Monday, September 24, 2012

Estimating the Costs for Getting Your Brakes Fixed


The brakes on your car are perhaps the most important aspect of the vehicle. Brakes help you to stop, slow down and, in all senses, avoid collisions of any kind. If your brakes are starting to go—making strange sounds, taking too long to catch—then you may very well be considering getting your brakes fixed. But how do you go about this, and are brakes expensive to have fixed? Well, this all depends on a few things.

How Are Your Brake Lights?


Do your brake lights work? It is important to know this before you get your brakes fixed, because if they aren’t, you will definitely need to get them fixed. But why are brake lights so important? Consider a world without them. People would be stopping their vehicles, or slowing down, and no one else on the road would have any notion of it until they ram in to the back of the other vehicle! Brakes lights are all about caution, and awareness. A brake light lets everyone in the vicinity know that the person in the vehicle is going to be (a) stopping suddenly or (b) slowing down to either stop, or change lanes. This is important in preventing collisions, and so you should check your brake lights before going to get your brakes fixed. This will ensure that you get all of your brake related problems fixed at the same time, saving you any future worry. 

Knowing That Your Brake Pads Are Wearing Down


It is not safe to try and diagnose your brake problems by yourself. This is because brake issues are all very similar; a squeaky stop, or a groan or whining sound, can mean a number of things. Brake technicians are trained to diagnose these problems. Without training, it is very easy to mistakenly choose the wrong issue, resulting in expensive repairs in the wrong area of your vehicle. One thing that certainly means your brake pads are worn down, though, and is of no danger diagnosing on your own, is if it takes your vehicle longer than usual to come to a complete stop. This is because there is not enough of the pad left to properly grip the wheel, resulting in more pressure being necessary in order to bring your vehicle to a complete and utter stop.  Thus, if you notice this issue, bring your car in and ask to have your brake pads inspected, which should be free of charge, and if needed, fixed. 

Calculating the costs of your Brake repair


Depending upon the make and model of your car, brake repair costs will vary drastically. There is no way to really and truly guess the cost of your break repair, however you can bring your vehicle in for a brake check. This is a test, completely free of charge at most mechanic shops, where your vehicle is tested for various brake issues. Once the test is complete, the mechanic will be able to tell you what the brake issue is, and give you an estimate of how much it will cost to have the problem fixed.

Monday, September 17, 2012

Air Bags: Going Beyond Safety


Air bags have come a long way. In older vehicles, air bags were located in the dashboard of a car or truck, where they would then deploy upon impact. The problem is, many times air bags would either fail to deploy, or do so as a result of minor collisions with little damage to the vehicle. However, newer vehicles have a range of air bags, and each serves a specific safety function that can, and maybe someday will, save your life. 

Side Air Bags and Head Level Air Bags


The newest types of air bags are side air bags. These are built in to the structure of the door, just behind the passenger seat. In the case of a side collision, these air bags will deploy on the side of the impact. Whereas in earlier vehicles, getting sideswiped left you unprotected by an air bag, usually resulting in the front air bad deploying and causing further harm, the new air bags are made to cushion the impact of a side impact. These are great safety features that can potentially save your life should you ever be hit by a driver who is blowing through a red light. Head level air bags are also newer. Older air bags deployed at an upward arc, almost upper cutting the passenger or driver. New air bags deploy at head level, keeping the neck from being subject to whiplash, or other forms of damage commonly associated with frontal impacts. With enough pressure to knock you back, these air bags can also keep you from hitting your face on the dashboard—an issue that older air bags sometimes would actually cause. 

The Dangers of Air Bags


Air bags, as discussed above, have come a long way. However newer airbags can potentially cause a hazard to younger children, more so than older air bags. As good as your brake pads are, and as quick as your reflexes are, they cannot make up for the fact that children are more frail, and much smaller, than adults. This is why it is important to ensure that your children ride in the back seat until the proper age. Head level air bags especially can be a danger to children in an impact because they are usually completely too high to help. Some newer model vehicles have backseat air bags, but not all do, so it is dire that you practice seatbelt safety with your children when they go for a ride in your vehicle. 

Air Bag Replacements


If you have been in a collision, part of your car repair bill can and will include air bag replacement. Once deployed, an air bag is essentially useless. This is because they are full of air, and use this to pressurize their trajectory when an impact occurs. Once used, air bags in most cars are unable to be refilled. They must be fully replaced, which involves work done on the inside of your vehicle. But it is important that you do get them replaced. In the case of a future impact, whether your fault or not, an air bag may very well save your life. 

