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It’s just common sense that your vehicle will drive better if all the wheels are lined up with each other and the road the way the engineers intended. When they’re not, that is called being out of alignment. Here are some signs that your alignment has problems.
We have equipment designed to quickly and accurately measure your vehicle’s alignment. We can make precise adjustments to make sure you are headed straight where you want to go. Have your alignment checked regularly. It can help prevent more serious problems in the future and make your vehicle drive as beautifully as you remember it used to.
Tires First Inc5454 Miller RoadColumbus, Georgia 31909706.563.5555
You may be fanatical about keeping the outside of your vehicle clean. But what about what's under the hood? Have you ever thought about how dirt and grime may be affecting your engine's components?
One of the most important parts under your hood to keep clean is your vehicle's battery. With a daily barrage of dirt and moisture, outside parts of your battery can corrode, namely the cables and terminals.
Gases vented by batteries can also promote corrosion. That can create connection problems and affect your vehicle's electrical system. If corrosion is not cleaned off, it may damage wires and terminals so badly that they will stop properly conducting electricity. At that point, they may need replacing.
When you bring your vehicle to us for a battery inspection and cleaning, we will remove any corrosion and put corrosion-resistant protection on each post. A technician will also visually inspect your battery. Plus, we can test how much life is in your battery as part of a more comprehensive battery service.
Batteries don't last forever and should be regularly cleaned, inspected, and tested. Usually, they'll need to be replaced anywhere from three to five years after they were first installed, but their lifespan depends on how, where, and how much you drive. Your battery is a very important component of your vehicle. Keep yours in tip-top shape, and it's less likely to let you down when you need it most.
Your vehicle is loaded with electrical devices. Computerized components are everywhere, so good electrical connections are important. Those begin with your vehicle's battery, so it's important that its connections are in top shape.
Ever had a flashlight that didn't work, took out the old batteries to replace them and noticed the old batteries were all corroded? The same thing can happen to your vehicle's battery.
The battery type used in most vehicles is a lead-acid, which can be very corrosive. Corrosion can build up around your battery's terminals that can prevent the electrical connection from being as solid as it needs to be. You may have even seen discoloration around your battery's terminals if you look under the hood, a sign of corrosion.
Or you might notice visible signs of fraying or loose battery cables. All of your vehicle's components are affected by vibrations from the engine and road surface imperfections, and the battery cables take a lot of jostling every time you drive. Frayed cables won't conduct as much electricity as intact ones. Plus, there's the possibility that a frayed cable may touch a piece of metal in the engine compartment that can cause shorts and other problems.
There are some signs to watch out for that might tell you if your battery terminals are corroded or your cables aren't making good contact with them. You might find your vehicle isn't starting as easily as it used to. You also might see the battery warning light illuminated on your dash. That light looks like a rectangle with a "-" and "+" sign inside.
Our technicians can make sure your battery and cables are at optimal operating capability with regular service and cleaning. A technician will clean the terminals and portions of the cables that are connected to them. They may also add an anti-corrosion agent to the cables/terminals. Nothing like giving your vehicle a clean start!
Changing your oil regularly is one of the most important things you can do to keep your vehicle running well. And knowing the right type of oil to use is also very important.
Engine oil is classified by weight, but it doesn't refer to how much the oil would weigh if you put it on a scale. It refers to viscosity, or how easily the oil flows through the engine. Most engines operate normally at around 210°F/99°C. The viscosity, or weight, is assigned a number by how well it flows at that temperature. The lower the number, the more freely it flows.
Most vehicle engines use what's called a multigrade oil which behaves differently in different temperatures. Multigrade oils have a "W" in their viscosity number that you may have seen on a bottle of oil, something like 5W30. The W stands for winter and shows how freely it flows in colder temperatures.
That means a 5W30 oil will behave like a 5 weight oil in lower temperatures (less viscous or thinner) and a 30 weight oil in warmer temperatures (more viscous or thicker). That's important on a cold day because the oil needs to behave like a thinner oil when you start your engine since it need to lubricate engine components immediately to protect the metal components. Then as the engine warms up, it behaves like a thicker oil to prevent friction among those parts. Pretty neat trick, right?
The type of oil you use can differ depending on what type of climate you operate your vehicle in and how your vehicle is used (carrying big loads, towing, etc.). Your owner's manual contains several different recommendations based on these factors. Your service advisor can recommend the right oil for your needs. Like Shakespeare said, "Oil's well that ends well."
