One of the most important things you can do to keep your vehicle running safely is to make sure your tires are properly inflated. If one or more is vastly over- or underinflated, that has the potential to cause major handling problems and may result in a dangerous accident.
All vehicles in recent years are equipped with Tire Pressure Monitoring Systems, or TPMS. One system uses small sensors in the tires that continually check the pressure in each tire. That sensor sends a signal to computers in your vehicle which turns on an instrument panel light warning of low pressure when at least one is very low. Or it may update a numeric reading on your instrument panel which gives you an approximation of how many PSI (pounds per square inch) of air is in each tire.
Another system works with your antilock brake system to measure the size of your vehicle’s tires. When one wheel is going faster than another, it will spin faster. A computer sees that and alerts you that tire’s diameter is smaller than the others and therefore must be underinflated.
No matter what system you have, it’s also helpful for you to know how much pressure each tire is supposed to be inflated to. You can find that on a label on the driver’s side door sill. In addition, the TPMS system should not be used as a substitute for checking your tires with a tire gauge since the TPMS accuracy usually isn’t quite as precise. Keep in mind that tire sensors can fail, so each system acts as a backup for the other.
Since many vehicles these days don’t have spare tires, it’s good to know that your TPMS can warn you if you have a leak in one of your tires. If you get a low-pressure warning, many systems will tell you which tire is low, so you can do your own visual check. Often you can see if you’ve picked up a nail or a screw if it’s sticking out of the tread or near the sidewall.
Being able to receive an early warning from your vehicle of abnormal tire pressure may give you a chance to safely drive to a service center before your tire slowly goes completely flat (which can ruin the tire and badly damage the rim). It also may ultimately prevent you from being stranded somewhere with a flat tire or, most importantly, having a sudden blowout on the road.
Malugani Tire493 Miller AveMill Valley, California 94941(415) 388-1800
There's lots of good information to read in books and online. You might not know that you can also "read" your tires and learn a lot about what shape they're in and if they are in need of attention. It's important to know how your tires are doing because a tire failure can be very dangerous to you, your passengers and others on the road near you.
You read your tire by looking at the surface that rides on the road, where the tread is. Check out the outer and inner edges. If you notice there's more wear on the inner or outer edge than on the rest of the tread, your vehicle could be out of alignment. Wear on an inner or outer edge could mean your wheels are leaning too much to one side. When you see this, visit our service center soon to have the alignment checked.
What about if both edges are worn? That could be a sign that you don't have enough air in that tire. In an underinflated tire, the middle is not contacting the road surface as much as the edges, so the edges wear down first. It could also mean that you're taking corners too aggressively or your tires haven't been rotated on a regular schedule.
Another thing you might see on your tires' tread area is wear in the center of the tire. That means you likely have too much air in that tire. Too much air makes your tire contact the road in the middle more than on the edges so the middle wears down prematurely.
You might also see some smooth spots on the tread in irregular spots. This is called cupping. This is sometimes caused by suspension problems. A technician can examine your suspension to see if it is up to the manufacturer's specifications.
Finally, you may spot tires that are worn unevenly in a pattern that goes diagonal to the tread pattern. This could mean your tires are out of balance, something our service center can check. They might also check alignment at the same time.
Your tires are the only part of your vehicle that contacts the road surface. That means your acceleration, traction, steering and braking are all dependent on your tires being healthy. Maintain your tires by having one of our trained technicians read the clues and making sure they're always in roadworthy shape.
Maybe you've been cooped up for a while and are yearning for a change of scenery. Or maybe you need to visit a relative who lives far away. You choose not to fork out the big bucks for airline tickets, so it's time for a road trip. Make sure you're road ready by having your vehicle professionally inspected before the big drive.
One of our technicians can check out several of your vehicle's most important systems so you can be more confident that you'll be able to go the distance without a breakdown. Here are a few things a trip inspection may include:
Your vehicle stops with brakes that, in turn, stop the tires. They must both be in sound condition. The technician can look at your tire tread, the condition of the sidewalls, and note the tires' age. Brakes have pads and rotors that should meet certain specs, so an expert inspection of their condition is important, too.
A technician can check other vital fluids such as engine coolant, power steering, transmission, and windshield washer fluid. Your wipers must be in good condition so you can see, and they're often one of the most neglected parts of a vehicle.
Your headlights must work correctly and be aimed properly so you can see and so that you're not blinding oncoming drivers. They're powered by your battery, and a technician will check how old yours is and how well it holds a charge, all important for reliable starting.
For cabin comfort, your climate control system needs to work correctly, which means both heat and air conditioning. If things need to be repaired - before the trip will be a lot more convenient than trying to do it while you're traveling.