Monday, September 10, 2012

Common Brake Problems Faced Today


There are few things more terrifying as a driver than to press down on the brake pedal and have absolutely nothing happen. Fortunately this doesn’t happen very often, but a little knowledge can stop a lot of panic attacks down the road.  Having well maintained brakes and brake pads is a part of car ownership that will keep a driver and all passengers in a car safe. Practicing safe driving techniques can also contribute to reducing the wear and tear on your brakes. When a driver listens to every sound and pays attention to the feeling of the brakes and how they react, a driver will be able to avoid many problems. 

Brake Pad Troubles

When the brake pads have worn through you will know it because it will cause a noticeable scraping and grinding sound, because there is metal rubbing against metal. Clearly the maintenance of this vehicle has been put off far too long.  A failure to fix this immediately is going to leave to more costly repairs than just the brakes.  Having bad brake pads and brake shoes is just a part of general car maintenance. 

Brake Lights on the Dashboard Come On

If the brake lights on the dashboard light up, they are trying to tell a vehicle operator something important.  You should cease driving immediately because brake failure could be eminent. Have the brake system checked out completely because this is often an indication that there is a leaking of brake fluid occurring.  If you have any leaks in the system they should be repaired immediately so that the vehicle will be safe.  The brake light could mean that the emergency brake is still on.  Fixing this is much easier as all you will have to do is release the emergency brake. 

When the Brakes Are Shaking

Sometimes a driver will experience that feeling that the brake pedal is shaking or vibrating. This is a sign that the brake rotors of a vehicle are probably not evenly worn. When brake rotors don’t make consistent contact evenly with the brake pads then the result is a shaking in the brakes.  The problem should be addressed, by either resurfacing the rotors or by replacing them all together. Once the repairs are done the brake shaking will cease. 

Brake Pedal Pushes in Too Far

When a brake pedal is pressed a driver should feel a little resistance to the foot. If the resistance is not as great as it should be, the brake pedal will have to be depressed to a level that is not normal. This is caused most often by worn brake pads or brake shoes or that there is air in the lines. Get your brakes checked as soon as possible to fix any long term problems. However in the short term pumping the brakes or depressing them several times quickly will help the brake system compensate for this problem. 
Common brake problems happen all the time in vehicles of all kinds. Pay attention to the performance of your vehicle and address any uncommon sounds that occur when you press the brakes, or any feeling that is different in the way they react.

Tuesday, September 4, 2012

Antifreeze Helps Keep Your Engine Running


One of the things that most car owners don’t pay enough attention to is the antifreeze in their car, unless there is a problem.  This special liquid is added to the cooling system of your car to keep your car running at a constant temperature and not overheating. This engine coolant is also unique because it doesn’t allow the water in it to freeze when the temperature outside is freezing.  The purpose of this article is to inform readers about the possible side effects of not having the proper amounts of coolants in their radiators. 

Too Much Coolant 

People always worry about not having enough coolant in the radiator.  If you have too much then that can cause problems as well. The extra antifreeze will flood the overflow reservoir when the coolant heats up. This could lead to a full out radiator spill into the environment. This is a bad thing because it is bad for the direct environment. It is also well known to be extremely toxic to animals, so any creature in the area will be at risk.  The coolant tastes very good and sweet to dogs and cats. When it is carelessly spilled on the ground it can cause some unnecessary damage to a family pet. 

Not Enough Coolant 

As you operate your vehicle you are most likely going to be losing a small amount of coolant from your radiator no matter what you do. Evaporation will cost you some, and then as you vehicle gets a little older the hoses and their corresponding attachments to the radiator will weaken, loosen or develop holes. These leaks will be minor at first but eventually will cost you a bit of antifreeze on a consistent level. You should check your coolant level on a consistent basis as you do a routine fluids check.  If you forget for a long time you are putting your engine at risk. 
One of the first problems you will face is your engine overheating. You will know this is happening when the light on the dashboard comes on. Most people would check the levels of their coolant before it gets to this point. If your engine overheats, pull over, turn off the car and wait for the engine to cool down.  You should always carry some extra antifreeze with you in the trunk of your car.  Do not try to remove the radiator cap because it is highly pressurized. You will risk being sprayed with burning hot antifreeze if the pressure is on there. Add coolant to the overflow and be patient, the rest should take care of itself.

Worst Case Scenario

If you don’t have enough antifreeze in your car radiator and it overheats, and you don’t notice it right away and pull over then the outlook can be severe for your vehicle. Once significant damage is done to the engine block there is no way to repair it other than to replace it. This is a costly operation and will take a bit of time as well. It is much less expensive to keep your radiator fluid at an appropriate level.