Gig Harbor Auto Repair

People near often ask how often they should have a particular service done. It's a great thing to ask. You can look at your owner's manual, or have your service advisor at look up your vehicle in a service database. What you find is often a surprise to people - there are actually two service schedules. One is the regular schedule and the other is the severe service schedule. Service intervals are shorter on the severe service schedule. When asked, most folks in will say that their driving is normal and that the ‘regular' schedule probably applies to them. ‘Severe service' sounds pretty extreme - ‘I don't drive like that'. Well, here is what the manufacturers say constitutes severe driving conditions; you can draw your own conclusions. If that's severe driving, what constitutes regular driving? Well, it would look something like this: I live somewhere with moderate temperatures all year round - I'm thinking San Diego here ... read more

We find that a lot of service and repair at are a little tentative when they talk with their automotive advisers. They want to ask questions, but don't want to be embarrassed or to seem pushy. Cars are very complicated and there's more to know about them than most of us have the time to learn. Maybe it's because cars have become so much more reliable that the average person just doesn't need to know as much to keep their vehicle on the road. You know, your local hospital has a Patient's Bill of Rights that they post throughout the hospital. We think our automotive service customers also have a right to ask any question they need to understand what is wrong with their car and what it will take to fix it. They need to feel free to ask the cost and benefits of recommended services. And they certainly have a right to understand the financial end of the transaction. It's all about the communication. It's a little harder when yo ... read more

Did you know that most of the cars driving around carry more computer power than the Apollo 121 Lunar Module that landed on the moon in 1969? New cars sold in the area have as many as twelve networked computers and over five miles (eight kilometers) of wiring. In fact, for the last decade or so, auto computers have been controlling about 85 percent of your vehicle's functions. Cars have sensors for manifold air temperature, coolant temperature, manifold air pressure, airflow, throttle position, vehicle speed and oxygen content. All of this electronic wizardry is pretty complicated. So how do you know when there is a problem? It's simple; the Check Engine light comes on. The computer monitors all the sensors and uses that information to decide what to adjust such as the fuel mix, spark timing and idle speed. In addition, the computer monitors its own circuits. When it finds a fault, it turns on the Check Engine light and stores a tr ... read more