integrity inspected at your vehicle service facility. Children playing. Kids are excited to get back outside, running wild, playing with balls and toys… just being kids. These newly-rediscovered outside thrills can also steal away their attention from what's going on around them and they may dart out onto the street before you know it. Spring is a time to be vigilant and devote extra concentration to roads and neighborhoods. Spring is such a breath of fresh air. Remember to be super careful of a whole new set of hazards winter made you forget about for a while.
Keeping Your Cool (Coolant leak repair)Posted February 27, 2022 8:22 AMIf there’s one thing you should pay attention to with your vehicle, it’s the temperature gauge. It’s the one that may say C---H (that means “cold---hot”). Or maybe yours has a picture of a thermometer on it and a blue and red zone. If you see the needle heading farther to the “H” or red area, that means your vehicle’s engine is running hotter than it normally does. One of the most common causes of an engine running hot is a leak in your cooling system. Maybe you’ve seen puddles of coolant under your vehicle, or you’ve smelled the coolant, either inside or outside your vehicle (it has a sort of “sweet” or fruity smell). That’s your engine giving you a warning signal that it’s time to head over to your repair facility to find out what’s going on. Your vehicle’s coolant can leak for several reasons. You may have hoses that are deteriorating (heat and age take their toll). It’s possible the pump that circulates coolant has developed a problem (seals and bearings can fail from heat and wear). You may have something as simple as a bad radiator cap. Or your radiator or heater core may have holes in it. If your coolant is leaking out, this can cause serious damage to your engine if you just let it go. Your engine could get so hot that some of the metal parts start to warp. Sometimes, your coolant can start mixing in with your engine oil. That can result in a very expensive repair if it gets to that stage, so have it checked out before that happens. A technician will visually inspect your coolant system, including the reservoir tank, check hoses and fittings, test the water pump, and also may pressure test the radiator. When the problem or problems are found, they will replace the necessary parts and get you back on the road. When it comes to a coolant leak, finding the cause can be tricky. But it’s important to catch a cooling system issue in time—before your engine sustains more serious damage. Now, that’s pretty cool. Auto Authority LLC I Want a New Vehicle. Or Do I? (Vehicle Maintenance Payoffs)Posted February 20, 2022 8:43 AMSpring is a peak season for vehicle sales; companies aggressively market new models and offer all sorts of incentives. So you may be tempted to buy a shiny new beauty. But should you? If you've regularly maintained the vehicle you're driving now, you probably don't NEED a new one. Even if your current one needs some repairs, how do those costs compare to what you'd spend on a new vehicle? A brand new vehicle starts to depreciate the second you drive it off the lot. How much? Experts say you'll lose half of its value during the first 5 years of owning a new vehicle. So if you pay $30,000 for a new one, you'll lose $15,000 in 5 years. That's a lot. If you have paid off your current vehicle, think of having to start making car payments again. Let's say your new payment would be $350 a month. Bet you can think of a lot of things you can buy with an extra $350 a month. Many considering a new vehicle don't factor how much their insurance and license tag fees will increase. You may save yourself hundreds of dollars in insurance and license tag fees every year if you keep your old vehicle. That gets us back to the original question. Do you need a new vehicle? Reliability and durability of most models have made dramatic improvements in the last couple of decades. It's not unusual for a vehicle to reliably reach the 200,000 mile/325,000 km mark these days. That's due to new engineering in powertrains, corrosion protection and lubricants. The best bet to keeping a vehicle on the road longer is scheduled, regular maintenance and inspection. Replacing parts before they fail is often cheaper than waiting till they do fail; frequently that prevents a damaging domino effect that affects other systems in the vehicle. Finding a service facility you can trust and developing a relationship with that facility ensures your scheduled service and maintenance will be done correctly, minimizing breakdowns. Sure, at some point you may find you need a big repair that will cost more than your vehicle is worth, or rust will destroy vital components. But it's wise to use reason rather than emotion when you're making any decision about your vehicle, and sticking with your current one could be the most sensible choice.
