AUTONET TV

What brandon Customers like About Us at autoclinic of brandon

A big part of the service we provide at autoclinic of brandon for our brandon customers is education. We want you to feel confident with your service decisions.

And we're always open to questions from our valued brandon area customers. Even though we try to be proactive in our autoclinic of brandon automotive education, we sometimes get busy fixing vehicles and need a reminder. Please, just ask.

We've found our brandon customers like the service reminders. They've grown to trust that our recommendations are based on the vehicle manufactures’ published maintenance schedules and that autoclinic of brandon is not just pulling them out of the air.

We know that people in brandon live a busy life with a lot more to think about than wondering if it's time to replace the PCV valve on their vehicle. Part of our autoclinic of brandon service process is checking the vehicle manufacture's schedule to make sure we don't overlook service.

We hope florida drivers appreciate their courtesy inspection when they come into our brandon facility for service. If we find something unexpected, it's good to know, and if we don't find anything wrong, you get a little peace of mind.

You know, customer satisfaction is very important to us at autoclinic of brandon. We want to run a professional and friendly brandon automotive service operation. If we do, you'll keep coming back and recommend us to your friends.

Give us a call at 813-654-8686.

autoclinic of brandon
901A WEST BRANDON BLVD
brandon, florida 33511
813-654-8686

Don't Stack the Mat

In the sloppy cold weather months, you might be tempted to pick up an all-weather mat and throw it on top of the mats you already have in your vehicle. After all, double protection is better, right? In this case, wrong. Here's why.

It's important to keep the accelerator and brake pedals clear so they can function the way they are supposed to. Stacking mats in the driver's side footwell can make them sit up too high on the floor. That can, in turn, jam your accelerator pedal forward, causing your vehicle to unintentionally speed up; it may get stuck in that position. Same thing applies to the brake pedal. The mats can get caught underneath it and prevent you from stopping.

Here are some other good practices when it comes to mats. It's best to get those designed for your vehicle. They are shaped to fit your specific car, truck, van or SUV. Ill-fitting mats can have the same untended consequences as stacked mats.

Good mats will have either a Velcro-type fastener on the back of them or a hook that fits into a hole in the mat. That way, the mat stays affixed to the floor so it doesn't slip and cause problems.

One more thing to keep in mind. If you have objects rolling around your vehicle, let's say under the driver's seat, just think about what happens when you jam on the brake. That object is thrown forward and can get caught in a pedal. You might find the accelerator stuck or the brake pedal inoperative.

Your service advisor at autoclinic of brandon can recommend the right mat for your vehicle. The right mat may save your carpeting, the wrong one may cost you an accident.

autoclinic of brandon
901A WEST BRANDON BLVD
brandon, florida 33511
813-654-8686

E-85 Fuel Safety Advice from autoclinic of brandon

Today at autoclinic of brandon we want to talk with you about a very important safety issue. This automotive safety warning is coming from a very unusual source: fire fighting experts. You've probably heard of E-85 gasoline being offered in the brandon area. Some newer vehicle models are specifically built to run on E-85 – the rest are not.

Does your vehicle use E-85 gasoline? Bring it down to autoclinic of brandon at 901A WEST BRANDON BLVD in brandon, florida 33511, to find out, or give us a call to make an appointment by calling 813-654-8686.

E-85 gasoline has been developed to fight air pollution and reduce oil consumption. E-85 fuel is a mix of 85% ethanol, a grain-base alcohol, and 15% gasoline. So-called Flex-Fuel vehicles are designed to use either normal gasoline or E-85 gas. The result is lower exhaust emissions to our local brandon community.

All gas engines can run with up to 10% ethanol, and in fact a lot of gasoline sold in the brandon, florida, area does contain some ethanol. The problem comes when well-meaning residents without Flex Fuel certified vehicles put E-85 into the tank.

At a 15% concentration, the potential for problems arises. Because of the chemical differences between ethanol and gasoline, special seals and gaskets are needed for Flex Fuel vehicles. In a normal engine, the ethanol in E-85 gas will eat away seals and gaskets. This leads to gas and oil leaks.

