Chesapeake Auto Repair

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.   

West Service Center
904 Cavalier Blvd
Chesapeake, Virginia 23323
757-487-4420
http://westservicecenter.com

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.

West Service Center
904 Cavalier Blvd
Chesapeake, Virginia 23323
757-487-4420
http://westservicecenter.com

Ever wonder how all-wheel-drive or 4-wheel-drive vehicles get the power from the engine to the front and rear wheels? The magic happens in what's called a transfer case.  In some all-wheel-drive vehicles, it's sometime called a power take-off unit, or PTU.

Inside the transfer case is a set of gears.  And to keep those gears meshing smoothly, they have to be lubricated and kept cool.  What does that is called transfer case fluid. Depending on your vehicle's type of transfer case, it is filled with either an automatic transmission fluid, a gear oil that's a bit thicker or transfer case fluid designed to be use for your transfer case.

As happens with all lubricating fluids, the transfer case fluid has things in it that break down the older they get.  They have corrosion inhibitors, detergents and anti-foaming agents that keep the lubricant from getting air bubbles in it. Transfer cases don't have filters in them to clean out impurities.

If you don't have your transfer case fluid exchanged for fresh, you risk damage to the case, and that can run into thousands of dollars.  So the wise driver makes sure the fluid is changed according to the manufacturer's recommendations.  For many vehicles, that is every 30,000 mi/50,000 km, but some require it more frequently.   Your vehicle service facility can advise you on what your vehicle's optimal interval is.

During the fluid exchange, any metal filings that may have come off are cleaned off of the drain and fill plugs that are usually magnetized to catch the stray metal pieces.

If you hear grinding noises coming from under your vehicle or if it is having trouble shifting gears or going in and out of 4-wheel-drive, those could be signs your transfer case needs service. In that case, have our technicians check it out.  The best plan of action?  Keep your transfer case fluid maintained and it should keep you heading down the road for years to come.

West Service Center
904 Cavalier Blvd
Chesapeake, Virginia 23323
757-487-4420
http://westservicecenter.com

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.

West Service Center
904 Cavalier Blvd
Chesapeake, Virginia 23323
757-487-4420
http://westservicecenter.com