Choosing a Transmission Specialist

When you choose a transmission specialist, be sure you know exactly what work you are authorizing (i.e. estimate, internal or external diagnosis, or transmission repair).

If asked, the technician should be willing to show you the damaged parts and explain the repair work. Also, ask for a damaged-parts report and a breakdown of the work that was done. If you want to inspect the damaged parts pulled from the transmission, be sure to ask the mechanic when you authorize the work, not after. As with any contract, make sure you understand all aspects of the work. If you give your authorization over the phone, understand exactly what work you are approving. Phone authorization is a binding commitment.

What To Look For

• Is the shop a member of the Better Business Bureau? The Bureau can give you the company’s history in dealing with customers?
• Is the company a member of any transmission groups, such as the Automatic Transmission Rebuilder Association (ATRA) or Automatic Service Association (ASA), or is it part of a national franchise that offers
  training programs to keep technicians up-to-date on new technology?
• Do they participate in continuing education and training programs?
• Is the shop well-equipped with the proper diagnostic tools for your vehicle? One of the easiest things to look for is the hydraulic lifts needed to raise your car?
• Is the shop clean and professional looking? Does it appear to be well-run?

Police Stops: What to Do If You Are Pulled Over

When You See the Police Car

If a police car is following you with its siren blaring or emergency lights flashing, pull over to the right quickly (but safely) and come to a complete stop in a safe place.

Pulling over right away isn’t an admission of guilt. It just means that you were alert to everything that was happening around you. Also, by stopping as soon as you can, you’ll have a better chance of figuring out exactly where and how the officer says you violated any traffic laws. This information can be useful should you and a lawyer later need to prepare a defense.

Pull over in a way that will be most likely to calm down an angry or annoyed traffic officer. Use your turn signal to indicate any lane changes from left to right, and slow down fairly quickly, but not so quickly that the officer will have to brake to avoid hitting you. Pull over as far to the right as possible, so that the officer won’t have to worry about being clipped by vehicles in the right lane when coming up to your window.

Right After You Stop

After you’ve pulled over to a safe spot, you should normally turn off your engine. At this point, you might want to show the officer a few other token courtesies. You have little to lose and perhaps something to gain.

Roll down your window all the way. Put out a cigarette if you have one and discard any chewing gum (within the car). You might also want to place your hands on the steering wheel, and, if it’s dark, turn on your interior light. These actions will tend to allay any fears the officer might have. After all, police officers have been killed in traffic-stop situations, and the officer’s approach to the vehicle is potentially the most dangerous moment.

Your dignity might be offended a little at this point, but remember that you’re just doing a few simple things to put the officer in an optimal frame of mind.

Also, stay in the car until and unless the officer directs you to get out. Finally, don’t start rummaging through your back pocket for your wallet and license, or in your glove compartment for your registration, until the officer asks you for them. For all the officer  knows, you could be reaching for a weapon.

Excuses to Search

A police officer who stops you for a traffic violation is normally not allowed to search your vehicle. But there are several exceptions to this general rule.

After pulling you over, an officer will watch for any sort of “furtive movement.” A sudden lowering of one or both shoulders, for example, will tip the officer off that you’re attempting to hide something under the seat.

An officer enforcing a traffic stop isn’t looking just for furtive movements. Officers will look for anything incriminating that’s in “plain view” (like open beer or wine bottles, joints, or roach clips). Discovery of one item in plain view often leads to a thorough search that reveals more incriminating or illegal objects.

If you’re arrested and your car is towed, the police may generally make an “inventory search” afterward, even if they have no reason to suspect there’s anything illegal inside

Five-star safety

For example, five stars do not always add up to six or more airbags. Some car makers provide only enough (four) airbags to earn the five-star rating.

For complete peace of mind, be sure to check there are two front, two side (usually in the outer cushion of the front seats) and two head-protecting “curtain” airbags that drop down from the roof above the side windows – front and rear.

Some cars have knee-protecting airbags under the steering column and near the glovebox, while others also have rear-seat airbags.

Shopping for a New Vehicle

When shopping for a new vehicle, the world is your oyster. Every vehicle in every automaker’s lineup is available for your perusal. You can purchase a fully loaded minivan for those big family vacations, a sleek new sports coupe for your next mid-life crisis toy or a stripped down compact for your new college graduate. The sky is quite seriously the limit. With hundreds of different models of sedans, sports cars, trucks and SUVs on the market right now, it’s up to you to pick out which type of vehicle suits you best. This isn’t as tricky as it sounds. Once you know what size vehicle you’re looking for, you can do research online to figure out which ones you’d like to test drive. To help you out, here are some things you should consider when narrowing down your list of new cars.

