Simple Answers from Frosty Auto Clinic for JEFFERSON CITY: Wheel Bearings

A driver recently noticed that her garage had begun to smell like gasoline after she parked her vehicle inside. Her Check Engine light had also just come on. This was something she'd never experienced before. So, she called up her NAPA Service Advisor and asked what was causing it. The answer, of course, is that many things can cause a sitting vehicle to smell like gasoline fumes. But it can sometimes be tricky to track down the source, so here are a few things you can look for that may help your NAPA AutoCare Center technician pinpoint the origin of the odor. Gasoline odors can be caused by a leak somewhere in the fuel system, meaning gasoline can be dripping out. Some possibilities? It could be a break in a fuel line. You could have a leaky fuel-injection line or injector. There's a vent for your fuel tank that may also leak. The fuel filler neck can wear out and fail. One thing you should look for is to see if there are any puddles of gasoline on the floor of your garage. Any time there is gasoline sitting around, it can be dangerous. Fumes can be a health hazard, and you know gasoline can catch fire if exposed to a flame or spark. A couple of other causes of gas smells? Your vehicle may have a charcoal canister which stores excess fuel vapor. If it cracks or its seal is damaged, you may smell a strong gasoline odor. This may also cause your Check Engine light to come on. And don't rule out something as obvious as your gas cap. It may be loose or worn out, so it doesn't seal the fumes in. A leaky, loose, or missing gas cap may also cause the Check Engine light to come on. Whatever the cause, if your garage has started to smell strongly of gasoline, call your NAPA AutoCare Center before you attempt to start the vehicle. Fire risk is high, so you may be advised to have your vehicle towed to the service center. Gasoline is the source of your engine's power. If that power is unleashed in an uncontrolled way, it could hurt or kill you or others around you. Read the original article on the NAPA website. Call us today!

When that car battery finally gives up the ghost and it's time to replace it, JEFFERSON CITY drivers have options. First, let's be clear that you should always get a replacement battery that meets or exceeds your vehicle's specifications. But you may have some special needs. When they first put the battery into your vehicle at the factory, they had no idea where it would end up over its life or how YOU would use it where you drive in MO. That battery was chosen to meet the needs of a wide range of motorists. Replacement time is a good opportunity to talk to your service advisor about how you use your vehicle so you can get just the right battery. An obvious criterion is where you live, whether in JEFFERSON CITY or somewhere else. Cold starts require a lot of power from your battery. The colder the climate, the more power needed. This comes from a combination of cold sluggish oil and the slower chemical reaction within the battery itself when it is cold. If this sounds like you, talk to your service advisor Frosty Auto Clinic about a battery with more Cold Cranking Amps (CCA). The next consideration for JEFFERSON CITY drivers is reserve capacity. This is the number of minutes of reserve power the battery has under a particular load. If your driving is mostly short stop-and-go trips around JEFFERSON CITY, your battery may not have time to fully recharge while driving. You may need to tap into those reserves to get started again. Also, modern vehicles have a lot of always-on systems that draw on the battery – things like the security system, remote sensors, and vehicle computers. These combine with the electronic entertainment system, sensors, heated seats and even chargers for phones, tablets and computers to put a fairly high load on the battery. Your service advisor Frosty Auto Clinic can give you advice on the reserve capacity you might need. Most standard batteries are “wet-cell,” meaning they are filled with liquid battery acid. New Absorbed Gas Mat (AGM) batteries are “non-spillable” which makes them safer JEFFERSON CITY . They also have a longer life span and greater cycle life than wet-cell batteries. JEFFERSON CITY off-roaders like these batteries because their performance is not affected by steep inclines and odd angles. They are also well suited for JEFFERSON CITY RV and boat owners. Lastly, consideration for JEFFERSON CITY drivers is warranty. Premium batteries come with a longer warranty. Warranties are typically either full-replacement (the battery is replaced if it fails within the warranty period) or pro-rated (a partial credit is given for the failed battery depending on how far into the warranty period you are when it fails). When the battery is replaced, your friendly and knowledgeable Frosty Auto Clinic technician may need to recalibrate some accessories such as power windows and sunroofs. Also, some vehicles may need to have the battery registered into the engine computer. Your Frosty Auto Clinic service advisor can help you know how to decide which battery is right for you and your vehicle. Give us a call. Read the original article on the NAPA website.

