Posts Tagged ‘Suzuki Portland’

Often, what starts out as a $25 oil change can quickly become a $225, all-day “fix this, replace that, flush that other thing” marathon. If you know the recommended intervals for changing the various fluids and filters in your vehicle, you may be able to save some money by doing those tasks yourself. Here’s what you should know before embarking on at-home vehicle maintenance.

Be Familiar with Your Vehicle Get the Chilton or Haines manual for your vehicle’s make and model. Open the hood and study what you see, compared to the book. Know the names of those parts, what they do, and how they interact. Peruse the troubleshooting section to get an idea of possible scenarios. That clanging noise could have three sources, all different from a clunking noise, which are different from a chug-chug-chug. Some of those problems are easy to fix, others require a professional’s expertise.

Check Your Rental Agreement or HOA Contract Many landlords and homeowners or neighborhood associations forbid doing any sort of car repair or maintenance in the driveway or garage of the residence. Check the legal paperwork you’ve signed, because that oil change may not be allowed unless you’ve parked in the street (and check city codes, too; on-street car repair may not be allowed in your municipality, either).

Are You Physically Able to Perform the Work? You may know, intellectually, how to change a tire or replace an air filter or install a new car battery. But if you can’t lift a tire or turn a wrench hard enough to loosen nuts and bolts, all the know-how in the world won’t fix the car. If you can’t get underneath the vehicle for whatever reason, changing your oil won’t be possible. Know your limits.

Looking for your own reliable new or pre-owned Suzuki? Browse our new inventory, pre-owned inventory, and internet specials 24/7 at gladstonesuzuki.com.

The hosts of NPR’s Car Talk have a great time getting call-in guests to describe the sounds their malfunctioning vehicles are making, but when it’s your car doing the clanking, it’s not so funny. Here are four common sounds a vehicle makes when it needs professional attention, and the most common causes for those sounds. If the bottom line is “take the car in for maintenance,” don’t be afraid to get a second or third opinion.

Clicking when you try to start it, with no turnover from the engine indicates a dead battery. You may not need a new battery; if you left the lights on overnight, or the door slightly ajar, it could simply be drained. Jump start the car and take it to a shop that will test the battery for you.

Squealing from the engine as you drive is usually coming from the drive belt. The cause can range from something as innocuous as getting wet while going through a puddle or as dangerous as a cracked belt that needs to be replaced as soon as possible. Other reasons include A/C components going bad, pulleys or ball bearings that need to be replaced, or the harmonic balancer being out of whack. In any case, it boils down to “take the car to the shop.”

Does your car sound more like an airplane than a car, especially at speeds above 25 miles per hour? The most likely reason is you have a wheel bearing that’s about to go bad. This isn’t an expensive fix, but it’s an urgent one. Bearings that stop spinning means wheels that stop spinning, and wheels that don’t spin mean accidents, potentially fatal ones.

Clunking or squeaking around turns is the result of problems with the front end. Each individual sound is associated with a specific piece of the front end, from the ball joints to the tie-rod ends to the control arms and the end links and the steering rack. A good mechanic will diagnose the specific problem after taking the vehicle for a test drive.

Looking for your own Suzuki Grand Vitara or other quality new or pre-owned vehicle? Browse our new inventory, pre-owned inventory, and internet specials 24/7 at gladstonesuzuki.com.

While Oregon winters are usually mild, we aren’t strangers to snow, ice, hail, and other cold-weather hazards. Winter driving requires special attention to your vehicle, and winter weather can place any vehicle – or any driver – in an unsafe condition. Here are five tips to see you safely through the winter driving season:

Consider Purchasing Snow Tires While “all-weather” tires can suffice, purchasing high-quality winter tires might be the best thing you can do for your vehicle if you plan on being in the snow often (and you do, don’t you?). New tread patterns that are efficient on both dry pavement and snow have replaced loud, deep-treaded snow tires of the past and are definitely worth considering.

Always keep plenty of gas in the tank. You never know when you will be stuck somewhere in traffic, or stuck on the mountain in the snow. Your gas mileage may drop during winter, because there is more stop-and-go driving, because the roads are slicker, and because your vehicle may operate at a lower temperature. Unless your engine is running rough or the check engine light is on, a small decline in miles per gallon is normal. To keep your miles per gallon at their best, and to drive safely, watch your tire pressure. Most manufacturers do not recommend that you change the inflation during the winter. When in doubt, consult your owners’ manual.

Check Your Tire Pressure Monthly This is crucial throughout the winter months. Cold weather can mean significant drops in your tire pressure and a threat to not only your fuel economy, but also your safety. Establish one day each month to ensure you are keeping up with the recommended tire pressure for your vehicle – doing so can prevent major problems down the road.

