Gig Harbor Auto Repair

When Gig Harbor drivers talk about vehicle safety, they think of tires and brakes. But do we think about our windshields? Isn't the ability to see a prime safety factor when it comes to driving around Washington? Yet we often don't even notice our windshields until we can't see through them, or until our wiper blades fail. It's estimated that around 46 million people are driving with wipers that won't keep their windshields clear during a storm - that's 46 million people with impaired vision during a storm. For safety's sake, Gig Harbor motorists need to change the way they think about wiper blades. Most of us, 78% in fact, only change our wiper blades after they fail. In other words, we don't get new ones until the old ones become a harmful safety hazard. Instead, we Gig Harbor motorists need to make wiper blades an important part of our preventive maintenance routine. Wiper blades should be changed twice a year, in the spring and in the fall. In Wash ... read more

Most cars and trucks have automatic transmissions, yet a lot of Gig Harbor drivers only have a fuzzy understanding about what a transmission does.Think back to the last time you rode a bike in Gig Harbor. You started out in a lower gear and shifted to higher gears as you went faster. Down shift for hills, stuff like that. Think of your legs as the engine - there's an ideal speed you can pedal and you change gears to leverage the work you're doing. Lower gears for power on hills or for starting out. Higher gears for more speed. That's what the automatic transmission does - it automatically starts in lower gears and shifts up to higher gears to go faster on Washington interstates. And automatically shifts back down to climb Gig Harbor hills, pass or start up again. Car, truck, SUV automatic transmissions have certainly gotten more sophisticated in recent years. They have more speeds than before: the base is four spe ... read more

There are some things Gig Harbor motorists should know about Gig Harbor car service and repair. First and foremost, Mackert Automotive cares about you and your family's safety. And we really appreciate your business. Mackert Automotive in Gig Harbor wants to build a trusting relationship that becomes the foundation for a mutually beneficial experience for years to come. Building on that foundation, there are some things that would help you understand the auto service and repair business better. First, it can be really hard to fix cars. The days of shade tree mechanics are long gone. The majority of automotive systems are computerized. It takes a lot of training and very expensive equipment to diagnose and repair modern vehicles. The friendly and courteous technicians that work for Mackert Automotive need extensive computer training - not just how to run the diagnostic systems, but also searching for the right parts, networking with other servic ... read more

Knowing how their engine works can help Gig Harbor motorists make informed decisions about car care and prevent costly repairs to their vehicles. This is especially true when it comes to timing belts. An engine's power is generated in the cylinders. Inside the cylinder is a piston that moves up and down while the engine is running. Power is generated in a cycle that includes four strokes of the piston. First, the piston drops and a valve at the top of the cylinder opens to let in fuel and air. The piston then rises, which compresses the fuel and air. At this point, the spark plug fires, igniting the fuel and pushing the piston down. This downstroke transfers energy to the engine, which provides the power it needs to run. The piston rises again, and a valve opens to release the exhaust. All of this movement is orchestrated by a timing belt. The timing belt is so named because it keeps the pistons and valves operating in synch with each other ... read more

Your vehicle's suspension system has two important jobs: to prevent the passengers from getting tossed around inside the vehicle every time it hits a bump in the road and to keep the tires firmly planted on the road around every corner and over every bump. To see your suspension system, you'll have to look under your vehicle. Anything that connects the wheels to the vehicle's frame is part of the suspension system. They're heavy-duty parts that work hard while you're driving and take a lot of wear and tear. Because of this, you should have your friendly and courteous Mackert Automotive tech look at them once a year as part of your preventive maintenance routine. A good time for an inspection is every time you get your alignment checked. If your suspension is in trouble, you often feel it in how your vehicle drives. If the vehicle pulls to one side or wanders, if the steering is erratic, if your ride isn't as smooth as it shoul ... read more

