Every Yuma car owner who has taken their car in for an oil change has been told that their engine air filter’s dirty.
Here’s what goes into the determination of when to change the filter: First, your sedan owner’s manual will have a recommendation of when to change the filter. Second, a visual inspection by your Yuma technician may determine that your filter it is visibly dirty and needs to be changed.
So between your owner’s manual and your Yuma technician’s inspection there’s really no guesswork involved.
Now, most air filters purchased in Yuma, Casa Grande, or Wellton don’t cost a lot to replace. It’s just that Arizona people hate getting caught with an unexpected expense. On the plus side, though, changing a dirty air filter at Ed Whitehead’s Tire Country can often save enough on gas to pay for itself before your next oil change in Yuma.
Think about a dirty furnace filter in your Casa Grande home. When it’s all clogged up, enough clean air can’t get through. In your sedan, that means that your engine can’t get as much air as it needs to burn the fuel efficiently. So it makes do with less air and has to use more expensive Arizona gas to move your vehicle around Yuma roads.
Your sedan actually needs about 12,000 gallons of air for every gallon of gas it burns. Engine air filters don’t cost much in Yuma at Ed Whitehead’s Tire Country. When it’s time to change yours, just get it done. You’ll save buy less expensive Yuma fuel, have better performance and protect your engine.
Most Yuma drivers wait for their air conditioning to fail before they service it at Ed Whitehead’s Tire Country. That’s because many Yuma and Casa Grande motorists don’t really understand that automotive air conditioners need periodic service. Let me share some of the reasons why they fail.
First, like every machine, the sedan air conditioner parts need lubrication. The lubricant is actually mixed in with the refrigerant (that’s the stuff that makes the air cool). So sometimes, even though the air conditioner is still making cool air, the oil that lubricates the parts has just been used up: and unlubricated parts can fail in all Arizona cars.
Now here’s a tip for Yuma drivers: You should run your air conditioner every so often during Arizona winters. This circulates the lubricant to help keep the seals from drying out.
The air conditioner actually removes some of the moisture in the air. So if you have trouble with fogging on your windshield during Arizona winters or during a rain storm, running the A/C on the defrost setting should help. Now on some Yuma cars you can’t run the A/C at the same time as the defroster. Don’t ask me why, but I suspect lawyers were involved.
Also, air and water can get into the A/C system. That can reduce the efficiency of the system and also lead to corrosion that causes damage. Yuma drivers should periodically purge the system and replace the refrigerant to clear out the air and water.
Yuma drivers should be aware of early warning signs of trouble: One might be that the air’s not as cold as it used to be. You may hear an unusual noise when the A/C cycles on. Those are signs to get your vehicle into Ed Whitehead’s Tire Country in Yuma before the damage gets worse.
So following the recommended service intervals in your sedan owner’s manual can help prevent mechanical failure of your air conditioning system. You’re A/C system contains some expensive components like the compressor, condenser, dryer, etc. Anything Yuma and Casa Grande car owners can do to lengthen the life of their A/C is well worth it.
In very simple terms, a fuel injector is a valve that squirts fuel into your sedan engine. Your engine control computer tells the fuel injector how much fuel to deliver as well as the precise time it should be delivered. Of course this happens thousands of times a minute in every single fuel-injected car driving down Yuma, Casa Grande, and Wellton roads.
Most fuel injectors for gas engines are known in the Yuma auto industry as port fuel injectors because they deliver the fuel to a port just outside the cylinder. The fuel pump provides pressure needed to squirt the right amount of fuel into the engine.
A few auto makers have recently introduced gas direct injection systems on some engines. They are now available at some Yuma dealerships. These systems inject the gas directly into the cylinders under very high pressure – many times the pressure of port injection systems.
Although more complicated, direct injection technology promises greater power with improved fuel economy for gas-poor Yuma, Casa Grande, and Wellton commuters. Arizona motorists can expect to see more of it in the future. High temperatures under your sedan hood and variations in Yuma gas quality cause fuel injectors to be fouled with wax, dirt, water, additives and carbon. Injectors can become partially clogged, preventing them from delivering the proper amount of fuel at the correct pressure.
When injectors are dirty, the fuel doesn’t burn as efficiently resulting in poor fuel economy and loss of power. So it’s important for Yuma drivers keep their fuel injectors clean.
Your Yuma Ed Whitehead’s Tire Country service center can perform a fuel system service for you in which the fuel injectors are cleaned so that they operate properly and deliver the right amount of fuel at the right time.
Proper maintenance of your sedan fuel system means that you will spend less on gas, enjoy strong performance and prevent costly Yuma repair bills down the road.
If you’re a quart low in your sedan, there isn’t enough motor oil to lubricate your engine properly. The extra friction causes drag that reduces fuel economy while you’re driving around the Yuma area.
