Archives for April 2015

Don’t you hate it when you hear that squeal from under the hood when you’re zipping down a busy Eagle Lake freeway? It usually means there is a problem with the serpentine belt. The serpentine belt powers a lot of engine accessories. It runs the alternator – which charges the battery; the water pump – which cools the engine; the air conditioning and the power steering pump. All pretty essential parts. It is called a serpentine belt because it snakes around a bunch of engine components.

Serpentine belts are amazingly tough. They can last for years and go for tens of thousands of miles. Like all critical moving parts, however, they eventually wear out. If your belt breaks while you are driving around Eagle Lake, everything will come to a halt within minutes. You need to stop the sedan immediately or it will overheat, potentially causing expensive engine damage. You can be sure that it won’t happen at a convenient time or place. (As if there was a convenient time or place!) You might even need to get your sedan towed to Hughes Automotive Inc. It’s no wonder that auto makers recommend a belt replacement on schedule. It’s one of those “have-to’s.”

Eagle Lake motorists who hear a squeal when accelerating or a slow, slapping sound at idle, should have their serpentine belt looked at. Your tech at Hughes Automotive Inc in Eagle Lake will visually inspect your belt to see if it needs to be changed sooner than scheduled. If the belt has more than three or four cracks an inch, has deep cracks that penetrate half the depth of the belt, is frayed, is missing pieces or has a shiny glazed look, it needs to be replaced regardless of age or mileage.

Serpentine belt replacement is relatively inexpensive, especially compared with the cost and inconvenience of being stranded or getting a disabled sedan back to Hughes Automotive Inc for vital repairs.

You’re mom was right: an ounce of prevention really is worth a pound of cure.

Hughes Automotive Inc
109 E LeRay Ave
Eagle Lake, MN 56024
507.257.3730

Safety should always be an important element of your car care. So even if you don’t care about how your car looks, you should practice preventive maintenance to protect yourself — and other Eagle Lake motorists — on the road. And good safety starts with good brakes.

Brakes need a regular inspection. There are essential parts that wear out or wear down, and it’s best to replace them before you have issues.

Of course, if you are having trouble with your brakes, NOW is the time to fix them. If your brake warning light is on, that’s a good sign that you need your brakes checked. Eagle Lake motorists can also tell something is wrong with their brakes by the feel of the pedal or unusual sounds while braking. If the brake pedal is low, feels spongy when you press it or is hard to push, that indicates a problem with your brakes. If you hear squealing, grinding or clunking noises when you brake, that can also indicate troubles. If vibrations accompany braking, then it is critical to get your brakes checked.

Brakes come in two basic types. With disk brakes, a rotor is attached to the axle of the vehicle. Padded calipers straddle the rotor, which close when the brakes are applied. The resulting friction causes the rotor — and the axle — to stop turning. With drum brakes, brake pads (also called shoes) press against the inside of a drum to create friction and stop the drum, and hence the sedan’s wheels, from turning.

When Hughes Automotive Inc services your brake system, your honest service professional checks all of the brake pads for wear. If they are too thin, they need to be replaced. This is an inexpensive repair at Hughes Automotive Inc compared to what procrastination will cost you. If pads wear away completely, then the rotors and drums can be damaged. They will have to be either resurfaced or replaced, and that can be pricey. But if your sedan brake pads are worn out, then your brakes are compromised and your stopping power is greatly reduced. You could easily wind up in an accident.

Brake pads come in several different grades such as regular, metallic and ceramic. The higher grades are more costly in Eagle Lake, but they also work better. MN drivers who want better and smoother braking, should consider upgrading. However, Mankato drivers should NEVER use a brake pad that is lower than your car maker’s recommendation.

After you your brake pads are checked at Hughes Automotive Inc, it’s critical to have your brake fluid checked. This is a critical element in your brake system. When you press your brake pedal, you are compressing the brake fluid, creating pressure that activates the brake pads. If your fluid pressure is low, it will reduce your braking power. The pads just won’t be able to press hard enough against the rotor or drum to stop your sedan. Just as with worn pads, insufficient brake fluid can lead to a dangerous and expensive accident in Eagle Lake.

Water can build up in your brake fluid, which can cause harmful corrosion in your braking system. Eventually this can cause your brake fluid to leak. So Eagle Lake motorists should also change their brake fluid periodically. Your sedan owner’s manual will have guidelines on how often it should be replaced or ask a honest service specialist at Hughes Automotive Inc. We have been servicing brake systems in Eagle Lake for 36 years. 

Remember, Mankato folks, safety first. It’s vital auto advice for all Eagle Lake auto owners on the road. You’re not just protecting others; you’re protecting yourself.

