We all do the best we can to protect our vehicles. For instance, making sure to perform the required maintenance services such as changing the oil, checking the brakes periodically, and checking the tires as well. These are items we can easily see, but what about those other maintenance items we can’t see or detect when they need to be serviced?

One of  the least known and understood maintenance services is the timing belt service. What is the timing belt and what does it do?  To understand what makes the timing belt maintenance so important, and how we can…

Rotating the tires, which is recommended by all tire manufacturers, involves changing the tire’s position on the vehicle from one wheel location to another. This helps to even out tire wear between all the tires so the tires last longer and do not develop abnormal wear patterns. 

Refer to your owner’s manual/tire manufacturer handbook for the recommendation as to the time/mileage intervals to rotate your tires.

On most vehicles, the front wheels tend to wear at a much faster rate than those on the rear. This is because we use the front wheels of course, to…

Oil lubricates the moving parts of your engine. It keeps them cool by lowering friction and carrying heat away. It also keeps any grit or tiny particles from scratching tightly-fitted parts. So think of the oil in your engine as your vehicle’s lifeblood.

Heat breaks down oil. It can make the oil gummy or watery (or both), so that it doesn’t lubricate properly. And the longer it’s in the engine, the dirtier it gets. 

Replacing old oil with new, fixes all these problems. The fresh oil lubricates and cools better. When you flush the old oil out…

Typically, after 3,000 to 5,000 miles, it’s recommended that you perform an oil change. However, the mileage intervals can change depending on the make and model of your vehicle and your local driving conditions.

Not performing regular oil maintenance can be damaging to your vehicle in the long run which can lead to expensive engine repairs. Oil acts as an essential component to the overall health and functionality of your vehicle. Therefore, it’s essential to pay attention to your scheduled oil changes. If you need an oil change...

It always happens at the most inconvenient time. Vehicle batteries always die at the wrong time. Not that there’s necessarily any good time for a battery to fail. But you usually only discover it’s dead when you’re in a rush to get somewhere and your engine won’t turn over. Rick Case Honda in Davie can help.

What should you do? 

Below are a few possible quick solutions that will get you back on the road in a short time.

Depending on where you are and what time of day your battery’s decided to punch the…

When Should I Get My Alignment?

If you’re wondering whether your vehicle needs an alignment, first look at your tires. Uneven tire wear -- often, more wear on the outside of some tires -- is a prime indicator that your car is likely out of alignment. Here are a few more indicators:

• Your car seems to be drifting to one side, even when you think you’re driving straight
• Your steering wheel vibrates
• You are driving straight, but your steering wheel isn’t centered

If none of these indicators occurs but it’s been a while since your last alignment, check…

Imagine this, the highway is rain-soaked and full of puddles when suddenly the car begins to swerve, then skid. Your car is in motion of hydroplaning. 

Hydroplaning can happen at almost any speed, but it is far more likely to happen at high speeds. Invariably, hydroplaning catches drivers by surprise. Inexplicably, the car begins to skid although you haven’t swerved, haven’t braked, haven’t changed lanes, or drastically changed your speed.

Yet now you are in a skid you can’t seem to correct. Steering in the direction of the skid (as most driving experts advise) doesn’t…

Most vehicle manufacturers recommend that the tires be rotated on the same schedule as oil changes. In most cases that means every 7,500 miles or six months.

A good time to rotate your tires is when you get the oil changed, assuming you do that at least once a year and more often if you drive in excess of 12,000 miles a year.

On front-wheel-drive vehicles, the weight of the engine and transmission, and because the front tires do most of the work in turns, it'll certainly wear quicker than the rear tires.

Rotating the tires between…

Not necessarily. A certain amount of brake noise is considered “normal” these days because of the harder semi-metallic brake pads that are used in most front-wheel drive cars, trucks, vans and SUVs. This type of noise does not affect braking performance and does not indicate a brake problem. However, if the noise is objectionable, there are ways to eliminate it.

Brake squeal might be eliminated just by having one of Rick Case’s ASE-Certified Technicians - Mechanics resurface your brake rotors.

Some brands of semi-metallic pads are inherently noisier than others because of the ingredient

How to know if your car needs more power:
 

The condition of the cell plates inside the battery determines whether or not a battery is still serviceable. Current is produced when sulfuric acid in the battery reacts with lead in the cell plates. As the battery discharges, sulfate accumulates on the plates and reduces the battery's ability to make current. The sulfate is returned to solution when the alternator recharges the battery by forcing current to flow in the opposite direction.

Over time, some of the sulfate becomes permanently attached to the plates. The sulfate forms a barrier that…