Central Avenue Automotive Helps You Decipher The Menu Board: Part 2

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Kent service centers have a menu board that lists the services they provide. Some Kent drivers may not be familiar with all of the items on the board so here is a quick description of some of the typical services that might be listed.

Central Avenue Automotive fuel system cleaning: Over time, the SUV fuel system gets gum and varnish built up. A fuel system cleaning gets rid of that and cleans out the fuel injectors. Saves gas, by the way.

Central Avenue Automotive headlamp replacement: Halogen and standard headlamps gradually fade. It’s usually good to change them every year or so.

Central Avenue Automotive inspections: Kent drivers get inspections for many reasons. Maybe they’re going on a trip or just want to make sure their vehicle’s ready for WA summer or winter. Maybe they just bought a used SUV and want to give it the once over. An inspection may reveal some things that are broken or are getting close to having a problem.

Central Avenue Automotive oil change: – there are several options: Some Kent centers offer just an oil change and new filter as an option. Most will also check and top off all of your other fluids and do a quick visual inspection with a full service oil change. In my way of thinking, the full service option is best because it makes sure you have adequate fluids and may uncover an emerging problem. There may also be options for higher mileage fluids or an upgrade to synthetic oil.

Central Avenue Automotive PCV valve replacement in Kent: PCV stands for Positive Crankcase Ventilation valve. It’s a little part that releases pressure from the engine. It can get gummed up and that can lead to engine damage. Just needs to be changed now and then.

Central Avenue Automotive power steering service: Often overlooked. Your considerate Central Avenue Automotive technician will evacuate the old fluid, clean out the system and replace it with clean fluid. Keeps the SUV system running well for a long time.

Central Avenue Automotive serpentine belt service: That’s the belt that powers the SUV engine’s accessories like the alternator, air conditioner, power steering and brakes. You’ll want to replace the serpentine belt before it breaks, because that’ll shut you down.

Central Avenue Automotive shocks and struts: This starts with an inspection of the suspension components. Shocks last a long time and wear out slowly, so many Kent people don’t notice when it’s time to change them. If they’re worn or leaking, they need to be replaced.

Central Avenue Automotive transmission service: This involves removing the transmission fluid and replacing it with clean fluid. It’s like an oil change for your transmission.

Central Avenue Automotive tire rotation and wheel balancing: The tires are rotated from front to back using the recommended rotation pattern. This helps tires wear more evenly. Wheels need to be balanced from time to time to keep them turning without any wobble or bounce. Helps the ride and saves tire wear.

Professional Service Beats the Quick Lube

Posted by & filed under Fluids, Maintenance.

When you have an oil change performed, it’s crucial that all other fluids are inspected at the same time. For example, we see vehicles that have brake fluid leaks. I had a vehicle that was in the shop this morning with a brake light that was on, but the owner had the oil changed yesterday.

The customer came into the shop today for a brake inspection, but the only problem was that the brake fluid was low. The quick lube shop never even looked at the brake fluid.

It’s not part of a normal procedure for a quick lube employee to really go and look through your car, inspect everything, and have the knowledge to tell you, “Hey, your car is going to act up. It’s running fine right now, but we see this potential problem because we have seen this car and we’ve worked on this model of car hundreds of times.”

A professional mechanic will know when a certain types of cars will break down, how they break down, and what’s going to happen. We can usually take an educated guess. With a brand new car, we can tell you for the first 150,000 miles what you’re going to have to repair and when you’re going to have to repair it.

You’ll know six months ahead of time that you might have an alternator that’s going to go out. You’ll know three months ahead of time that you’re going to need brakes. You can do all of this quickly and efficiently with just a quick 45-minute visit to see us to have your oil change done and your vehicle inspected. Knowing what’s coming helps with planning and budgeting for those anticipated costs.

Professional Car Service
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That’s why it’s so important that the technicians that work on your car have lots of experience and lots of training, and are certified in the area that they repair. Those things are lost when you’re at a quick lube having a 19 year-old kid changing the oil on your $20,000-$60,000 vehicle.

