Mike's Brake & Alignment Shop

Honest & Quality Service

Tag: car

Most Common Transmission Problems

October 30, 2019 / / 0 Comments

When it comes to your transmission, you always want to keep it at its best. The last thing you want is to be left dealing with additional problems due to you not handling your transmission issues right away. Your transmission is a critical component of your vehicle and needs proper care for it to work better as a whole. A faulty transmission is one of the most expensive repairs on the market. It is for this reason that you need to pay attention to the following symptoms to ensure your vehicle doesn’t fall victim to transmission problems.

Gear Shaking or Grinding

Your transmission should always shift smoothly from gear to gear. There should be no grinding, shaking, or slipping of any kind. When symptoms like these occur, you may think of it as insignificant, but it isn’t. This problem won’t go away if you simply ignore it. In fact, it will only get worse. If you are feeling any shaking or grinding, it’s time to get it looked at.

Whining, Humming, or Clunking When In Neutral

Hearing noises like these are not normal, no matter how quiet and unnoticeable the sound may be. Though this issue may likely be minor, it could also be signaling something much worse. When you hear humming or clunking, it can be due to the transmission fluid breaking down. Your transmission fluid has to lubricate all of the mechanical gears and components, so make sure you regularly have it changed.

Do You Smell Something Burning?

When there is a burning smell coming from your vehicle, it is something to be concerned about. The most common cause of the smell is due to overheated fluid. Your vehicle basically runs on this fluid as it helps to protect its complex system. When your fluid begins to deteriorate due to age and mileage, friction damage between all parts will begin to occur. The friction will cause the breakdown of your vehicle’s components as well as a buildup of debris and sludge in your engine.

There are many problems that come along with transmission issues. They start off small, but eventually turn into a costly issue if not cared for properly and in a time efficient manner. If peace of mind is your top priority, then you can count on our team at Mike’s Brake & Alignment Shop to exceed your expectations.

The Breakdown of a Tune-Up

September 24, 2019 / / 0 Comments

Getting a tune-up on your car may seem like a needless service. However, if you are invested in your car and are hoping it will be running for a while, we suggest a tune-up every so often. Read along with our blog to learn about what a tune-up is and why you should get one!

Checkup

Many people get medical checkups annually to ensure everything inside them is okay! Checkups are great because they can catch a sickness before it becomes a big deal. A car tune-up is very much the same! When you bring your car in for a tune-up, your mechanic will be going down a checklist of parts and systems to check. Some notable ones are spark plugs, fuel pumps, fuel injectors, PVC valves, oil plus coolant levels, and your engine plus cabin air filters. Over time, these basic parts will begin to wear down and need some maintenance.

Why

Little parts and systems in your car may not seem to be very important, but they are in the long run. If just one or two of these systems begins to wear or lag, it isn’t a huge issue. However, over time, all these parts will need to be repaired. Eventually, you are going to be faced with a plethora of mechanical issues which is not only stressful but also costly. Instead of attempting to get a quick fix on all your little maintenance needs at once, you should invest in a tune-up which will ensure everything is good to go. Just like a medical checkup is mostly for preventative measures, so is a tune-up! Instead of waiting till your health is completely unwell, you should annually get checked to get a head start on fixing issues before they become an emergency.

Conclusion

Your vehicle can be an important and key part of your life. If you want to treat it like such, regular tune-ups are essential. Get it regularly checked for underlying mechanical maintenance issues. If you haven’t had a tune-up in a while, check out our website to get started and set up an appointment today!

Working With Your Mechanic

June 28, 2019 / / 0 Comments

Many people are hesitant or wary of working with their local mechanic when their car starts to give them trouble. Instead of allowing a professional to work on their vehicle, quick home fixes or expensive dealership trips are made. In today’s blog, we will be discussing different ways that you can work with your local mechanic in order to feel completely secure with the work they can do for you!

Communication

Your mechanic is not a mind reader or the driver of your vehicle. When issues arise, it is important that you are fully able to communicate the situation to your mechanic. If there’s a weird sound occurring, try video or audio taping so you can show them exactly what is happening. Also, if previous work has been done to your car, make sure your current mechanic is up to date on all those details. Maintaining communication will ensure they are able to work on, and solve, all the problems you are having with your vehicle. It is also important to receive good communication back from them. Find out what they believe the issue is, how long it should take to fix, and how much the cost will be. Exchanging numbers so that you can stay in contact while the repairs are being made is also a great way to stay in touch.

Realistic Goals

There are a variety of reasons why you might take your car to a mechanic. All these various issues have different ways of being fixed. Some fixes are easy and should solve the problem entirely. Other fixes are quick and temporary, so you can buy time between now and finding a more permanent solution. These different goals and outcomes should be discussed with your mechanic so that you have a realistic goal in mind. These types of goals will keep you from feeling disappointed and let down when your mechanic is unable to completely fix the problem.


