Spencer Auto Repair Blog

Summer is Coming! Warning Signs Your Vehicle is Overheating 

For your vehicle to run properly your vehicle must control the operating temperature. A mixture of coolant and water circulates through your cooling system to regulate the temperature. With good maintenance you can help prevent getting stuck on the side of the road with an overheating engine. If your vehicle is overheating the best thing you can do is pull over as soon as possible. 

Here are some warning signs your vehicle may be overheating:

1. Your Vehicle May Display a Warning Light. This light will illuminate on your dashboard. This light can vary depending on the type of vehicle you have. It is best to check your owner's manual!

2. Temperature Gauge is Higher Than Normal- When your cooling system is operating properly the needle of the gauge will sit in the "normal" range. When your vehicle is overheating that needle will rise. 

3. Leaking Fluid- If you are noticing a loss of fluid that may be a sign that your vehicle can overheat! Anytime you notice any kind of leak it is vital that you take your car to a service center.

4. You Notice Steam or Water Vapor- This means your coolant temperature has exceeded the boiling point. If you notice steam or water vapor you should pull over and turn off your vehicle as soon as possible. 

5. Your Air Conditioning May Stop Working- This happens because oftentimes the vehicle will shut off the A/C to attempt to lessen the load on the engine. Also, often times the A/C Condenser is located in front of the radiator so when the vehicle is overheating its pulling hot air from the radiator into the condenser. The Air Conditioner will produce warm air. 

When your vehicle overheats it can possibly lead to catastrophic damage and lead to costly repairs. So remember if you experience any of these warning signs make sure you pull over as soon as possible. We are your cooling system experts. Our technicians are properly trained to test and inspect cooling concerns and your cooling system and get to the root cause of the issue. All of our repairs at Spencer Auto Repair have a 3 year, 36,000 mile nationwide warranty. Book an appointment today: www.spencerautorepair.com/appointment 

 

Moms are the best! That is why in honor of Mother's Day Spencer Auto Repair is giving away a $100.00 Spencer Auto Gift Card to 1 deserving mom! Want to nominate your mom or a special mom in your life? Just click the link below. Nominating your mom is easy and the winner will be announced May 11th, 2019! 

Nominate your mom here: https://spencerautorepair.com/mothers-day-giveaway

 

Shocks and Struts Play an Important Role in Vehicle Safety!

Did you know shocks and struts play a critical role in the safety of your vehicle? There are three very important roles shocks and struts play.

Steering: The first is steering. Shocks and Struts evenly distribute your vehicle’s weight over all four tires, improving handling during turns. Worn shocks and struts can increase the chance of losing control of your vehicle especially in less than desirable conditions such as rain.

Stopping: The next role shocks and struts play in your vehicles safety is stopping. Shocks, struts, and brakes work together to help you stop sooner by keeping tires and wheels in contact with the road. Think about all the times that you are forced to stop quickly? Maintaining your shocks and struts can ensure that you have the best chance to stop when you need to. Also, maintaining your shocks and struts can help prevent premature wear of your brakes, which can save you money.

Stability: Finally, properly maintained shocks and struts can improve your vehicles stability. Shocks, struts, and tires work together to maximize tire-to-road contact improving your car’s stability and minimizing weight transfer.

Like many other suspension parts, through normal operation, shocks and struts wear over time. Now is a great time to come in and get your shocks and struts checked.  During our Ride Safe Event, we are offering up to $300.00 off Struts and $200.00 off Shocks. Do not wait this offer only lasts until October 31^st 2018 so give us a call today! Keep your family safe on the road and save some money this October with Spencer Auto Repair.

Get offer here:

Tempe: https://offers.spencerautorepair.com/tempe/shocks

Mesa: https://offers.spencerautorepair.com/mesa/shocks

San Tan Valley: https://offers.spencerautorepair.com/santan/shocks

Florence: https://offers.spencerautorepair.com/florence/shocks

 

We are your Timing Belt Experts- Some vehicles are equipped with a timing belt which is an internal engine component that is responsible for driving and synchronizing the camshaft movement with the crankshaft movement. Your vehicle’s timing belt is a vital component and is recommended to be replaced based on your manufacture’s specific interval. Due to wear and repeatedly being exposed to stress over time this component can fail. Unfortunately, in many cases your timing belt can fail without warning. When your timing belt fails it could cause serious and costly engine damage and cause you to break down.

