Automotive Industry News & Information - Frank May Garage

It’s said that 90 percent of our driving decisions are based on visual information. Our automotive wiper blades play an important role in this. Most drivers know that a dirty or streaked windshield can catch the glare of the sun or on-coming headlights and make it nearly impossible to see.

Most busy car owners deal with their wiper blades from a failure perspective. They address them when they no longer function. Instead, drivers should think about wipers blades as an important safety system that they should maintain, rather than repair

The US government has a website dedicated to helping us to use less fuel. It presents the cost savings in a way drivers can relate to, no matter what kind of vehicle we drive. Here’s an example:

Having your engine properly tuned can save up to 4%. If you’re paying three-fifty for a gallon of gas, you could save fourteen cents a gallon.

In today’s auto care blog, we are focusing on battery maintenance. Eventually your car battery will fail and you will need to replace it. In fact, 70% don’t even make it four years. There are some things car owners can do, however, to make their battery last a little longer.

It’s all about the flow of electrical power. When you start your vehicle, the battery uses power to get your engine cranking. As your engine runs, your alternator generates electricity to run all your electrical systems: like lights, a half dozen computers, anti-lock brake system, traction control, power windows, electronic fuel injectors, stability control, air conditioning, transmission servos – the list goes on. Any leftover electricity goes to recharge your sedan battery. Then you turn on your radio and seat heaters; maybe plug in your cell phone and computer; the kids watch a DVD and pretty soon there isn’t much extra electricity to go back into the battery.

Most people ignore their tires, yet tires are undoubtedly a critical safety component on a vehicle. Where the rubber meets the road affects traction, handling, steering, stability and braking. Because of this, a sudden tire failure can have serious consequences, especially if it occurs when operating at high speeds.

Nearly 250,000 accidents occur in the United States per year due to low tire pressure.

About 75 % of roadside flats are preceded by a slow leak or under inflation.

According to a recent survey, America could reduce its fuel consumption by 10 % and save a collective $2 billion a year by keeping tires properly inflated.

NHTSA estimates that tire pressure monitoring systems could prevent as many as 79 deaths and 10,365 injuries each year in the United States.

It’s easy for auto owners to take power steering for granted – you spin the steering wheel and your car turns. But behind the scenes your power steering is making it easy. The vast majority of vehicles on the road today have hydraulic power steering systems, which means that pressurized fluid is used to help you do the work of steering. A pump pressurizes the power steering fluid to provide the boost you need. In some auto owners’ vehicles the pump is driven by the serpentine belt, in other there’s an electric pump.

All of us have those days when we’ve got a bunch of errands to run. Suppose on your day off you need to get gas, pick up some groceries, swing by your ATM and get the kids from school. Now you could make four trips, but that would be a waste of time and money – totally inefficient. Instead you get organized and hit the ATM first and get some gas next. Then you go to the supermarket and pick up the kids on the way home. Way better use of your time.

A customer came into the shop with their temperature warning light on with their car over heating and in a panic. After it cooled down, we discovered the water pump was leaking and needed to be replaced. Water pumps do wear out as they pump the coolant that cools the engine while its running. We also checked the radiator hoses, serpentine belt, and tensioner which were okay, but did note that the coolant needed to be changed which many customers do not associate with engine maintenance.

My customers have been asking for more information on synthetic oil and how it affects their engine. Basically the inside of your engine gets really hot because of friction from the moving parts and from burning fuel. Oil lubricates the moving parts to keep them from getting too hot.

The problem comes when oil turns to sludge, which is kind of a thick jelly. Sludge clogs up little passages so that the oil can’t protect parts of the engine. So the two best ways for auto owners to prevent sludge build-up is to always change their oil on schedule; and to use synthetic oil.