A reliable set of Goodyear winter tires can help protect you and your family while you’re traveling to and from work, school and activities.
The Goodyear Ultra Grip Winter tire is a solid option if you’re in an area that has a lot of snow and ice.
About the Goodyear Ultra Grip Winter tire
This winter directed tire offers directional tread that helps evacuate water from underneath it.
It’s also pliable, which makes it ideal for wet weather conditions.
The Goodyear Ultra Grip Winter tire is able to stop about 6 feet sooner on snow-covered roads than competing tires.
Steve’s Auto Repair & Tire is an authorized Goodyear tire dealer located in Woodbridge, Virginia. Automotive repair services are performed on all makes and models, including BMW and Mercedes. Services include oil changes, brakes, alignments, inspections, and computer engine diagnostics.
To prepare for the inclement weather that comes with it, you may want to consider a set of winter tires.
A winter tire that offers traction control
Kelly Winter Access tires feature traction control that makes them ideal for snowy and icy conditions.
The tread pattern has more of an aggressive stance, allowing it to bite down.
Through its zigzag blades, the winter tire is able to push away water and slush.
A Kelly Winter Access tire’s tread compound is different than an all-season tire. The rubber stays more pliable during colder weather.
If you’re looking for an all season option produced by Kelly Tire, we recommend the Kelly Edge A/S Tire.
Steve’s Auto Repair & Tire is an authorized Goodyear tire dealer located in Woodbridge, Virginia. Automotive repair services are performed on all makes and models, including BMW and Mercedes. Services include oil changes, brakes, alignments, inspections, and computer engine diagnostics.
Transmissions play an important role in making sure your vehicle runs properly.
The transmission is responsible for taking the power from the engine and moving it to the wheels.
They used to be three-speed. Now, it’s common to have four and five-speed transmissions. Some cars have up to seven gears.
How to tell if you have a bad manual transmission
A new manual transmission was installed in a Ford Fiesta.
The driver had noticed that it switched out of gear when they moved from a stoplight in first gear. They needed to hold it in gear until the vehicle picked up enough speed.
Typically, a grinding or crunching sound can be heard if a car has a bad manual transmission. It may also be difficult to switch gears.
However, these symptoms don’t necessarily indicate that something is wrong with your transmission. They could also mean that your clutch is going bad.
Driving styles can impact the lifespan of a transmission. Some cars can go thousands of miles before they need a new one. They can go bad within weeks if you don’t know how to drive the car correctly.
Clutch Disc
New clutch and flywheel needed
In addition to gaining a new transmission, the Ford Fiesta received a new clutch and flywheel.
The clutch disc links the transmission with the engine by engaging the flywheel and pressure plate.
When you press in the clutch pedal, it disengages the clutch disc from the flywheel.
When you release the clutch pedal after switching gears, the pressure plate engages the clutch disc engaging the flywheel.
Steve’s Auto Repair & Tire is an authorized Goodyear tire dealer located in Woodbridge, Virginia. Automotive repair services are performed on all makes and models, including BMW and Mercedes. Services include oil changes, brakes, alignments, inspections, and computer engine diagnostics.
Potholes, curbs and normal wear and tear can throw off your wheel alignment. Overtime, they can also cause abnormal tire wear, which will shorten the life expectancy of your tires.
Here are a few signs that your BMW needs a wheel alignment:
Your vehicle is pulling to one side
You notice abnormal tire wear
If your Automatic Driver Assist System (ADAS) is engaging when it’s not supposed to
Things to keep in mind when getting a BMW alignment
When performing a BMW alignment, you need to make sure that the auto repair shop has qualified automotive technicians, up-to-date wheel alignment machines, and current software to give your vehicle the best alignment.
On today’s complicated vehicles, one thing that often gets missed is recallibrating the steering angle sensor after performing a wheel alignment. This can affect steering, handling and braking.
Another thing to be aware of is to make sure that you may need to recalibrate the ADAS, which includes lane assist and vehicle avoidance systems. With all of the electronic systems tied together to make sure that everything is safe, a simple tire alignment isn’t so simple anymore.
Discount alignments are not always the best, as you may not have a knowledgeable mechanic working on your vehicle that would know about these systems. Setting the toe and letting it go is not a good alignment.
On many BMW models, there may not be an adjustment for camber and toe, but there are aftermarket parts that can be installed that will bring the alignment into specification. This will help your tires last a long time and allow your vehicle to provide the best handling.
Even when a BMW is new, they are set up to basic specs, but may not have an accurate alignment. After that, it’s recommended that when you get new tires — or every 30,000 miles — you should get your BMW alignment checked. If you live in the Northern Virginia area, your alignment should be checked once a year.
Steve’s Auto Repair & Tire is an authorized Goodyear tire dealer located in Woodbridge, Virginia. Automotive repair services are performed on all makes and models, including BMW and Mercedes. Services include oil changes, brakes, alignments, inspections, and computer engine diagnostics.
There are many parts that keep an engine running properly.
The radiator is one of them. This component is critical, because it prevents the engine from overheating and keeps you from getting stuck on the side of the road.
How the cooling system works
In the cooling process, coolant flows through the radiator. Some of the heat disappears and the coolant flows back to the engine.
There are cooling fans that come on to pull air through the radiator to keep the air flow coming across the radiator. Some fans are belt driven while others are electric. The computers of vehicles with electric fans turn them on and off.
When the engine needs to heat up during colder weather, the computer will prevent the fan from turning on. In warmer months, the fan operates at a faster speed.
Old Radiator
When to replace the radiator
You generally only need a new radiator if it’s clogged, there’s coolant leaking, the radiator is damaged, or the cooling fins have become bent and are preventing air flow from going through.
Oil coolers and transmission coolers that are sometimes built in the radiator leak, which leads to replacing the radiator.
Depending on how the radiators are made, some manufacturers are more prone to coolant leaking at the plastic end caps.
The radiators of some vehicles never need to be replaced.
Newer cars may need a new one if the plastic and metal components that are fused together don’t seal properly. As temperatures decrease outside, any cracks in the radiator are going to become worse.
There are a few symptoms you may notice when the radiator should be changed.
Drips near a vehicle’s bumper and the smell of coolant are a couple of signs that you need a new radiator.
If you smell something sweet when you get out of the car after driving it for a while, you probably have coolant leaking.
Coolant fluid exchanges and different types of coolant
Every 30,000 miles, it’s a good idea to have a coolant fluid exchange, also known as a coolant flush — which is when coolant is drained from the system and replaced with new coolant.
This service offers many benefits, including extending the lifespan of coolant and improving how well a vehicle performs.
How often you need a coolant fluid exchange also depends on the vehicle. Some manufacturers recommend them more often.
We use the correct coolant for a vehicle. Even though the green coolant is pretty universal, not all vehicles work the best with it. Some European vehicles and Diesels use a different type of coolant.
Sometimes, you might see Asian vehicles, such as Toyotas, with red coolant. Dye isn’t the only component that changes the coolant color. The type of antifreeze that helps protect the type of metal also impacts it.
Getting a coolant flush or coolant exchange with a coupon may damage your car, unless the correct coolant is being used, like it is at Steve’s Auto Repair & Tire.
Like other parts and systems in your car, the cooling system needs to be maintained. Doing this and replacing your radiator when it’s needed can save you a lot of headache in the future.
Steve’s Auto Repair & Tire is an authorized Goodyear tire dealer located in Woodbridge, Virginia. Automotive repair services are performed on all makes and models, including BMW and Mercedes. Services include oil changes, brakes, alignments, inspections, and computer engine diagnostics.