Start Me Up (Ignition Systems)Posted February 13, 2022 10:28 AMWhen you start up your gasoline engine car, you may not know that it's using the same ignition principles as it has for decades. You have spark plugs that require enough power so a spark can jump across a gap at its tip. Years ago, a vehicle's 12-volt system had to produce 15,000-25,000 volts to do that, so engineers came up with something called an ignition coil that bumps up the voltage. It also has to be done at just the right interval called timing. The first systems had a distributor, a mechanical device with a rotating disc that switched the power to the ignition coil on and off. That higher voltage then was sent to the spark plugs at the correct time interval. But the mechanical "points" had to be replaced and adjusted every 12,000 miles/20,000 kilometers. Engineers later replaced the switching mechanism with solid state ones, but they still needed replacement after 120,000 miles/200,000 kilometers. The next evolution came in the 80's when the distributor was replaced with a couple of sensors which talked to a computer. This "DIS" (distributor-less automotive ignition system) was a big advance. Plus, it didn't use just one ignition coil for all the cylinders. It had coil "packs" that each provided spark to two cylinders. That way, the voltage could be boosted even higher, to 30,000 volts, which helped engines be able to ignite a leaner fuel/air mixture. Recently have come even more improvements. Now instead of coil packs, there's a coil that's attached to each spark plug. No more spark plug wires means less maintenance. Plus, a stronger, hotter spark of 50,000 volts can make an engine more reliable, increase fuel economy and reduce emissions. No matter what ignition system your vehicle uses, your vehicle service facility has a staff of technicians trained to work on the latest technology. Make sure to have your vehicle maintained regularly so you can take full advantage of these modern engineering marvels. Auto Authority LLC Poor Reflections (Door Mirror Problems)Posted February 6, 2022 11:14 AMMirror, mirror on the door, why is my vision there so poor? Well, you could have a broken outside rearview mirror that's disabled your blind spot vision there and endangering your ability to see some of the traffic around you. Outside rearview (or door) mirrors are important safety devices that are thoughtfully designed to help drivers see. And there are a variety of ways those door mirrors can develop problems. One is when the glass is broken in them. Sometimes it's caused by an accident or vandalism. But without your ability to see in that mirror, you could be driving blind, unable to see drivers approaching from the rear in adjacent lanes. Sometimes it's as simple as having the glass replaced. You'll greatly enhance your safety if you do. Then there's the door mirror that you can't adjust. First, let's look at a common scenario in later models, the power mirror. They're great when they're working, awful when they're not. Sometimes the motor fails, the switch goes bad or the wiring fails to deliver power. Or how about the manually-adjusted door mirror that has either frozen up or just flops around? In this case, the mechanism has corroded, jammed up or a part has broken. In both power- and manually-adjusted door mirrors, it sometimes can be hard to keep them in the right position. Plus, every time there's a driver change, it may be hard to adjust those broken mechanisms by hand. Finally, heated door mirrors can be extraordinarily useful in eliminating fogging or icing up in certain weather conditions. But those heating elements can fail, switches can break or wiring can go bad. Suddenly your fogged over, frozen mirrors aren't doing you any good at all. Good drivers use those outside rearview mirrors all the time. They should be working the way designers intended, to provide the driver with vital traffic position information. That's the kind of safety device you should get fixed or replaced sooner rather than later. It's well worth it if you prevent even one little accident. Auto Authority LLC Conventional or Synthetic? (Switching to Synthetic Oil)Posted January 30, 2022 10:52 AMIf you keep up on technology trends, then you may be intrigued about synthetic motor oil. It was introduced in the 1960s when Mobil came up with it. Mobil's oil was different from conventional motor oil because it was first broken down to its basic molecules. Then, Mobil removed additional impurities from crude oil and "tailored them to the demands of modern engines." Synthetic oil is becoming more popular now because of its advantages over conventional oil. It's more resistant to sludge forming in an engine. It is more efficient and protects engines better under temperature extremes. Because it allows drivers to go longer between oil changes, many feel it's more convenient. The downside is that synthetic oil is more expensive, but because it doesn't need changing as often, the cost can be pretty comparable in the long run. Those who drive high performance vehicles (think Audi, BMW, Mercedes) are already using synthetic oil if they're following their manufacturer's guidelines. Other manufacturers recommend a synthetic blend. So for those who are using conventional oil, you may want to consult your service advisor for some recommendations if you want to switch to synthetic. If you're the type who always waits until the last-minute or doesn't ever get in quite in time for the recommended oil change interval, the longer gap required between changes with synthetic oil may appeal to you. In some cases, you can go up to 15,000 miles/24,000 km between changes. If you drive in a very cold climate, synthetic oil can flow more easily at startup and may offer quicker engine protection. On the other hand, in hot climates, synthetic oil can resist heat breakdown better. Or you may be one of those drivers who have been getting along fine with conventional oil changes. Millions do. Just remember that changing your oil is considered the most important maintenance you can do on your vehicle, so make sure it's done at the right time and with the oil that best suits your driving needs. Auto Authority LLC How Tired Are Your Tires? (Tire replacement)Posted January 23, 2022 7:52 AMOf the things you think about most, your tires are probably pretty far down the list. That’s understandable because today’s tires are engineered to do their job without needing you to pay too much attention to them. But they DO wear out, and worn tires can contribute to skidding in bad weather, not being able to stop, a ride full of uncomfortable vibrations and, even a sudden blowout. Yikes. Let’s figure out right now how to know if your tires need replacing! Let’s face it. Most of us don’t know the first thing about tires. So, the best way to make sure what shape yours are in is to take your vehicle to a qualified service facility to have the tires checked out by a trained technician. Here are things they’ll check:
If it’s time to replace your tires, you’ll find you have many choices for new ones: different brands, models, designs, etc. Your service adviser can help you figure out which ones are right for you. It’s much better—and safer—to do it before one of them fails at the least opportune time. Auto Authority LLC | ||
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