The technician can inspect hoses and belts, two things that frequently fail on a long trip. And the big advantage of having a pro look over your vehicle is that they not only know what to look for but also can make the repairs the right way. Now that's the ticket to being road ready.
In warm weather, you want to be in a cool vehicle. When we're talking cool, we don't mean stylish or trendy, but cool as in not sweltering inside. And if your vehicle's air conditioner stops working correctly, it seems to always break at the worst time—during a heat wave.
Automotive air conditioning problems fail for a number of reasons:
When you bring your vehicle into our service center, we'll run a series of diagnostic tests to figure out what isn't working correctly. The air conditioning system has a lot of parts. There are electrical and mechanical components plus a series of hoses and tubes that all can wear out over time. Any one of these can fail.
A lot of drivers think they have a "Freon leak" and believe that if they get their AC system recharged with the refrigerant, everything will be fine. But AC systems are so complex, it usually takes a trained technician to accurately figure out where the problems are.
Sometimes the solution is simple. If your blower motor wears out or there's a fuse that has blown, the technician can replace the bad parts and you'll quickly be back to enjoying your rolling refrigerator. But when compressors or condensers go bad, those are much more involved and expensive to fix.
For instance, electrical problems can sometimes lead to acid to build up and corrode other parts of your AC system. Sometimes that causes so much damage, your whole air conditioning system has to be replaced. That's why it's always a good idea to have your AC regularly maintained. Our technicians can find a problem early and prevent more expensive repairs down the road. That's really the cool way to go.
You may notice that when you get your vehicle's oil changed, your service adviser may recommend that you have your tires rotated at the same time. The reasons are simple. That will allow your tires to wear more evenly and reduce the noise your tires make as you drive down the road.
There are different ways of rotating tires. If your vehicle has non-directional tires and the same size wheels at each corner, here are the different rotation patterns.
For all-wheel drive and rear-wheel drive vehicles, one is called the rearward cross pattern. The rear tires are moved to the front and stay on the same side of the vehicle, and the front tires are moved to the rear on the side opposite of where they were on the front.
For all-wheel and four-wheel drive vehicles, use the X pattern. The rear tires are moved to the front on the opposite side of the vehicle, and the fronts are moved to the rear on the opposite side of where they were on the front.
For front-wheel drive, there's the forward cross. The front tires are moved to the rear wheels on the same side of the vehicle as they were on the front and the rear tires are moved to the opposite side of the vehicle than they were on the rear.
If you have directional tires (they only can be mounted in one direction) and the same size directional wheels, the rear tires are moved to the front on the same side of the vehicle where they were, and the front tires are moved to the rear on the same side they were on the front. And if you have tires with different sizes of non-directional tires and wheels on the front and rear, rotation will be from one side of the vehicle to the other.
If you have a spare, it's put into the rotation using a forward cross or rearward cross.
Yep, that's a lot to keep straight. So, we suggest letting your service advisor recommend the right rotation pattern for you at the interval your vehicle's manufacturer specifies.
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Don't love winter weather? Here's a list of four things you need to keep a watch on during the winter months.
Let's start with coolant levels. Coolant is as important in cold weather as it is in hot weather. Think of the term "anti-freeze." Your coolant needs to be adjusted for climate and temperature so the coolant doesn't freeze when the vehicle isn't running. Your service facility will know the right mixture.
Next, windshield wiper fluid. Winter weather can be challenging when it comes to visibility, so it's important to have the correct windshield washer fluid. Some of it is specially formulated for ice and freezing temperatures. And it won't freeze if your vehicle has to sit out in below-freezing temperatures. And don't forget you can get winter wiper blades that stay clearer in snowy, icy weather than ordinary blades.
Don't forget your tire pressure and tread. After all, tires are what connect your vehicle and the road. As temperatures go down, so does the air pressure inside your tires, so it's important to keep that up to the manufacturer's recommended pressure. Also, make sure your tires have enough tread so they can grip slippery roads. Any service facility can perform a simple test so you'll know. If you need some new tires, they can help you find those that will fit your driving patterns.
Finally, oil gets thicker when the temperatures go down, so it's important to have the proper viscosity for your climate. Consult your service advisor who will make sure your vehicle is using what the manufacturer recommends.
Keep your vehicle prepared for winter weather and it will reward you with the safety and performance it's designed for.
When it comes to oil changes, things are really changing. Most newer vehicles require synthetic oil, and while it costs more than conventional oil, it doesn't need to be changed as often.
