Gig Harbor Auto Repair

If you've ever been driving around and had a headlamp go out, you've probably just wanted to replace the bad bulb. If your car uses halogen headlamps, they dim over time. So if you just put in one, they won't have the same brightness which can be distracting and will affect your field of vision. To have your headlights inspected, visit us at Mackert Automotive. We're in Gig Harbor, Washington. Or give us a call at 253-851-3307. Experts in recommend replacing your halogen headlamps every year. It's easy to remember if you do it when daylight savings time changes in the fall. That way you'll have bright headlamps for those long winter nights. There are other types of headlamps in addition to halogen. There are the old standard bulbs that have been around for decades. These are OK, but you can usually upgrade to halogen. They cost a little more but you can't believe the difference. If you do a lot of night driving you might want to use a premium halogen bulb that filters out the yellow h ... read more

Looking at getting some new tires? The choices at tire stores can be a little overwhelming. Suppose you have an SUV and are trying to decide between all season tires or some that are also rated for off-highway. Do you get off the payment on the outskirts of more than most? If so, some additional off-road traction would be nice. Maybe the real reason for wanting those off-highway tires is that they look cool. Well there's nothing wrong with that. If you make sure that you've got your functional needs covered with your selection, then you can have some fun with where you go from there. Let's suppose you zip around in a sporty car. You may like to run a high-performance summer tire when the weather's good. When weather turns cold, you can put on high-performance winter tires. For the kind of driving you like to do, you want full-on performance tires. All-season tires are naturally a compromise that works well for most drivers, but since you have a choic ... read more

Getting enough fuel to your engine is very important for performance, fuel economy and safety. In order to accomplish this, your fuel system needs to be clean. Today's production cars have fuel injectors, rather than a carburetor. The injectors need to be cleaned from time to time in order to deliver the fuel with the correct pressure, spray pattern and volume. You can buy fuel system cleaners that you just pour into your gas tank that can help maintain an already clean fuel system, but can't do a major cleaning. For that, you need to see . They have the tools and chemicals to do the job right. can remove particles, gum and varnish from your fuel system and get those injectors running cleanly and efficiently. You'll enjoy more power, better gas mileage and reduced exhaust emissions. The cleaners also help prevent rust and corrosion in your fuel system and lubricate vital engine parts. And, as w ... read more

Here's an interesting statistic for our friends in : Only thirty percent of car batteries make it to forty-eight months. And the life expectancy varies by where you live. It ranges from fifty-one months in extremely cold areas to just thirty months in extremely hot climates. Why is that? It turns out that it's our modern cars with all their electric accessories that are to blame. Things like, GPS, DVDs, and entertainment computers are keeping car batteries from maintaining a full charge. The longer a battery goes with a low charge, the sooner it'll die. So you must recharge your battery. This is the job of the alternator. The problem comes when the car's demand for electricity is high and we are driving in stop and go conditions or short trips around or . The alternator just can't keep up. The result is shortened battery life. So what can we do to improve our battery's health? We need to keep the battery as close to a full charge as possible. That can be hard be ... read more

One topic that hits the news in on a regular basis is the price of gas. The answer for some people in is to buy a more fuel efficient vehicle. For the rest of use, we need to improve our fuel economy anyway we can. Following recommended service intervals by coming into is one of the best ways to keep your car running efficiently. That means better fuel economy. When you give it some thought, it only makes sense. Dirty oil or transmission fluid can't lubricate or clean. That means more drag which reduces fuel economy. Keeping up with scheduled oil changes and transmission services will save gas. Dirty engine air filters are another efficiency pirate. They rob your engine of enough air to effectively burn the fuel, so you need more gas to get the job done. Replacing a dirty air filter can pay for itself in fuel savings before the next oil change. You can imagine what dirty fuel injectors can do to your as you drive around . If your owner's m ... read more

Suspension systems function effectively for many years and tens of thousands of miles. Eventually, however, suspension components do wear out, but how long that takes depends a lot on how you drive around and . As you can imagine, if most of your driving is on smooth highways, your shock absorbers will last a lot longer than if you do most of your driving on bumpy roads or haul heavy loads. In addition to just wearing out, suspension components can be damaged in an accident or by a hard impact - like a pothole, hitting a curb or a rock in the road. Because the life span of shocks can vary so widely, auto makers recommend periodic inspections. During an inspection at in , your automotive service technician will check for worn, broken or missing parts. Here's a quick rundown of suspension system components: First there are the springs which hold the weight of your . There are severa ... read more

We're living in a disposable society. Everything from elaborate packaging to our clothing. Even cell phones are disposable. When replacement is cheaper than repair, the term "built to last" goes by the wayside. An exception is our vehicles. They're still a very big investment and we want to make them last as long as possible - and we want to make keeping them as cheap as possible. When talking cars, it's all about preventive maintenance. There is an old saying that says, "a stitch in time saves nine" and that is really true when it comes to taking care of your car. A great example is coolant service. Your coolant not only protects your engine from overheating and freezing - it must also protect cooling system components from corrosion. Over time, coolant becomes corrosive and actually starts to damage your radiator and other parts. That's why you need to have your cooling system serviced on a regular schedule. The same is true for your power steering system, brake fluid, air condi ... read more

Some motorists are confused by charges for diagnostic services for a vehicle repair. Many services at and other automotive repair shops include diagnostic fees. When you take your laptop into a computer repair shop for a problem you'll likely have to leave a deposit for diagnostics. When we visit our doctor for a medical problem, we're paying him to diagnose our ailment and of course for the tests that go along with it. So receiving a diagnostic charge at for a tricky automotive problem shouldn't be a surprise. In the area, automotive diagnostics can cover quite a range. If you hear a noise in your brakes when you slow down in rush-hour traffic on a busy expressway, you pull off the next off-ramp and take a quick visual check. That is usually enough to know what needs to be done. If you're having an intermittent problem with your engine, diagnosis may be much more involved. Much of the public's confusion com ... read more

All pilots have checklists for every aspect of flying. They always use their checklists even if they only have two steps on them. They do this simply because a checklist is a great way to not forget important steps. It is also how you can assure a predictable outcome. That is why and automotive service centers have procedural standards for each service they perform. Technicians are trained step by step. And they perform the procedures step by step, the same way each time. By training to procedural standards, centers can assure a quality outcome. The job is done right every time and you are happy with how your car performs. Each company trains its technicians to standards. The industry as a whole is very committed to standards of excellence and encourages individual service center operators to apply them to every vehicle they service. An example is how service technicians grade problems and communicate their recommendations. If a technician tells you that a repair or replacement is req ... read more

There was a man in who learned that most car accidents occur within a mile of home - so he moved. (Just Kidding!) When we think of defensive driving, we often focus on our local highway situations. The fact of the matter is we need to be just as careful close to home in , because that's where we do most of our driving. We can't let our familiar surroundings keep us from driving defensively. Defensive driving begins with the proper attitude. Have in mind that you won't let anyone take your safety away from you. You'll be aware of your surroundings, road conditions, other vehicles and hazards. And the first person to be concerned with is you: start with your own environment. Don't leave without securing all occupants including children and pets. Watch for loose items that can become projectiles during evasive maneuvers. Driving too fast or too slow increases the chance of an accident. Never drive impaired: Alcohol is a factor in half of ... read more