Some St. Peter motorists wonder why Autotronics of ST Peter and other St. Peter auto repair shops charge a fee for diagnostic services.

Think about it: When you hire a local Cleveland HVAC technician to check out a problem with your air conditioner you’ll probably pay a diagnostic fee. When you visit your Kasota doctor for a health problem, you pay the physician to diagnose the ailment and of course for the tests that go along with it.

So receiving a diagnostic charge at Autotronics of ST Peter for a tricky automotive problem shouldn’t be a surprise. In the Cleveland area, automotive diagnostics can cover quite a range. If you hear a noise in your minivan brakes when you slow down in rush-hour traffic on a busy MN freeway, you pull off the next off-ramp and take a quick visual check. That is usually enough to know what needs to be done. If you’re having an intermittent problem with your minivan engine, however, Autotronics of ST Peter diagnosis may be much more involved.

Much of the Cleveland drivers’s confusion comes when the problem involves the check engine light. The check engine light comes on when the engine management computer has sensed a problem.

There’s a common misconception among Kasota, Le Sueur, and Saint Peter drivers that the trouble code tells the Autotronics of ST Peter technician exactly what’s wrong. They wonder why there is a diagnostic charge – because the scanner quickly gave the diagnosis.

In reality, it is not that easy and straightforward. The computer monitors many sensors throughout the vehicle. When one of these sensors has a reading that’s out of parameters, the computer will record a trouble code and turn on the check engine light.

The minivan computer’s trouble code just tells the Autotronics of ST Peter technician what engine parameter is out of range – not what’s causing it. The technician needs to determine the underlying problem that’s causing the malfunction.

There are many problems that could cause a troublesome sensor reading for Autotronics of ST Peter customers. The Autotronics of ST Peter service advisor makes a list of the most likely causes and begins tracking down the source of the problem. This takes time.

Cleveland service centers subscribe to databases that document possible causes for all the possible trouble codes. The databases outline procedures for confirming a diagnosis and provide the documented repair. These critical databases are specific to each vehicle and engine combination.

Some diagnoses are quick and easy. Others are more involved, time-consuming, and difficult. Of course Autotronics of ST Peter wants to figure out what’s wrong with your minivan and get you back on the road as quickly as possible.

With the recent focus in Saint Peter on improving fuel economy, we’ve been told how important it is to maintain our tire pressure.

St. Peter auto owners know that tires wear out, but we want to make them last as long as possible because they’re not cheap to replace. In addition to saving gas, properly inflated tires last longer. Under-inflated tires will wear out more quickly.

Some Saint Peter drivers wonder if they should add a few extra pounds of pressure when they fill up their tires. Bad idea. In fact, there are very good reasons not to over-inflate your tires. For one, the middle of the tread will wear unevenly because the full tread is not contacting the road properly. That also adversely affects your handling.

Stop by Autotronics of ST Peter to see about tire maintenance for your St. Peter, MN vehicle.

Autotronics of ST Peter
111 Jefferson Avenue
St. Peter, MN 56082
507.934.9290

Every vehicle in the Saint Peter area has a sticker on the driver’s side door jamb that tells you the auto manufacturer’s recommended tire pressure. This recommendation is an integral part of the vehicle’s suspension tuning. A lot of engineering actually goes into the recommended tire pressure, so it’s vital for Saint Peter motorists to follow it.

What else do St. Peter motorists need to know about tire maintenance? Tire rotation and balancing are very important. Let’s start with rotation. Because the front tires handle the brunt of turning forces, the shoulders of the front tires wear more quickly than the rear tires. At Autotronics of ST Peter in St. Peter, we rotate the tires so that they all get to do some duty on the front and they’ll all wear evenly over their life.

For most vehicles, front tires are rotated to the rear and vice versa. Others recommend a cross rotational pattern. Some vehicles use an asymmetrical tire so those tires need to stay on either the right or left side – it’ll say which on the tire. Some high performance cars have asymmetrical tires and different sizes on the front and rear. These can’t be rotated at all. Your owner’s manual will have details for your car or speak with your knowledgeable Autotronics of ST Peter tech.

