HomeTowne Auto Repair & Tire is an authorized Michelin and BFGoodrich tire dealer located in Woodbridge, Virginia. Automotive repair services are performed on all makes and models, including oil changes, brakes, alignments, inspections, and computer engine diagnostics.
BG Frigi Fresh, a disinfectant and air freshener, is one product HomeTowne Auto Repair & Tire uses to do that.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) registered product removes odors and kills harmful bacteria, molds and viruses. These germs build up in the climate control system and result in a musty odor and affects allergies.
We spray BG Frigi Fresh into the air intake system when replacing the cabin air filter. It goes through the vent system, including the heater core and evaporator.
What is a cabin air filter?
The cabin air filter blocks some dirt, dust and bacteria from coming into the front of your vehicle.
Most cars use one filter, but some higher engineered vehicles — including Mercedes and BMWs — have two. Other vehicles don’t have any, so make sure to check before setting up an appointment.
There are several kinds of cabin air filters. The cost of a cabin air filter depends on how it’s made, what it’s made out of, and if it gets distorted.
Our technicians use a mid-grade filter, but even better filters are out there.
The Enviroshield Cabin Air Filter clear out various impurities, including pollen, dust, and exhaust system smells from other vehicles.
PureFlow is a filter that gets rid of particles, soaks up odors, and makes germs less effective.
How often you should replace cabin air filters
Cabin air filters should be replaced at least once a year, but — depending on the driving conditions — they could require additional changes.
If you live or travel on a dirt road, you may need to replace the cabin air filter more often than if you typically use major roads and highways.
The amount of pollen can also impact how frequently it’s changed.
There are some signs that a cabin air filter is ready to be replaced. These include a musty smell and the vents not blowing air as strongly.
In addition to cabin air filters, there are engine air filters. They filter air that’s entering the combustion chamber.
Overtime, engine air filters become dirty or smushed and need to be replaced. Certain performance filters may be washed and reused. If you don’t change or wash them, the filters won’t work as well. It could also lead to engine damage.
There are also filters for fans on temperature control seats and blower motor filters, which maintain the battery’s cool temperature.
While you’re driving around, you want to breathe in pure air. Changing the cabin air filter and using BG Frigi Fresh are a couple of ways you keep it clean.
HomeTowne Auto Repair & Tire is an authorized Michelin and BFGoodrich tire dealer located in Woodbridge, Virginia. Automotive repair services are performed on all makes and models, including oil changes, brakes, alignments, inspections, and computer engine diagnostics.
The rear differential on a Ford Escape has been replaced.
A bearing noise could be heard. After performing a diagnostic test, one of our technicians determined that the part needed to be replaced.
Located between the rear wheels, the rear differential takes the rotational energy created by the drive shaft and splits it equally to the wheels.
Overall, they’re pretty durable. However, they can go bad overtime, due to normal wear and tear or if you regularly take the vehicle off-roading.
Replacing and maintaining the rear differential
If they wear out and you don’t address the issue, the wheels can lock up.
You may need a new rear differential if you hear noises, there’s looseness, or your car has been damaged in an accident.
One of the ways you can prolong the life of your differential is to replace the differential fluid every 30,000 miles. We suggest using BG Full Synthetic Differential Fluid. Some other vehicles — or depending on use — may have a shorter service time.
HomeTowne Auto Repair & Tire is an authorized Michelin and BFGoodrich tire dealer located in Woodbridge, Virginia. Automotive repair services are performed on all makes and models, including oil changes, brakes, alignments, inspections, and computer engine diagnostics.
Prince William County is made up of many organizations that do good things in the community.
HomeTowne Auto Repair & Tire is a supporter of local non-profits, including the Prince William Humane Society (PWHS) and The Arc of Greater Prince William.
“We live and work in the community and want to give back to worthwhile causes,” HomeTowne Auto Repair & Tire Owner ST Billingsley said.
How we support local non-profits
We offer free oil change services as well as free Virginia Safety Inspections and emissions tests to The Arc of Greater Prince William.
Last year, HomeTowne Auto Repair helped the humane society acquire its new Paw Bus and get it road worthy.
PWHS, an animal welfare organization that finds homes for adoptable pets, is using its new to transport pets to shelters, events and vet appointments.
HomeTowne shares information and flyers from K9s Serving Vets with customers, as well.
K9s Serving Vets is a non-profit that helps Veterans who are seeking a service dog.
Our support of What’s Up Prince William
We also support our community by helping fund What’s Up Prince William (WUPW), a news site that covers non-profits, community issues, and good things that people and organizations are doing in Prince William County.
In 2019, WUPW was able to do more than $66,000 of in-kind services to 20 non-profits, at no cost to the non-profits.
HomeTowne Auto Repair & Tire is an authorized Michelin and BFGoodrich tire dealer located in Woodbridge, Virginia. Automotive repair services are performed on all makes and models, including oil changes, brakes, alignments, inspections, and computer engine diagnostics.
