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Electrical problems can cause serious problems for your car. All essential systems require electricity, and a failure in the electrical system can affect numerous other components. Your used car dealer has expert technicians who can diagnose and repair any problem. These are a few of the issues we can fix. Your Car Won't Start Starting your engine requires a powerful electrical charge. When you hit the start button, the battery sends an electrical charge to the starter solenoid. The solenoid receives this charge and passes it to the starter motor which cranks your engine. The cranking motion begins the combustion process, and your engine should start almost instantly. more If the engine doesn't start, you have an electrical problem. The issue could be caused by a battery problem, a starter motor problem, or an alternator problem. The alternator provides the electricity that's stored in the battery to power the starter. Loose or broken wiring, blown fuses, or a fault with the start button could also cause this problem. We'll investigate and fix the problem. Damaged Sensors Sensors are your computer's eyes and ears. A sensor is connected to each essential component in your car. The sensors monitor the activity of their attached components and report back to the computer. The computer uses this information to make decisions on the oxygen levels in your engine, the speed of coolant moving through the engine, and other essential activities. A sensor can wear out or become damaged, which leads to further problems. If the computer doesn't receive the information it needs from a sensor, it will have to guess. A failed oxygen sensor, for example, can result in your engine becoming fuel-rich as the computer can't calculate the level of air in the engine. We'll identify the damaged sensor and replace it. Blown Headlights Headlight bulbs, like light bulbs in your house, will eventually fail. The lifespan of a headlight bulb varies from 500 hours to 30,000 hours, depending on the type of bulb in your car. A bulb could blow due to age, but it can also fail due to a problem in the electrical system. Water in a headlight bulb socket, for example, can cause a short, and the bulb will blow. Alternator problems can also cause headlight bulbs to fail sooner than they should. Headlight bulbs are sensitive to fluctuations in the electrical system. A failing alternator will generate less power than it should. In this situation, the bulbs may receive only enough power to switch on. The lack of stable power will cause bulbs to blow faster than they should. Our technicians will examine the electrical system and repair the problem. Problems with an electrical system will only get worse over time. Call us today at Duncan Suzuki, and we'll fix the problem.

Preventative maintenance is important for any car, especially for an older vehicle. Maintenance involves regular checkups on various components to ensure they're in good working condition. This helps to prevent unnecessary damage and will protect your car for longer. As a used car dealer, we'd like to tell you about some types of maintenance we can perform and how they can protect your car. Battery Maintenance The battery is one of your car's most important components, as it provides the power that's used to start your engine. The battery stores DC in the form of chemical energy, and it does this via a complex series of chemical reactions. Over time, these reactions cause the chemicals to break down, and your battery will weaken and eventually fail. more On average, a battery's useful life is from 3 to 5 years, and then it will need replacement. A failing battery isn't immediately obvious, but as it becomes weaker, you'll experience dim lights, starting difficulties, and other problems. These issues can be prevented by regular battery checks. We connect your car's battery to our battery tester and we can rapidly determine if it's healthy. If your battery is failing, we can install a new one for you. Transmission Maintenance The transmission works with your engine to enable your car to move. It focuses the power generated by your engine and then transfers this focused energy to your car's wheels. After your engine, the transmission is the second most important part of your car. It's also one of the most difficult and potentially expensive components to repair if it fails. Transmission maintenance involves testing and replacing the transmission fluid regularly. This fluid provides numerous benefits including providing hydraulic power, reducing friction damage, and decreasing the transmission temperature. Tire Maintenance Your tires are the only part of your car in contact with the surface, and this contact will cause wear and damage. Your tire health can be affected by poor driving conditions, climatic factors, and objects on the road. In addition, rubber gradually wears down naturally and becomes less flexible. The lack of flexibility, combined with the heat generated as you drive, can cause cracks in the tires. Tires will also suffer due to their position on your car. We can reduce this type of wear by rotating your tires and shifting them from positions of greater wear to positions of lesser wear. This process helps your tires to all wear down at a similar rate. These are only a few of the maintenance tasks we can perform. If you'd like to know more about protecting your car, call us today at Duncan Suzuki.