Don’t Hover

Depending on the type of repair you are asking for, the time spent waiting for your mechanic to finish could be short or lengthy. In the case that it is a quick fix and you choose to stay and wait for your vehicle, it is important to give your mechanic space and stay in the designated waiting area. Hovering around your mechanic while they are performing the repair can cause delay in the amount of time it takes to finish, which lengthens the amount of time you’re waiting and also makes it difficult for other people hoping to get a repair. When you are left waiting for your vehicle, it is best to stick to yourself and allow the mechanic to do their work in peace. If you plan on staying while your car is being repaired, bring things to entertain yourself. Bring a phone charger if you plan on playing on your phone or watching a movie, bring a book or magazine, or bring along a sketch book or knitting materials if you have an easy to set up hobby that you enjoy. Allowing your mechanic the proper, unbothered time it takes to correctly finish up your repair is not only good for you, but also helps the people waiting for repairs after you!

Conclusion

Hesitating to send your car to a local mechanic is understandable. When you don’t understand how to work with your mechanic, the idea of taking your car anywhere other than the dealership or to a friend’s garage can be scary. In today’s blog, we discussed ways you can work with your mechanic in order to receive the quality and affordable repairs that you deserve. For more information on mechanic work, head on over to Mike’s Brake & Alignment Shop’s website!

A Broad Look at Engine Diagnostics

July 31, 2018 / / 0 Comments

Anyone who has driven a car has more than likely been in this situation. You’re on your way to work or some errand, when, all of a sudden, the check engine light on your dashboard illuminates. Clearly, something is wrong with the vehicle, but what exactly could it be? You listen closely, but there doesn’t appear to be any noises coming from the engine. Sure, that armrest is as squeaky as it’s ever been, but that can’t be the problem – the car is running just fine.

Before you decide to your vehicle into the nearest auto repair shop for a service, it’s a good idea to understand what exactly the light is trying to tell you. Of course, this is really all you need to know since the mechanic will run a diagnostic test with a scan tool that provides an alphanumeric value to succinctly determine what the problem is and lay out a plan to resolve it. As an aside, let’s take a look at the few of the most common engine problems!

An Engine Misfire

While the symptoms vary by vehicle, this can be a mysterious and sometimes scary problem. Don’t be alarmed, though – this is usually the result of the engine stumbling or presenting a brief hesitation in its power delivery.

Basically, one or more of the cylinders aren’t operating the way they’re supposed to, and it can cause your vehicle to rock or vibrate while idling. The scan tool can determine whether this is your problem by monitoring the speed of the crankshaft while the engine is running. If there is any loss of speed, you have an engine misfire on your hands.

A Faulty Oxygen Sensor

This is perhaps the most common problems car owners face, and that’s a faulty oxygen sensor. You see, the oxygen sensor is designed to monitor the oxygen in your exhaust system. By doing so, the engine computer can adjust the fuel mixture in order to maximize your vehicle’s fuel economy while also minimizing the emissions going out into the air. You can tell whether this could be happening if your gas mileage decreases or your car randomly stalls.

Poor Exhaust Gas Circulation

Exhaust Gas Recirculation, or EGR, is used to control the smog-causing nitrous oxides your engine emits. To do so, the EGR recirculates a portion of the engine’s exhaust gas back into its cylinders through the car’s computer system which opens and closes the valves.

Unfortunately, this can be impacted if you, for example, haven’t changed the oil hasn’t been changed in a good while or you take one too many short trips that won’t allow the car enough time to warm up to avoid carbon accumulation.

An Issue with the Evaporative System

The evaporative system, or EVAP, contains and removes any vapors that are created when fuel has been burned. This is why they always tell you to make sure your gas cap has been tightened after every fill-up. If the cap is loose, fuel vapors can escape from the gas tank, setting off this specific error code. It may not be a bad idea to check whether this is the case any time your check engine light appears.

A Contaminated Catalytic Converter

Your vehicle’s catalytic converter, which converts pollutants to less toxic pollutants by catalyzing a redox reaction, is monitored by the downstream oxygen sensor. Over time, the converter can become contaminated by these same toxins and can increase tailpipe emissions, especially if the engine is burning oil, is leaking coolant, or is simply worn down due to age.

As you can tell from the explanations above, when that check engine light appears, more often than not, it’s simply an issue with your car’s emissions. However, while we can take this broader examination of what you could be experiencing, it’s very important to note that it can just be the first sign of a much larger issue at play. Just because your car is telling you there could be an issue with your engine doesn’t mean they’re presenting the entire picture in a clear way.

This is why it’s so important to visit a trusted auto repair specialist who can examine your vehicle thoroughly to determine whether you may have a big problem on your hands. At the very least, it should give you some much-needed peace of mind while you are out on the open road as the last thing you need is yet another distraction when you’re already dealing with other drivers.

The Process of State Inspections for Vehicles

May 14, 2018 / / 0 Comments

Aside from having auto insurance, many states around our country require you to go through their version of a state inspection to ensure the safety and performance of your vehicle on the road. Their intended goal is to keep drivers, their passengers, and everything around you safe.