At Spencer Auto Repair we have access to all the manufacture’s maintenance intervals and can inform you when your vehicle's manufacture recommends replacing your timing belt. We take the welfare of our customers vehicles very seriously and make recommendations based on time and mileage to help prevent the need for larger repairs in the future. We are committed to provide a long-term partnership with our customers centered around customer education. It is our goal to help our customers get what they want out of their vehicle. Timing belt replacements are backed by our 3 year, 36,000 mile nationwide warranty.

Spencer Auto Repair is proud to be serving customers at our 4 valley locations: Tempe, Mesa, San Tan Valley, and Florence. We are family owned and operated and have technicians with over 40 years’ experience. If you are concerned about your vehicle's timing belt or would like us to review your manufacture's maintenance schedule with you just visit any of our locations and our friendly staff members would be happy to assist you. Need a ride home? Spencer Auto Repair offers complimentary Uber/ Lyft services for our customers. 

Visit our website for an appointment today: www.spencerautorepair.com/appointment

In addition to providing quality automotive service, owners Geoff and Brittney Spencer are committed to giving back to their local community. They do that through their Spencer Auto School Acceleration Program. Through this on-going program each month people can go on to www.spencerautorepair.com/givesback to vote for their favorite school. At the end of the month the school with the most votes receives a portion of every sale for that month. 

Congratulations to the following schools who won our August School Acceleration Program:

Tempe Location: Nevitt Elementary School

Mesa Location: Sequoia Charter School

San Tan Valley Location: Copper Basin K-8

Florence Location: Florence K-8

We are so excited to present our donations to these local schools. 

This program is on-going so the September Poll is already posted at www.spencerautorepair.com/givesback. Remember if you do not see your school on our poll we are happy to add it. It is an honor to be able to give back to the amazing schools in our community. Please keep Spencer Auto Repair in mind for all your automotive repair needs.

 

How are you keeping your body cool in this hot summer conditions? Drinking a lot of cold fluids I suppose. Well, turns out that your car, just like your body, needs proper cooling for optimal performance for as long as possible in this searing summer heat. To achieve this, you'll need to ensure that your car's cooling system is working perfectly and there is no better way to achieve this than scheduling a coolant flush to replace your engine coolant.

Function of the engine coolant

The cooling system of the car is tasked with keeping the car and the core systems at the right temperature and prevent overheating especially in this hot summer weather. At the core of cooling your car and preventing it from overheating, is an engine coolant circulating through the engine block, radiator and the heat core. This coolant, carries the heat resulting from engine combustion to the radiator where it is emitted keeping the temperature of your car at the desired constant.

The coolant is also laden with other chemicals which keep it from freezing once winter kicks in. This means that your car will still keep running even in the cold weather. The coolant acts as a lubricant to the water pump in the engine. Finally, the coolant acts as a corrosion inhibitor and prevents the corrosion of the insides of the pipes and other materials it is in contact with.

Why you need to flush your coolant today

For all its importance in a vehicle, engine coolant needs to be replaced on a regular basis for it to perform optimally. As time goes by, the chemicals contained in the coolant to keep it working perfectly are depleted.

This reduces the efficiency of the coolant in preventing corrosion and effectively cooling the engine of your vehicle. This failure to cool your car and prevent internal corrosion can result in costly leaks, engine failure and overheating of the vehicle. These are damages that will require a lot more money to repair and will keep your vehicle grounded for some time.

As such, it is imperative that you get your coolant flushed by qualified professionals and get it replaced with a good quality coolant. It is important to ensure that you get the coolant flush done by the most qualified professionals because if it is not done properly, the old coolant remnants can mix with the new coolant injected and this will render the new coolant just as ineffective.

Best Coolant Flush Tempe Az

Are you looking for the best coolant Flush Tempe Az has to offer? Well, look no further than our way here at Spencer Auto Repair. We are Tempe Arizona's top rated, experienced and honest technicians offering the locals with best services at very affordable rates and coolant flush is our cup of tea.

To prevent your car from overheating during this hot summer, take advantage of our current offer of $109 coolant flush and restore your car's high performance.

 

Details

If you own a vehicle or at least drive one, there is a very important vehicle maintenance protocol that has been overlooked by many vehicle owners and drivers. Most people never care to wonder why they feel like their vehicles are pulling them to the side while driving, why their tires wear and tear fast, why their cars consume more fuel or even why they keep having wheel problems.

While faulty tire manufacturing can cause easy wear and tear, most often than not, the case is caused by lack of proper wheel alignment. Wheel alignment is simply making sure your tires give you a smooth and comfortable road experience. Who would hate that?

You cannot avoid wheel alignment service as long as you drive your vehicle. Driving on rough roads and extreme weather conditions means that your wheel alignment will change faster. That does not mean that avoiding rough roads or extreme weather saves your car from the same. Driving in normal conditions also changes your wheel alignment and this is why we advise a checkup after every six months or 6000 miles.

