May 15, 2012

Get Fresh Air Inside Your Car In Montgomery

Filed under: Cabin Air Filter — broadw682 @ 4:53 pm

Get Fresh Air Inside Your Car In Montgomery

Air quality affects us wherever we are in Montgomery. Many decades ago, Montgomery residents 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 carss since the 2000 model year. 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 Montgomery, this is very good news.

You can look in your cars owner’s manual to see if you have a cabin air filter. If you do, there’ll be a recommendation for replacing it when it gets dirty. If you live where there’s a lot of dust, pollen or pollution, you may need to change it more often. You can also ask your personable and caring service advisor at Broadway Automotive in Montgomery.

How hard it is to change a cabin air filter depends on your vehicle. Some are quite accessible; others take some doing to get to them. They’re usually in the cars engine compartment or under the dashboard.

Because cabin air filters are so new on the scene, some Montgomery motorists haven’t heard of them – even people who have cabin air filters. Broadway Automotive service advisors report customers complaining of an unpleasant odor in their vehicle and it turned out to be a dirty cabin air filter.

An important note for Montgomery hybrid owners: there is a special air filter that cleans the air that cools the hybrid battery pack. This filter should be inspected every time the cabin air filter is inspected and replaced if it is dirty so that the battery pack doesn’t overheat.

Give us a call

Broadway Automotive
334.277.9664
5840 East Shirley Lane
Montgomery, AL 36117

At Broadway Automotive in Montgomery AL (36117) we install quality NAPA replacement parts. Give us a call at 334.277.9664. To learn more about NAPA AutoCare, visit www.NAPAAutoCare.com.

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May 9, 2012

Get The Right Tires And Wheels At Broadway Automotive

Filed under: Tires — broadw682 @ 7:30 pm

Get The Right Tires And Wheels At Broadway Automotive

A lot of Pike Road drivers get custom wheels. When you do this yourself (over the internet . . .) you could run into trouble if you’re not careful. Sometimes, once they’re mounted, they just didn’t fit right. The tires rub in turns or on bumps. You don’t want that.

Consulting a tire professional at Broadway Automotive can ensure you get the right fit. First he’ll ask you a series of questions about your driving needs in Pike Road and what you want in your new wheels.

At Broadway Automotive, we advise Pike Road tire buyers that not every wheel can go on every car. Care must be taken so that tires and wheels are not too large or that the wheel is centered too far towards the outside or the inside so the tires rub.

If you don’t want to make any modifications to your cars, you need to focus on the wheels that fit. With trucks, some Pike Road people like much bigger tires so they need a suspension lift.

Also, most Pike Road people don’t realize that you need to keep the rolling diameter of your new tires – that’s, like the overall height of the tire – very close to what came from the factory in order for your anti-lock brakes and stability control systems to work properly.

The cars’s computers that control these systems are calibrated to a certain size tire. When you go bigger or smaller, the computer doesn’t know what changes you made so it can’t tell how fast you’re going. This, of course, means it sends commands to the brakes and traction control that are based on the wrong speed. If you go with a different rolling diameter, your cars’s engine control computer can be reprogrammed for the new tire size. For information on reprogramming the engine computer, call us at 334.277.9664.

Either way, there are hundreds of wheel and tire choices to choose from in Pike Road. You can pick the style of wheel you want and then talk with your Broadway Automotive tire professional about how big the wheel should be – and select the right tire to meet your style, performance, ride and handling needs.

At Broadway Automotive in Montgomery AL (36117) we install quality NAPA replacement parts. Give us a call at 334.277.9664. To learn more about NAPA AutoCare, visit www.NAPAAutoCare.com.

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May 2, 2012

Brake Service At Broadway Automotive In Montgomery

Filed under: Power Brakes — broadw682 @ 8:24 pm

Brake Service At Broadway Automotive In Montgomery

Most Montgomery drivers know that braking means slowing or stopping a vehicle. The mechanical aspects of the brakes themselves are just one issue. There’s also the power brake system and brake fluid. And then there are the tires, which are critical to the effectiveness of the brakes.

Let’s step back. A car or truck rolls brand new off the showroom floor at a local Montgomery dealer. It has brand new brakes with brand new brake pads. The brake lines and the power assist are filled with fresh fluid and are completely clean inside. And the cars tires are brand new, with full tread. Naturally, braking power is at its peak performance.
 
Now, as your drive from Montgomery to Prattville and back, the miles start to add up. Most Montgomery car owners tend to focus on the brake pads. In the Montgomery automotive service community, the pads, and shoes on drum brakes, are called the friction material. That’s because they provide the friction used to stop the cars. The pads are designed to be effective throughout their useful life – it’s not until they are worn so thin as to be out of spec that they lose stopping effectiveness.

The mechanical parts of the brakes have pistons and springs that get quite a workout while stopping the cars. Over many miles, these wear and get gummed up. They start to lose effectiveness gradually and could even fail. That’s why a regular brake inspection is important. At Broadway Automotive, we can test the operation of the brakes and see if any parts need cleaning or replacing.

That leads us to brake fluid service at Broadway Automotive. Some of the critical additives in the fluid that lubricate and clean the cars fluid system are depleted over time. That and moisture building up in the system deteriorate the performance of the brake fluid. Brake fluid replacement at Broadway Automotive includes flushing the brake system to clean out deposits, water and dirt. Then the system is filled up with fresh fluid.