Have you noticed an oil leak between your vehicle’s front two tires?
There are a number of reasons that could be behind it.
Needing a new valve cover gasket is one of them. Technician Jason replaced this part on a 2015 Jeep Patriot on Tuesday.
What is a valve cover gasket?
The valve cover covers the rocker arms, valve springs and seals on top of the engine. It goes between the valve cover and cylinder head, so oil doesn’t leak from the top of the engine.
“It can also cover up any other oil leaks, so it’s very important to keep this … up to par,” Jason explained.
Other oil leak culprits
An oil leak doesn’t necessarily mean that the valve cover gasket needs to be replaced.
Many components can leak oil, including the oil pan, oil filter housing — also known as the oil filter adapter — drain plugs, and front and rear crankshaft seals.
Depending on the make and model, a vehicle may have oil cooler lines that can leak.
HomeTowne Auto Repair & Tire is an authorized Michelin and BFGoodrich tire dealer located in Woodbridge, Virginia. Automotive repair services are performed on all makes and models, including oil changes, brakes, alignments, inspections, and computer engine diagnostics.
Written by Sydney Jones, General Service Technician for HomeTowne Auto Repair & Tire
Annual state inspections have become a thing of controversy in recent years all over the country. Many states have removed them from their vehicle requirements altogether, and Virginia is considering doing the same. But is this really a good idea?
As of 2017, Utah is one of seven states in the United States that not does not require state inspections. This past summer, I traveled to Utah with my boyfriend and his family and immediately noticed that the cars with in-state licence plates had no inspection stickers.
At the time, I was unaware that they were not required to have inspections done every year, like Virginia. However, I did notice many more broken down cars on the side of the roads or in peoples’ driveways.
We even drove around town in his grandmother’s car, which was in very poor shape itself and an inspector would more than likely deem it an unsafe vehicle.
Between November 27 and December 1 of 2019, Utah State Police responded to 598 motor vehicle accidents during snowy weather.
Part of this can be attributed to the fact that Utah doesn’t often get snow, but a very large part of the reasoning is the fact that Utah does not require state inspections, and most of these cars were not safe to drive in any condition other than sunny and dry.
It is immensely dangerous for states to stop requiring annual state inspections because people have no idea what they’re driving.
The majority of people do not know how to measure their brakes or tell if their exhaust pipe has a hole in it under their cab, causing them to breathe harmful emission gases.
It’s difficult for someone whose expertise is not in the general automotive field to diagnose a misfiring cylinder or tell if their upper and lower radiator hoses need replacing.
For someone who doesn’t know these things, maintaining a vehicle is nearly impossible.
Being required to take your car to a professional in the automotive field once a year should absolutely remain a requirement to keep everyone on roads safe.
If your vehicle is falling apart in places that you don’t know about, you put yourself and everyone else on the road in danger.
Many argue that doing away with state inspections saves the $20 a year or the extra $150 they would have to pay for an unexpected repair in order to pass an inspection. But that $20 to tell you your car is fine, or that $150 to fix an unsafe component is far cheaper than a lost life or a totaled car when that unsafe car loses a wheel or the brakes go out.
Annual State Inspections are required for everyone’s safety and removing this is compromising the safety of millions. Do yourself and everyone around you a favor, and get your state inspection done every year and don’t drive an unsafe car.
HomeTowne Auto Repair & Tire is an authorized Michelin and BFGoodrich tire dealer located in Woodbridge, Virginia. Automotive repair services are performed on all makes and models, including oil changes, brakes, alignments, inspections, and computer engine diagnostics.
While you’re driving your Buick, you may feel that the car is pulling to one side. It could be time for you to get a wheel alignment.
A vehicle pulling in one direction, uneven tire wear, and a crooked steering wheel are signs that a tire alignment is needed.
Read about problems that could be mistaken for a tire alignment problem in this article.
Curbs, potholes and suspension wear can cause tires to go out of alignment.
We recommend tire alignments when you get new tires and every 15,000 miles.
What happens if you don’t get regular Buick tire alignments
If you drive a Buick and don’t have an alignment performed regularly, you run the risk of having tire wear problems. This not only means that your tires will wear out sooner, but there will also be a chain reaction of symptoms.
For example, if you have a tire that wears out on the outer shoulders and it gets bad enough, then your car might start traveling to the left.
At that point, a new alignment won’t address the issue, because it has become a tire problem.
We have state-of-the-art equipment, and specs for all makes and models.
More information about what happens during tire alignments can be found in this blog post.
In addition to alignments, we provide an assortment of services, including repair for Buick cars and SUV’s.
HomeTowne Auto Repair & Tire is an authorized Michelin and BFGoodrich tire dealer located in Woodbridge, Virginia. Automotive repair services are performed on all makes and models, including oil changes, brakes, alignments, inspections, and computer engine diagnostics.
Do you want to save money and prevent auto repairs from cropping up down the road? You can by taking care of your vehicle.
