Cleveland drivers love their cars. And one of the most enjoyable things about them is taking a road trip. Freedom from daily schedules, new sights and the open road – it’s great! But there’s nothing like car trouble to bring the fun to a grinding halt.

Now St. Peter motorists can’t always avoid problems, but you can take steps to reduce the probability of getting sidelined on your trip. The first step is to look at your trip plan from your vehicle’s perspective. What kind of roads will you be traveling – winding MN byways or interstates? Purple mountain majesties or fruited plains? What weather conditions are you likely to encounter? How many miles will you travel each day? How much weight will you be hauling – passengers and luggage. Pulling a trailer, roof top carrier, or ATVs? Will it be dusty?

Prepared with answers to these questions, you can schedule a trip inspection at Autotronics of ST Peter in St. Peter to help you prepare your minivan for your big adventure. A lot of our St. Peter customers prefer to go through this exercise with their knowledgeable  service specialist to get their input and make sure they haven’t overlooked anything.

A great place for St. Peter motorists to start is with the tires. Inspect them for tread wear and proper inflation. Is it time to rotate your tires? Replace them? Are they up to the job – you wouldn’t want to drive regular highway tires on a muddy off-road adventure on St. Peter rock-crawling trails. 

Shocks and struts play a major role in both driving comfort and safety. If they need to be replaced, you’ll really be glad you did once you hit the road. Is it time for a wheel alignment? Fighting a car that’s pulling to one side all day can be tiring and dangerous for St. Peter auto owners. 

And don’t forget your brakes, St. Peter motorists. Any strange noises, grabbing, soft or hard peddle feel? If there is any doubt, get a brake inspection at Autotronics of ST Peter in St. Peter before you leave.

Moving under the hood, have a belts and hoses inspection. If something is excessively worn or near failure, the stress of a long road trip might just be the straw that breaks the camel’s back. Talk to your knowledgeable Autotronics of ST Peter service specialist.

Your engine air filter will be vital. For every gallon of gas you burn, your car will filter and use 12,000 gallons of air. If the filter needs to be changed, you’ll notice improved fuel efficiency on your trip.

How close are you to your next oil change? Will you be able to complete your trip before it’s due? If not, just get it taken care of before you go so that you don’t need to interrupt your trip. In fact, a full service oil change at Autotronics of ST Peter is a great idea because they will top off all your fluids and check to see if any other key maintenance items are due, such as transmission or cooling system service.

Do you notice any unusual odors in your minivan? If so, it could as harmless as a dirty cabin air filter. But if it’s an exhaust leak it could be fatal for St. Peter motorists and their passengers on a long trip. Of course you’ll want to be comfortable, so get an air conditioning service if you aren’t getting the cold air you used to. 

Are your wiper blades still working well? If not, that is quick and inexpensive to fix for smart St. Peter auto owners. Headlamps are often overlooked when planning for a trip. If you haven’t changed the bulb in six months or so, replacement bulbs will really light up the night on your trip and provide the necessary after-sundown visibility.

All the items mentioned are part of any good vehicle maintenance plan. These are things that you want to take care of anyway, but they all become more essential as you plan for your trip.

They will always save you cash in the long run and may prevent inconvenient and expensive delays on your trip. After all, you wouldn’t want to miss the world’s largest ball of string, would you?

The automotive professionals at Autotronics of ST Peter would like to give St. Peter auto owners an update on some of the things happening in automotive fluids. You know, cars are becoming more sophisticated everyday – and fluids such as, oil, coolant and transmission fluid are becoming more specialized at about the same pace.

The Cleveland do-it-yourselfer has to be pretty careful so that they do not actually harm their minivan with the wrong type of fluid. That is why so many MN car owners rely on the advice of their knowledgeable Autotronics of ST Peter service specialist to not only get the correct family of fluids, but to suggest the formulation that is best for their car and their driving habits in the St. Peter area.