As you can imagine, since a state inspection is designed to check every aspect of a vehicle, not everyone is able to pass this test. Fortunately, you should be able to avoid this situation entirely by following a few simple guidelines before you bring your vehicle to our shop to be inspected. With that in mind, here are some of the fundamental aspects of a state inspection.

How to Make Sure Your Vehicle Passes a State Inspection

First things first, you need to make sure that your vehicle’s headlights, signal lights, and brake lights all function properly. Check to make sure none of the bulbs are loose since this may cause a problem. You also want to check the quality of your wiper blades and ascertain whether they have any tears.

Going to the side, take a look at the depth of the tread in your tires; the tread must be 2/32nds of an inch or greater with nothing punctured into the tires themselves. The easy way to find this out is by following the penny test – place a penny between the tread ribs of your tire with Lincoln’s head on the coin pointed down.

If the top of his head disappears between the ribs (or the raised portion of tread that spans the circumference of the tire), your tread is above 2/32nds of an inch. If you can see his entire head, you may need to have your tires replaced. Speaking of which, all your tires must be equipped with their required lug nuts fastened on.

Now that we have the exterior out of the way, let’s take a look under the hood – literally. You will want to check to make sure your vehicle has the proper amount of power steering fluid and brake fluid. If you don’t know how to find this, take a look at your vehicle’s owner manual.

If the fluids are underneath the minimum mark on the fluid containers, you won’t pass the state inspection. The same can be said about the exhaust system – it must be fully intact without any signs of a leak. If you believe that there could be any leaks here or with the fluid levels, bring your vehicle to a professional mechanic to have it checked out.

Finally, the windows. You must be certain the tinting on your windows falls within the acceptable range as enforced by the Department of Public Safety which states how much percentage of light must be able to pass through the vehicle. The place you have your state inspection at will be able to tell you whether you pass or not.

What Happens When You Don’t Have State Inspections

For those who drive in a state that requires state inspections, it goes without saying that complying with the laws will help you avoid being charged a fine while also ensuring you are driving legally. If you happened to be stopped by a law enforcement officer for any type of violation on the road, you could get a ticket for a lapsed state inspection. This is also required if you plan on buying, selling, or registering your vehicle in a state that requires an up-to-date inspection.

The game goes if you park in the street or travel in an urban area where the expectations regarding state inspections are just as great as the heavy fine you’ll receive. Much like vehicle tags, state inspection stickers vary in color on a periodic basis depending on the state, so it’s easy to spot if you have an out-of-date sticker.

By and large, the reason these annual inspections are enforced is it’s a general assumption that people won’t do anything unless they have to. Without them, there’s a good chance people would be driving around all over the road in what can be described as safety hazards on wheels. In essence, state inspections help keep drivers safe from others and from themselves!

Transmission 101: Why You Should Maintain Your Transmission

April 30, 2018 / / 0 Comments

When you are a car owner, you’ve heard the word “transmission” thrown a lot. But, do you actually know what that means, or what the function of your transmission of your actually is? If you do not, that is perfectly okay, not many people do. We are here to inform you a little bit about the function of your transmission and when you should be seeking out a transmission repair.

Basic Functions of Your Transmission

To put it simply the transmission is responsible for sending power from your engine to your wheels, so you can actually accelerate and get somewhere. For those of you who drive a manual transmission vehicle, you will notice the numbers on the gearstick in your car.

Depending on how many gears your car has, you will see they number one through 5, maybe even 6, and obviously reverse. These numbers represent the gear that you are currently. When you accelerate from a full stop, you go into gear one. If you were to accelerate from a full stop, say into gear four or five, then your car would not go anywhere and your car will stall out. That is because each gear refers to the proportion of engine shaft speed to driveshaft speed.

So to make things easier to understand, the lower the gear, the higher the acceleration. You need more RPMs to say, accelerate from a full stop or go up a hill, but if you are going full speed on the highway, you can cruise in a higher gear and a lower RPM. If you were going 60 MPH and still stuck in 3rd gear, you would blow your engine out. An automatic transmission works in much the same way, but as the name states, automatically. There is no clutch and gearstick involved.

Signs You Need Repair

Often your vehicle will show telltale signs that it is in need of service, so pay attention when you feel something is not normal. First and probably the most noticeable is a problem shifting gears. Some of the symptoms could be jerking while shifting gears or your vehicle falling out of gear completely.

Other issues include grinding between gears, strange noises, leaks, and a burning smell coming from your transmission.

Conclusion

So now you know the basic functions of a vehicle transmission. Without it, you wouldn’t be going anywhere, and that is why it is very important to keep your transmission in proper working order. When you need the transmission of your vehicle serviced, make sure you bring it to a trusted auto repair shop, lest the problem become worse. We hope that you feel more informed about the importance of a properly functioning transmission.

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