When conventional oil was the only game in town, you changed your oil every 3,000 miles/5,000 km. But as technology in newer vehicles has rapidly changed, so has oil technology. Synthetics have been around since the seventies. Even though they start with a conventional oil base, they are engineered in a chemical processing plant with properties that allow them to keep your engine lubricated at very high temperatures. They are more uniform and consistent.
Synthetic oil doesn't break down as easily, so it lasts longer than conventional oil. And synthetic oil can flow more easily, even in extremely low temperatures. As you can see, it has performance advantages at both temperature extremes.
Generally, in recent years automakers have been shipping most of their vehicles with either synthetic oil or a synthetic blend. Blends are cheaper and have many of the advantages of synthetics. Another reason synthetic oil is being used in many newer vehicles is its ability to flow more easily improves efficiency.
It's important to follow your vehicle manufacturer's recommendations when you have your oil changed, so our service adviser can see what options you have for your vehicle. Many newer vehicles come with specific recommendations for synthetic oil. If you live in an area with wide temperature extremes or do a lot of stop-and-go driving, synthetic oil can offer advantages.
Older vehicles can do fine with conventional oil, but it will have to be changed more than synthetic oil. Also, if you have an older vehicle with more than 75,000 miles/120,000 km on it, it can be more prone to leak and burn oil. Some synthetic oils are designed to protect those high-mileage vehicles better than conventional oil, and yours may benefit. See what your service adviser thinks.
In a perfect world, all wheels and tires would be perfectly round and weigh exactly the same at every point of the wheel. Unfortunately, they're not, and if they're out of balance, they can reduce the lifespan of your tires, make your vehicle shake like a carnival ride, and maybe even damage a few suspension parts along the way. You don't want that!
Wheel balancing, sometimes known as tire balancing, is a process by which a technician makes sure your tire/wheel assembly has evenly distributed weight. If it isn't, it can give your ride bad vibrations. If you feel your vehicle's steering wheel shaking, it can mean unbalanced wheels in the front. If you can feel a vibration in your seats, it could be unbalanced rear wheels.
In addition to your vehicle vibrating at higher speeds, there are other signs that your wheels are out of balance. You may see uneven tread wear, or you may notice you aren't getting the kind of fuel economy you used to.
When you experience these problems, bring your vehicle in, and we can put your wheels on a machine designed to detect any imbalance. The technician will start your wheels spinning, and a computer will determine how much weight is needed where. Then, the technician can add small weights on the inside or outside of your wheel rim to precisely balance out the uneven weight. When the wheel is balanced correctly, it will spin evenly and smoothly.
Sometimes your vehicle will hit a pothole or object in the road that dislodges one of those weights, which can throw that wheel out of balance again. If so, you'll have to bring it in to have that corrected
Some drivers confuse wheel balancing with wheel alignment. Alignment is making sure the wheels are perpendicular to the road and parallel with each other. Sometimes your vehicle will need both balancing and alignment done at the same time.
No vibrations are good vibrations when it comes to your wheels. Bring your vehicle to us, and we'll perform a balancing act to keep your vehicle riding smoothly down the road.
With hotter weather and brutal heat waves becoming more common, the pressure in your vehicle's tires goes up. After all, heat causes air to expand, and the air in your tires follows the laws of physics. Overinflated tires can reduce your vehicle's traction, cause a hard, punishing ride and make your tires wear out faster; all are important safety issues.
Four out of every ten drivers rarely check tire pressure. Some rely on their vehicle's tire pressure monitoring system (TPMS) to keep an eye on proper tire inflation. But it's not designed to do that.
TPMS is a safety feature that has been required on vehicles made in 2008 or later, using sensors in the wheels that alert you to tire pressure problems. That warning can be a light on your dash, a digital message or a readout of the pressure in each individual wheel. But a study showed that more than 40 percent of drivers don't even know what the tire pressure monitoring light symbol looks like!
One looks like a horseshoe with an exclamation point in the middle. The other looks like an overhead view of your vehicle with the tires at all four corners. They may even show the inflation number (usually in pounds per square inch, or PSI).
The TPMS is designed to alert you that your tires aren't inflated within certain parameters, but the system shouldn't be a substitute for frequently having your tires checked with a tire gauge. A TPMS light is only required to come on when a tire is 25 percent under the recommended tire pressure; by that time, you're driving on an unsafe tire and causing excessive wear.
Have your vehicle checked regularly by our professionals, and that includes tire pressure checks. If you do see the tire pressure warning come on, have our service center look at it soon. You may have a tire with a problem or the TPMS system may not be working right.
Either way, since your tires are the only contact your vehicle has with the road, your safety depends a great deal on your tires being in top shape and correctly inflated. Keep your tires properly inflated and your TPMS working to alert you of any problems. And that's not just a lot of hot air.
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