You know how often to change your engine oil; but what about the gear oil in your standard shift transmission? Here’s a short guide, from East Coast Auto Care in Jacksonville.  Unless you’re lucky enough to own a car with a transmission dipstick, inspecting the gear oil in a manual transmission is a lot more inconvenient than doing so with an automatic, or checking your engine oil. The car must be jacked up, supported, and the oil checked from underneath. As a result, you may just want to change it when the time is right. But how do you know when that time comes?

Your car, truck, or SUV is equipped with various filters that keep the air going into your engine clean, the air you breathe in the vehicle, the fuel that supplies your engine, and the oil that keeps it going. How often should you have them replaced? It depends on the filter, the vehicle, and the environment. Here’s what you need to know, from East Coast Auto Care in Jacksonville, FL.

“Tire rotation” is a term you hear frequently in the realm of vehicle maintenance, but what does it actually mean? How often should you have it done? East Coast Auto Care in Jacksonville has the answers you’re looking for.

Hitting a pothole always hurts - you may not be sure exactly what happens when you hit a pothole, but you can tell it’s not good for your car, truck, or SUV. Here are issues caused by potholes, and what to watch out for if you hit a really rough one, from East Coast Auto Care in Jacksonville, FL.

Tires are often neglected, but easy to maintain. As long as they work, most people don’t really think about them. However, if you take care to properly maintain your vehicle and your tires, they will last much, much longer. At East Coast Auto Care in Jacksonville, we see all too often the results of poor tire maintenance, and the result is expensive new tires. Here’s what you can do to make sure you don’t become part of that statistic.

If you drive a vehicle with a manual transmission, you know that clutch replacement can be an expensive and time-consuming job. East Coast Auto Care in Jacksonville has some tips to keep your clutch replacements as infrequent as possible.

At East Coast Auto Care in Jacksonville, we know that a key aspect of taking care of your transmission is understanding how it works. Here’s some info on transmission fluid types, in case you’re having trouble finding yours.

If you own or operate a fleet or commercial truck, you know it’s hard to keep everything working perfectly all the time. You have to choose what types of maintenance to give priority to, and what can wait. However, some small problems are indicators that a bigger issue is on the way. At East Coast Auto Care in Jacksonville, FL, our goal is to keep your fleet going.

At East Coast Auto Care in Jacksonville, we believe it’s important for you to know how different systems in your car, truck, or SUV operate. Whether you want to know what to watch out for, or you’re just curious about how things work, we’re here to supply the answers.

You don’t have to buy a new, fuel-efficient car to get great fuel efficiency. No one wants to trade a fuel bill for a car payment, so take a look at our top 5 ways to save on fuel and you may just be able to pocket a little extra money at the end of the month.

1. Change Your Driving Style- If you’re the kind of person who enjoys the rush of hard acceleration, typically runs 10 mph over the speed limit and brakes abruptly, we’ve got bad news: you’re hurting your vehicle’s fuel economy, and your wallet, in a big way. Depending on the kind of vehicle you drive and just how extreme you are with the throttle and brake, tempering your driving style can up your vehicle’s fuel economy by more than 5 mpg. That’s a serious bump. Scaling back the speed by just 5 mph means you’ll also see an increase in fuel economy.

The time to know if your brakes are going bad is NOT when you go to stop at that red light or on the parkway when someone suddenly swerves in front of you.  It's not always "just" brake pads either, your brake master cylinder could be an issue. How do you recognize the signs that you have a real problem with your brake master cylinder and just what is it?   Here atEast Coast Auto Care in Jacksonville, FL we not only have the answers, but we also put together a service schedule for you and keep an eye on issues based on your driving habits, vehicle type and your description of issues you are having.  We treat your car, truck or SUV as if it were ours keeping you informed of issues we find so you can get them fixed "before" there are larger repair bills so you can keep your vehicle Newer - Longer!   Below is everything you need to look for and tips on your brake master cylinder.

If you drive a performance car or SUV, you want to take every measure possible to ensure it stays in good shape and running well. For many drivers of precision-engineered vehicles like BMW, Audi, Porsche, Subaru, etc., warming up the engine is a part of taking care of your vehicle. But is it necessary?

With temperatures dropping around the country, it’s understandably tempting to let your car or SUV idle to stay warm. At East Coast Auto Care in Jacksonville, FL, one of our goals is to keep you informed on how to best care for your performance and luxury vehicles. 

When a vehicle has trouble starting, many people initially blame the starter. What is the starter, and how do you know if yours has called it quits? At East Coast Auto Care in Jacksonville, FL, we want to keep you informed, and telling you what to look for will prevent further damage when issues arise. The starter is essentially just an electric motor; a gear at the end of that electric motor engages the flywheel, which turns the engine over, allowing it to start. How do you know if yours is failing?

The climate control system in your car works hard to keep you at a comfortable temperature. If you’re having heater issues, trust the performance car specialists with us at East Coast Auto Care in Jacksonville, FL to get you comfortably back on the road.

One of the most annoying sounds known to man is a loud squeal every time you start your car, truck, or SUV. What causes this, and what can you do to fix it? East Coast Auto Care in Jacksonville, FL has the answer.

These days, many four-wheel-drive systems are electronically controlled - a button is pushed to engage four-wheel-drive, which activates a solenoid in the transfer case, shifting it into gear. What happens when yours stops working? East Coast Auto Care in Jacksonville, FL has the answers.

Once your transmission has been replaced and you’re shifting smoothly once more, you’ll probably want to keep it running smoothly. Here are some tips from East Coast Auto Care in Jacksonville, FL to help keep you reliably on the road.

Awareness and safety are at the top of our list of concerns here at East Coast Auto Care, even more so with all the recall scare that happens in the news. We think a well-maintained car is a safe car that can also save you money in the long run. Here are our top ten tips for keeping your family safe, saving you money, and keeping your car running smoothly.