Engines required a lot more maintenance in earlier times.  You’d have to have your spark plugs, wires, rotors, caps, distributor points, fuel and air filters changed periodically.  There were mechanical adjustments of a vehicle’s timing, dwell, spark gap and idle mixture, too. Unless you like to tinker with old cars, a lot of those terms won’t mean much to you. 

That service was called a “tune up” back then, and you can see why.  But now, computers have reduced the number of maintenance items, and a tune up is a whole lot different than it used to be.  In fact, in some vehicle service facilities, that term is also a thing of the past. 

A tune up of today would more accurately be called simply periodic maintenance. Now, most vehicles still have spark plugs and wires, fuel filters, air filters and PCV valves, and they should be inspected tested and/or replaced at regular intervals.  Your vehicle’s manufacturer has made recommendations on how often that should be. But it depends on your driving habits. Do you regularly tow a trailer? Do you drive on dusty roads often? Are you driving mostly stop and go in the city?  Depending on your answers, to those maintenance intervals might have to be more frequent.

Your service advisor will likely remind you about those “must check” items such as spark plugs and wires, air filter and oxygen sensor.  And now that the old-fashioned tune ups don’t require you to take your vehicle in for maintenance as often, you can get the same benefit from scheduled oil changes or tire rotations.  When your vehicle is in for those, a technician can keep an eye on your other systems (fuel, emissions, ignition) to make sure they are operating correctly.

One thing to remember.  When you take your vehicle in for regular service or a specific issue, don’t ever hesitate to ask you service advisor to explain what’s being done and why.  Hey, “In Sync” may have been a boy band of an earlier era, but it’s always good for you and your service advisor to be “in sync” when it comes to what maintenance is good for your vehicle.

Autotronics of St. Peter
111 Jefferson Avenue
St. Peter, MN 56082
507.934.9290
http://autotronicsstpeter.com

Underinflated tires waste gas for lots of folks in the St. Peter area. Think how hard it is to walk in sand – you just have to work harder because of the resistance. When your tires don’t have enough air in them, their rolling resistance is dramatically increased and it simply takes more gas to get from here to there.

Always check your tire pressure when you gas up at one of our local St. Peter service stations. If they’re low – even just a little bit – bring them up to proper pressure. There’s a sticker on the inside of your driver’s door that gives the manufacturer’s recommended tire pressure.

And don’t rely on your tire pressure monitoring system to alert you to when you need more air. The TPMS system is set to warn you when pressure drops 20 percent below recommendations. That’s severely underinflated and you needed more air a long time ago. And if you have a slow leak – get it fixed right away at Autotronics of St. Peter.

Get some air and save some gas.

Autotronics of St. Peter
111 Jefferson Avenue
St. Peter, MN 56082
507.934.9290
http://autotronicsstpeter.com

The automotive professionals at Autotronics of St. Peter would like to give St. Peter drivers an update on some of the things happening in automotive fluids. You know, vehicles are becoming more sophisticated every day.  Fluids such as, oil, coolant and transmission fluid are becoming more specialized at about the same pace.

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

Let’s start with engine oil. St. Peter drivers 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 vehicle manufacturers 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 vehicle manufacturer 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, vehicle manufacturers only recommended a couple of different types of coolant. Now, several different formulations are needed because of the high-tech materials that vehicle manufacturers are using to build the cooling system. Using the wrong type of coolant in your vehicle can actually void your warranty, so it’s important 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 house would use many of the same fluids. However, as automotive technology advances, the array of basic automotive fluids MN drivers need will grow. And, some of the formulations will cost a little more for St. Peter drivers. 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 vehicle needs. It’s all part of the commitment we make to your driving peace of mind.

 Autotronics of St. Peter
111 Jefferson Avenue
St. Peter, MN 56082
507.934.9290
http://autotronicsstpeter.com