The same goes for dirty oil; it doesn’t reduce friction properly. The result is you get to watch those numbers at your local Yuma gas pump rolling higher and higher.
The transmission also needs the proper amount of clean fluid to do its work. When it’s in need of service, the transmission drags your fuel economy down.
So keep it clean and give yourself a fighting chance.
Let’s start at the tank. The gas tank gathers dirt, rust and sediment over the years. That’s why there’s a fuel filter to clean the fuel after it leaves the tank. A dirty filter will rob the engine of the clean gas it needs to run efficiently.
The fuel intake components get coated with gum and varnish over time. This results in fuel being delivered inefficiently and some of that gunk getting into the engine. A fuel system service at Ed Whitehead’s Tire Country will leave your intake as clean as a whistle.
The big fuel thief is dirty fuel injectors. They deliver fuel to the engine at a specified pressure and in a particular spray pattern. When they’re clogged, the fuel doesn’t get atomized the way it’s supposed to and doesn’t get burned as efficiently.
See your owner’s manual or ask your Casa Grande service advisor at Ed Whitehead’s Tire Country when a fuel system cleaning is recommended.
Myths passed around our Yuma Arizona community start with a grain of evidence and are then built up with a lot of imagination and very elastic logic. And the internet is a breeding ground for automotive myths. Some bloggers recall the sedans of yesteryear and declare their modern decedents to be virtually maintenance free and that anyone who says otherwise is out to rip you off.
To get the truth about auto myths you hear around the Yuma area, come over to Ed Whitehead’s Tire Country. You’ll find us at 965 S. 4th Ave, Yuma, Arizona 85364. Give us a call at 928.782.1868 to make an appointment for your next auto service.
Let’s examine a couple of the more popular rants and look at the truth behind them.
The first one is that the chassis no longer needs lubrication for suspension, steering and the driveline. They declare that anyone who has charged you for lubrication is a charlatan.
The truth on which this myth is based is that many new cars come from the factory with sealed joints and cannot be greased. However, there are still some grease points on many cars around Yuma. A grease fitting may have been installed in conjunction with a repair. And most trucks and truck-based SUVs driving in Yuma still require chassis lubrication. This is because they are more heavy duty and proper greasing is still required to keep them going.
Another common rant you’ll hear around Yuma is that modern cars don’t need tune-ups. That depends on your definition of a ‘tune-up’, which has changed as technology has progressed. Before engine control computers, electronic ignition and fuel injection, a tune up meant replacing mechanical parts that wore out. Ed Whitehead’s Tire Country would manually adjust fuel and air mix and timing. When these adjustments were off, spark plugs would foul and need to be replaced.
This definition just doesn’t apply to modern vehicles. Service centers like Ed Whitehead’s Tire Country generally consider a tune-up to be the major service visit, recommended by your manufacturer, every 30,000 miles or so.
Of course you can’t lubricate a sealed joint. Of course you can’t adjust a carburetor if your car doesn’t have one. You probably don’t need to change spark plugs every year if your manufacturer says they can go 30,000 miles. What are these bloggers getting so worked up about?
The danger with these modern-day myths, is that they prevent people in our local Yuma community from taking care of the routine preventive auto maintenance that manufactures recommend. Check out this partial list of things you still need to do to take care of your car. How many of them are really any different today than they were 20 or 30 years ago?
You get the picture. Your sedan is still a machine that needs to be maintained. And, hey, your service advisors at Ed Whitehead’s Tire Country have always adapted to keep pace with automotive technology. Next time you come across an angry voice about your car care, talk to your Yuma service advisor at Ed Whitehead’s Tire Country, or do some research of your own.
Everyone in Yuma Arizona 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 Yuma Arizona, 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 Yuma Arizona 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 Yuma Arizona. 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 you live where its summer all year round, these tires will work well for you. If you like maximum performance in warm weather, but still live where it gets cold and snowy, you’ll want to change your summer tires for winter tires as the weather starts to change.
Summer tires can be purchased with an emphasis on handling performance, smooth ride or long life. Your Yuma Arizona tire professional at Ed Whitehead’s Tire Country can help you find the right tire for the way you drive.
As you can imagine, winter tires are designed to work very well in snow and ice. Their tread is designed with many channels and grooves that throw the snow out of the tread as the wheel turns. This means the tire is always be able to bite into the snow.
The rubber compound used in winter tires is specially formulated to be flexible at temperatures below 45 degrees. This maximizes cold weather traction. When it gets warmer, the softer rubber will wear faster on warm dry pavement than summer tires, so change them out once the weather has turned.