Brake failure while on the road is one of the greatest fears of any driver. Fortunately, you can almost certainly avoid this scary prospect with routine brake service. Not only does regular brake servicing keep you safer on the road, but it also provides many other driving benefits. Here are six solid reasons to have periodical brake servicing visits to your nearest used car dealer. You're Safer on the Road We'll begin with the most important benefit: having your brakes serviced twice a year helps ensure that potential problems are caught and fixed early on. Without regular brake servicing, small issues with your fluid, hoses, brake pads, rotors, or calipers can slowly worsen until you suddenly lose brake function altogether. more You Reduce the Costs of Major Repairs With your dental health, it's far better to have the dentist identify and repair a problem before it becomes something very painful and expensive to fix. It's the same with your brakes: the relatively minor cost of routine service visits greatly offsets the far more costly issues that can develop if left unattended. You See Problems Coming in Advance Whenever a technician takes a look at your brakes, they can inform you roughly how much longer your brake pads, fluid, and rotors will last. Knowing in advance when parts will need to be replaced can provide you with great peace of mind. Your Handling Is Improved The more often you have your brakes serviced, the more responsive they'll be. This provides far more control over your car, boosting your handling, safety, and pleasure of driving. You Improve Your Driving Habits Many drivers are unaware that they have poor driving habits, such as riding the brakes. Failing to adjust gears properly on steeper roads also puts more pressure on the brakes. When a technician regularly inspects your brakes and sees how rapidly they're wearing down, they can sometimes help you to understand if you have any such brake-heavy driving habits. Once you're aware of a bad habit, you can take steps to shake it off. You Boost Your Car's Resale Value Well-kept cars command a higher price on the second-hand markets. Most used car buyers will be delighted to find a car with brakes still in excellent condition, but this requires routine service visits. And be sure to save your documentation from those visits to prove that you had them. How a Car Dealer Services Your Brakes During a routine brake servicing visit, the technician will check your brake fluid and all the brake lines for signs of a leak. If necessary, they'll flush the fluid and bleed air from the brake lines. They'll raise your car to remove and inspect every inch of the brake pads, rotors, and calipers. Any worn or faulty parts will be repaired or replaced. And finally, your brakes will be tested extensively to make sure they're in tip-top condition. Have your brakes serviced today at Duncan Suzuki. For more than 20 years, we've been serving the region's drivers with excellent cars, customer service, and deals: our motto is “Pay Less in Pulaski.”

Engine problems can lead to serious, even permanent, engine damage. If your engine is malfunctioning, your local used car dealer can fix it for you. These are some of the problems our expertly-trained technicians can repair. Check Engine Light The check engine light can be the first indication a driver receives that something is wrong with their engine. Your vehicle has a vast network of sensors, and each sensor is attached to a vital component. These sensors continually feed information to your car's computer, which allows it to make decisions. The sensors also provide a warning of any problems with a component. more Sensors are capable of detecting even the smallest change in the behavior of their attached component, and they report this to your computer. The computer logs the information with an error code and then activates the check engine light. If this light is illuminated, we advise calling our service department ASAP so we can investigate and fix the problem. Worn Spark Plugs Your spark plug's job is to ignite the compressed air-fuel mix in the cylinders. Air and fuel mix in the intake manifold and this mixture is drawn into the cylinders. The fuel-air mix is compressed in the cylinder and ignited at a precise moment. The resulting explosion causes the cylinder to open and expel the combustion remnants, and the cycle starts again. Spark plugs gradually wear out due to age. They can also be damaged by the failure of other components, like the ignition coil or a blocked car air filter. A high fuel content in the fuel-air mix can also damage the plugs by coating them in a sticky carbon solution. Worn or damaged plugs will cause misfiring and potential damage to your engine. We can easily test the plugs and replace any worn or damaged ones. Damaged Belt Tensioner Several of the systems in your car, like the alternator, power steering, and AC compressor, are powered by the movement of the alternator belt. This belt connects to the crankshaft. As the crankshaft turns, the belt runs across a series of pulleys and causes them to spin. The spinning pulleys then provide power to the above systems. The belt must be maintained at exactly the right tension. A belt that's too loose could fall off or jam, while a belt that's too tight could snap. The belt tensioner keeps the alternator belt at the correct tension. If it fails, you might hear banging sounds as a loose belt flops around, or your car could stop it the belt snaps. We'll check the tensioner and replace it if it's failed. Don't risk engine damage, call us today at Duncan Suzuki.