The tires are what connect the cars to the road. The stopping force is ultimately dependent on the traction provided by the tires. The better they grip the road, the quicker you’ll stop as you drive around Montgomery.

For questions about brakes, brake pads, air conditioning service, CV joint repair, or tires, talk to Broadway Automotive  manager Amos Broadway.

Give us a call

Broadway Automotive
334.277.9664
5840 East Shirley Lane
Montgomery, AL 36117

At Broadway Automotive in Montgomery AL (36117) we install quality NAPA replacement parts. Give us a call at 334.277.9664. To learn more about NAPA AutoCare, visit www.NAPAAutoCare.com.

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April 24, 2012

Why Is My Check Engine Light On? Broadway Automotive Has Answers

Filed under: Check Engine Light — broadw682 @ 8:39 pm

Why Is My Check Engine Light On Broadway Automotive Has Answers

The Check Engine Light strikes fear into the hearts of some Montgomery drivers and is totally ignored by just as many. Just what it means is a mystery to most of us in AL.

First, if your cars check engine light is flashing, that means that something is wrong that could cause severe damage to the catalytic converter or other components. Get that taken care of right away. If your check engine light is flashing, you shouldn’t drive at Montgomery highway speeds, tow or haul heavy loads. Take it easy all the way to Broadway Automotive in Montgomery.

If the light is glowing steadily, you should keep an eye on it for a day or two. If the light doesn’t go off, schedule an appointment with your Montgomery service advisor to get it checked out.

Some more information from Broadway Automotive on how the Check Engine Light works may be informative. Most of your cars engine functions are controlled by a computer, not surprisingly, called an engine control computer. The computer is able to adjust many engine parameters for environmental conditions, engine condition and even the way you drive in Montgomery.

In order to make these adjustments, the cars computer relies on a network of sensors to provide data. The computer knows the proper operating range for each sensor. When a sensor reading is out of range the computer runs some tests and may turn on the Check Engine Light.

The cars computer will also try to make adjustments to compensate for some readings. If it can do so, it’ll then turn off the Check Engine Light.

If the problem can’t be resolved then the light will remain on and you should get your cars looked at at Broadway Automotive. Your personable and caring service technician will plug a scanner into the on-board diagnostic port and read the trouble code stored in the computer. The trouble code will give your Broadway Automotive technician a starting place as he diagnoses the cause of the problem.

At Broadway Automotive, we also offer air conditioning service and CV joint repair.

Give us a call

Broadway Automotive
334.277.9664
5840 East Shirley Lane
Montgomery, AL 36117

At Broadway Automotive in Montgomery AL (36117) we install quality NAPA replacement parts. Give us a call at 334.277.9664. To learn more about NAPA AutoCare, visit www.NAPAAutoCare.com.

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April 19, 2012

Battery Replacement In Montgomery

Filed under: Battery — broadw682 @ 4:17 pm

Battery Replacement In Montgomery

Car batteries wear out just like any other battery and need to be replaced. There are a couple of things Montgomery cars owners should know when looking for a new car battery: one is cold cranking amps and the other is reserve capacity.

Let’s start with cold cranking amps. This can be thought of as the power output used to start a cold cars engine. The number of cold cranking amps you need depends on your vehicle and where you live around Montgomery, specifically how cold it is where you live. The two factors are that the colder an engine is, the more power it takes to turn the cars engine over to get it started. It has all that cold, sluggish oil to contend with. The other factor is that the chemical reaction in the battery that creates electrical energy is less efficient in the cold.

So the colder it gets in Montgomery, more power is needed, but the available power drops.

If you live where it’s cold, you need a battery with more cold cranking amps than you do where it’s moderate or hot. You should always get at least as many cold cranking amps as the manufacturer recommends, but may want to upgrade at Broadway Automotive if you live where it gets real cold.

An important note: Batteries may also list the Cranking Amps – CA – number. It is the Cold Cranking Amps – or CCA – that is the important number here. CCA is the number to use in your comparisons.

Now with all this talk of cold temperatures in Montgomery, it’s important to note that heat is the real enemy of long battery life. In other words, the damage that’s done over the hot summer months in Montgomery shows up with the increased demands on the cars battery when the weather turns cold.

Now on to reserve capacity: It’s a measurement of the number of minutes of reserve power the battery has at a given load. The number is more important these days because of parasitic drain. Parasitic drain is the battery energy that’s used when the key is off. So the power drawn by the cars security system, the remote start system, even the power the cars computers require to maintain their memory.

Reserves are also needed when you make very short trips around Montgomery. You’re not driving long enough for the battery to recover the energy it used to start the cars engine.

So go with the minimum recommended by your manufacturer and upgrade if you need more. Talk with your personable and caring Broadway Automotive service advisor about options. If you need more from your battery, a larger capacity battery may be called for.

Batteries are a big ticket item for most Montgomery motorists, so the warranty gives peace of mind. Be sure to ask about the car battery warranty at Broadway Automotive so you know what you’re getting. At Broadway Automotive, we have been providing quality auto service in Montgomery for 17 years.

Give us a call

Broadway Automotive
5840 East Shirley Lane
Montgomery, AL 36117

At Broadway Automotive in Montgomery AL (36117) we install quality NAPA replacement parts. Give us a call at 334.277.9664. To learn more about NAPA AutoCare, visit www.NAPAAutoCare.com.

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