The more that we see your car for regular services, the more ability we have to really spot any potential problems.

Another Couple of Years: Making Your Vehicle Last At Central Avenue Automotive

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A while back, the Cash for Clunkers program was all over the news. Kent people could trade in their old vehicle for a new one that got better fuel economy and receive a government rebate.

A lot of Kent motorists had so-called clunkers that they wanted to keep. They’re good commuters, grocery getters or toy haulers. They enjoy that fact that they’re paid off, or soon will be. They would gladly like to keep their SUVs for 200,000 miles or more – as long as it’s economical to do so.

There are plenty of Kent drivers whose vehicles are running after 150,000 or 200,000 miles. We can learn from what they’re doing to keep our own SUVs on the road in WA.

Kent drivers of high-mileage cars often report a common denominator of never skipping an oil change. Another Couple of Years: Making Your Vehicle Last At Central Avenue AutomotiveThat may sound a bit unsophisticated, but it’s really not. First off, oil is the life blood of your SUV’s engine and it needs to be clean to properly lubricate. Skipping oil changes leads to clogged oil filters and sludge that can damage your engine.

There’s another reason why the scheduled oil change is so important for Kent car owners. It’s simple – a Central Avenue Automotive professional is going to be looking at your car. All of your fluid levels will be inspected and topped off so they won’t get so low that damage can be done. If there is a significant fluid loss, let’s use brake fluid as an example, your Central Avenue Automotive technician can look for the cause of the loss and find the problem before it leads to an accident or costly repair.

Your Central Avenue Automotive advisor will also visually inspect your SUV for worn belts and hoses, uneven tire wear, leaking shock absorbers and more. Problems get addressed before they lead to repairs that cost more than the car’s worth.

And your Central Avenue Automotive advisor will be able to remind you of other services that the factory recommends you get done. Just think of that oil change the same way as you do about going to your Kent dentist for your six month cleaning and checkup. Don’t skip it.

Realistically, things are going to wear out as your SUV gets older. On the way to 200,000 miles you’ll go through several batteries, probably a couple of alternators and water pumps, a set of shocks and likely some brake rotors.

Of course, these things cost money, but they are far cheaper than new SUV payments. With proper service at Central Avenue Automotive and regular inspections, you’ll keep surprise repairs to a minimum and more money in your wallet.

Buying a Used Car And Servicing Your Vehicle

Posted by & filed under Brakes, Maintenance, Service Intervals, Service Standards.

It is so important that you get service records when you buy a used car. You may even want to get a pre-purchase inspection to make sure that you’re not buying somebody else’s problem. Service records can tell you if you’re buying a car that has 60,000 miles on it and has had two oil changes, which is something that we do see.

I can tell you from personal experience that I’ve seen cars in the shop such as GMs, Fords, and Chryslers go about 15,000 miles, some of them as high as 20,000, on their original oil as a brand new car. There have been several cars that we’ve put new engines in that don’t even have 25,000 miles on them because somebody forgot to change the oil.

When you buy a new car, whose interest does the car company have in mind when they recommend prolonging the time between services? They want you to come back and buy another car in three or four or five years. So they say to get an oil change every 10,000 miles and services in between.

Used Car Service
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They don’t want you to drive your car for 10 years because there’s nothing in it for them. They want to sell you another car and push that maintenance expense off as long as possible. Then, if you do buy another car, you’re able to push that maintenance expense to a second owner. Manufacturers are looking out for their best interest, not the customer’s.

The best thing that you can do for a car – and this is a general rule for almost any vehicle – is to have it serviced regularly.

By service we mean oil change, brake inspection, tire rotation, lubrication and an overall vehicle inspection. You should do that every 5,000 miles.

Particularly with the road conditions we have in western Washington, cars are working really hard. You hit a pothole, you’ve got road debris, you’ve got a lot of steep hills. You’re in bumper-to-bumper traffic, driving up and down I-405. Sometimes it’ll take an hour and a half to go 20 miles. You’re accelerating, you’re stopping, and you’re doing that over and over and over again. That’s hard on a car. By servicing every 5,000 miles, you really will lower your overall operating cost.

