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Tip of the Month


Tire Life

Tires, like any other rubber product, have a limited service life regardless of tread depth and use.
Tire rubber breaks down over time as the rubber dries out and hardens and becomes less elastic or flexible. Sometime after six to ten years the tire can be unsafe to use, especially at higher speeds, higher loads or in hot weather.

But you bought those tires just a few years ago so you are safe, right?
Not necessarily so.

You can buy brand new perfectly good looking tires that are 4 - 10 years old but still on the shelf. Although this is not a problem at most tire shops it can be true with used or discounted tires, tires bought online or sizes that don't turn over very fast. So how do you tell?


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Hidden in the cryptic Tire Identification Code on the tire is a date code that identifies which week and year the tire was produced. read more




Why it is important to keep an eye on that Oil Level.


With longer service intervals for our cars it is much more important to keep an eye on under hood fluid levels, especially engine oil and engine coolant. Running too low on oil can destroy an engine pretty quickly and low coolant level and hot weather do not mix well.

We don’t think about it as much but your car’s engine has two different cooling systems. The radiator and its antifreeze mix keep the cylinder walls and cylinder heads cool but crankshaft and lower engine bearings are cooled directly by the engine oil.

Low engine oil, even 1 quart can cause oil temperature to rise and the lower engine bearings to run hotter than normal which results in accelerated engine wear and eventually premature engine failure. More than a quart low not only causes higher temperatures for the oil but also puts more of a load on the cooling system.

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Visit Wayne's Garage for your car repair and service in the Eugene and Springfield area. We are an AAA Approved Automobile Repair Facility and have been awarded the Blue Seal of Excellence by the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence. Warning Lights

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Automotive Recalls

We often hear about auto recalls when they become big news, but recalls happen quite often and are not always publicized. Many cars running around out on the road have recalls that have never been addressed.

For those who bought used vehicles or have moved since a vehicle purchase, they may not get a notice.

How do you find out if there is a recall on your car? Go to Carfax and enter your make and VIN#. If your car is not listed you can check with a dealer or go to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration or NHTSA.

Millions of drivers could be endangered by operating vehicles that have been recalled but have not been repaired, according to an investigation conducted by Edmunds. They found there were at least 2.7 million vehicles listed for sale last year that still were subject to unfulfilled recalls. There are no laws that require a car's owner to notify a potential buyer that the car being sold is the subject of a recall. More about recalls and 14 of the largest.starbar.gif

Ignoring that Check Engine Light
Check Engine Light When the first GM cars with onboard computers and diagnostic capabilities came out in the early 80's, they could recognize a limited amount of problems and could store less than 20 trouble codes. It's not unusual for an average car today to recognize and set 125 codes or more just for the engine and transmission.

Then there is Anti-lock Brakes, Traction Control, Air Bag, suspension and other systems that have their own codes.

Some of these engine and transmission codes are for problems that usually won't cause problems we notice while driving. We often hear, "that light has been on for years, I don't worry about it anymore" or "Since this is a minor problem, can I continue driving it and not fix it right now?"
Unfortunately you only have one check engine light. If you ignore the light because of a problem that doesn't seem to affect the way the car drives, something else might crop up that will cause big problems and you may not know until it's too late because the light is already on.

Some problems that the light can come on to warn you about can cause poor mileage or be a warning that you may be left by the side of the road soon. Other warnings can be about things that can cause catalytic converter, transmission or engine failure.

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See more Automotive Service and Repair Tips at Wayne's Garage

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Many of today's cars have more than 100 million lines of software code running everything from navigation systems to braking systems.


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Wayne's Garage - serving Eugene and Springfield, Oregon car and light truck needs.

Integrity, Quality and Exceptional Service.


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333 Q Street
Springfield, Oregon