When you hear hissing sounds coming from your vehicle, you might start thinking the worst. One type of hissing coming from around your air conditioner may be a normal sound, or it could be a sign of serious trouble.
First - the normal sound. When you turn off your vehicle, the refrigerant goes from its high-pressure side to the low-pressure side. Some of those noises are normal. But when it hisses all the time, that's another story.
One cause could be that the refrigerant is leaking. Air conditioners are fairly complex systems that involve various pumps, hoses, valves and motors. When your air conditioner is cooling, the refrigerant changes from a gas to a liquid and back. That refrigerant is under pressure, and there are many places it can leak from.
A hissing sound can also be a failed valve in your air conditioner's compressor. It is what controls the refrigerant's pressurization. It's important to have this fixed fairly quickly after it develops a problem because when it isn't, that can lead to more extensive—and expensive—repairs.
If you hear screeching coming from your air conditioner at the same time you hear hissing, your compressor may be on its last legs. It could also be a defective clutch.
Any time you hear a noise you haven't routinely heard before, bring your vehicle to us so a technician can check the various components and properly repair the problems. Air conditioning systems are complex and are best handled by a professional with the right tools and equipment. When your AC has a hissy fit, let us cool it off and you at the same time.
You know how exposing your skin to sunlight can cause sunburn and other unhealthy things. Sunlight can also create major problems for your headlights. After they've been exposed to ultraviolet light, acrylic headlights can yellow and fog due to oxidation. And when that happens, less light can pass through the plastic, reducing the effectiveness—and safety—of your headlights.
It's not just the UV light that causes headlights to turn cloudy. Road grime and debris gets kicked up and can scratch the plastic, diffusing the light that should pass through them when they're clear. Plus, when your vehicle was new from the factory, the headlights had watertight seals all around to prevent moisture from getting into them and fogging them up with water vapor. Just like clouds can hide the sun, tiny water molecules can diffuse the light from your headlight bulbs.
Sure, you could buy replacement parts and start fresh. But the good news is many vehicle repair facilities can restore your original headlights to perform like they did when you first bought your vehicle. Here's how it works:
Visibility at night is vital for safe driving, and if your headlights aren't performing up to their potential, the less you'll be able to see ahead of you.
There are many advantages of having your headlights restored rather than buying new or aftermarket replacements. It's friendlier to the planet since plastics are made of oil, so it's reducing the amount of plastic that is manufactured. And it's usually cheaper to have your headlights restored rather than replaced.
Consider headlight restoration a way to literally recycle those parts of your vehicle. That seems to be perfectly clear!
Air conditioning used to be a real luxury in a vehicle, but now it's standard in most. Your vehicle's air conditioning system is built to last a pretty long time, but like anything mechanical, sometimes it fails.
It helps to know a little about how the A/C works. There's a compressor that pressurizes the refrigerant (you probably recognize the term Freon). That makes it hotter, so it then goes through a condenser that cools it off. Then another component takes out impurities and humidity before the Freon goes to a device that makes it lose pressure before it goes to the evaporator. That's where it gets colder and takes the humidity out of the air. Then your vehicle's ventilation system blows air over the evaporator, cooling the cabin air that gives you such relief on a hot day.
Of all these parts, one that does a lot of work is the compressor. It has to compress that refrigerant and circulate it through the system. It turns on and off several times when it's working. The good news is that if it's going to fail, it sometimes lets you know.
One of the signs that your air conditioning compressor is going bad is a noise under the hood when the engine is on, sometimes a squealing or grinding sound. It usually is pretty noticeable. Compressors have a bearing that can seize up after time, causing the belt that drives it to squeal when it's trying to turn something that won't turn. It will sometimes cause that belt to break.
Your service advisor can tell you if your compressor is repairable or must be replaced. In the case of a broken belt (often a serpentine belt that drives several components) the belt will have to be replaced as well.
The compressor also has a clutch that turns the compressor on and off so it doesn't have to run all the time. Sometimes that clutch can fail, too, and your service advisor will often recommend you replace the compressor and the clutch at the same time. Our technicians can help make sure your air conditioning system keeps its cool, and you along with it.
You may notice that when you get your vehicle's oil changed, your service adviser may recommend that you have your tires rotated at the same time. The reasons are simple. That will allow your tires to wear more evenly and reduce the noise your tires make as you drive down the road.
There are different ways of rotating tires. If your vehicle has non-directional tires and the same size wheels at each corner, here are the different rotation patterns.