During the service, we check the brakes, the tires, and the suspension. We can paint a picture for that car for the next two or three years. We’ll be able to tell you at your oil change that you’re probably going to need brakes replaced within the next 90 days or the next six months. You’ll be able to plan for it, then come in for a basic brake service.

If you have your vehicle serviced at a quick lube, they don’t inspect those things. They don’t look at your brakes. They don’t rotate your tires. You’ll go in and get the oil changed a couple of times. Then all of a sudden you’re driving down the road and you put your foot on the brake pedal, and you hear a loud grinding sound because your car needs new brakes.

Now you’ve taken what would have been a basic brake service, on most cars somewhere between $300-$400, and turned that into a $600 or $700 repair because there is damage to the brake rotors and possibly even the brake calipers. Because the brakes weren’t changed as a maintenance item, they will be changed as a “my brakes don’t work” item.

It’s always better to perform regular inspections and regular services on a new or used vehicle. It’s much cheaper in the long run to do a preventative repair as opposed to a breakdown repair.

Stay Headed In The Right Direction, Kent

Posted by & filed under Steering.

Power steering is standard on nearly every car and truck in Kent, WA these days. Now there are some exotic, new types of power steering systems, but for the most part, the general setup is a pump that’s driven by a belt powered by the engine.

Contact the automotive professionals at Central Avenue Automotive in Kent for questions about your power steering.

The pump generates power that assists you as you steer your SUV around Kent, WA. Power steering systems use hoses to move pressurized fluid back and forth. These hoses can develop leaks so it’s a good idea to have your Kent technician inspect them at every oil change.

A check of the power steering fluid level is on the list for every full service oil change at Central Avenue Automotive because low fluid can damage the power steering pump. And the fluid needs to be compatible with the hoses and seals, so you need to use the correct type –just ask your service professional at Central Avenue Automotive.

In addition to providing boost, the fluid cleans, cools and lubricates the power steering system. Over time, the lubricants and detergents diminish so Kent motorists need to replace their old fluid with clean, fresh fluid periodically.

Excess moisture can collect in the power steering fluid as well. That can lead to rust and corrosion as well as reduce the effectiveness of the fluid. Many auto makers outline power steering service intervals in the owner’s manual. Unfortunately, this important service is sometimes left off the maintenance schedule. If you’re not sure, every two years is a good rule of thumb.

At Central Avenue Automotive, we use a detergent to clean the system, flush out the old fluid and replace it with new fluid.

Now, if you are experiencing high steering effort, erratic power assist, loud whining coming from the pump you may have a power steering problem. Another sign is that you have to frequently top off the fluid.

Holding the steering wheel to the far right or left for more than a few seconds at a time can wear your pump out real fast. AutoNetTV wants you to be sure to service your power steering system regularly to keep you headed in the right direction.

Central Avenue Automotive
1514 Central Ave S Ste A
Kent, WA 98032
 253.854.6762

A Good Mechanic Is Your Car’s Doctor

Posted by & filed under Fluids, Maintenance.

You want to look at servicing your car in the same way that you go to the doctor.

You go to a doctor for all of your basic needs, like checkups… kind of a once-over to make sure that you’re healthy and that your body is operating correctly and doing everything it should be doing.

There are certain times a doctor will say, “We need to perform this test or we need to…” which is a diagnostic in order to get to the bottom of the problem. Most of the time, you’ll get a clean bill of health and you’ll move on.

Sometimes they’ll perform a test and say, “We’ve looked you over and everything seems to be okay, but I’m a little concerned about this test result, so I think you should see a specialist.”

Car Doctor
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Here with us, the technician who’s working on your car is the specialist. He’s not just a general practitioner that only does oil changes. The mechanic who’s doing your oil change is also a master technician. He’s going to be able to do the oil change, look at the car, touch it and see it and smell it.

It’s funny, but when you are around cars all day long, you learn certain problems smell certain ways. I’ve gotten to where I can walk through a parking lot anywhere and I can tell you which car is leaking antifreeze even if there’s nothing on the ground, because I know how it smells. I can tell if a car’s low on oil by pulling the dipstick and not even checking the oil. I can smell if an engine is getting hot internally, because it has a very distinct smell.