When you turn on the air conditioning in your vehicle, you expect cool air to come out of the vents. You depend on it, especially in hot weather, but it can also be important in humid weather when you need it to help defrost your windows and windshield. The air conditioning system has a lot of parts to it. It has fans and blowers to move the air through the vents into the cabin. It has parts that take hot air and cool it off. An electrical problem can be as simple as a broken switch or a broken blower motor. The air may not be getting cool because a hose in the system is broken or the refrigerant has leaked out. Two major components are the compressor and the condenser. The compressor pressurizes the refrigerant, one step in the air conditioning process. The condenser takes that hot refrigerant and cools it down. It also reduces the pressure. Because the climate control system in your vehicle is so complex, it’s best to leave the diagnosis to a trained, experienced technician. You can help the technician zero in on the problem by noting what is happening and being able to show them where you notice the issues. Note what’s going on and write it down. When you bring your vehicle in to us to look at, a technician will inspect the system, conduct tests to make sure there’s enough refrigerant, and check to make sure there are no leaks anywhere. Air conditioning is now included in most vehicles. We all have grown used to being able to keep the cabin comfortable no matter what it’s like outside. Let us make sure your system is working the way it was designed to. That’s definitely the cool thing to do. Contact us today. Read the original article on the NAPA website.

When talking about stopping power, we tend to focus on our brakes. But our tires are where the rubber meets the road. So having good brakes isn't enough: we have to have tires with enough traction to translate braking power into stopping power. Let's focus on stopping in wet conditions. In order for a tire to have good contact with the road, it has to move the water out of the way. If it can't move the water, the tire will actually ride on top of a thin film of water. To move water out of the way, the tire has channels for water to flow through. Look at a tire and you'll see channels that run around and across the tire. They're designed to direct water away from the tire so it can contact the road better. The deeper the channel, the more water it can move. A brand new tire has very deep channels and can easily move a lot of water. As the tire wears down, the channels become shallower and can move less water. When it wears down enough, it can seriously affect your ability to stop on wet roads. Consumer Reports and other advocate groups think that a good standard of replacing tires when the tread is worn down to 4/32 of an inch. That's 3.2 millimeters. When tires are worn to 2/32 of an inch, or 1.6 millimeters, the tread wear bar is visible. So the recommended standard has twice the tread depth as a completely worn out tire - and that little bit of additional tread makes a big difference. Stopping distances are cut dramatically on wet roads. A safe stop from freeway speeds with 4/32 of an inch of tread could result in a crash with worn out tires. There's an easy way to tell when a tire's worn to 4/32 of an inch. Just insert an American quarter into the tread. Put it in upside down. If the tread doesn't cover George Washington's hairline; it's time to replace your tires. With a Canadian quarter, the tread should cover the numbers in the year stamp. Contact Us Today. Read the original article on the NAPA website.

Your vehicle engine really needs clean air to operate efficiently. It takes about twelve thousand gallons of air to burn a gallon of gas in your vehicle engine. And clean air is much better than dirty. When your air filter's dirty, it simply can't trap any more dirt, so the dirt just passes through into your air intake system. From there it can get into the vehicle engine combustion chamber. And burning dust and pollen in your engine as you drive around JEFFERSON CITY does you no good. The verdict: When your engine air filter needs to be replaced, it needs to be replaced. How often depends entirely on how dirty the air is in MO where you drive. A simple visual inspection by a friendly and knowledgeable Frosty Auto Clinic technician will tell you when you need a new engine air filter in your vehicle. When you look at the air filter on your furnace in your home and see it's all clogged up with dust and dirt, you don't hesitate to replace it. But don't wait until your air filter (furnace or automobile) is totally plugged; by that time you've been running inefficiently for a long distance. When your Frosty Auto Clinic service technician brings out your nasty engine air filter, you now know why you should go ahead and change it out. Give us a call. Read the original article on the NAPA website.

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Your vehicle's engine is probably the first thing that comes to mind when you think of a power plant. But it has another power source that is vital as well: the alternator. The alternator is what puts out the electricity that powers such things as your lights, power windows, sound system, and navigation. Maybe you've started seeing those electrical components behaving in strange ways. Maybe your power windows are going up and down a little bit more slowly than they used to. Or perhaps your engine doesn't start as easily or is misfiring. Other signs of a failing alternator are headlights that are either brighter or dimmer than usual. If your battery keeps going dead, it could be that the alternator isn't recharging it. The alternator has to get its power from somewhere, and in vehicles with internal combustion engines, that power comes from a drive belt powered by the engine. Sometimes that belt can fail. If you hear a whining sound, it could mean bearings in the alternator aren't turning as freely as they used to. You could even notice a burning smell. Oh, and when you see your battery light illuminated on your dash (it looks like a rectangle with a - and + inside), it may be warning you that your alternator is not healthy. Bring your vehicle in to us for a diagnosis if you notice any of these symptoms. If your alternator is bad, we can recommend a new or remanufactured one to replace it. Some new alternators are warranted for life and remanufactured units usually are guaranteed as well. It's important to your vehicle's health to have its alternator putting out the right power consistently. It may not be as well known as the other power plant under the hood, but it's a vital part of helping your vehicle run the way it is designed to. Contact Frosty's Today! Read the original article on the NAPA website.

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