Tag: auto repair

When Your Check Engine Light Comes On, Take Your Car to Your Yardley Auto Repair Shop

The warning lights on your dashboard are the closest your car can get to telling you something is wrong. There will no doubt come a day when the computer system in your car will literally tell you something is wrong, but until that day comes you have to rely on the lights. The moment your check engine light comes on, you know that something is wrong. The trouble is that you really have no more information than that.

Now, if your oil light goes on, the solution is rather straightforward, you stop and add oil to your engine. You then take your car to your Yardley auto repair station and have them discover the reason your oil was low. The same holds true when your gas light goes on, you stop and fill your tank. But for some reason, many people simply ignore the fact their check engine light is on. Unfortunately, this is not how you should react when that light goes on.

Perhaps people think that the engine light will go off if ignored long enough. But this is rarely the case. There are any number of things that can trigger your check engine light including:

  • A damaged oxygen sensor
  • Misfiring spark plugs
  • A loose gas cap

If you are lucky, simply tightening your gas cap will resolve the issue. But this is unlikely. What you need to do is take your car to your Yardley mechanic to discover what is wrong.

The entire purpose of your check engine light is to alert you to a problem. When the light goes on you don’t have to immediately stop and have your car towed to the nearest mechanic, but you should schedule an appointment when you get a chance.

Ignoring your check engine light is foolish enough, even more concerning is the fact there are those who go through the trouble of covering the light with black tape. Like that is going to resolve anything. Just suck it up and take your car in to have the issue fixed, it is the right decision.

 

 

If Your Car is Overheating, Bring It to Your Yardley Mechanic as Soon as Possible

There could be any number of reasons why your engine is overheating, but the main cause usually involves the cooling system failing to some extent. If your car is overheating, bring it to your Yardley mechanic as soon as possible. Here are some reasons your car is overheating.

There could be a leak in the cooling system. A cooling system leak is by far the most common reason your car suffers overheating. The leak could be from any number of places, the radiator, hoses, water pump and freeze plugs top name just a few. In order to find the leak, we will perform a pressure test.

You could have a faulty thermostat that is causing your car to overheat. The thermostat in your car responds to the engine temperature, opening when the radiator fluid gets hot enough. If it gets stuck, your engine will overheat.

There are any number of blocked passages that would cause your car to overheat. Rust, dirt and other debris can impede coolant flow and cause problems. There are also other contaminants that can cause premature failure of your cooling system.

A radiator fan that wobbles, has broken blades or just doesn’t work is yet another reason for cooling system failure.

Your cooling system consists of a number of hoses that carries engine coolant throughout the engine. If any of these hoses has cracks or splits and leaks, it causes a disruption in the flow of coolant and the engine will overheat.

These are just a few causes of engine overheating.

 

 

 

 

Now is the Ideal Time to Bring Your Car Into Your Yardley Auto Repair Shop and Have Your Air Conditioning Serviced

Summer is drawing ever so close. Before you know it, the temperatures will be hitting the 80s and 90s and the interior of your car or truck will be simply sweltering. It is a good thing you have air conditioning in your car. If you haven’t thought much about the air conditioning in your car, you might want to take it into consideration before you wind up sweating profusely on your way home from work because the A/C went out. Now is the ideal time to bring your car into your Yardley auto repair shop and have your air conditioning serviced.car6

While we are quite aware that you can recharge the system yourself, it is still best if this was left to a qualified individual. Besides, there could be more to your air conditioning problems than just low refrigerant.

Once we have your car, a skilled technician will measure the amount of pressure in your air conditioning system, if it is low, we will bring it back up to manufacturer’s specification. If this doesn’t prove to put your system in the necessary parameters, we will check to see if you have a leak in the system.

Fixing a leak in your air conditioning system is not a simple task. Our technician will hook your car up to a recovery system that will drain the harmful gas from your car. It is at this point our technician will inspect your system for leaks. There might be the need to use a trace dye to help out.

Make sure you are able to beat the heat this summer by ensuring your car’s air conditioning system is working well.

 

 

Your Yardley Auto Repair Shop Can Change Your Timing Belt

If your Yardley auto repair shop informed you that your car’s timing belt needed to be changed, you might wonder if it was really necessary. But your timing belt is a critical component of your engine and if it breaks, your engine will fail. You certainly don’t want to be cruising down the Interstate at 75 mph and have it break, that would definitely be an unwanted issue.

Your timing belt is responsible for the synchronization of your engine’s functions, it controls the crankshaft and camshaft and the opening and closing of the many valves in your engine. When a timing belt does break, the valves will open at the wrong time and hit the pistons, causing potentially serious damage.

