It’s a busy time of year. Kids are back in school; chores need to get done around the house before the holidays sneak up on us. And traffic always seems to get worse! Not to mention the road hazards of wind, falling leaves, early darkness, and new potholes.
Whether you have a heater only, heater and A/C, or a fully automatic climate control system in your vehicle, they need periodic maintenance to perform correctly. Heaters are completely dependent on the operating condition of your engine’s cooling system, as they use the hot coolant as a heat source for your passenger cabin.
Out of the blue, there’s suddenly green, red, or other color fluids under my car. WHAT’ S GOING ON!! No need to panic…yet.
Depending on the manufacturer, some coolants are red, some are green, and some are yellow. Never mix colors, and always use the color your vehicle already has in the radiator.
Also, many transmission fluids are red. If any of these are under your car, you have a leak, and it needs to be addressed. If it’s monstrously large, don’t drive the car, have it towed to us to avoid more damage.
If you notice that your car, truck, or SUV is wandering, or pulling to one side of the road, that’s an indication of a safety issue with your steering. It may be caused by bad tires, a steering component failure, an alignment issue, or some other problem.
Once it starts, it’s likely to get worse, and could lead to a catastrophic failure and a collision. At the first sign of this, come in and we’ll do an inspection. We’ll find your steering goblins and get your vehicle back to handling like a dream!
The braking system on your vehicle is just as important as the drivetrain that moves it under power. While your engine and transmission provide the “GO”, it’s your brakes that slow you down when you’re ready to “WHOA”! On all vehicles, brakes take a beating every time they are applied.
At this time of year, there is less daylight each day. There is more rain in the forecast, and our trips for after-school and evening meetings are now ending at dusk or in the dark. This is the time to play it safe by changing all the wiper blades on your vehicle so you’re ready for any changes in the weather.
Your vehicle’s battery has a lot to do! It provides electrical power to start the engine. It sends power to operate all of the cabin accessories, such as the stereo, lighting, and the blower motor for the A/C and defroster. It powers the instrument panel so we can see what our vehicle is doing.
And as vehicles get more complex, even more systems are added, such as navigation, engine, and transmission management, Wi-Fi, lane departure, self-driving modes and much more.