I think about times where I’ve pulled the dipstick on a car and put it up to my nose to smell it, then actually burned the tip of my nose from getting my nose too close to try to get an exact idea of what’s going on. You have to be careful when you’re doing that kind of stuff.

That’s something that a very experienced automotive technician is going to know. He’s going to know what things look like, what they smell like, and how they sound.

A master technician is going to recognize the subtleties of an engine that’s not running perfectly. He can stand next to a vehicle and listen to it, and he’s going to have a pretty good idea of its performance–how it’s running.

That’s gained from experience, and you can’t fake it.

Battery Basics For Kent

Posted by & filed under Battery.

Auburn Battery Service

It’s important for Kent car owners to know battery basics. First, let’s talk about which is harder on a battery – hot or cold WA weather. Most Auburn auto owners think it’s cold weather because that’s when we call on our batteries to have enough power to start a cold SUV engine.

However, heat does more damage to a battery than cold. Truth is, our batteries start to die a little from day one. Keeping a full charge slows the process, which is hard with short Kent trips because the alternator doesn’t have time to fully recharge the battery from starting the engine. Kent car owners can top off the charge with a computer controlled battery charger – say, once a month in the summer and every three months during the winter.

As far as how long a battery will last, statistics show that 70% have given up the ghost within four years. By that time, they aren’t capable of taking a full charge like they used to, and your SUV alternator has to work overtime to keep up. This causes your alternator to wear out early.

If you’re pushing 4 to 5 years on your battery, see your considerate Central Avenue Automotive service professional for a battery test to see if it’s recommended to replace it. Not only can you avoid getting stranded with a dead battery, but you’ll save unnecessary wear and tear on your SUV alternator.

Give us a call

Central Avenue Automotive
253.854.6762
1514 Central Ave S Ste A
Kent, WA 98032

All In One Place – Stick with the Shop You Know

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Some customers will go one place for their tires, somewhere else for their brakes, yet another place for a quick lube or oil change, and then an auto repair shop for a repair.

It would be better and more convenient if they found a service and repair shop they know, like, and trust. That facility should be in charge of that vehicle from the time the customer purchases it until the time they sell it. It’s always less expensive to do it that way. Having a facility that knows the vehicle and a technician that knows their vehicle inside and out will prevent wasted time, energy, and money.

Auto Repair Shop
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Most importantly, the technician will know what was done to the car at 30,000, at 60,000 and at 90,000 miles, and will make correct recommendations based on the mileage and the service history.

When you go to a tire store to get your tires replaced, and then you go to a brake store to have your brake pads replaced, and then to a quick lube to have your oil change, there’s no real clear record of what’s been done.

Spreading services across multiple shops takes all of the responsibility of the repairs and places it on the customer to figure out, “What do I need to do and when should I do it?” This often results in finger-pointing and duplicate repairs.

We’ll see cars in our shop all the time with unneeded work done on them. Let’s say we had done a 30,000-mile service to the car, then 5,000 miles later that customer is at a quick lube having an oil change done. That place’s employee tells the customer they need a transmission service, but they had their car serviced two, three or four months ago. They don’t remember if they had the transmission serviced, so they spend another $100-$150 to service it when it was just done.

This is also why it’s so important that the technicians who work on your car have lots of experience and training, and are certified in the area that they repair. Those things are lost when you’re at a quick lube with a 19 to 20-year-old kid changing the oil in your $20,000-$60,000 vehicle. It’s just not something that should happen.

When you go to multiple car shops and have, your vehicle serviced by inexperienced people, you run the risk of paying for duplicate services and repairs. All of that can be avoided by picking one quality repair shop, then having your car serviced there for everything.

Keep Your Cool In Auburn: Air Conditioning Service

Posted by & filed under Air Conditioning.

Most Auburn car owners don’t even think about their car air conditioning system unless it fails. That’s because many Kent and Burton motorists don’t really understand that automotive air conditioners need periodic service. Let me share some of the reasons why they fail.