Features
Automakers offer just about every feature imaginable on their newest model year vehicles. Some will make your car more comfortable, others make it more attractive and some will even make it safer. Depending on your price range, some of these features like heated seats and darkness-detecting lights may come standard. In other cases, you’ll have to pay extra for anything above the baseline. Since some of these features are worth more than others, we’ve created a rundown of everything you’ll be able to add to a new car accompanied by our opinion on their values.

Backup Cameras
Backup cameras can be incredibly useful gadgets if you find yourself needing to Parallel Park regularly. They can make squeezing into a space easy for even the shakiest parkers. And the technology they use is constantly becoming more advanced. The only downside is that these cameras are usually included as part of a “premium” package on midrange cars, making them a bit pricey for some budgets.

Remote Entry
Remote entry has come a long way in the last couple of years. Every new model comes with a remote key fob these days and you can unlock many of them simply by approaching the car with the key in your pocket. The newest models of the Ford Escape and Mercedes-Benz SUVs offer hands-free access not only to the doors, but also to the back hatch as well. Just wave your foot under the bumper and the door will open on its. If you have to haul a lot of things around, this will definitely be a useful investment.

Inductive Charging
Those power mats that charge your electronic devices just by touching them have finally made their way to vehicles like the new Dodge Dart. Unfortunately, these mats are often more trouble than they’re worth – you have to install an accessory onto every device you wish to charge plus you need to pay the dealership a premium to install the mats in the first place. In our opinion, you should just stick to the good old fashioned outlet chargers that you can buy for about $10.

Heated Seats
Nothing feels better than a warm seat after you’ve just come in from the rain or snow. However, their utility is limited unless you live in area that sees a significant amount of inclement weather. Luckily, most vehicles that offer heated seats include them as a standard feature. If your vehicle requires you to upgrade to heated seats, you may not t be missing much by skipping them.

Make sure your windshield wipers are in good shape

Winter wipers – with the rubber coverings that keep ice from collecting on the blade – have become very popular. They’re great in the winter, but make sure you take them off in the spring. Winter wipers are heavy, and if you use them all summer, you’ll wear out the wiper motor prematurely.

And when using your wipers in the winter, remember to turn them off BEFORE shutting off the engine. Why? Water frequently freezes overnight during the winter. And if your blades freeze to the windshield, when you go to start your car, the wiper motor may burn out trying to get them back to the “rest position,” while you’re sitting there wondering, “What’s that burning smell?”

Happy New Year

Eagle Transmission Shop wishes you and your loved ones a very happy new year!

Always Have Your Headlights On

According to a recent study, you can reduce your risk of being involved in an accident by up to 32 percent simply by driving with your headlights on at all times. This seems like common sense — obviously something that is lit up is going to be more visible, regardless of the time of day. And as long as other cars are driven by tired, distracted human beings, greater visibility equals less chance of having a hood ornament embedded in your skull. Yet almost nobody  drives with their lights on during the day (and cars with automatic lights won’t flick on until the sun goes down). Other drivers are simply less likely to pull out in front of you if they can instantly see the glare of your headlights in a quick glance (unless they were planning to cut you off, in which case they are shitheads and the accident was unavoidable).

This also counts for pedestrians and cyclists, who statistically will sometimes miss their own oncoming death unless there are bright lights attached to it. In countries like Canada, Sweden and Finland, all new cars are required to have automatic running lights that stay on at all times, and you can get them on some new car models in the U.S. But the majority of drivers still have dusty old manual headlights, so if you’re one of those people, you’ll just have to dig deep and flick your lights on and off every time you drive (we know, we know — it hardly seems worth all the effort, but trust us, you’ll be much safer).

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Get more horsepower!

Looking to give a little boost to your car’s engine? If you want more horsepower without overhauling your engine, look into investing in a cold air intake. It will replace your car’s standard airbox with a cone-shaped filter that provides more air into your engine. With more air, you engine can run faster and use less fuel doing it. Make sure to double check if you manufacturer’s warranty will still be valid after this cheap and easy modification.

Freeze!

Coolant, also known as antifreeze, is tremendously important to your car, as it keeps the engine from freezing in cold temperatures. Before you head into winter, make sure your car isn’t low on coolant and that there aren’t any leaks in your vehicle’s engine that could cause coolant to drain out. Many mechanics recommend drivers use a 50/50-mix of coolant and water in their radiators, which usually results in a lower engine freezing point than just coolant.