Gig Harbor Auto Repair

Here is a questions for GIG HARBOR drivers: What is a cabin air filter?Is it: A filter for a house in the middle of the woods? A fresh, piney scent? A filter for the passenger compartment of your car? Clever you, it's 3.A cabin air filter cleans the outside air before it comes into the passenger compartment. It filters out dust, pollen, spores, bacteria, pollutants, sparrows, exhaust gas and odors.These high tech filters can block particles larger than 3 microns. By contrast, a grain of sand is about 200 microns.Now not all vehicles in the GIG HARBOR area have cabin filters. They are fairly new on the scene in WA. About 40 percent of new vehicles come with cabin air filters, but the number is growing every year.Cabin air filters can make for a very nice driving environment for GIG HARBOR. Your car can be a haven during WA allergy season with very little dust and pollen getting into the cabin. However, like all filters, your cabin air filter eventually ... read more

We've all been through it. The vehicle ahead of us kicks up mud, slush, snow or salt on our windshield and we can't see a thing.  And not being able to see a thing when we're driving?  Not a good thing. Debris on a vehicle's glass can be blinding when driving directly into the sun.  And other things can ruin visibility: scratches on the glass, fogged windows, mineral deposits.  So lets make one thing clear:  Your windows.  Here are some tips. Number one rule, don't use abrasives on glass. That means no gritty cleaners that are made for metal.  Avoid at all costs those dark green abrasive pads on some kitchen sponges that are made to clean metal pots and pans UNLESS the manufacturer specifically says they can be used on glass. Use the appropriate cleaner for the substance that's being cleaned off. Special automotive glass cleaners are available, and your Mackert Automotive LLC service advisor can make recommendations. Vinegar can work wonders. Sometim ... read more

GIG HARBOR residents' vehicles have to operate in a wide range of WA temperatures which requires the engine coolant to be able to perform 'no matter what.' Think for a moment about the environment where the coolant does its thing. Very hot, high pressure, corrosive...And all the while, it has to protect the components of the cooling system from corrosion. These components are made from steel and aluminum, plastics and rubber. The coolant has to be formulated to protect against corrosion for all of these different materials. That's why vehicle manufacturer’s recommend different types of anti-freeze for our GIG HARBOR, WA, vehicles.There are several different 'families' of anti-freeze available to us here in GIG HARBOR. Your owner's manual will tell you what kind you should use. Of course, the automotive professionals at Mackert Automotive LLC will know the right kind for your vehicle.It's important to stay on top of this because coolant system failure is the most c ... read more

You've probably noticed how much easier it is to see when you're driving in the daytime as opposed to at night. It's one of the main reasons about half of all fatal vehicle accidents happen when it's dark. That's why it's important that your vehicle's headlights are in top condition and working the way they should.  That means that they're aimed correctly and producing the amount of light they are intended to produce. For many years, headlights were a standardized size and shape.  They were what is called a "sealed beam," and when you needed to replace one, it was pretty simple.  You just took the old one out and plugged a new one in.  But now there are hundreds of different types of lighting systems on vehicles, producing light with such illuminating technology as light-emitting diodes (LEDs), halogen bulbs, high-intensity discharge (HID) bulbs and more.  Some vehicles have systems that turn your lights in the direction you turn your steering wheel so you can ... read more

Hello, GIG HARBOR residents. Let's talk fuel filters. 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 engine.GIG HARBOR auto owners 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 vehicle 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 vehicle 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 ... read more

A lot of us GIG HARBOR drivers like our vehicles to reflect our personalities. We're picky about color and body style. We'll customize anything from floor mats to window tints to license plates. One popular way for WA motorists to customize a vehicle is to get new wheels.Wheels come in thousands of designs. Custom wheels can add personality, style or sass to a vehicle. Many of these customizations involve getting a bigger wheel.Fifteen or 16-inch wheels used to be the factory standard, but today, because a lot of GIG HARBOR drivers like the look of larger wheels, many vehicles are available with 17 or 18-inch wheels. Optional wheel packages of 20 inches or more are also available in GIG HARBOR.If you want to upsize the wheels on your current vehicle, however, you should know it's not a do-it-yourself project. There are factors involved in ensuring your wheel change doesn't jeopardize the safety of your vehicle.First of all, you need to understand rolling diameter. The r ... read more

Our vehicles are not massage chairs. While we may enjoy a good vibration in an overstuffed recliner, we generally want as smooth a ride as possible in our vehicles. One way to achieve this is to keep a vehicle's wheels in balance. When a tire is mounted onto a wheel, it is usually out of balance. This means that as the wheel spins, there is a slight wobble to the path of the tire. For best handling performance and safety on the road, GIG HARBOR drivers want to minimize this wobble as much as possible. So we balance our tires. To balance a tire, your technician at Mackert Automotive LLC spins it on a machine or drum to determine where it is off-balance. He then attaches weights that counter-balance the uneven weight. Most people in GIG HARBOR are surprised at how much balancing improves the smoothness of their ride. High-quality tires generally hold their balance well. But over time, wear and tear take their toll and tires can become unbalanced. GIG HARBOR drivers ... read more

The timing belt in your engine controls the opening and closing of the intake and exhaust valves. GIG HARBOR drivers need to replace it on a schedule to avoid failure.Timing belts are very difficult to get to, requiring quite a bit of labor to access. Timing belt replacement is one of the more expensive maintenance services, but the cost at Mackert Automotive LLC to correct an engine damaged by a broken timing belt is much, much more.The timing belt has a tensioner to help maintain proper belt tension. The tensioner should be replaced along with the timing belt and any idler pulleys at the vehicle manufacturer’s specified service interval. Your Mackert Automotive LLC service advisor can help you with the timing belt.Give us a call.Mackert Automotive LLC3416 57 STREET CT NWGIG HARBOR, WA 983352538513307http://mackertautomotive.com

The government mandates a lot of equipment on cars in GIG HARBOR, WA: emission devices and control computers, safety equipment like airbags and crash worthiness requirements. All of this is great for the GIG HARBOR motoring public, but it does add quite a bit to the price of a new vehicle.Because new vehicles are more expensive, people in the GIG HARBOR area are driving their old vehicles longer. The average vehicle is now over nine years old. Two thirds of vehicles on the road in WA have more than 75,000 miles (120,000 km) on them. As cars age, their performance drops, they have difficulty idling for long periods and are more sensitive to weather extremes. Fortunately today's cars are up to the challenge – but they need a little help to keep on goin'.Give Mackert Automotive LLC a call at 2538513307 to schedule your next maintenance.Some owner's manuals don't specify service requirements at higher mileage. That doesn't mean it doesn't have to be do ... read more

All WA 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 steps. It is also how they can assure a predictable outcome. That is why GIG HARBOR automotive service centers including Mackert Automotive LLC have procedural standards for each service they perform. Mackert Automotive LLC technicians are trained step by step. And they perform the procedures step by step, the same way each time. By training to procedural standards, WA service centers can assure a quality outcome. The job is done right every time and GIG HARBOR customers leave happy with how their vehicle performs. Each company trains its technicians to standards. The WA automotive industry as a whole is very committed to standards of excellence and encourages individual WA service center operators to apply them to every vehicle they service. An example is ... read more