First, like every machine, the SUV air conditioner parts need – you guessed it – lubrication. The lubricant is actually mixed in with the refrigerant (that’s the stuff that makes the air cool). Remember that even if the air conditioner is still blowing out cool air, the oil that lubricates the parts may be used up: and unlubricated parts can fail in all WA cars.

Keep Your Cool In Auburn: Air Conditioning Service

Now here’s a tip for Auburn motorists: Run your air conditioner every so often during WA winters. This circulates the lubricant to help keep the seals from drying out.

The air conditioner actually removes some of the moisture in the air. So if you have trouble with fogging on your windshield during WA winters or during a rain storm, running the A/C on the defrost setting should help. Now on some Auburn cars you can’t run the A/C at the same time as the defroster. Don’t ask me why, but I suspect lawyers were involved.

Also, air and water can get into the A/C system. That can reduce the efficiency of the system and also lead to corrosion that causes damage. Auburn drivers should periodically purge the system and replace the refrigerant to remove the air and water.

Kent drivers would be wise to learn the early warning signs of A/C trouble: 1) The air’s not as cold as it used to be. 2) Unusual noises when the A/C cycles on. Those are signs to get your vehicle into Central Avenue Automotive in Kent before the damage gets worse.

By following the recommended service intervals in your SUV owner’s manual, you can help prevent mechanical failure of your air conditioning system. Your A/C system contains some expensive components like the compressor, condenser, dryer, etc. Anything Federal Way and Burton car owners can do to lengthen the life of their A/C is well worth it.

Spark Plug Maintenance is Critical

Posted by & filed under Engine, Maintenance, Parts.

Spark plugs are an important component to keep your vehicle running smoothly, so neglecting them altogether or replacing them yourself may not be the best idea. I’ve seen people go to replace their spark plugs and cross-thread a plug. They’ve taken a very common routine repair and turned it into a big deal.

Spark plugs are commonly neglected, but people think, “The car is running, everything’s fine.” They don’t maintain them, and then it costs more to fix later, especially with Ford products. We also see this with Acuras, as well as some Toyotas. The manufacturer often recommends between 90,000 and 105,000 miles for spark plug replacement.

But what we see happen, especially in Ford products, is the spark plug has been in the vehicle so long, exposed to hot and cold and hot and cold, that it has eased itself into the cylinder head threads. You’re not able to remove the spark plug because it has been in there so long. Now the cylinder head has to be removed, the spark plug has to be drilled out, and then the cylinder head reinstalled. You’ve taken typically a $300 or $400 repair and turned it into a $3,000 repair because you didn’t have the spark plugs replaced by a professional.

Another thing we see often when spark plugs aren’t replaced are secondary failures. Spark plugs have what is called a “coil pack” on top of them. A coil pack is designed to send electricity to the spark plug to ignite the air/fuel mixture in the cylinder. Over time, the spark plug wears out. The spark plug gap — the distance between the electrodes of the spark plugs — increases. As that gap gets larger, it takes more and more energy from the ignition coil to fire that spark plug. It’ll get to the point to where the coil will stop working because it’s been overtaxed — in some cases, for several years. It will just stop working.

Spark Plug Replacement
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Something that would have been a pretty straightforward maintenance repair of spark plugs now requires new spark plugs and four or five ignition coils.

Some cars, like Ford products, will have eight ignition coils if it’s an eight-cylinder, six coils if it’s a six-cylinder and four coils if it’s a four-cylinder. Those can be several hundred dollars to replace. When the coil is damaged, the engine stops firing correctly. Now you’ve got an engine that’s misfiring. A misfiring engine will usually turn on the check engine light, and the check engine light will flash. What that’s telling you is that you are doing damage to your catalytic converter. Most catalytic converters on the low end are $400 or $500. On the high end for some Ford Expeditions, Ford Explorers, Audi and BMWs, you can spend $2,000 or $3,000.

All of this could have been avoided by spending $200 or $300 to replace the spark plugs in a timely fashion.