There’s a range of tires within the winter tire category. If you live where there’s a lot of snow and ice, look for the mountain and snowflake icon that signifies a severe snow rating. If you have milder winters and still want a performance component, they make a winter tire for you as well.
For many people, an all-season tire is the answer. You will give up some of the performance at the extreme ends of the summer tire/ winter tire spectrum, but you will find a long wearing tire that gives both good highway performance and winter traction on our Yuma Arizona roads.
Within the all-season category, there are many choices that you tire advisor can help you evaluate.
Outside of these three main categories, some people in Yuma with trucks and SUVs like a tire that is designed for both on-highway and off-highway use. They can handle the rocks and bumps off-road, but still work well on the street. Again, many options depending on the relative emphasis on on-road verses off-road.
You may want new wheels to go with your new tires – well, there are hundreds and hundreds of styles to choose from. That’s a matter of personal taste. If you want to change the size of your wheels and tires, do get some professional help.
The computers on your vehicle are programmed to the size of wheel and tire combination that comes from the factory. Tire size affects various computer controlled functions like anti-lock brakes, traction and stability controls, speedometer and odometer. Of course, you want these systems to work properly. The computers can be re-programmed for different tire sizes.
And if you want to increase the size of your wheels and tires, you’ll want so help to make sure they’ll fit in the wheel wells of your vehicle without rubbing during turns or over bumps.
There’s not much we can do about the price of gas in Yuma Arizona, but we do quite a bit about how much we use as we’re driving on our Yuma streets.
Our driving habits can dramatically affect our fuel economy.
The first thing we can do is watch the ‘go-pedal’. Hard acceleration just sucks the gas. Gently leave stop lights and plan lane changes so you don’t need to floor it. That can save you hundreds of dollars a year.
Go a little slower on the freeway to Yuma. Once you’re going more than sixty-five miles an hour your fuel economy starts to drop dramatically. Leave early so you don’t need to rush to be on time. And cruise control is your friend – steady speed uses less gas.
Plan errands ahead. Make fewer trips by combining errands.
Hey at current gas prices, a lead-foot might as well be a gold foot.
Today we’re going to talk about power steering service in Yuma. If you took an informal poll around Yuma you’d probably find that most have never heard of power steering service. That’s not surprising. Even though power steering is standard on every vehicle, most people in Yuma aren’t aware that it needs periodic service.
If you’re younger than a certain age, you’ve probably never driven a car or truck without power steering. To get an idea of the difference; if you’ve ever cut a board with a hand saw, you know it’s a lot of work. Using a power saw is easy-peasy by comparison.
Without power steering, your arms have to do all the work to steer the wheels, and that’s hard, especially around downtown Yuma. That’s why old cars had such big steering wheels; to get enough leverage to steer.
Most vehicles in Yuma have a hydraulic power steering system. The serpentine belt from the engine powers a pump. The pump pressurizes the power steering fluid. This actuates a hydraulic cylinder that provides power to help steer.
Some vehicles in Yuma use an electric pump to pressurize the fluid rather than a belt driven pump. We’re also seeing vehicles with electric motors providing the power assist, not using power steering fluid at all. We’ll see a lot more electric systems as more hybrids and electric vehicles hit the market.
At least for now, the vast majority of power steering systems use power steering fluid that needs to be serviced. The fluid needs to be changed for a couple of reasons. For one, it attracts moisture. Water has different hydraulic qualities than power steering fluid, and that makes a difference in steering performance. Water is also corrosive and can damage power steering components. The fluid also just gets dirty and needs to be changed. Removing the old fluid and flushing out the system gets rid of dirt and deposits. The clean, fresh fluid lubricates and provides better corrosion protection.
So ask your Yuma service advisor at Ed Whitehead’s Tire Country or check your owner’s manual to see when power steering service is recommended. It’ll extend the life of your power steering components.
This fuel saving tip is so simple, no one from here to Casa Grande will believe it. It has to do with your gas cap.
The first thing is to make sure it’s screwed on tight. If it’s loose, gas vapor will be constantly leaking out; wasted gas.
And air will get in and that can cause your oxygen sensor to read incorrectly and the oxygen sensor will tell the engine management computer to adjust the fuel-air mix and, well, you get the picture; you’ll be burning more gas around Casa Grande than you need to.
This could cause the check engine light to come on as well.
A worn gas cap can have the same effect. If you constantly smell gas when you walk by your tank, you might need a new gas cap.
So, twist your cap until it clicks three times – that means it’s on tight. Have your Casa Grande area service advisor at Ed Whitehead’s Tire Country inspect the cap to see if it needs to be replaced.
See, I told you it was simple.
Don’t forget to call Ed Whitehead’s Tire Country at 928.782.1868 for an appointment to optimize your sedan for better fuel economy. Ask us about brake service.
