Everybody’s got friends like this.  You know, the kind who, the minute they get in their vehicle and turn the key, the sound system is deafening.  They just love to hear that music, sports, news… anything but the sound of the vehicle itself.

And maybe you’re that person, too.  Here’s something to consider: your sound system might be drowning out some valuable clues that could help you diagnose problems with your vehicle, problems that need to be dealt with. So, turn down the volume and listen for these things:

• A clicking sound when you’re braking or turning—You could be missing some parts in your braking system, or it could be damaged. That sound could also signal that components are just plain worn out.
• Rattling under the hood—If it sounds like metal clanking against metal, you could have something serious going on, maybe an overheating engine or your timing needs adjusting. That knocking sound could also be as simple as you’ve been using lower octane gasoline than is recommended for your engine.  Time to get that checked out.
• A squealing or high-pitched sound coming from the engine compartment. Could be a belt is loose, wearing out, dried out or cracked. A pulley might be failing or a bearing might be on its last legs.  Better to have that fixed now than be stranded somewhere later.

Here’s our Autotronics of St. Peter suggestion – set a regular weekly alarm in your smartphone alerting you to listen to your vehicle once a week for five minutes.  Just five minutes without the music or the sports show or public radio… whatever your taste is. You can even use your smartphone to record any noise you might be hearing.  Between that and your description to your service advisor, a Autotronics of St. Peter technician should be able to diagnose the source of the noise and get your vehicle sounding healthy again. Do it before that noise turns into the sound of a serious problem. 

Who knew a little quiet time could be so useful?

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

You may be driving along and find that suddenly your radio stops working.  There are no numbers on the display.  Then when you get home, you notice the garage door opener doesn’t do a thing when you press the button. Hmm, this was working just fine this morning.  Are the two problems somehow related?

No, your vehicle doesn’t need an exorcism. This has all the signs of an electrical issue, and when you experience symptoms like those, you’ve probably blown a fuse.  Most vehicles have fuses just like most houses have circuit breakers (some houses still have fuses). They cut the power when it reaches a pre-determined threshold that could cause major damage if it was allowed to continue.  You might say fuses take one for the team.

Most modern automotive fuses are plastic with a thin strip of metal in them designed to melt when a calibrated amount of power passes through.  The philosophy is it’s better for an inexpensive fuse to be destroyed than your sound system or your engine’s main computer.

It can be tricky to figure out what fuse has blown and why.  Modern vehicles have many computerized electronic components; they can easily be damaged if too much electricity gets to the wrong spot.  At Autotronics of St. Peter in St. Peter, we have technicians trained to trace which fuse has blown and why.

While sometimes a simple fuse replacement will fix the problem, other times there may be some other electrical component that has failed, causing the circuit overload.  Our technicians have special equipment to track down where the power problems are, get to the root of the problem and fix it at the source.

Keep in mind, fuses are there to protect your vehicle. And when they shut down your radio, garage door opener, vanity mirror or anything else, just be thankful they’re doing their job. They may have saved you from a much more expensive repair. They’ve sent an important signal to you about your electrical system.  That’s why it’s good to keep up with “current” affairs.

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

So you’ve bought a used vehicle in the St. Peter area. Do you know what you’re getting? It is hard to know what you’re getting because people in the St. Peter area sell vehicles for different reasons. Think about why you’ve sold vehicles. Did you just want something new or were there problems that you wanted to run away from? Maybe it was a little of both.

Used vehicles in MN with 25,000 to 35,000 miles/40,000 to 55,000 km on them are often lease returns, corporate program cars or rental fleet vehicles. Most St. Peter buyers feel pretty confident about these because they’re newer and may still be under warranty. But how well have they been maintained?

St. Peter drivers who are planning to own a vehicle for a long time will keep up on auto maintenance so that they can avoid repairs down the road. But, if you know you’re only going to have the vehicle for two or three years, you may not be so committed to maintenance. It would be easy to think that skipping an oil change here and there wouldn’t ruin a brand new engine. Then it’ll be someone else’s problem when it comes time to pay for the damage.

It is very tempting for St. Peter drivers to skip the 30,000 mile/50,000 km service if they know they’ll be turning in their leased vehicle in a couple of months.

If the vehicle didn’t come with maintenance records, St. Peter used vehicle buyers need to assume the worst. Most likely the coolant system and transmission have never been serviced. The cabin air filter has probably not been changed and a fuel system cleaning at Autotronics of St. Peter may be in order.

You’ll want Autotronics of St. Peter to check the A/C, battery, engine air filter, serpentine belt and hoses. A used vehicle inspection at Autotronics of St. Peter is well worth the cost.

And if your “new” used vehicle has been driven an even longer distance, an inspection is even more important. Check your owner’s manual or talk with your service advisor at Autotronics of St. Peter about what should have been done. Please don’t forget the timing belt; that can be very expensive if it fails.

Autotronics of St. Peter will help you with a plan to take care of services and get the rest caught up. If your budget won’t allow you to take care of everything right away, we can help you prioritize your needs and get it taken care of over the next several months. And remember to keep your maintenance records. They’ll help you get top dollar on the MN used vehicle market when it’s time for you to sell.

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