Oxygen Sensor Heater Codes
An oxygen sensor code related to the heater circuit can be difficult to cure.
Tech Tip: Low, Sinking Or Spongy Brake Pedal
Master cylinder may be leaking fluid past the piston seals internally (by passing), not building up pressure. When diagnosing a master cylinder, keep in mind the type of seals that are used are lip cup seals. This design allows for the seal to improve as the pressure increases. Another feature of this seal is that it does not create a vacuum when the piston retracts.
Electric Power Steering Advancements
Electric power assist does more than add force in either direction; it can push back to improve handling and driver comfort. These corrections could be as innocuous as adding a little assist for road crown, or as obvious as the vehicle steering on its own. But, a lot of the improvements in electric power steering have mostly gone unnoticed by the driver and even the technician.
Brake Pad & Rotor Matching
Many techs believe that installing new pads and rotors is the solution to brake noise and vibration, and that installing new parts makes everything perfectly aligned so that no other steps are needed to bring the system back to service. Well, this is true and false.
Wheel Bearing Technology: Don’t Become Complacent
Welcome to wheel bearing season! Over the next few months, asphalt and concrete will heave and crumble in the falling temperatures. These potholes will drive rollers and balls into the inner and outer races, causing microscopic damage. This damage will increase and cause play and noise.
TPMS: Test Before You Touch
Test Before You Touch is almost a direct result of the “make inoperative” provision in the Motor Vehicle Safety Act as it applies to the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 138, Tire Pressure Monitoring Systems. In layman’s terms, the provision states that if a vehicle comes into a facility with working TPMS, it must leave the facility with working TPMS. A shop cannot knowingly disable TPMS in the vehicles that it services.
2006-2013 Toyota RAV4 Alignment Specs
The third generation of the Toyota RAV4 shares all of the same infrastructure with the Corolla and many other Toyota vehicles. The front suspension is easy to adjust, while the rear requires a little more attention.
SAE J2534, Part II: How Much Money Are You Losing By Not Doing Vehicle Reflashing?
In Part I of this series, I talked about what J2534 was and a bit about how it works. I would like to use this followup article to lower the fear factor and tell you what to expect when setting up a computer to run a J2534-supported software program.
Tech Tip: Howl At Highway Speeds In The Cold
Some 2007-2011 Ford Fusion, Mercury Milan and Lincoln MKZ vehicles equipped with all-wheel-drive (AWD) systems and built on or before 8/13/2010 may exhibit a driveline vibration or a howl at highway speeds in cold temperatures.
Nissan Tech Tip: TPMS Diagnostics
If the TPMS/LTPWS warning light is illuminated (continuously or flashing), the TPMS/LTPWS system can be diagnosed by turning the ignition to the “OFF” and then to the “ON” position. If the TPMS/LTPWS warning light is continuously illuminated (not flashing), the TPMS/LTPWS is operating normally and has detected low tire pressure in one of the tires.
Selling Ride Control With Tires
Tire wear patterns are visual representations of how the vehicle is performing and how owners maintain their vehicle. Tread patterns reveal the condition of alignment angles, suspension components and ride control components. Learning how to read the tire and communicate your findings to your customers is the key to selling ride control.
Ford F-150 (2009-2014) Brake Job
There are more than 3.6 million 2009-’14 Ford F-Series trucks on the road today, and the majority of these are the F150 model. The 12th generation of the truck, and specifically its brake system, has had very few problems since most of the brake system was carried over from the previous platform.
