New Orleans Auto Repair

Does your brake pedal feel hard? Have you noticed that it takes longer to stop your vehicle and sometimes you worry it isn't going to stop in time? There are a couple reasons your brake pedal could feel hard.   A hard brake pedal can be a sign of failure in your brake booster. Your brake booster uses either engine vacuum or power steering pressure to multiply the force put on the brake pedal to stop your vehicle. If there is a problem with the boosters ability to hold pressure or with the pump or engine vacuum supplied to the booster it could create a hard brake pedal and the sensation that your vehicle is not able to stop. Leaking engine vacuum can cause a brake pedal to feel hard. Some vehicles use a Vacuum pump to create vacuum for the booster and a failed pump can cause a hard brake pedal. On brake systems that use power steering fluid to create pressure, a leak or failure in the power steering system can cause a brake pedal to feel hard. Another reason your brake pedal ... read more

There are a couple reasons the brakes on your vehicle could be squeaking.   The first is if your vehicle has been sitting for several days. Sometimes surface rust can develop on the stopping surface of your brake rotors, causing a squeak noise during your first few brake applications. This is not a safety concern and this will normally stop after a few brake applications.   The second reason could be that your brakes are low and in need of replacement. Some vehicles have metal tabs that act as wear indications to let the driver know when the brakes are low by squeaking. But even vehicles without those indicators built in, will often squeak when the brakes are very low and ready for a Brake Repair.   At Tim’s Quality Car Care we are dedicated to keeping our clients in safe and reliable transportation. Brakes are a big part of our safety focus. We try to help our clients plan their vehicle maintenance and repair by inspecting every vehicle before we service. At e ... read more

Hearing a grinding sound could indicate your vehicle’s brake pads are worn down all the way – exposing the metal puck under the pad. If so, when you go to press the brakes, pads with no friction material left are trying to grip on to the metal rotor, resulting in a grind and an increased stopping distance. This is an unpleasant sound, but it could also result in a brake failure when you need it most.It may be time for a Brake Repair. As a safety focused company Tim’s considers your vehicle’s braking system one of our primary concerns. Your brakes are checked, measured and photographed every time we service your vehicle. All brake repairs at Tim’s are done only to the highest standards, with only the best quality parts available and backed by our industry leading 3 year, 36,000-mile warranty

Many newer vehicles have smart charging systems. The vehicle takes into account the age and degradation of the battery and alters the charging system accordingly. In order to properly install a new battery in many later model vehicles a factory level scan tool is needed. After installation a technician needs to register the battery to the vehicle. We need to “tell the car” it has a new battery. Not registering a battery to a vehicle will cause the vehicle to charge and maintain the new battery in the same way it was charging the degraded old battery. Many times this causes the new battery to gas and overheat from being overcharged. The abuse of the charging system will significantly shorten the life of a battery. Following manufacturers’ procedures while servicing and repairing vehicles is very important … even when it comes to replacing batteries. Not all vehicles require battery registering. At Tim’s we not only check every battery on every vehicle tha ... read more

Had a little fun with the Crew earlier this week. We had our Tire Bowling Championship! Watch the Team in this sudden death championship bowling tournament…. And learn a little about the tires we sell

Constant Velocity or CV joints are used in most front wheel drive vehicles, many all-wheel drive vehicles and some rear wheel drive vehicles. A CV joint is a joint designed to transmit even power through a wide range of angles with minimum friction and internal play. CV shafts have two CV joints on either end of the shaft allowing the vehicle to be driven forward while allowing the suspension to articulate over bumps and the front wheels to turn left and right. Two wheel drive vehicles have two CV shafts and all-wheel drive vehicles can have up to four CV shafts. CV joints are filled with molybdenum disulfide grease, this specialized grease is either dark green or brownish grey in color. A rubber or neoprene flexible boot keeps this grease in the joint and all of the moving parts submerged. The weak point in CV shafts is the boot. After years and miles of turning and bumping up and down with the suspension the boots weaken and begin to tear. A torn CV boot allows the grease to leave t ... read more

Windshield wipers are a big part of keeping drivers safe on rainy days. A good set of wipers gives you the clear vision you need to safely see around your vehicle.MsMary Anderson of Birmingham Alabama is credited with the invention of the wiper blade. Her patent filed on November 10 1903 for Her “window cleaning device” came from an idea she had while on a rainy trip to New York City. By 1916 Windshield Wipers were standard equipment on most vehicles.By the mid-1950s we had the intermittent speed electric wipers we all know and love as standard equipment on most vehicles. Windshield wipers can be divided into 3 maincategories, Frameor “Traditional” wiper blades, Beam style blades and winter blades. Frame or “Traditional” wiper blades are made up of a metal frame holding rockers, the rockers are then attached to and hold a reinforced rubber wiper blade onto the windshield. The rockers on the wiper allow the rubber blade to contour to the windshield ... read more

Your radiator is responsible for removing heat from your engines coolant to help keep your engine cool. A leak free cooling system and a properly functioning radiator is key to the reliability and longevity of your vehicle. When engines get hot or “over heat” internal engine damage can occur. In years past radiators were constructed from brass or aluminum fins and soldered on to brass or aluminum tanks. Today most modern vehicles have aluminum fins which are crimped on to plastic tanks. The most common areas for failure on modern radiators is either where the plastic tank seals to the aluminum fins, or the plastic tank itself. Cooling systems are also subject to pressure, most cooling systems operate between 13 and 16 psi. Plastic tanks heat and cool at a different rate than the aluminum core. Over time the heating and pressure created from the heat, and the pressure relief from cooling wear the plastic on the tanks of the radiator. We find that over time the black plastic ... read more

Many times we find new customers with old and dry rotten tires on their vehicles. Dry rotten tires can be just as much of a safety risk as a worn tire. A tire that is dry rotten is much more likely to fail from tread separation than a tire that is less than 5 years old. All Department of Transportation certified tires have a serial number molded or branded into the sidewall. This number is referred to as the DOT number or the Tire Serial Number. DOT numbers are 8 to 13 digits long and identify: 1) the manufacturing location of the tire 2) the tire size and manufacturers code 3) the week and year the tire was produced If you are looking at the sidewall of a tire you can easily tell the manufacturing location, and tire size without decoding the DOT number, however nowhere on the tire besides the DOT will tell you the age. When looking at t ... read more

Today while inspecting a Rav4 we found a slow coolant leak on the upper radiator hose at a Tee. Coolant can leakfromyour enginecoolingsystemat a rapid rate and you will see liquid dripping from under your vehicle, or see a puddle under the vehicle. Many coolant leaks start as slow leaks. You can see a crusty residue around water pump seals, radiator tank seams, hose connections and anywhere else where coolant is contained. It is far better to catch a coolant leak before it starts dripping or becomes a major leak. Depending on your vehicle your cooling system can be under anywhere from 13 to 18or morepsi of pressure while at operating temperature. A small leak can turn into a large leak in an instant sometimes causing the vehicle to lose a significant amount of coolant in a very short period of time. When a vehicle isranwhile low on coolant it can overheat causing engine damage.Routine checks of your cooling system can help prevent problems before they occur. At Tim’s Quality Car ... read more