Let’s start with engine oil. Kasota auto owners who have been paying attention, will have noticed a number of new oil weights on the MN scene in the last several years. Modern engines are built to much tighter tolerances and have very complicated valve trains. The oil must be thin enough to lubricate complicated parts when the engine is cold. The weight of an oil is expressed in terms like 20-W-50 or 5-W-30. The car makers recommend the weight of oil for each vehicle they make. The recommendation is based on engine design. Your St. Peter service center will know what weight your car maker recommends – and it’s important to follow those recommendations. Your service advisor at Autotronics of ST Peter can also offer suggestions for special formulations and can tell you all about conventional and synthetic oils.

Antifreeze, or engine coolant, is another area that has become more complicated. For a long time, auto manufacturers only recommended a couple of different types of coolant. Now, several different formulations are needed because of the high-tech materials that auto makers are using to build the cooling system. Using the wrong type of coolant in your minivan or other vehicle can actually void your warranty, so it’s essential to get that right.

Transmission fluid is becoming specialized for St. Peter vehicles as well. New transmission designs have particular requirements that require specific formulations. Recently, new, somewhat confusing, standards for brake fluid have also been released.

Not too long ago, there was a good chance that all of the vehicles at your St. Peter house would use many of the same fluids. However, as automotive technology advances, the array of basic automotive fluids MN car owners need will grow. And, some of the formulations will cost a little more for St. Peter motorists. Fortunately, Autotronics of ST Peter will continue to update their training to keep pace with technology so that you’ll get the right fluids your car needs. It’s all part of the commitment we make to your driving peace of mind.

Whenever they hear the term “exhaust service,” most St. Peter car owners think about exhaust pipes and mufflers. Well, actually, exhaust service at Autotronics of ST Peter is a lot more comprehensive these days. For example, catalytic converters were mandated in 1976 and on-board emission control computers in 1990. Governmental emissions requirements have forced vehicle manufacturers to come up with much more sophisticated ways to comply with environmental regulations.

Exhaust service has really become exhaust and emissions service. High-tech computer controlled emissions devices are now a big part of exhaust service. Because it is so sophisticated, your vehicle manufacturer recommends you have your emission system checked out by a qualified St. Peter exhaust technician regularly to make sure everything is working right – usually every 6 months or 10,000 miles/16,000 kilometers.

If your Check Engine light comes on, especially if it’s flashing, get your car looked at right away. Technicians at Autotronics of ST Peter in St. Peter handle emission problems everyday. You might have exhaust or emissions trouble if your car is difficult to start, runs rough, is noisy or smoking. Call Autotronics of ST Peter at 507.934.9290 to schedule an appointment if you experience these problems.

Let’s review the exhaust system. We will start from the top and start with the exhaust manifold. That is the critical part that attaches to the engine and collects the exhaust from the cylinders and directs it into the exhaust pipe. Exhaust gaskets help seal the connection with the manifold and various other joints along the way. If the manifold is cracked or loose, or a gasket is leaking, detrimental gases could escape into the passenger compartment, where you ride. Carbon monoxide can be deadly, so it is important that your exhaust system doesn’t leak. The exhaust pipes connect the various components. They can rust or be damaged by a rock, so they need to be inspected periodically.

Next is the catalytic converter. This part looks like a muffler. It changes chemicals that are dangerous to your health and our St. Peter environment into harmless carbon dioxide and water. It doesn’t require any maintenance itself. But eventually they wear out. St. Peter motorists find this out when their car fails an emissions inspection.

Now the muffler. Its main job is to quiet engine noises. Mufflers work by either absorbing or baffling sound. And you can actually customize your car’s sound with different mufflers – anything from whisper quiet to bad-boy rumbley. Rusted or road-damaged mufflers can leak and need to be replaced right away. Talk to your knowledgeable Autotronics of ST Peter service professional.

The exhaust system is attached to the minivan by a series of hangers and clamps. These fasteners hold the system in place. When hangers come loose or break, hot exhaust components can touch and melt wires, hoses and lines.

Finally, we end at the tailpipe. This is the final outlet for the exhaust. These can be plain-Jane or pretty flashy. Also, the oxygen sensors monitor the oxygen content of the exhaust so the engine control computer can adjust the fuel-to-air mix to keep the car running right.

Exhaust and emissions service at Autotronics of ST Peter in St. Peter covers plain old pipes and high-tech computers. It impacts everything from life and death safety due to exhaust leaks, to fine-tuning the sound of your ride.