Venice Auto Repair

Why Is My Car Hard To Steer? Why Is My Car Not Driving Straight? Why Is My Car Making A Strange Noise When Turning?    The answer to this question may be the result of a bad Tie Rod. The Tie Rod connects the Steering Gear or Power Steering Rack to the wheel of your vehicle. Over time, the pivoting joint of the tie rod can wear out, causing your tire to no longer stay in alignment. When you are turning your wheel a little bit and the steering feels loose, or the vehicle isn't responding to the way you are turning your steering wheel, this would be the reason. Other symptoms include: No steering at all or unusual steering  High pitched squealing noise (especially around turns) Uneven wear on tires Wheel alignment off             Our mechanics routinely check your tie rods when your vehicle comes in for service. To safely inspect ... read more

Do I Have to Replace my Timing Belt?    The simple answer is yes. Some vehicles have a Timing Belt, and others have a timing chain. These are necessary to keep the engine working properly and "in time". A Timing Belt is what keeps the engine valves and pistons "in time" with each other so that they don't collide. It is part of the internal engine system that creates a synchrony of movement between the Camshaft and Crankshaft to ensure that these engine valves open and close in unison during the Cylinder's in/out strokes.    The Timing Belt is rubber, so it does not last forever. In most cases, your manufacturer will recommend replacing as part of routine maintenance. This is about 70,000 miles, but every manufacturer is different. You can consult your owner's manual or come to our shop with trained professionals to ensure you are ... read more

What Happens When An A/C Actuator Goes Bad?   You might be thinking to yourself, what is an Actuator? We have had a few vehicles come in with this issue, that can range from a quite difficult job, to one not so intricate. Depending on your vehicle make and model this might be an extensive repair, in other cases, it could be a quick fix.    An Actuator or Blend Door Actuator, is a small electric motor in your vehicle that runs in forward and reverse motion to move the Blend Door/ Air Mix Door between fresh air and re-circulation modes, hot and cold air flow, and floor/defrost modes. The Actuator is what actually went out with one of these vehicles. So, the Blend Door was not swinging back and forth, causing the hot/cold airflow to be minimal. In another vehicle, we diagnosed a similar issue but the Actuator was working correctly. The ... read more

  Why is my Car A/C Not Blowing Enough Air? Why is my Car Air Conditioning Air Flow Weak?   Recently, we discussed what might be the cause of your vehicle's A/C not blowing cool air. But, let us talk about what the cause might be from your vehicle not blowing enough air!    One of our client's recently came in with this complaint. One that could be coming from a multitude of places of the Air Conditioning system. This problem happened to be coming from the A/C Evaporator. The A/C Evaporator is commonly called a "mini radiator". The Evaporator is part of the Air Conditioning system in your vehicle that works alongside with the blower fan and compressor. A dirty Evaporator is a common cause for weak air flow into your vehicle.    In this case you should run the A/C on recirculation, so it is not inhaling the air from the outside. If you live or work in a more agricultural area, th ... read more

Why Is My Car Knocking And Shaking? Why Is My Car Vibrating?  Knocking and shaking coming from your engine can be the telltale sign of bad fuel injectors. Another symptom could be misfiring or a vibration. Each engine whether it be a Diesel or gas powered, has cylinders. The more cylinders an engine possesses, the more power the vehicle has. With each cylinder, there is one fuel injector. The fuel injectors are located in the engine control unit. They are responsible for a light spray of fuel into the cylinders. With one bad fuel injector, it could throw off the balance of the firing order of the engine completely.  When there is misfiring occurring, that does resemble a Transmission issue. The difference is the vehicle will not move versus with the fuel injector, it will move but be less powerful. With shaking and knocking still persistent. In this example, we had a Diesel truck that was experienci ... read more