The price of gas and the uncertain economy are both causing MN residents to review their finances. More and more Eagle Lake auto owners are opting to keep their vehicles longer and put off purchasing a newer car. It is estimated that two-thirds of the vehicles on the roads of North America today have over 75,000 miles on them. And the average age of vehicles is now over eleven years. That translates to some car care issues that many Eagle Lake men and women haven’t dealt with in the past.

Older vehicles simply have different maintenance requirements than newer ones. Learning those requirements presents a challenge for Eagle Lake car owners because many owner’s manuals only publish maintenance schedules up to 60,000 or 90,000 miles. Vehicle owners have to keep good records and be more involved in planning preventive maintenance if they want to keep their sedans on the road. First of all, any service in your owner’s manual that comes with a recommended mileage interval should be continued at that interval.

For example, if it is recommended that you change your oil every 5,000 miles, you should continue to change your oil every 5,000 miles. The owner of an older vehicle has to recognize that his engine is operating under higher stress than a new one. It’s just starting to show its age. So many experts suggest that the “severe service schedule” should be followed once a vehicle has racked up some serious miles. On this schedule, the mileage interval for many services is shortened or should be performed more often. Check with your honest Hughes Automotive Inc service specialist.

Eagle Lake motorists who own older vehicles should also be careful not to neglect or postpone oil changes. A full-service oil change is more critical for an older sedan than for a new one. Older engines have had a lot of time to build up sludge in their oil compartment, so changing the oil at regular intervals is a must. Skipping an oil change compounds the sludge problem. With a full-service oil change, the vehicle’s fluids are also checked and topped off. Your honest Hughes Automotive Inc service professional will also let you know if these fluids need to be replaced. Older sedans have older seals and gaskets, which often develop tiny leaks. Regularly checking fluids will compensate for these leaks and offer a heads-up about any serious ones. So, again, it is important to stay on schedule and not skip or procrastinate a fluid check.

Older seals and gaskets begin to dry out and show their age by becoming brittle. High-mileage formulation oils and fluids can help extend the lives of these gaskets and seals. These products contain additives that recondition seals and gaskets and keep them from leaking. High-mileage formulas cost more than standard products, but in the long run they can pay for themselves by preventing more costly repair bills.

If a vehicle is getting on in years or mileage, its parts are as well. High-mileage car maintenance requires necessary repairs and replacements. Timing belts, radiator hoses, parts of the suspension system, anti-lock brakes, air bags, water pumps, alternators and batteries will not last forever and will wear out in higher-mileage vehicles. They need to be inspected regularly by your honest Hughes Automotive Inc service professional and replaced as necessary.

But don’t go running for the new car lot just yet. These repairs may sound like a lot, but in total, they’re still cheaper for Eagle Lake car owners than new car payments. And if you stay on top of them and budget for them, they aren’t as burdensome as it may appear.

If you plan on driving your vehicle into its high-mileage years, there are two relationships you need to develop. The first is with your Eagle Lake service center. Your Hughes Automotive Inc service specialist can offer you invaluable auto advice and help you develop a service plan that is right for you and your vehicle. Second, you need to develop a relationship with your sedan itself. You don’t need to name it, but you should become familiar with its noises and idiosyncrasies. Pay attention to changes in its habits such as new or unusual sounds, smells, vibrations, etc. Taking note of such things and sharing them with your service advisor can help stave off a lot of big-ticket repair issues.

As we get older, keeping up with a diet and exercise plan becomes more and more critical to maintaining good health. It’s the same with our vehicles. A preventive maintenance plan and smart car care will keep them on the road and keep them safe for a good many years to come.

Today we want to talk about a vital system in our cars – the cooling system. It’s one of those things that Eagle Lake car owners don’t give much thought to until it fails and then they’re stranded by the side of a road in Eagle Lake.

Cooling systems fail more often than any other mechanical system – usually because of neglect. Don’t you hate it when something breaks, and you could have done something to prevent it?

The good news is that if Eagle Lake motorists take care of their cooling systems they can keep working for the life of their car.

Here at AutoNetTV and Hughes Automotive Inc in Eagle Lake, we emphasize important preventive maintenance services like replacing your coolant according to the factory schedule. But the various parts that make up the cooling system need attention too. The major components of the cooling system are the water pump, freeze plugs, the thermostat, the radiator, cooling fans, the heater core, the pressure cap, the overflow tank and the hoses.

It sounds complicated, but we Eagle Lake auto owners don’t have to be experts – we can leave that to our honest service advisor at Hughes Automotive Inc. But, having an overview will help us remember how to take care of your car’s cooling system.

Most Eagle Lake folks would be surprised to know that burning fuel in your engine produces up to 4,500 degrees of heat. And all that heat has to be dealt with. If the heat can’t be drawn off the engine, the pistons will literally weld themselves to the inside of the cylinders – then you just have to throw the engine away and get a new one. That would cost thousands of dollars.

