Gig Harbor Auto Repair

Let's talk about air quality in Gig Harbor. It's a global issue, but affects us wherever we are. Many decades ago, Gig Harbor motorists began to become aware of how air pollution negatively affects health. But what about the air inside your vehicle? Cabin air filters are now coming on most new car, truck, SUVs in Gig Harbor. These filters clean the air in the passenger compartment. They can filter particles down to three microns, so that's good enough to clean out dust, pollen and most pollutants. If you suffer from allergies in Gig Harbor, this is very good news. Your car can be a haven during your Gig Harbor commute. Now, it's only been in the last few years that cabin air filters have become common in Gig Harbor. You can look in your owner's manual to see if you have one. If you do, there'll be a recommendation for replacing it when it gets dirty. If you live in an area of Gig Harbor where there ... read more

Everyone in Gig Harbor Washington eventually replaces their tires, whether it's because they're worn out or they're just looking for something different. There are so many great tire choices in Gig Harbor Washington, it can be difficult to sort them out. Let's group the broad spectrum into several categories that will help in the selection process. One category is often referred to as "summer tires". Summer tires are designed to be driven on the road when temperatures are generally above 45 degrees. Their tread design is optimized for traction on dry roads in Gig Harbor Washington and they're also able to effectively displace water on rainy roads. Now the rubber compound gets a little hard and stiff as temperatures drop below 45 degrees as it occasionally does here in Gig Harbor Washington. And the tread which handles dry roads so well, can get packed with snow or mud - which provides very little traction in those conditions. So if y ... read more

When your car, truck, SUV has a problem, or just needs some routine service, you might get a little nervous. Your car's so important to your life in Gig Harbor, you need to back on the road as soon as possible - with the problem fixed right the first time. If you've ever checked into some of the technician training Mackert Automotive professionals receive, you may be surprised at how much specialized knowledge and skill goes into diagnosing and repairing a modern car. For example: Today there are four cylinder engines that generate more power than the 1980s-era V-8's. I mean a new V-6 Toyota Camry could beat Sonny Crocket's Ferrari in a race to sixty. Some car, truck, SUVs have several networked computers controlling most of the engine functions and many other vehicle operations as well. Gig Harbor motorists take all of this sophistication for granted - but somebody has to fix it when it breaks. It's a real challenge for Gi ... read more

We live such busy lives nowadays: work, social events, running the kids all over Gig Harbor. Some days it's all we can do to keep track of everywhere we need to be. That's why you've gotta be organized. Smartphones, calendar apps - we have to keep track of it all. So let's talk about schedules. Specifically, automotive service schedules. And particularly, the important scheduled services that are sometimes forgotten. Here is a list of 10 service items that are often overlooked by Gig Harbor car owners. They're all very important and need appropriate attention. So here we go, in no particular order. 1. Power Steering Service Be honest; have you ever thought of this on your own? Your power steering fluid gets dirty and builds-up moisture over time. Cleaning out your power steering system means that dirt and gum are removed and your important power steering parts are protected from detrimental corrosion. Next time you're ... read more

Gig Harbor drivers know that engines need to burn fuel to operate. Fuel is pumped from your fuel tank to your car, truck, SUV 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 car, truck, SUV engine. Direct injection engines burn fuel more efficiently than conventional car, truck, SUV 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 t ... read more

Under-inflated tires waste gas for lots of folks in the Gig Harbor area. Think how hard it is to walk in sand - you just have to work harder because of the resistance. When your tires don't have enough air in them, their rolling resistance is dramatically increased and it simply takes more gas to get from place to place. Always check your tire pressure when you gas up at one of our local Gig Harbor service stations. If they're low - even just a little bit - bring them up to proper pressure. There's a sticker on the inside of your driver's door that gives the manufacturer's recommended tire pressure. And don't rely on your tire pressure monitoring system to alert you to when you need more air. The TPMS system is set to warn you when pressure drops twenty percent below recommendations. That's severely under inflated and you needed more air a long time ago. And if you have a slow leak - get it fixed right away at ... read more

When it comes to their vehicles, some Gig Harbor car owners don't have a maintenance mindset. They know they need to take care of their cars, but it just seems really hard to get them to remember to do it. Gig Harbor drivers generally accept that many things in life require regular maintenance, but just may have not applied it to their car, truck, SUVs. For example: the lawn. You water it and mow it every week. And weed the flower beds and rake the leaves. There are other things that Gig Harbor residents are diligent about. Going to the dentist twice a year. Clothes to the dry cleaner. Flu shots. Taking the kids to your Gig Harbor doctor for a checkup before school starts. So Gig Harbor car owners really are maintenance minded. They just have to learn to apply that mindset to cars. I mean, if you never brush your teeth or go to the dentist, you'll become painfully aware of your neglect when y ... read more

Fuel filters clean the dirt, dust and debris out of your fuel. Both gasoline and diesel-powered engines have them. The fuel filter is located in the fuel line between the fuel tank and the car, truck, SUV engine. Gig Harbor drivers don't need to filter their fuel because it has lots of grit in it; they need to filter it because it has some grit it in. Any dirt is bad for your engine. The cleaner the fuel, the better your car, truck, SUV engine will run. Over time, the small amounts of rust, dirt and contaminants in your fuel settle out inside the fuel tank. After about five years, this can amount to a quite a bit of sediment. This means that as your car, truck, SUV ages, your fuel filter has to work harder to screen your fuel: more sediment in your tank means more potential for grit in your fuel. The harder your fuel filter works, the more often it needs to be replaced. Check with your owner's manual to find out how often it should be serviced and how long y ... read more

Today we want to talk to Gig Harbor drivers about timing belts. They're something that many Gig Harbor drivers don't know much about and yet your vehicle won't run if it's broken - and it could cause many thousands of dollars damage if it does break. A broken timing belt is usually a tale of woe. Even though timing belt replacement is scheduled in the owner's manual, it's not the kind of thing that most Gig Harbor motorists remember because it's not well understood. Let's review what a timing belt does. As most Gig Harbor motorists know, the engine's power is generated in the cylinders. A piston rides up and down in the cylinder. During the first down stroke, an intake valve at the top of the cylinder opens and air and fuel is drawn into the cylinder. Then the piston returns to the top, compressing the fuel and air mix. At the top, the spark plug fires, igniting the fuel pushing the piston down in the power stroke. As the piston once again returns u ... read more

All new passenger vehicles on our Gig Harbor Washington roads now have tire pressure monitoring systems - TPMS for short. They are designed to alert you if your tires are under inflated. Since they are fairly new, a lot of people have questions about TPMS. First off, the most important thing is that you still need to check your tire pressure every week - or at least every time you gas up. The TPMS system alert comes in when your tire is twenty percent below the factory recommendation. So if the recommended pressure is thirty five pounds per square inch, the TPMS warning won't come on until the pressure is at twenty eight pounds. That's significantly under-inflated. Enough to raise safety concerns. The worst is tire failure. A severely under inflated tire can overheat and fail. Also, handling degrades to the point that you may not be able to steer out of trouble. Also un ... read more