Summer is upon us, and for many people that means traveling and vacations. The kids being out of school, sunshine high in the sky, and longer days, seem to give people the itch to get out and get moving. When it comes to getting to your destination, your vehicle likely plays a vital role. Proper vehicle maintenance can help you ensure that your summer plans go smoothly and uninterrupted. We are going to provide a review of the most common vehicle issues, so you know what to pay extra close attention to before you hit the road.
A Review of the Most Common Vehicle Issues
If you haven’t paid much attention to your car, truck, or SUV in a while, vehicle maintenance is probably overdo. Our vehicles aren’t like all of the other devices (cell phones, computers, TVs, etc.) in our lives that we can usually get away with having no checks or maintenance on, use until they stop working, and we can just replace them. Your car, truck, or SUV is a complex machine that relies on thousands of components to work. If even just one of the parts fails, it can mean the difference between you getting to where you are going or not.
We are going to provide a review of the most common vehicle issues and repairs, so you can be proactive, and not have your vehicle be the cause of you missing fun in the sun.
- Warning or Check Engine Light: A warning or check engine light is the most common issue for cars, trucks, and SUVs. These lights illuminate when the vehicle detects an error code triggered by a sensor. While a check engine light appearing is undeniable, it is usually hard for vehicle owners to easily identify what has caused the light to suddenly appear, since there are more than 200 possible warning codes. A check engine light can be caused by various triggers and a blinking light usually means the issue is more urgent than a solid light. All vehicles are different, so you should leave it up to a professional automotive repair shop to determine the cause and help to solve the problem.
- Shaking Steering Wheel: The steering system in your vehicle transfers the rotation of the steering wheel to the steering shaft on the vehicle, to move the wheels left or right. Shaking and vibrating steering wheels are one of the most common vehicle issues owners may face. Steering issues, like other problems with your vehicle, may get worse and more noticeable over time, or just suddenly appear. This issue can be caused by damaged suspension components, tire/wheel imbalance, or something else.
- Dead or Dying Battery: Car batteries, like all batteries, have a finite lifespan. Batteries deteriorate over time until they can no longer provide enough power to start the vehicle’s engine. This wear time could take three to five years. The vehicle’s usage pattern is one factor contributing to the rate at which a battery will age. Batteries in cars, trucks, or SUVs, driven mainly for short trips, may not fully recharge, and batteries in vehicles parked for extended periods naturally self-discharge. Having a vehicle that will not start or seems to die often is a common problem, and is usually caused by you simply needing a new battery.
- Overheating: Another one of the most common vehicle issues we see, is when a vehicle overheats. Engines can overheat for various reasons. Typically, an overheated engine is caused by a problem with the vehicle’s cooling system. The issue could be caused by a cooling system leak, faulty radiator fan or bad radiator hose, broken water pump, bad thermostat, clogged coolant hose, a blown head gasket, amongst other things. Regardless of what is causing your vehicle to overheat, this isn’t a problem that you want to leave unattended. Not addressing the problem right away could lead to serious and permanent damage.
- Transmission Issues: Transmissions slipping, transmission filters clogged, low or dirty transmission fluid, leaking fluid, lack of shifting, clutch problems, or something else, are all common reasons to have a vehicle serviced. If your vehicle’s transmission is having issues, you can normally tell. You likely will have problems shifting properly or something else pointing to troubles ahead. A car’s transmission is one of the most critical components of the vehicle, so if there are complications with it, the sooner you know the better.
There are lots of other common vehicle issues that we see: squeaking brakes, air conditioning blowing warm air, failing alternator, tires wearing unevenly, radiator issues, etc. Whatever the issue, Advanced Transmissions & Emissions is here for your Phoenix vehicle’s needs.
Advanced Transmissions & Emissions specializes in transmission repair, rebuilding, and remanufacturing, and all of your other automotive repair needs from clutches, air conditioning, steering, suspension, and more. We are a Phoenix full-service auto mechanic repair shop. If your check engine light is on, call us, we can do a diagnostic check while you wait.
Contact us today to schedule an appointment.