For all-wheel drive and rear-wheel drive vehicles, one is called the rearward cross pattern. The rear tires are moved to the front and stay on the same side of the vehicle, and the front tires are moved to the rear on the side opposite of where they were on the front.
For all-wheel and four-wheel drive vehicles, use the X pattern. The rear tires are moved to the front on the opposite side of the vehicle, and the fronts are moved to the rear on the opposite side of where they were on the front.
For front-wheel drive, there's the forward cross. The front tires are moved to the rear wheels on the same side of the vehicle as they were on the front and the rear tires are moved to the opposite side of the vehicle than they were on the rear.
If you have directional tires (they only can be mounted in one direction) and the same size directional wheels, the rear tires are moved to the front on the same side of the vehicle where they were, and the front tires are moved to the rear on the same side they were on the front. And if you have tires with different sizes of non-directional tires and wheels on the front and rear, rotation will be from one side of the vehicle to the other.
If you have a spare, it's put into the rotation using a forward cross or rearward cross.
Yep, that's a lot to keep straight. So, we suggest letting your service advisor recommend the right rotation pattern for you at the interval your vehicle's manufacturer specifies.
If your vehicle creaks and squeaks when you drive down the road, it may mean that some of the metal parts are rubbing against each other and need to be lubricated. Those could be parts of the suspension, steering system and the drivetrain.
Years ago, most vehicles had to have their chassis (what you think of as the frame) regularly lubricated. Newer vehicles are made with what some call "lifetime lubrication," but there are still parts of the chassis that need to be maintained with lubricants. Your service advisor can help you know when that needs to be done.
In your owner's manual, the vehicle's manufacturer lists components that need regular maintenance. Things like u-joints, steering joints, sway bars, bushings and joints in the suspension. Some of them may have that "lifetime lubrication," while others may not. When you bring your vehicle in for service, a technician will look for any parts that have grease fittings. They will inspect these components, clean the fittings so dirt and other contaminants won't be forced into the part and then lubricate them with a lubricant that meets the manufacturer's specifications.
Sometimes a chassis lubrication is done at the same time as an oil change. That's also an ideal time for the technician to check other parts of your vehicle that may need attention. That could include greasing other parts such as the fuel door, trunk and door hinges, suspension springs and door latches.
Times have changed since the days when a "lube" job was synonymous with an oil change. Depend on your owner's manual and advice from your service advisor to know when "grease" is the word—and appropriate for your vehicle.
If you drive a vehicle with a gasoline engine, thank the spark plugs for igniting the gasoline/air mixture in each cylinder that keeps your vehicle traveling smoothly down the road every day. Your spark plugs work hard, firing thousands of times in a well-choreographed order, and you usually don't pay much attention to them until one of them stops working the way it should.
Signs that spark plugs are wearing out include:
When a spark plug stops working altogether, you will find your engine has likely lost a lot of its power and isn't running smoothly. Your Check Engine light may come on. Then it's time to head to come to our service center to have it diagnosed.
If your plugs need to be replaced, they're usually done all at the same time. And if your vehicle has spark plug wires, experts recommend you change them as well. Different type of spark plugs last longer than others, and your service advisor can discuss what's best for your vehicle and driving habits.
A technician will also determine if there are any carbon deposits on your plugs, how healthy the ignition coil is (it's the part that supplies the high-voltage jolt that makes the spark) and will look for other signs and symptoms that may point to other problems in your engine. For instance, if a spark plug is fouled by oily deposits, it's possible oil is getting into the combustion chamber.
They will also check all the plugs to see if there are problems in just one or all cylinders. Sometimes a technician will find a plug that has overheated, literally melting the metal. In that case, they may recommend they correct that problem before replacing the spark plugs.
Most spark plugs will last for a good, long time. Even if you aren't seeing any symptoms they're wearing out, make sure you have your service advisor check your vehicle manufacturer's recommended maintenance intervals. Preventative maintenance will keep your vehicle running reliably so you can count on it to get you where you want to go.
Tires First of Miller Road is the only tire store in Columbus, GA that is a dealer for Michelin®, BFGoodrich®, Uniroyal®, Goodyear, Dunlop, Bridgestone, Firestone, Continental, General and many more in the tire line. We are a NAPA Auto Care center so that we are able to meet all of your mechanical and service needs. With 24 service bays we service Autos, Trucks, RV's, Commercial, Industrial, Farm Equipment, and OTR/Heavy Equipment.
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