Mishawaka Auto Repair

  Some tips to follow you keep your pets safe in this extreme weather. Never leave your pet in a car. Give your pet extra water. Protect your pet’s paws from hot surfaces. Don’t overdo outdoor exercise. Take extra care with older dogs and dogs with shorter noses. (risk of heatstroke) Apply pet-safe sunscreen to your dog. Don’t leave windows open while you’re pets are unattended. When in doubt, stay indoors

If your Vehicle has Disc brakes, slowing and stopping the car is what Brake Calipers do. The Brake Caliper is a support to your Brake Pads on the Rotor or is supports the Caliper Bracket. It also exerts pressure on the Brake Fluid with the Master Cylinder into friction with the Rotor. Or it works together to stop your car. The Calipers don’t need replacement as often as Brake Pads and Rotors. With that being said, if you let the Pads or the Rotors become warped the Calipers become damaged because they are no longer insulated by the Rotors and the heat does damage to the Pistons and can cause the Brake Fluid to be compromised. This can cause Brake Failure. Signs the Calipers: some of the early signs that a trained Technician looks for are corrosion, dirt buildup, leaks, reluctant guide pins. When we do an Oil Change part of that service is checking out your Brake System. Your Vehicle pulls to one side when braking, the Caliper could be seizing up. That was the problem our ... read more

Depends if you want better fuel economy. Read on: I’ve never heard of this part, looked it up it’s an Active Grille Shutter. The Shutters have been used as far back as the 1920’s, Rolls Royce-1929 and in the 1930’s Packards. They allowed aerodynamic drag reduction benefits. Which from ALL the material out there it basically comes down to it playing an important part in achieving Fuel consumption, the Shutters open and close automatically to control airflow, reducing Aerodynamic Drag, improving fuel efficiency. Since Fuel Efficiency is such a huge issue, Chryslers Dodge and Ram 1500 Pickups have the feature.  A number of models from Honda, Mazda and Toyota are beginning to have Active Grille Shutters too

 Is it worth it to replace an Engine? One of our clients had their Crankshaft go bad. They needed to have their Engine Replaced. Their Vehicle was in great shape very little rust on the body. They were also driving a Honda. My personal experience is that Hondas are reliable Vehicles. I drove mine for about 393,000, and it is still on the road. We sold it to a customer who needed a van to haul equipment.  If you buy a new-to-you-Vehicle you  inherit that Vehicles problems. Some of the questions we ask are: How long were you hoping to have this Vehicle? What is the Quality, Cost of Ownership, and Reliability, the customer had the money to buy a good Remanufactured Engine.     These Engines have been tested both by the company Jasper, and by our shop. Other cost factors to consider: Insurance and Registration fees on a new car are more expensive than an older Vehicle. A new Vehicle depreciates as soon as you drive off that lot