Seven Ways You Could be Killing Your Car

The car you own can either be a nightmare or a dream depending on how well you take care of your vehicle. The following are seven things that motorists do that can harm their car and wallet.

• Ignoring the check engine light. Ignoring an illuminated check engine light can result in serious engine trouble and costly repairs. At the very least, this warning light could alert you to an engine problem that is negatively impacting fuel economy.

• Failing to change fluids and filters. Many fluids are required for the operation and protection of systems and components. Checking and changing fluid levels regularly along with the filters helps ensure that your vehicle runs dependably and extends vehicle life. This includes oil changes, transmission, power steering and brake flushes.

• Not following a service schedule. Because many car parts and components wear out or become damaged over time, vehicles need to be routinely serviced in order to perform over time. Routine safety inspections and timely repairs will help keep your car running efficiently and will help you avoid more expensive repairs down the road.

• Neglecting your tires. Your vehicle’s tires should be checked frequently for inflation and tread depth. Underinflated tires can wear out more quickly, needing to be replaced sooner, and can negatively impact safety, gas mileage and performance.

• Being a severe driver. Whether it’s stop and go traffic, extreme weather, rough roads or heavy loads, it can sometimes be difficult to limit severe driving conditions especially in the Atlanta area. Maximize your trips and errands by doing several at the same time or at low traffic times.

• Keeping a dirty car. Allowing your car to go too long without a wash leads to buildup of damaging chemicals and dirt and interferes with proper visibility needed for safe driving.

• Avoiding needed services from ToyoTechs. By not having your car serviced on a regular basis your vehicle will not run as well and the life of your car will be shorter.

Please keep up with your car care, you’ll be glad you did in the long run. Your car will last longer and have a better value by being well kept.

Reducing Your Vehicle Maintenance Costs

Unexpected surprise maintenance costs can be avoided by sticking to a strict scheduled preventive maintenance plan. While it might sound counter intuitive to spend money to save money, a scheduled maintenance practice will keep your vehicle running in good health ensuring you get the most out of all those expensive to replace parts.

Keeping your car’s fluids clean and new is a top priority when it comes to minimizing future costs. By that it’s not just oil changes that need to be done, brake fluid flushes, transmission fluid flushes and power steering fluid flushes also need to be done. Fluid changes done as needed will prevent the buildup of harmful dirt and debris deposits that cause corrosion and eventual breakdown.

With all vehicles it is a good idea to have your oil checked on a regular basis. The same applies for your car’s brake fluid, transmission fluid and power steering fluid. Learning to check these fluids is a good idea, however a lot of people don’t want to so it’s a good idea to keep a regular maintenance schedule with ToyoTechs..

While it’s always a good idea to peruse through your owner's manual to learn more about your vehicle’s scheduled maintenance Truthfully most our customers have come to trust ToyoTechs Technicians to keep up with what services need to be done now and what can wait till later.

Whether or not you have us maintain your vehicle these services need to be done. They will keep your vehicle running better and add extra years to the life of your car at the same time saving you money.

Time to Keep Falling Leaf Debris Off Your Car

Why You Need to Change Your Cabin Air Filter

OK I know the headline sounds a little goofy however this is truly an important subject especially for people who park their cars around trees with falling leaves. When the the leaves, dead bugs and other debris falls it gathers around the bottom of your windshield covering the vents that carry the airflow into your car's cabin air filter. The air then flows into the interior of your car and into the air that you breath.

The leaves, dead bugs and road debris then slowly works through your vehicle's airflow system. Over time the debris will work it’s way to your A/C’s  evaporator core. Eventually as the debris starts building up in your evaporator core the trouble will begin with your A/C system.

You do not want to have to replace your A/C’s evaporator core. That repair is around a $2500 repair and requires the whole dashboard to be removed. Our Technicians make this repair on more than a few vehicles per month.

As part of the regular maintenance of your vehicle you do want to have your cabin air filter checked and changed typically at least twice a year. The cost of a new cabin air filter $45 is so much cheaper that a $2500 A/C evaporator core.

So as silly as it might sound keeping the leaves, dead bugs and debris off your car is an important part of your maintenance that can possibly save you a lot of money. So clean the leaves off your car !

Please see the picture below. This is the cabin air filter taken out of a customer's car yesterday. The complaint was not much air was coming out of the vents.  Yikes !! They were breathing air that came through that mess.