How often should Clevelandauto owners rotate their tires? Your owner’s manual will have a recommendation. Your knowledgeable Autotronics of ST Peter technician at Autotronics of ST Peter in St. Peter can do a visual inspection to let you know if it looks like it should be done. The interval is typically around 5,000 miles.

You know, some St. Peter people don’t think new tires need to be balanced. What they aren’t taking into account is the wheel. Between the wheel and the tire – even a new tire – there’s enough variation to require balancing.

When you add the valve stem and tire pressure monitoring sensors required on new cars, balancing is definitely important. When a tire’s out of balance, it’s actually hopping down the road. St. Peter drivers with tires out of balance will feel the vibration through the steering wheel if a front tire’s out of balance and through the seat if it’s a rear tire.

Proper wheel balance promotes tire life and increases safety for Cleveland auto owners and their passengers. Historically, lead weights have been attached to the wheel to bring it into balance. Lead gives some environmental concern, so steel weights are starting to be substituted. 

The team at Autotronics of ST Peter also wants to remind you that it is essential to always use the same size tire on an axle. Different size tires on the front or on the back can lead to some real handling problems. And MN tire manufacturers recommend that when you get two new tires, they be installed on the rear because that’s where you need the most traction to avoid spinning-out.

People near St. Peter MN often ask Autotronics of ST Peter how often they should have a particular service done. It’s a great thing to ask. You can look at your owner’s manual, or have your St. Peter MN service advisor at Autotronics of ST Peter look up your vehicle in a service database. What you find is often a surprise to people – there are actually two service schedules.

One is the regular schedule and the other is the severe service schedule. Service intervals are shorter on the severe service schedule. When asked, most folks in St. Peter MN will say that their driving is normal and that the ‘regular’ schedule probably applies to them. ‘Severe service’ sounds pretty extreme – ‘I don’t drive like that’.

Well, here is what the manufacturers say constitutes severe driving conditions; you can draw your own conclusions.

• Most of your trips are less than four miles.
• Most of your trips are less than ten miles and outside temperatures are below freezing.
• The engine is at low speed most of the time – not on the highway. You operate your vehicle in dusty areas.
• You regularly tow a trailer or carry heavy loads.
• Drive with a car-top carrier.
• Stop and go driving.
• Driving in very hot or very cold weather.

If that’s severe driving, what constitutes regular driving? Well, it would look something like this: I live somewhere with moderate temperatures all year round – I’m thinking San Diego here. And I live close to a freeway on-ramp. Everywhere I need to go is right off the freeway, at least four miles from my home. I can drive at a steady 60 miles per hour when I’m on the freeway.

I don’t know about you, but that doesn’t sound like my normal driving. It sounds more like ideal conditions. I live where it gets hot in the summer and cold in the winter. I run short errands around St. Peter. Occasionally we load up for family trips.

For me, normal driving includes elements of severe service driving. So here’s what I tell people: think about how you drive, where you live, where you go and what you are expecting to with your vehicle in the near future.

Picture a line with ‘regular’ on one end and ‘severe’ on the other, and make a judgment on where you fall. If your regular oil change recommendation is 5,000 miles and the severe service recommendation is 3,000 – when should you change your oil? For me, it’s closer to 3,000 miles. For my wife, it’s closer to 5,000 miles. Your St. Peter MN auto service advisor at Autotronics of ST Peter will be happy to have this discussion with you and help you sort it out.

Just a quick word on why severe service intervals are shorter. One has to do with heat. That can either be external heat from the weather or engine and transmission heat from stop and go driving or working extra hard moving heavy loads or towing. The heat causes the fluids like oil and transmission fluid to break down more quickly and then they aren’t as effective.

Another factor is water. Moisture naturally collects in fluids as they cool. In your motor oil, for example, if you don’t drive long enough for the oil to fully heat up, the water won’t evaporate. Water in the oil can lead to the buildup of damaging sludge.

If you live where the air is dusty or polluted, fluids will become contaminated and filters will get dirtier more quickly.

So make an honest evaluation of your driving conditions. You’ve made the commitment to take care of your vehicles, so it only makes sense to follow the right schedule.