Mishawaka Auto Repair

  REMEMBER: Driving on a flat tire can cause internal structural damage to the TIRE, may lead to wheel and vehicle damage and may result in poor vehicle handling and control. Steps to Follow The interesting thing about tire blowouts is that they require you to act counterintuitively. While your instincts may tell you to slam on your brakes and veer off the road if your tire blows out, this is actually the exact opposite of what you should do. Don’t Panic You’ll be doing yourself a huge favor by not shutting down and entering crisis mode when you have a tire blowout. So after your tire blows out, remain as calm as possible, and put the following procedure into place. Keep Control of Your Vehicle Again, though you may want to brake, you need to keep your foot on the gas pedal. Continue steering in the direction that you are heading, rather than veering immediately to get off the ro ... read more

PLEASE DON’T TRY TO BE IN  HURRY IN THIS WEATHER, that’s about the best travel advice I can give you. “What to do and not do when you are in a car accident?” If you are our driving today and tonight please be careful, there is a sheet of ice here and there on the road. So, even being careful you hit someone or someone hits you. “What Should you do?”   You should never drive away from the scene of the accident. Do drive it if you still can to the side of the road, if you can’t leave it for the tow truck. If you have flares use them (don’t do anything if you are hurt, wait for police or ambulance.). If you think someone needs medical help call 911. Call the Police, they can help with traffic, collect evidence, talk to witnesses, and file a report. If able take notes: draw map of accident scene, write down vehicle and property damage, get insurance information.—This maybe hard to do because if in an acci ... read more

BRRRRRRRRRRRRR it’s cold out there!! Your poor car has been sitting there overnight, in the cold your battery is far less effective, the oil is real thick. If your engine is cranking slowly, have your battery checked, especially if it is more than 3 years old. If you’ve been a long time customer here at Ricks Auto Service in Mishawaka, we have the history of your vehicles in our computer and can tell you that information. What happens if your battery is over 3 year old as it may have lost some of it’s original reserve capacity, if you aren’t sure we can test your battery. When you are getting the battery checked it’s not a bad idea to have your alternator and charging system looked at too. Make sure your battery terminals are clean and corroded and the cable look good too. Making sure your battery and charging system are both in optimum condition. Making sure you are using the right engine oil, using a low-viscosity oil such as SW ... read more

Free Wipers(set of 2) with any purchase ($25 value).Professional Grade Wipers (set of 2) for $5 with any purchase ($45 value)offer good till the end of February 2019 Sweet Deal till the end of February, Free wiper blades.  Points to keep from costly windshield wiper repair or replacement. Make sure when you park your car the wiper blades are turned off, seem silly but if you park over night and you live in an area where things freeze, you can end up breaking the wiper assembly. Newer models shut the power to the motor if you turn off the car when you are in a wiper blade cycle.  Older models may have a wiper arm mounted to the linkage with a nut that will loosen off under the same conditions. We see a lot of damage to wiper blade assemblies that cost hundreds of dollars. If you are in the habit of leaving the blades raised from the glass so they don’t freeze, if you have high winds over night they can end ... read more

"How often should I change my Wiper Blades?” , Change your Wiper Blades every 6 months, if you are in severe weather, extreme heat and exposer to the UV rays of the sun causes the Wiper Blades to become brittle and crack. In winter time, extreme cold means ice, if you don't scrape ice completely the ice takes out chunks of the rubber. If you can't move the Wiper Blade, don't turn on your wipers, as you can end up breaking components in the Wiper system. Want to try and get more life out of your Wiper Blades? These are things that need to be done all the time to make any difference. If using a de-icer, make sure there is a lot of ice on the windshield, otherwise the de-icer won't work. Parking in the shade or under cover, it is best if you have a garage park there. Having a dirty windshield takes its toll: d ... read more

So we don’t forget, Maintenance is the way to be Proactive for your vehicle. When you come in for an oil change, we do check over your car completely. Setting up a maintenance schedule, letting you know safety items, immediate needs for your vehicle, then maintenance items(hopefully keeping you to in this zone instead need it ASAP-because parts are worn or broken). If you have some larger items needing to be done, don’t forget to ask for our “Free” Loaner Plans. When you come in let us know any concerns, any strange noises(don’t ignore please), funny smells, car pulling to the left or right, the engine sounds sluggish. Let our Service Writers (Rodney & Greg) know what the situation is, if a particular problem that you feel needs to be investigated, you can go for a drive with one of our mechanics, always a great thing to do. We don’t allow customer parts, because we need to use our parts, knowing the companies we deal with: We also have an amazin ... read more

Keeping your car in top running condition is so important. Maintenance, Maintenance, Maintenance, with new cars costing a small fortune, taking care of your vehicle just makes sense. Keeping your old car running as long as possible, frees up your money to do other things. I have a 2000 Honda Odyssey,  371,638 miles and it's still running, and running well. In all honesty, the body of the car looks sad, but when you have teenagers learning to drive....I'll say no more. My kids joke with me about getting rid of it, but I would like to try and get it to 400,000 miles...hopefully!!! When you drive the same vehicle for a number of years you get to know what sounds normal and what might be a potential problem. When I take my car to Ricks, I let them know of new noises that have started...Whether it's a clicking noise in the engine, a rattling sound, the car vears to the left when I brake. No sound or change in your car is insignificant, it maybe from everyday wear, or i ... read more

"The Check Engine Light is on again", that's what I told Rick the other day. Fortunately, mine was an easy fix, I had gotten gas the night before and did not put the gas cap on securely enough. You should be able to hear clicking, when you put it on to the right.  If the check engine light illuminates, it will either blink or remain constant, depending on the problem. Either way, you should have the vehicle checked by a Qualified Service Technician as soon as possible.  If the light is steady. The problem is not an emergency, but you should schedule an appointment as soon as possible.  Some checks you can do if the light comes on: Check your dashboard gauges and lights—is the oil pressure low, is it overheating. These conditions mean you should pull over and shut off the engine when you get to a safe spot. You may still be able to drive to Ricks Auto Service here in Mishawaka, but if it’s running really hot, or the oil pressure is reall ... read more

Let’s start the new year not only changing our personal habits, but how about our driving habits? I don’t know about you, but bad habits, or laziness sort of creeps on us. If you see yourself not doing any of these(I was guilty of a few), then make a change today. KEEP THE PHONE AWAY Texting or talking on your phone(we think it is multi-tasking!!) does lead to countless road accidents. From research, listening reduces the amount of brain activity associated with driving by 37%. Don’t be distracted. STICK TO THE SPEED LIMIT Stick to the speed limit, it safer and cheaper. It certain spots you can be fined heavily for going over the speed limit. SAFE FOLLOWING DISTANCE I think when we are rushing we tend to crowd the car in front of us. Leaving a 2-3 second gap between you and the driver in front of you, can keep us from rear-ending that driver, if they stop suddenly. TURN ON YOUR HEADLIGHTS WHEN NEEDED ... read more