Can proper wheel alignment save you money?

Definitely YES.

How can proper wheel alignment save you money?

When your vehicle has faulty wheel alignment, you experience immense resistance on the road surface. This means that there will be added pressure on tires which leads to faster wear and tear. This causes danger as the tires become bald on one side leading to uneven tires that could cause you to lose balance on the road. Furthermore, this means that you must incur the cost of purchasing new tires.

More pressure on the rubber also means that you incur more costs on fuel whilst proper wheel alignment saves you from these costs a great deal.

The three important steps in wheel alignment.

Wheel alignment involves three crucial steps; the caster, the toe and the camber.

The Caster.

Caster is the one that influences the directional steering of your vehicle. A caster can be explained as when a side-ward observation of the steering axis shows a tilt of the steering axis at its topmost point. It is generally affected by the vehicle's height.

A higher rear most often makes the steering to deviate easily at high speed while a drooping rear because of overloading the vehicle will affect the caster positively.

The Toe.

For the wheels to roll parallel in motion, the toe should be minimum. Hence, toe takes the measurements of the distance by which the front and the rear wheels peer out or in from the straight axis.

The Camber.

In respect to the vertical axis, the camber shows whether the wheels are tilted when viewed from the front of the vehicle. In a camber, the wheels could be tilted either inward or outward at the top. Due to changes in direction, the camber affects the wear caused in a tire which would result in premature wearing of the inner or outer part depending on the tilt.

It is paramount to understand that the cost of proper care of your tires can never be compared to the cost of buying new tires. Also, note that wheel warranties only cover manufacturing defects and never cover poor maintenance.

Save yourself the hassle. Call Us Today: 480-360-3912

Brakes are one of the most important safety measures in a car. They transform our cars from hunks of metal. plastic and rubber hurtling on the highway to the safe machines we use every day. For this reason, we should strive to identify and fix faulty brakes before they can cause us any trouble.

Below we will show you the dangers of driving your car with faulty brakes

1 Increased Response time

As you may have noticed, faulty brakes take a longer time to respond. This means that even if you have very quick reactions your rakes might still let you down. This might cause you to get into a situation you would have avoided if you had a good braking system.

2 Affect your driving

Faulty brakes cause your car to behave abnormally. Pulling is one instance where pressing on the brakes causes the car to pull to one side. When this happens on the highway can affect your driving and even that of other road users.

3 Expensive Repairs

If you do not take care of faulty brakes as soon as they start misfiring then you are in for more problems. If for example you do not change your brake pads eventually your callipers and rotor get damaged. This means that you will have to replace all of these components resulting in very expensive repairs.

4 Brake Failure

Faulty brakes can stop working entirely. This is especially bad news if you are driving at the moment they quit on you.

To avoid coming face to face with any of the above dangers you should know when your brakes need to be serviced. The signs below means your brakes are not working efficiently and should be checked immediately

1 Appearance

Every now and then you should look at your brake pads. While there is bound to be some wear, if your brake pad is too thin then get it changed. Brake pads that are less than quarter an inch should be changed immediately.

2 Sound

As you might have noticed your brakes work almost silently. Screeching sounds when braking it might mean your brake pads are getting worn out. If your car has been sitting in rain then screeching brakes are normal but they should back to normal after some time. Persistent screeching is a sign that your brake pads should be changed.

3 Vibrations

If you feel your brake pedal vibrating whenever you step on the brakes then your rotors are most likely warped. The main cause of warped rotors is heavy breaking. Therefore if you have been doing some steep mountain driving, towing or any other driving that requires heavy braking then get your rotors are probably warped. A vibrating brake pedal can be caused by misalignment.

4 Pulling

If your car pulls to one side whenever you are braking then you should see your mechanic. It shows that either there is a problem with your brake lines or your brake fluid is contaminated and therefore not working correctly. Either way, you should get your braking system checked.

5 Fading

Are your brakes less responsive? If you have to step on the pedal harder than before your brake line has a problem. It could be air, leaking out of the brake hose or a brake fluid leak.

If you notice any of the signs stated above then you should visit one of the Spencer Auto Repair locations located around Arizona. Otherwise, you are putting your safety on the line everytime you drive. To ensure that you can drive without worrying you need to get your brakes checked by a certified mechanic regularly or once you notice any of the signs listed above. If you have any questions or concerns about your brake system you can call or visit our shop in Tempe Arizona at 2650 N. Scottsdale Rd., Tempe, AZ 85281
Call Us Today: 480-360-3912