Most Gig Harbor car owners are all talking fuel economy right now. Better gas mileage. Fewer emissions. Washington folks want to save the environment and our pocketbooks. And we Gig Harbor auto owners all know - or should know - that preventive maintenance will help maintain maximum fuel efficiency. But is there something more we can do? After all, some of us Gig Harbor car owners can't cut back on our driving, and others would like to do more to economize. Weight is one major enemy of gas mileage. The more you lug around in your vehicle, the more fuel you have to burn to get from Gig Harbor to Gig Harbor to Gig Harbor. And that means buying more gas and producing more emissions. Of course, your vehicle's weight isn't negotiable. And you can't do much about the weight of your passengers. And this isn't an article about diet and exercise. But look around your car. Are you hauling a bunch of unnecessary weight ar ... read more

Every Gig Harbor vehicle owner has to purchase tires at some time or another, so it's a good idea to understand what the choices are. The best seasonal performance is achieved by purchasing tires to match the season you are driving in. Summer tires are designed for hot temperatures. The tread is engineered for good traction on dry or rainy Washington roads. But the rubber compound in summer tires gets stiff when temperatures drop below 45°F, and snow and mud can pack into the tread, reducing the traction of the tire. Winter tires are designed for good traction on snowy surfaces. The tread actually throws snow off of the tire as the wheel turns. The rubber compound in a winter tire is soft so that it will remain flexible at Gig Harbor temperatures below 45°F. At higher temperatures, however, the softer rubber wears down rapidly. All-season tires sacrifice some of the extreme performance of summer or winter tires, but they maintain adequate traction in either type of Gig Ha ... read more

The exhaust system on a vehicle is more complex than most Gig Harbor motorists realize. It contains everything from old-fashioned pipes and clamps to sophisticated computers and sensors. All Washington folks know a properly functioning exhaust system is good for the environment, but sometimes we forget that a damaged exhaust system can be deadly. That's why preventive maintenance on your exhaust system is so important. We can help you with that at Mackert Automotive in Gig Harbor. The exhaust manifold is the first component in your exhaust system. The manifold is attached to the engine. It collects the gases that are produced by the engine and directs them into the exhaust pipes. At this point, these gases are both hot and chemically dangerous. One of the gases produced in your engine is carbon monoxide. This gas is colorless and odorless. Breathing it can cause headaches, dizziness, nausea and drowsiness. Continue breathing it, and you will die ... read more

Gig Harbor drivers know that engines burn fuel to operate. Fuel is pumped from your fuel tank to your engine where it is squirted-or injected-into your engine's cylinders. This is the function of the fuel injectors. There are two ways to inject fuel into an engine. Fuel needs air to burn, so in the first method, fuel is injected into a port and allowed to mix with air and before it is drawn into the cylinders. In the second method, fuel is injected directly into the cylinders and mixes with air after it enters the engine. Direct injection engines burn fuel more efficiently than conventional engines. Some models can deliver the power of a V8 with the economy of a V6. For example, in one family of engines, the conventional version (a V6) delivers about 250 horsepower. The direct injection version delivers over 300 horsepower and gets about the same gas mileage. The turbocharged version delivers 350 horsepower. Why the big difference in power? Direct injection sys ... read more

Your car, truck, SUV requires plenty of clean fuel to run. If your fuel contains contaminants, your fuel injectors will eventually become clogged up. When this happens, your car, truck, SUV engine may not get the proper amount of fuel at the correct pressure to run at peak performance. This hurts fuel efficiency and performance as you drive around Gig Harbor. It can also lead to the buildup of harmful deposits on valves and in the combustion chamber. That's why all vehicles, including car, truck, SUVs, come equipped with a fuel filter somewhere between the engine and the fuel tank. The job of the filter is to clean out little pieces of dirt and contamination. The filter captures the contaminants and keeps them out of the fuel stream. Of course, like all filters, it will eventually get clogged up and need to be replaced at Mackert Automotive in Gig Harbor . If your fuel filter is clogged, the car, truck, SUV engine ... read more