Daytona Beach Auto Repair

There are a lot of drivers in Daytona Beach who are due for a differential service, but had never heard of a differential before. With front-wheel drive being so common in FL these days, the differential is just taken care of during a transmission service, so most Daytona Beach folks don't even have to think about it. And rear-wheel drive differentials don't need to be serviced for years, so it's understandable that it's not something on the top of mind. So it's not uncommon for people in Daytona Beach to not know they have a differential let alone know that it needs service. To better understand what a differential does, think about a track at any FL high school. There are lanes marked off on the track. For the longer distance races, the starting lines are staggered. The starting lines for the outside lanes are ahead of the starting lines for the inside lanes. That's to compensate for the longer length of the outside lanes. Staggering the starting lines means ... read more

Virtually all vehicles come with power steering so many Daytona Beach drivers have never driven a car or truck without it. Power steering assists you when you turn your vehicle steering wheel. Without it, it would be very hard to steer. Now this power assist comes in a couple of forms. In recent years, a lot of vehicles have an electric motor that reduces steering effort and helps improve performance and handling. The other kind of power steering is hydraulic. This is the kind most older FL vehicles, and a lot of newer ones, have. Power steering fluid is pressurized by a pump and is used to assist steering. Of course, vehicles need the right amount of fluid in the system. If it's too low your steering is affected and you could damage your vehicle pump. Also, power steering fluid can become corrosive over time and damage the pump, hoses and connectors; leading to leaks and repairs. Power steering service at Honest-1 Auto Care in Daytona Beach includes removing the contaminated fluid and ... read more

If you haven't shopped in the Daytona Beach area for a new vehicle recently, you're likely to experience some sticker shock. It seems everything is costing more these days. And when you consider the price of auto financing in Daytona Beach, and insurance, the idea of hanging on to your old car for a few more years gets even more attractive. On the plus side, vehicles these days are engineered to last for 150,000 miles or more. So why don't they? Usually it's because Daytona Beach drivers don't stay on top of preventive maintenance. Good car care at professional automotive service centers like Honest-1 Auto Care in Daytona Beach is the key to getting the most mileage out of your vehicle. Too often, Daytona Beach vehicle owners are inclined to wait until their vehicles develop an obvious problem and take them in for repairs instead of maintenance. Repairs can be expensive, but allo ... read more

Tires do a lot of work for Daytona Beach drivers. They transfer engine power and braking forces to the road; they handle steering control; and they cushion all those bumps and jolts while driving around Daytona Beach. They also support the entire weight of the vehicle, including you and your passengers. With such important work to do, you want your tires to do their job well. And since replacing tires is fairly pricey, you want them to last as long as possible. There are three keys to long, even tire wear for Daytona Beach driving: Proper tire inflation Proper wheel alignment Regular tire rotation and balancing The front tires on a car take the brunt of the steering forces. As they push through turns, the shoulders of the front tires wear down more quickly than the rear tires. Rotating front and rear tires allows them to all wear at about the same rate. That's especially true of front wheel drive vehicles whose front tires steer, and put the power to the road. SUVs and pick-up ... read more

Remember snow tires? They were basically just regular tires with big, knobby lugs to get them through deep snow. They were loud and rode hard, and Daytona Beach drivers couldn't wait to get them off the car. Then along came television advertisements for “all-season” radials. FL drivers ran out and bought some and we thought we were done with snow tires forever. Tires have come a long way since then. Modern winter tires sold in the Daytona Beach area are much better designed for the wide range of conditions that come with FL winter weather. They are made with a rubber compound that helps them stay flexible in cold weather. Regular tires become hard and stiff at Daytona Beach temperatures below 45°F, which reduces their traction. That's a concern in winter, especially with snowy or wet conditions. But it also means that Daytona Beach drivers are better off with winter tires in cold weather even when it's dry. The tread design on winter tires has been improve ... read more

Uneven tire wear, the car pulling to one side or a steering wheel that is off-center are signs for Daytona Beach drivers that their wheels may be out of alignment. When doing an alignment inspection, the service advisor at Honest-1 Auto Care will inspect your tires for uneven wear as well as suspension and steering parts for signs of wear or damage. He’ll also compare your current alignment with the vehicle manufacturer’s settings. Your vehicle owner’s manual will have a recommendation for when to check alignment. Of course, this recommendation is based on normal driving. If you have been in a crash, hit a curb/pothole, frequently drive off-road around Daytona Beach, or notice any symptoms of misalignment, have your Honest-1 Auto Care service advisor perform an important alignment check

All of us in Daytona Beach know we have to get the oil changed in our vehicles periodically. That's just part of good car care. But when Honest-1 Auto Care technicians change your oil, they also usually inspect your air filter. That's why they sometimes let you know that your air filter needs to be changed before releasing your vehicle. Don't just chock this up to trying to sell you something else. Daytona Beach area drivers really do need to change their air filter when it gets dirty. You can check your owner's manual to see how often your air filter should need to be changed, but remember, if you live in an area in FL with poor air quality, or if you drive a lot or drive under harsh conditions in the Daytona Beach area, you may need to change that filter more often than is recommended. Changing an air filter isn't guesswork. If a filter's dirty, it needs to be replaced. Air filters aren't very expensive ... read more

The hottest FL news story may be different every day, but there's one topic that seems to come up over and over again – the price of gas in Daytona Beach. If you feel like most of your paycheck goes into your gas tank, this post is for you. Here are several basic things people in Daytona Beach can do to greatly reduce their gas consumption, save money, and help the environment. You can really improve your fuel economy by how you drive – but first, here's a review of things you can do for your car that'll save gas no matter how you drive. The first one for Daytona Beach drivers is keeping tires properly inflated. That can save two miles per gallon. Driving on low tires is like driving through sand – your car just has to work harder. Most Daytona Beach service centers will fill up your tires for free, so just ask Honest-1 Auto Care. Also, make a habit of checking your tire pressure whenever you fill up. Many Daytona Beach gas stations have an air hose ... read more

There is no escaping it: things work better when you take care of them. Something most of us in Daytona Beach can relate to is our computers. You've probably noticed how they get slower and slower over time. It takes longer to start up and programs take forever to load. Eventually, many of us just get a new computer at our nearest Daytona Beach computer store. But computer experts know that there are things you can do to delay the need for a new computer purchase. You can run utilities that clean off temporary files and clean your memory registry. You can optimize your hard drive and a number of other things. What you're doing is maintaining your computer to make it efficient. It's the same thing with your car or truck. You maintain it to make it more efficient. It works the way it was designed to and that means it uses less fuel while you drive around Daytona Beach. And you save money. To help organize our discussion, let's think of thi ... read more

A lot of Daytona Beach drivers have asked whether or not they should use their severe service maintenance schedule, which is listed in their car owners' manual. It can be somewhat confusing, so we decided to consult an expert. Cricket Killingsworth is from QMI/Heartland, a manufacturer of automotive products and fluids. She's been in the automotive business for over 30 years and is a speaker, a trainer, and a writer. Cricket says there's so much confusion on this topic because, "Most owners' manuals actually have two maintenance schedules. Sometimes these are called 'regular service' and 'severe service'. Sometimes they're simply called Schedule 1 and Schedule 2. A severe service schedule recommends that things like an oil change, air filter replacement, and transmission service be done more often: either in fewer miles or in less time." Foreign and domestic vehicle manufacturers create a specific schedule for e ... read more