One way to maintain it is through an automatic transmission fluid exchange.
On Monday, Sydney and Jason conducted this service on a 2010 Kia Forte.
Performing an automatic transmission fluid exchange
They used a BG Transmission Fluid Exchange Machine.
“We hook it up in series to the car, and as the car is running it pumps out old fluid while the machine pumps in new fluid,” Sydney, a General Service Technician, explained.
For some vehicles, an automatic transmission fluid exchange is recommended every 35,000 to 45,000 miles. Others may not need it until they reach 120,000 miles.
Why this service is important
The transmission fluid helps keep the transmission clean, so it’s important to change it regularly.
As the fluid breaks down, it doesn’t function the way it should.
Automatic transmissions use hydraulic pressure and clutch plates. If the hydraulic fluid isn’t at the right level or working correctly, it can do premature wear on the clutch, which can lead to transmission problems.
HomeTowne Auto Repair & Tire is an authorized Michelin and BFGoodrich tire dealer located in Woodbridge, Virginia. Automotive repair services are performed on all makes and models, including oil changes, brakes, alignments, inspections, and computer engine diagnostics.
The engine is one of the most vital parts of a vehicle. Without it, a car is useless.
Its lifespan can range from a couple of years to the vehicle’s lifetime.
This component reached its limit on a 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT 8 last month.
In addition to its check engine light turning on, the vehicle hesitated when accelerating and a tapping could be heard from inside the engine.
Checking the spark plug was the first step for the technician, Jason.
During a diagnostic test, there was a misfire on one of the cylinders.
The Jeep was also in need of an oil change. When he was removing the oil, Jason noticed metal shavings that resembled glitter. This led him to believe that the issue laid deeper.
Metal shavings in oil
Other possible indicators that a new engine is needed
A vehicle that needs a new engine may shudder or experience slower acceleration.
Other signs can include smoke from the exhaust and the check engine light turning on.
Proper maintenance, including regular oil changes, can help extend it.
HomeTowne Auto Repair & Tire is an authorized Michelin and BFGoodrich tire dealer located in Woodbridge, Virginia. Automotive repair services are performed on all makes and models, including oil changes, brakes, alignments, inspections, and computer engine diagnostics.
A customer came to HomeTowne Auto Repair & Tire, because their vehicle’s check engine light had turned on.
They stated that they weren’t having any problems when driving the car, but the light had turned on a couple days earlier.
The check engine light coming on is one problem that can be addressed through diagnostic testing.
You may have heard of this process if you’ve had something going on with your car.
Diagnostics might sound unnecessary, but it’s a very helpful and important part of getting your vehicle back on the road.
The importance of performing diagnostics
Diagnostic testing goes beyond reading a code or looking over a vehicle.
Anybody can take a car to have a code read, or check it out themselves with a flashlight. Diagnostic testing enables technicians to dig deeper into the problem.
Codes are like zip codes — they tell us where in the neighborhood you’re supposed to be. However, further investigation is necessary, because they can mask other issues.
For example, there could be a code for a catalytic converter and we could say, “OK. We read the code. Replace it.” But the code could really be caused by oxygen sensors that aren’t reading correctly.
Through diagnostic testing, technicians are able to determine the actual reason for a failure or problem, which can help you save money in the long run.
Diagnostic testing process
The diagnostic testing process begins by gathering relevant information from our customers.
This includes any sounds, a problem (or problems) they are experiencing, when they are noticing an issue, and any incidents that may be connected with it.
Providing as much information you can helps us narrow down the investigation and come up with a solution more quickly.
Once all of the details have been collected, our Woodbridge mechanics will conduct a courtesy inspection, where they ensure that nothing seems amiss on the vehicle.
Then, the technicians try to encourage the problem to reoccur. This includes performing a test drive, which helps them determine if there are any odd noises or the car isn’t running correctly. As the procedure continues, we hope to zone in on a certain part of the vehicle and, eventually, the cause itself.
While diagnosing a noise or behavior, we also do our own research using Technical Service Bulletins (TSBs) – in case it’s a common problem with this type of vehicle. Additionally, our employees utilize diagnostic equipment with built in diagnostic capabilities and other resources that are tailored to auto repair shops.
Using a scan tool on a Jeep
It can sometimes be difficult to pinpoint the problem, especially if what the driver is experiencing isn’t occurring all the time.
For example, the A/C on a Chevy Colorado we’re working on next week will randomly stop blowing air. That could be caused by a few different problems – it may have a bad blower motor or the wiring may need to be replaced.
So, performing diagnostics can take time. You may even need to pick up the vehicle and bring it back when the problem starts happening more frequently.
HomeTowne Auto Repair & Tire is an authorized Michelin and BFGoodrich tire dealer located in Woodbridge, Virginia. Automotive repair services are performed on all makes and models, including oil changes, brakes, alignments, inspections, and computer engine diagnostics.
