All of us St. Peter car owners know we have to get the oil changed in our minivans periodically. That’s just part of good car care. But when Cleveland service advisors change your oil, they also usually inspect your air filter. That’s why they sometimes let you know that your air filter needs to be changed before releasing your minivan.

Don’t just chock this up to trying to sell you something else. Saint Peter car owners really do need to change their air filter when it gets dirty. You can check your owner’s manual to see how often your air filter should need to be changed, but remember, if you live in an area in MN with poor air quality, or if you drive a lot or drive under harsh conditions in the Cleveland area, you may need to change that filter more often than is recommended.

Changing an air filter isn’t guesswork. If a filter’s dirty, it needs to be replaced. Air filters aren’t very pricey at Autotronics of ST Peter in St. Peter. But the problems they cause if St. Peter drivers don’t change them can get to be pricey.

For every gallon of gas your minivan burns, it needs 12,000 gallons of air. Clean filters allow better airflow into your engine, which means that your engine will get more air more quickly. That means your minivan engine runs more efficiently.

Dirty air filters cut airflow to your engine. All the debris in the filter clogs up the spaces the air needs to pass through to get to the engine. This dirty air can damage costly electronic components.

If you are in tune with your minivan, you’ll notice a difference when you change a really dirty air filter for a clean one. Your minivan may actually purr for you again. Its performance improves when it has a new, clean filter. So remember, changing your air filter is one of the most essential elements of preventive maintenance. At Autotronics of ST Peter, it’s inexpensive, it’s effective, and it’s important.

Have you noticed an increase in price when you get a flat fixed in St. Peter or your tires rotated? It might be the result of your TPMS, or Tire Pressure Monitoring System.

The federal government began requiring a TPMS system on 2008 model year passenger vehicles and light trucks. Some 2006 and 2007 models may have them as well. The system has a warning light that is mounted on the dashboard that will go on if one of the tires becomes severely under inflated.

Why the new requirement? Because underinflated tires are the number one cause of tire failure. Tire blowouts cause dangerous and sometimes fatal accidents. Underinflated tires also need longer stopping distance and can skid, both of which also present dangers on MN roads. Many flat tires can also be prevented by proper tire inflation, and though this may seem an economic consideration, St. Peter auto owners who have changed a flat on the side of the road recognize that this has serious safety concerns as well.

Advances in tire technology, specifically the development of radial tires has made it harder for St. Peter auto owners to recognize when a tire is underinflated. At a recommended pressure of 35 psi, a tire is seriously underinflated at 26 psi. But the tire doesn’t look low on air until it reaches 20 psi. This raises concerns about vehicle owners being able to tell when their minivans are a safety hazard on the road. Hence, the TPMS.

So, like seatbelts, the essential TPMS system is expected to save a lot of lives. The technology has been in use in race cars for years, and now it’s being mandated for all passenger cars, SUV’s, mini-vans and pick-ups. Besides warning St. Peter motorists when their tires need air, the system is required to indicate when it is malfunctioning.

This increased safety won’t come without increased costs to St. Peter car owners. Estimates regarding the cost of maintaining the TPMS on your vehicle run from $27 to $100. Also, there will be an added cost for tire repair. St. Peter service centers have had to purchase new scanning equipment to work with TPMS sensors and other important equipment to repair tires and wheels equipped with TPMS. Autotronics of ST Peter techs have to be trained to use the new equipment. These costs will have to be passed on to St. Peter car owners.

Further, whenever a tire is changed, the Autotronics of ST Peter service professional will have to deal with the TPMS. Sensors will have to removed, then re-installed and re-activated. Sometimes the act of changing a tire will damage a sensor, and it will need to be replaced. These extra services will come at an added charge to St. Peter drivers.

Tire rotations will require that the TPMS be re-programmed. And whenever a vehicle’s battery is disconnected, the TPMS will require re-programming as well.

The TPMS itself will require attention – it contains batteries and sensors that will wear out and need to be replaced.

So, if you’ve noticed an increase in the cost for car care at your St. Peter tire center, it may not be the economy. It could be the cost of the TPMS in newer vehicles. Before you dash off an angry letter to Congress, however, stop and consider what you’re paying for. If predictions are correct, the TPMS will save lives, and that will be a benefit to all of us.

Of course, no warning system will save lives in St. Peter if motorists don’t pay attention to it. And remember that the warning doesn’t come on until the tire is severely under inflated – you still should check your tire pressure at least once a month. St. Peter car owners can prevent accidents and potentially save lives without a warning system by keeping their tires properly inflated.

There are some things St. Peter motorists should know about St. Peter car service and repair. First and foremost, Autotronics of ST Peter cares about you and your family’s safety. And we really appreciate your business. Autotronics of ST Peter in St. Peter wants to build a trusting relationship that becomes the foundation for a mutually beneficial experience for years to come.

Building on that foundation, there are some things that would help you understand the auto service and repair business better. First, it can be really hard to fix cars. The days of shade tree mechanics are long gone. The majority of automotive systems are computerized. It takes a lot of training and very expensive equipment to diagnose and repair modern vehicles. The knowledgeable service advisors that work for Autotronics of ST Peter need extensive computer training – not just how to run the diagnostic systems, but also searching for the right parts, networking with other service advisors to help them with a difficult problem and pulling together a job order that makes sure that each step of the process is addressed.

The threshold for getting started as a technician gets higher all the time in MN and there is a huge commitment to on-going training every year. This training takes time and money. It contributes to business overhead. Average St. Peter or Le Sueur drivers may not realize the business and environmental regulations Autotronics of ST Peter must comply with. Of course that costs money too. Like any MN business, overhead is a big factor.

When you go into your favorite Cleveland restaurant you don’t value the meal by what the food would cost at the grocery store. The restaurant has rent, wages, insurance, taxes, utilities, professional fees, equipment, supplies – you get the picture. The restaurant has to charge enough to not only pay for the ingredients, but for all these other things as well while making enough profit to remain in business. If you value the meal and are satisfied with your dining experience, you’ll come back and tell your friends.

It’s the same for Autotronics of ST Peter. The value of its service is not the cost of the parts they replace, but in your satisfaction with the results. If they deliver a good product at a fair price, St. Peter customers are happy to see them succeed as a MN automotive business.

Contact Autotronics of ST Peter to learn more about our extensive auto service training.
You can find us at:
111 Jefferson Avenue
St. Peter, MN 56082
Or call us at 507.934.9290

At Autotronics of ST Peter, we love to see our St. Peter customers whenever they come in, but we would much rather see them three or four times a year for routine maintenance than once a year on a tow truck. We want to work together with you to avoid breakdowns. Tell your Cleveland area friends and family to come in for their important scheduled maintenance too. That lowers our marketing costs and helps keep its labor rates down. That’s good for everyone in St. Peter.

Autotronics of ST Peter appreciates this great review of automotive service from AutoNetTV.