Now the water pump is what forces the coolant through passages in the sedan engine to absorb heat. The pump is driven by a belt that needs replacement from time to time. And the water pump will eventually wear out and need to be replaced. Spending some cash on replacing the belts and water pump is much less than the cost of repairing the extremely expensive damage that can be done when an engine seizes.

There’s another little but essential part of the coolant system that protects the engine. It’s called a freeze plug. If you remember from high school chemistry, water expands when it freezes. In very cold areas, the coolant can actually freeze when the sedan is left sitting.

It is hard to believe, but the expanding frozen coolant is powerful enough to actually crack the engine block. The freeze plugs fit into the engine block. They fit tight enough to withstand the pressure of a running engine, but can expand or pop out if the coolant freezes. These little things save a lot of engine blocks.

That brings up a good point. An engine has to work in all kinds of MN temperatures – extremely hot as well as very cold. How does the sedan cooling system adapt to external temperatures as well as varying operating conditions?

Well, it’s much like the way you keep your Eagle Lake house at a comfortable temperature all year round – with a thermostat. The thermostat in your sedan controls how much coolant flows through your engine. When the engine is cold, it restricts coolant flow until the engine comes up to an efficient operating temperature. Then it starts opening up to move more coolant to keep the temperature within a specified range.

The thermostat needs to be replaced from time to time as well. It’s easy for your Hughes Automotive Inc service professional to diagnose a failed thermostat and is fairly inexpensive to replace. We can do this for you at Hughes Automotive Inc in Eagle Lake, just give us a call: 507.257.3730. Now we’ve been talking about all this heat we’ve got to get rid of, but haven’t really talked about where it goes. That’s where the radiator comes in. The hot coolant passes through the radiator. Air flows past the cooling fins and cools the coolant.

The radiator has two tanks that hold coolant: sometimes one at the top and bottom or one on either side. If you have an automatic transmission in your sedan, one of the tanks will also contain a second tank that cools the transmission fluid. Large SUV’s and trucks often have a separate transmission cooler. So when Eagle Lake motorists drive around Eagle Lake, the air is forced past the radiator. But driving doesn’t produce enough air flow. So the radiator has cooling fans that force fresh air over the radiator. These fans may be powered by a belt or by electric motors.

Eagle Lake drivers also have something called a heater core. The heater core is like a mini radiator. A small fan blows air over the heater core and into the passenger compartment of your sedan. That’s how Eagle Lake auto owners warm their cars when it’s cold out in MN.

Next is the radiator cap. With most newer cars around Eagle Lake, you never remove the radiator cap, except to replace it. You add coolant through the overflow tank. The radiator cap is also called a pressure cap, because its critical job is to maintain pressure in the cooling system.

High pressure raises the boiling point of the coolant, so it cools more effectively even in very demanding Mankato conditions. That is why Eagle Lake auto owners need to replace the cap from time to time. The team at Hughes Automotive Inc recommends changing it out every time you replace your coolant.

Coming back to the overflow tank, it is vital because when the coolant gets hot it expands and the overflow holds the extra volume. The tank helps maintain the proper level of coolant and keeps air out of the system. Eagle Lake car owners should never open the radiator cap or over flow tank when the engine is hot. This could lead to serious burns.

What else do we Eagle Lake auto owners need to do to keep our cooling systems working well? Well, there are the hoses that hook all of these pieces together. They’re obviously very tough to deal with the pressure and high temperatures. But they do get worn. Sometimes they get spongy from the heat. Sometimes they lose their connection to the radiator, water pump, etc. It’s a great idea to have your Eagle Lake service center or honest Hughes Automotive Inc service advisor inspect your hoses at least once a year and replace them, if needed, before they break.

The team at Hughes Automotive Inc can check your cooling system and make any necessary adjustments or repairs. Give us a call at 507.257.3730.

Hughes Automotive Inc
109 E LeRay Ave
Eagle Lake, MN 56024
507.257.3730

Let’s talk about air quality in Eagle Lake. It’s a global issue, but affects us wherever we are. Many decades ago, Eagle Lake auto owners 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 sedans in Eagle Lake. 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 Eagle Lake, this is very good news. Your car can be a haven during your Eagle Lake commute.

Now, it’s only been in the last few years that cabin air filters have become common in Eagle Lake. 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 Eagle Lake where there’s a lot of dust, pollen or pollution, you may need to change it more often.

You can also ask your honest Hughes Automotive Inc service professional in Eagle Lake. How hard is it to change an air filter on a car? It depends on your vehicle. Some are quite accessible; others take some doing to get to them. They’re usually in the engine compartment or under the dashboard.

Because cabin air filters are so new on the scene, some Eagle Lake people haven’t heard of them – even auto owners who have cabin air filters in their sedan. Hughes Automotive Inc service advisors have discovered that many Eagle Lake customers who complained about an unpleasant odor in their sedan simply had a dirty cabin air filter.