Are your fleet vehicles equipped with four-wheel or all-wheel drive? More and more, companies are moving towards vehicles equipped with one or the other - they’re safer and more useful, particularly in inclement weather or less than ideal conditions. If your fleet is powered by all four wheels, Mercie J Auto Care in Mesa, Gilbert, & Apache Junction, AZ has you covered.

At Mercie J Auto Care in Mesa, Gilbert, & Apache Junction, AZ, it’s important to us that you see the value in the work we do. Over the course of the past decade, depending on what type of car, truck, or SUV you drive, it may seem like oil changes have gotten more expensive, and there’s a lot of differentiation in pricing at different locations. What’s going on?

Failed engine mounts are an irritating issue to live with causing your car or truck to vibrate and you don't know why. At Mercie J Auto Care in Mesa, Gilbert, & Apache Junction, AZ, we can help, no matter what type of car, truck, or SUV you drive and it is an easy issue to detect on a test drive.

There are a few indicators your engine mounts need to be replaced. For one, you can do a visual inspection, if they’re accessible enough - if they looked cracked, smashed, or dry-rotted, it’s probably time for new ones.  If the engine visibly shakes while it’s running, engine mounts are also likely the culprit.  However, if you are like most drivers you simply get in and drive on down the road until something is different or a light comes on!   Then you call our shop for help!

There is a reason we check your brake fluid when you come in for a service check.  Maintenance pays big dividends and we want to avoid high repair costs for our Mesa, Gilbert, & Apache Junction drivers.  Did you know that brake service isn't just all about the brake pads, drums & rotors?  That we have found low brake fluid to be the cause of a large percentage of brake issues here at Mercie J Auto Care?  Seriously, brake fluid is an important part of your braking system and with your service intervals being less frequent on the newer vehicles 5,000-10,000 more miles this has become an issue!  Why?...

When you think about diesel engines, you probably think about large trucks and machinery, and maybe a few oddball cars over the years.  But how long has diesel really been around, and why is it used the way it is today? Mercie J Auto Care in Mesa, Gilbert, & Apache Junction, AZ has the answers you need to become more in-tune with your diesel truck and engine. 

Every car, truck, van, and SUV on the road today has headlights. However, you've probably noticed an increase in different types of headlights in more recent years - gone are the days where every vehicle on the road had the same bulb. Here is some information on headlights, from Mercie J Auto Care in Mesa, Gilbert, & Apache Junction, AZ.

When you are having trouble with your car or truck starting and you open the hood up to take a peek to see this....you'll see what an overly corroded battery looks like. This happens naturally over time on vehicle battery terminals.  If you are like 99% of normal Mesa, Gilbert, & Apache Junction drivers, you don't check your oil or your battery so you don't keep an eye on the amount of corrosion that's building up on your car or truck battery.  Here at Mercie J Auto Care, we do and there are solvents that we can use here in the shop during a battery maintenance service that will help slow the corrosion process but nothing that can prevent it 100%. Way before it gets to this point, we will be suggesting you consider replacing the battery. 

Manual transmissions are generally more reliable than automatic transmissions. They don’t have as many parts, aren’t as complex, and can take a lot more abuse. However, if an issue is allowed to persist, more and more damage to surrounding components on your manual transmission will occur. Mercie J Auto Care in Mesa, Gilbert, & Apache Junction, AZ can help you take care of your car as soon as you notice a problem.

Repairs are costly and we all want to avoid them including our team here at Mercie J Auto Care!  It's our job and we take it seriously.  Here, it is all about keeping your car or truck serviced and looking for problems "before" they happen to avoid those high repair costs and ensuring you avoid any breakdowns when it's hot outside or cold outside as either is a problem for our Mesa, Gilbert, & Apache Junction drivers!  Nobody can forsee a flat tire or blowout due to running over a nail, but we can avoid some of the regular issues we see all the time such as....

While fuel pump issues are common, they often get misdiagnosed. What is your fuel pump, how do you know if yours is bad, and what should you do about it? At Mercie J Auto Care in Mesa, Gilbert, & Apache Junction, AZ, we are going to make sure that you are an informed driver so you know what to look for and what you should do about it.

Keeping your fuel system maintained will prevent premature parts failure and poor running conditions. Here at Mercie J Auto Care we have tips on the important aspects of diesel fuel system maintenance, to keep your diesel fleet trucks running smoothly - longer.

Air.Air in the system causes all kinds of issues, from hard starting, poor running conditions, or an engine that won’t run at all. If too much air gets in the system, the fuel pump won’t be able to deliver fuel, and the engine will stall, die, or fail to start.  Air enters the system via a leak or a bad seal - a deteriorated o-ring, worn component, faulty hose, or otherwise. Here we inspect your lines and connections to ensure they are in good shape and track down any leaks we notice air in the system.

Sometimes it is EASY to see if your car or truck needs to come into our shop for professional repairs! 
1.  You see steam rising from the engine!
2.  The Check Engine Light is on!
3.  The engine starts, but there is an odor that is not right.
4.  You hear grinding or thumping noises.

Nothing works if your transmission doesn't work!  Simply put you are going nowhere without it and it is the one thing that both car and truck drivers alike never think twice about until it really acts up or they have no power or simply don't move forward.  Most of us have a newer car or truck with an automatic transmission in it vs. a standard transmission so do not notice that it is slipping gears until the problem is really serious so the question is how do you get the most out of your transmission?  The obvious answer is to take care of your transmission with scheduled service per your owner's manual recommendation but we have put together a simple checklist for our Mesa, Gilbert, & Apache Junction drivers to help them become "transmission aware" as it were.

At Mercie J Auto Care in Mesa, Gilbert, & Apache Junction, AZ, we pride ourselves on specialty knowledge and ability. Once you’ve settled on a transmission to invest in, it’s important not to cut corners on the homestretch. We’ve got you covered here and you can expect top quality repairs for your top quality product.

We see this with our fleet customers, our regular Mesa, Gilbert, & Apache Junction car pool drivers and our diesel truck drivers so it isn't just one type of driver that ends up with a nightmare on their hands costing thousands of dollars to repair, asking about the costs of a JASPER replacement engine!  The fact is your driving habits and maintenance habits can easily avoid this issue!  6 EASY STEPS - Service, Tires, Don't Ignore Service Engine Lights, Keep it Clean & Stop Driving Crazy!

Automatic transmissions aren’t easily understood outside of specialists like those at Mercie J Auto Care in Mesa, Gilbert, & Apache Junction, AZ. While it would be impossible to teach you enough to make you a transmission expert in a series of articles, what we can do is give you the fundamental knowledge you need to have a good idea of what your transmission is doing, and how it works.

When your light comes on, it is ALWAYS important to look at the issue to see if it is a problem.  Especially if it is a light we all understand.  Tire pressure is one we all can relate to and an easy one to look at.  However, most drivers just assume the air is low in them and ignore it which is not a good idea especially when you are driving a 4x4 diesel truck off-roading and could have picked up anything and/or everything like this truck tire did. 

He looked, and immediately headed over to see our technicians here at Mercie J Auto Care.  

There have been a lot of technological advancements, and breakthroughs in efficiency to make modern cars, trucks, and SUVs so much more fuel-efficient than their counterparts. While engine design certainly plays a huge role, automatic transmissions have come a long way as well, contributing greatly to the gas mileage of your vehicle. From Mercie J Auto Care in Mesa, Gilbert, & Apache Junction, AZ, here are some ways transmissions have changed to meet the demands of fuel efficiency.