Learn how to use your 4-wheel drive or anti-lock brakes ahead of time. Consider practicing in an empty parking lot. This is particularly important when you buy an unfamiliar vehicle. Anti-lock brakes cause a unique shudder and noise from the brake pedal. This is normal. They usually don’t even activate unless you stomp down on the brake pedal hard and fast. Try it. That way it won’t be so scary when you experience this in a panic situation. 4-wheel drive now has several configurations depending on the make and model of the vehicle. If yours is one that you have to activate, learn how yours works before you need it. For most vehicles, it should not be used on dry pavement, which can bind up the drive train.

Don’t pour hot water on a frozen car. It can cause your windshield to crack. Plan a few extra minutes to allow the interior of your car to warm up and defrost the windshield, or place an old rubber mat over your windshield before you go to bed at night.

Looking for your own cold-weather ready new or pre-owned vehicle? Browse our new inventory, pre-owned inventory, and internet specials 24/7 at gladstonesuzuki.com.

Long gone are the days of children sleeping in the back window of the Oldsmobile on road trips, or hopping between front seat and back while zooming down the highway. Even in the years since safety seats for children were first made mandatory, the requirements have changed dramatically, and each state has its own regulations. To keep your smallest passengers as safe as possible, here are some basic car seat safety guidelines from the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration.

Be Sure the Seat is Installed Properly They may not seem complicated, but proper installation is crucial to the optimal performance in the unfortunate event of an accident. Always follow the manufacturer’s instructions, which sometimes means choosing between belt or LATCH installation (it may seem safer to use both, but some seats aren’t made to be installed that way). Car seat installation inspection clinics are available in every state.

Hand-Me-Downs Aren’t Always Great Replace any seat that’s been in an accident, including minor crashes if there is structural damage to the vehicle. Don’t use a seat that is more than six years old or only has a three-point harness. See photo above for an example of a five-point harness, which is required for children who aren’t yet big enough for belt-positioning boosters.

Keep Children Rear-Facing as Long as Possible Most convertible or 3-in-1 style seats have a higher height and weight limit for keeping a child rear-facing than infant “bucket” seats. At a bare minimum, children should remain rear-facing until they are one year old and weigh 20 pounds. If your child hasn’t reached the seat’s maximum for height and weight, but his or her legs are long, teach your child to sit cross-legged. Kids are flexible and sitting that way is a lot more comfortable than it would be for an adult.

Use a Five-Point Harness as long as Possible Once your child is old enough and big enough to face forward, a five-point harness is the safest option (and mandatory in many states). Many manufacturers make five-point seats that can accommodate children up to 80 pounds, and a few are rated up to 100 pounds. Always check the manufacturer’s recommendations and limits, and buy the highest-rated seat your budget will allow, especially if your child is taller or heavier than average.

Booster Seats for the Under-Sized Crowd Until children can wear a shoulder harness safely and properly—when it’s across their shoulders and thighs, not their neck and belly—they belong in a belt-positioning booster seat. Many states have age, height, or weight requirements that children must reach before they can ditch the booster.

Backseat for Safety The American Academy of Pediatrics and NHTSA both recommend that children younger than 13 should ride in the backseat if possible, in addition to always wearing a properly fitting seatbelt. This may spark protest in the pre-teen crowd, but safety should always come before riding shotgun.

Looking for your own safe, reliable family vehicle? Browse our new inventory, pre-owned vehicles, and internet specials 24/7 at gladstonesuzuki.com.

Pull into any fuel station and you’re faced with a choice: 87, 89, or 91 octane, regular, premium, or super. But is there any quantifiable difference in how a car performs when filled with one over the others? Does premium gas do anything other than cost more? Experts say, unless your car was built before 1990, probably not in any way that you’re going to notice.

Before cars were computerized under the hood, using a grade of gas lower than that recommended by the manufacturer led to knocking and clunking in the engine. The technology currently installed in most of the cars we’re driving these days makes engine knocking a non-issue.

The other concern with using lower-than-recommended octane fuel is accelerating power. It may take an extra half-second to go from 0-60 if there’s regular in the tank instead of premium. While that may be important on a race track or in a lab setting when cars are being tested and evaluated for performance, humans can’t tell split-second differences like that and everyday driving conditions rarely (if ever) call for 0-60 in very few seconds.

As with any service-related issue, however, check your driver’s manual. Just as it would be disastrous to put diesel in a standard engine (or vice-versa), your car may require higher-grade fuel. If this is the case, then use it. On the other hand, if the manual simply recommends a higher-octane gas, save your money and go with regular instead.

To find great Suzuki vehicles, browse our new inventory, pre-owned vehicles, and internet specials 24/7 at gladstonesuzuki.com.