You brandon auto owners can imagine the fire hazard caused by leaking gasoline. florida fire fighting experts caution drivers to only use E-85 if they know their vehicle is certified to handle it. They expect vehicle fires to increase because of using the wrong fuel in non-Flex Fuel vehicles.

autoclinic of brandon
901A WEST BRANDON BLVD
brandon, florida 33511
813-654-8686

All About Your TPMS in brandon

brandon drivers know that underinflated tires wear out more quickly. Underinflation is also a major cause of tire failure for florida auto owners. More flats, blow outs, skids and longer stopping distances are all results of underinflated tires.

It's hard for many brandon drivers to tell when a radial tire is underinflated. If your owner’s manual recommends 35 pounds of pressure, your tire is considered significantly under-inflated at 26 pounds. The tire may not look low until it gets below 20 pounds.

Uncle Sam to the rescue! A recent U.S. federal law required vehicle manufacturer’s to include a Tire Pressure Monitoring System - or TPMS system - in all vehicles. Many Canadian vehicles have them as well.  The system is a dashboard mounted warning light that goes off if one or more of the tires falls 25% below its pressure recommendations.

Obviously, all of this doesn't come free for brandon car owners. Government studies have estimated the net costs. Of course, the TPMS system itself will cost something. Maintaining the system will have a cost, replacement of worn or broken parts and tire repair cost increases. The net cost is estimated to be between $27 and $100.

florida service centers have purchased new scanning equipment to work with the TPMS sensors and updated expensive tire change equipment to better service wheels equipped with the new monitoring systems.

autoclinic of brandon service advisors have been trained on many systems and new tire-changing techniques. All of this adds up to significantly increased cost to the service center to perform what was once a very inexpensive service. So if you've noticed the cost of flat repairs, tire changes, and rotations going up, please keep in mind that it's because of government mandated safety equipment. Your brandon service center just wants to keep you safely on the road - and it's committed to do so at a fair price. Remember, this change will help you avoid the most common vehicle failure, and possibly a catastrophic accident.

autoclinic of brandon
901A WEST BRANDON BLVD
brandon, florida 33511
813-654-8686

autoclinic of brandon Automotive Tips: Diagnostic Service

Imagine waking up one morning with a stomach ache. You pick up the phone, call the doctor’s office and say, “I’ve got a really bad tummy ache. How much will it cost to make me feel better?” Of course you wouldn’t do that. You know that there could be a lot of reasons for your symptoms and that the doctor will have to examine you, ask some questions and probably run some tests before she can tell you what’s wrong and give you treatment options.

This same scenario plays out every day at florida auto repair facilities. When the cause of the concern isn’t obvious, the car will need to undergo a diagnostic examination. The typical car has about 30,000 parts, including several networked computers and miles of wiring. Finding exactly what is wrong can be very complicated and take some time. The most experienced technicians at autoclinic of brandon in brandon are the ones who tackle the difficult diagnostic jobs. Once they have determined the cause of the trouble, they can work out the plan for how to fix it and tell you how much it will cost.

When you think about it this way, it makes perfect sense that, 1) the autoclinic of brandon service advisor cannot provide an estimate before the diagnosis is done, and 2) there is a charge for auto diagnostic services in brandon. You expect to pay for an office visit to the doctor and for any necessary tests before you can be presented with your treatment options and costs; same goes for your vehicle.

We know it can be frustrating for brandon drivers when something is wrong with your car and you aren’t sure what is going to be involved in getting it fixed. We are passionate about helping you through the process, communicating with you at each step along the way. We have highly trained diagnostic technicians and technologically-advanced diagnostic equipment to uncover the cause of your trouble. We use quality replacement parts to help make sure you stay on the road after the repair is done. That’s our prescription for automotive peace of mind.

Give us a call.

autoclinic of brandon
901A WEST BRANDON BLVD
brandon, florida 33511
813-654-8686