Unfortunately, this will not be obvious signs that a timing belt is near the end if its life. Which is why it is highly recommended you have yours changed every 60,000 to 100,000 miles or per manufacturer’s recommendations. Timing belts are largely ignored by car owners, but should be high on the list of maintenance. In many cases, it is totally worth having the water pump and other hardware replaced at the same time in an effort to save money.

Now, if you are lucky, you might suffer symptoms of a faulty timing belt before it breaks including loss of power, loss of fuel economy, engine vibration and misfiring.

While having your timing belt replaced will set you back several hundred dollars, replacing your broken timing belt and fixing the damage it has done could easily run thousands of dollars.

 

 

 

Your Morrisville Auto Repair Shop is Here to Give You a Few Very Good Reasons You Should Bring Your Car in for Those Regular Oil Changes

We all know that you need to have the oil changed in your car, truck or SUV every 3,000 to 5,000 miles, but many of us just don’t know why. In fact, you spend a lot of time moaning and groaning about having to get your oil changed and procrastinate as much as you possibly can. This is something we just don’t get. An oil change is certainly one of the least expensive auto maintenance services your car needs. Yet despite its low cost and short turnaround time, it still seems to be a thorn in the sides of most. Your Morrisville auto repair shop is here to give you a few very good reasons you should bring your car in for those regular oil changes.

There are numerous components to your car’s engine, and they are all moving in some way or another and without oil would seize up in a matter of moments. Your engine gets very hot from the thousands of little explosions taking place, oil helps pull the heat from the combustion chambers and basically prevents your engine from blowing up. But as the oil collects heat and carbons, it begins to turn from a slick liquid to sludge. No matter how good your oil is, it will eventually degrade and break down. And this is why you need to change your oil on a regular basis.

If you play the waiting game and procrastinate too long, your oil will only get worse, and the damage that can happen will most certainly cost a whole heck of a lot more than an oil change. This is something you need to seriously consider.

 

 

 

Protect Your Investment by Having Your Vehicle Serviced by the Best Auto Mechanic in Morrisville

Whether you are driving a fancy sports car, four-wheel drive truck or the family minivan, your vehicle is a huge investment. So you will want to protect your investment by having your vehicle serviced by the best auto mechanic in Morrisville. That quality maintenance service will come from a mechanic who is ASE certified. ASE stands for Automotive Service Excellence and is an organization which awards certification to auto mechanics who are far above ordinary in expertise. Why is this important? Let’s just say choosing an ASE certified mechanic over another mechanic is like choosing a Rolex watch over that watch you saw at Walmart. Here are a few reasons you should seriously consider an ASE certified mechanic.

ASE certifications aren’t just given to any mechanic, to be ASE certified, you have to earn it. First, a mechanic must give solid evidence of at least two years worth of experience, and then they are subjected to the testing phase. There are eight areas in the automotive mechanic field that are covered in the testing phase. The tests cover fields including engine repair, transmissions, suspension, brakes and engine performance.

Automotive technology is ever-changing and can be extremely complex. ASE-certified mechanics are trained in the latest developments in automotive technology. Having a knowledgeable mechanic in your corner is key to protecting your investment.

If you own a high-performance car, you might be throwing your money away by having a non-certified mechanic working on it. An ASE-certified mechanic will take the time and holds the skills to ensure the work is done right the first time.

As a car owner, you want to do everything possible to ensure your automobile gets as much life out of it as possible. This happens when you have a highly trained ASE-certified mechanic on the job.

 

 

 

Reasons to Have Your Vehicle Serviced on a Regular Basis at Big Oak Citgo, Your Yardley Auto Repair Shop

There is nothing more frustrating than encountering an issue with your car or truck or having it break down at the worst possible time. When you think about it, there is really never a good time or place to have a breakdown. But this doesn’t have to be the case. There are ways you can improve the odds of not suffering an auto breakdown and that is to have your vehicle serviced on a regular basis at Big Oak Citgo, your Yardley auto repair shop.

When you purchase a new or even a used car, it is a costly investment that requires care and scheduled visits to your auto mechanic as a way to protect your assets. After all, you will want to do what you can to avoid expensive repairs and the frustrations of breakdowns. Regular car maintenance will also increase the life of your vehicle, which will also save you money in the long run.

You might be on a tight budget and hesitate at the idea of scheduling a maintenance appointment. But consider that a poorly maintained vehicle will cost you hundreds if not thousands of dollars in repairs when something does go wrong, something that could have been prevented with routine maintenance. The Automotive Aftermarket Suppliers Association discovered that Americans spend about $62 billion annually on repairs for vehicles with underperformed maintenance. It would be a shame to be part of that statistic.

In order to keep your car or truck performing at peak efficiency and extend the life of it, there are several maintenance measures you need to take including oil and filter changes, tire checks, brake checks and more.

Check back and we will get into detail why each of these maintenance measures is critical for peak performance of your car.