East Lansing Auto Repair

Americans use nearly 300 million tires every year. They help keep us on the road and in Michigan, they try to keep us going over potholes, snow and ice throughout the year. On the face of it tires are pretty simple, they’re made of rubber and filled with air. The most commonly referenced parts of a tire are the tread, sidewall, shoulder, and bead. The tread is the part of the tire that contacts the road. Treads come in different designs for different purposes, accounting for weather, noise and environment. Winter tread has larger gaps in it to compress snow and increase control. While your average every-day tire will have minimal gaps and a basic design to increase friction and reduce costs. Lower than recommended PSI means more of your tire is contacting the road, increasing friction. However if tire pressure is low enough it can cause the tread of the tire to bend inward, creating a concave contact point. This means that the center part of the tire is no longer in contact with ... read more

H&H Mobil offers a variety of maintenance services for your vehicle, things like, checking your tires, brakes, and yes, oil changes. Changing your vehicle's oil is one of the best ways to extend the life of your vehicle and while trying to fit in an oil change during a busy week can be difficult, H&H Mobil offers rides to and from your work or home to make it a bit more manageable. So, what does oil do, and why do you need to change it so often? Engine oil acts as a lubricant, coating moving parts in your vehicle's engine to reduce friction and prevent rusting. The movement of oil through the vehicle also helps to cool the engine. Making the vehicle as a whole operate more efficiently, save fuel and as previously mentioned, extend the vehicle's life. Oil grades are broken down into two parts, put simply, cold and hot viscosity. For a typical oil, say 5W-30, the ‘W’ stands for winter and the ‘5’ rates how resistant the oil is to thickening ... read more

There are a lot of practical reasons to make learning a habit, but the best reason is that we are learning creatures, and the lifelong practice of learning is what makes us humans and our lives worthwhile.  Here are some worthwhile benefits: Learning a wide range of subjects gives us a range of perspectives since most of us specialize in few areas day after day, whether that be work or family/friend related. Learning helps us more easily adapt to unexpected experiences. Broadened knowledge of unfamiliar situations inspires us to think creatively. Learning deepens our character. Learning makes us more confident. And, there’s the whole making life worthwhile thing. Ways to Learn, find the fit that makes learning fun for you. Written text: Books – The great thing about books is they let you consume a lot of insights in a few hours.  Audio: Podcasts – Maybe the number one biggest trends of the last decade.  You can find a podcast on any topic ... read more

Choosing to contribute to your community can be very rewarding and an extremely personal choice in how you decide to do it. However, for many of us, we find ourselves ever busier even though we have all the technology that we thought would give us more time. So how can we contribute to our community with our limited time and sometimes, resources. Here are some things, that knowing, can help motivate you to contribute, withstanding the roadblocks of life (time & resources) getting in the way. *Who would you like to help? Choosing who you want to help will always make it easier to contribute. What I mean is that it would motivate me to serve in an area that I am personally interested in. Also, maybe I want to choose something in an area that I want to learn more about. For example, volunteering at the Library if I loved literature or volunteering with Habitat for Humanity if I wanted to learn more about building.  *How often do you want to commit to thes ... read more

Now that we’re moving from Winter weather to spring we should all take stock of what impact the harsh Michigan winter has had on our cars. I know from experience that our vehicles maintenance issues can change drastically from fall to spring. I had to have my struts warrantied, was it the part or the rough winter conditions? From potholes, ice and snow to frigid temperatures, it can be a dicey game to get through winter without having some suspension or other system failures.  What can we do to minimize unwanted and unexpected vehicle failures? Here are some tips to keeping your car on the road instead of the back of a tow truck. Regular vehicle maintenance is key. From simple tire inflation and fluid checks to alignment and suspension checks, and don't forget to check those charging systems too.  Simply taking the time to check your fluids and also checking for proper tire inflation can alert you to future problems. Making sure you have proper ... read more

When car dashboard lights come on, many people panic, usually because they don’t know what could be wrong. But don’t worry. We’ve compiled a list of the top 5 most common car problems and solutions so you know what you’re dealing with and how to solve it. CarMD, a manufacturer of electronic vehicle systems checks, examined over a million repairs in the U.S. and found these 5 problems accounted for about 30% of all repairs. Here Are The Top 5 Most Common Car Problems and Solutions This list includes common car problems and solutions related to a check engine light, and doesn’t include regular maintenance or collision repairs. With the right maintenance schedule, you can avoid many of these check engine light problems. 1. Faulty Oxygen Sensor What is it? Oxygen sensors analy ... read more

Every Michigan resident knows how frustrating winter weather is when it comes to driving and winterizing your car. If you’ve jumped in the car in the morning only to find the battery dead, you’ve experienced yet another unfortunate side effect of cold temperatures, and you know the importance of cold weather car battery care. These tips can help keep your battery alive and well during the winter months. Try These 8 Cold Weather Car Battery Care Tips First, it’s a fact; car batteries do not work as well in cold temperatures. Car batteries generate electricity through a chemical reaction, which slows down in cold temperatures, generating less power. But with the right cold weather car battery care, you can still get the most out of your battery in the winter. 1. Covered Parking Covered parking will keep you from brushing snow off your vehicle, but it is also a helpful cold weather car battery care measure. Thanks to the heat from the house, a ... read more

Your muffler is a key component of your car’s function. If you have a muffler that’s not functioning properly it can cause a plethora of different problems. A muffler that’s not functioning, can lead to exhaust back pressure which can cause other elements of your car to be damaged to the point that it's no longer drivable. Here are 3 signs you need a muffler replacement: 1. Your muffler is making loud noises The first sign that your muffler needs replacing is if you begin to hear any loud or strange noises coming from your car. One of your mufflers main purposes is to reduce the noise produced by the exhaust system, so a sudden loud noise while accelerating could mean that the muffler is no longer working. Cracks or holes in the muffler is typically what causes a muffler to become noisy. 2. A bad odor is coming from your muffler Another warning sign that your muffler needs repla ... read more

There are many different car dashboard lights that come on throughout the lifetime of your car. Some, like your gas light, are fairly common and can cause you to become accustomed to seeing a light appear on your dashboard. However, some car dashboard lights are serious and require immediate attention. Here are 7 car dashboard lights you shouldn’t ignore: 1. Brake Light If the brake light comes on, this could mean one of three things. First, it could mean that your emergency brake is still on as you’re trying to drive. Make sure that it is in the off position before moving forward. It could also mean that your brake pads have worn down exposing the brake sensors that tell you it’s time to change your brakes. You should get your brakes checked immediately if that’s the case. A third reason this dashboard light may be on is if there is a problem with your automatic braking system (ABS). If th ... read more

No car has ever broken down at the "right time". Whether you're sitting in a car that won't start, or preparing for the future, this list might help you figure out what's wrong with your car. Take a look at these 6 common reasons why your doesn't start to see if any of these symptoms match your car's issue. Warning:If your car won't start, avoid turning the key for extended periods of time. In cold weather, letting the engine try to turn over for a while might seem like it will work, but if you try to crank the starter engine for more than 15 seconds, you may damage the starter engine. If you turn the key and the engine won't crank: You most likely have an electrical problem. Dead Battery For any number of reasons, your battery might have died. This is the most common reason for a car to die, and therefore the best reason to keep jumper cables in your car. Once you have your car jump-started, the alternator should recharge the battery as long as t ... read more