Your car depends on a healthy battery to start your engine. Over time your battery will slowly wear out and eventually fail. As your used car dealer, we can test your battery and replace it or repair any damaged components to ensure it's working correctly. We like you to know some signs that you'll probably need a new car battery soon. Your Battery Is Old A car battery usually works effectively for three to five years before it needs replacement. With good care, a battery can last for up to six years. Inevitably, your battery will age and start to fail. Battery failure is usually caused by the breakdown of chemicals inside the battery, but can also occur due to other worn or damaged components. more There are tell-tale signs that your battery is failing, including increasing difficulty in starting the engine and dim interior and headlights when your engine is switched off. These signs aren't definitive, and they can be caused by other issues. We recommend booking a battery check-up. We'll connect your battery to our battery tester and check its health. If it's failing, we can install a new one for you. Phantom Drain A phantom drain is a strange situation where your battery is working perfectly and then is almost dead. This situation usually occurs overnight when the engine is switched off. When your engine isn't running, the battery supplies power to all your devices, including the alarm, lights, and other accessories. These systems don't place a strain on a healthy battery. The phantom drain is caused by an electrical system that doesn't switch off when it should. The glove box and trunk lights are two of the main systems affected. These lights will remain on due to an electrical fault and will drain significant amounts of power in just a few hours. If you experienced a phantom drain, we'll trace the source of the drain and repair it to fix this problem. Rotten Egg Smell A nasty rotten egg smell from the engine usually means your battery is failing. A failing battery leads to the creation of hydrogen sulfide gas, which causes corrosion and hastens battery failure. It can also be due to a faulty alternator that provides too much power to your battery. The alternator is responsible for recharging your battery and usually does this very efficiently. A worn alternator could be supplying more power to the battery than it should. This additional power increases the temperature in the battery and causes the chemicals to boil. The boiling chemicals produce a harsh rotten egg smell. We'll examine your alternator and install a new one if necessary. If your battery is failing, call us right away at Duncan Suzuki! Our rigorously trained technicians will fix the problem!

The radiator in your car, truck, or SUV has the important job of removing heat from your engine. If your engine gets too hot, it can overheat. The radiator is subject to high pressure and high temperature continually, which can lead to damage. Your local used car dealer can repair any problem with the radiator for you. These are signs you may need to see us for a radiator repair. Damages Radiator Cap The pressure inside the radiator can increase due to internal heat and the flow of hot coolant. The radiator cap monitors the pressure inside the radiator. If the pressure rises too high, the cap will open temporarily and bleed off the excess pressure. The cap is under high pressure and is securely attached to the radiator by two seals. more We routinely test these seals during your scheduled service. Over time, these seals can become loose or shrink and crack. Damaged seals will allow pressure and the hot coolant inside the radiator to escape. The loss of pressure and coolant two will reduce the effects of the cooling system, and your engine will start to overheat. We'll examine the seals for damage and replace them if necessary. Leaking Coolant Coolant is responsible for moving the engine heat into the radiator for cooling. It does this due to its unique ability to absorb heat. Coolant is pumped through the engine and absorbs heat radiating from the various engine components as it passes over them. The heat is transported to the radiator. Inside the radiator, the heat is removed by the action of airflow over the tubes filled with hot coolant. If you suspect a coolant leak, you can test for one by placing a sheet of cardboard underneath your car and leaving it overnight. When you examine the cardboard the next day, there's a coolant leak if you spot splashes of blue, pink, yellow, or green liquid on it. Leaking coolant can lead to a rapid rise in engine temperature. We'll trace the source of the leak to fix this problem. Bent Radiator Tubes The front of your radiator is composed of rows of thin aluminum tubes. These tubes are vital for the engine cooling process. The hot coolant pumped into your engine is dispersed into these tubes. This increases the surface area for cooling. The air flowing through the radiator grille passes over these tubes and cools the contents. The tubes are very delicate and easily damaged. Sand, grit, and other hard objects can dent or bend these tubes. As more tubes are damaged, your engine temperature will increase. We can't repair broken tubes, but we can install a new radiator for you. Don't risk your engine overheating. Call us today at Duncan Suzuki.