Automotive News & Information - Phoenix Motors

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Something will go wrong with your car, truck, or SUV eventually. The important thing is knowing what to do, and how to deal with it. Just knowing what to do in a situation often means the difference between a quick repair and thousands of dollars worth of work. If you see steam coming from under the hood, it’s important to deal with it appropriately and quickly. Here’s what’s going on, and what to do, from Phoenix Motors Automotive Repair in Madison, AL.

You’ve known someone at some point that has a seemingly impossible amount of keys, keychains, and other accessories hanging from their key ring. You might even be guilty of that yourself. At [BUSINESS_ NAME] in Madison, AL, we’ve seen our fair share of these loaded down car keys, and also the damage it can cause. Here’s what you need to know.

For the most part, automatic transmissions are exactly that; automatic. However, there are a couple of components that require adjustment from time to time, to keep your transmission shifting like it should. At Phoenix Motors Automotive Repair in Madison, our team of expert mechanics knows how to do just that.

Your vehicle's belts and hoses are essential to the cooling, air conditioning and charging systems, and the engine. Don’t take these routine replacement intervals for granted because they can break down and leave you stranded.

What is the purpose and importance of your belts and hoses? The timing belt keeps the crankshaft and camshaft mechanically synchronized to maintain engine timing. Whether serpentine, V-belt, or fan belt (the belts on the outside of the engine), they all transmit power from the front of the engine to accessories that need to be driven, such as the air conditioning, the charging system, and fans. Radiator and heater hoses carry coolant to and from the engine, radiator, and heater core.

You know how often to change your engine oil; but what about the gear oil in your standard shift transmission? Here’s a short guide, from Phoenix Motors Automotive Repair in Madison. Unless you’re lucky enough to own a car with a transmission dipstick, inspecting the gear oil in a manual transmission is a lot more inconvenient than doing so with an automatic, or checking your engine oil. The car must be jacked up, supported, and the oil checked from underneath. As a result, you may just want to change it when the time is right. But how do you know when that time comes?

Everyone from mechanics, to your uncle that works on cars, has at some point given you advice concerning engine oil. The fact of the matter is that while we are familiar with words like “synthetic” and “oil weight,” many people don’t know exactly what the terminology means, or why common knowledge about oil exists in the form that it does. At Phoenix Motors Automotive Repair in Madison, AL, we keep things clear and simple. The more you know about your vehicle, the better equipped you are to keep it maintained, and we know a thing or two about vehicles. We have compiled a short list of common myths for you, most of which you’ve heard, but maybe never second guessed.

There is a reason we check your brake fluid when you come in for a service check. Maintenance pays big dividends and we want to avoid high repair costs for our Madison drivers. Did you know that brake service isn't just all about the brake pads, drums & rotors? That we have found low brake fluid to be the cause of a large percentage of brake issues here at Phoenix Motors Automotive Repair? Seriously, brake fluid is an important part of your braking system and with your service intervals being less frequent on the newer vehicles 5,000-10,000 more miles this has become an issue! Why?...

Trucks aren’t like cars...your average personal vehicle usually holds about 5 quarts of oil, and you are supposed to change it every 3-5k miles. However, the same logic doesn’t apply to large trucks. At Phoenix Motors Automotive Repair in Madison, AL, we know how important proper oil changes and diagnostics are to keep your truck on the road, for hundreds of thousands of miles. Here’s what you need to know: