Bear Auto Repair and Transmission Repair

Winter driving can be challenging, especially if you're not prepared or new to winter driving. Snow, ice, and cold temperatures can all make for hazardous road conditions, so it's important to take the necessary precautions to ensure your safety on the road. Here are a few tips to help you prepare for winter driving: Check your vehicle: Before the winter weather arrives, make sure your vehicle is in good condition. This includes checking the brakes, tires, battery, antifreeze, and wiper blades. Also, make sure you have a full tank of gas and an emergency kit in case you get stranded. This is extremely important! Slow down: Snow and ice can make roads slippery and reduce visibility, so it's important to slow down and give yourself plenty of time to react to changing road conditions. Increase your following distance: It's important to leave more space between you and the car in front of you when driving in snowy or icy conditions. This will give you more time to react ... read more

Under normal operating conditions, most vehicles on the road today are healthy and well-built enough to run with little to no exhaust smoke at all. That is why an excessive amount of smoke from the exhaust pipes can mean that your car is facing some serious issues. Depending on the appearance and color of the smoke, you can get a good idea of what the problem may be. Read on to learn about the different exhaust smoke colors that can be emitted by your car and what they mean. White Smoke Thin and wispy white smoke is simply a result of condensation from water droplets. However, thick, white clouds puffing out of your vehicle may be a serious problem. This symptom is often a result of coolant leaking into the combustion chamber and being burned. You should wait for your car to cool off and check on your coolant levels to be sure. Common causes include: Cracked cylinder block or head Blown head gasket Grey/Blue Smoke Blue exhaust smoke typically means that your engine is burning lea ... read more

Newer cars have cooling systems that help keeps the engine from overheating. However, the older cars will still have overheating problems. So does turning on the car heater help with the overheating? Let's find out. The short answer: yes. If your car is overheating, you should turn on the heater. This will help reduce the amount of heat in your vehicle, which can help prevent the engine from overheating further. However, this is only one step of many that you need to take when dealing with an overheating car. Turning on your car's heater isn't going to solve any problems by itself. But it is one way to help protect yourself from harm while waiting for a mechanic or tow truck to arrive at your location. What should you do now? Since you've learned that turning on the car heater is not entirely beneficial for your overheated engine, you'll want to pull over. Pulling over and turning off the car, gives the car a chance to cool down. From there, y ... read more

Some cars have a warning light that displays the letter A-L-T, but what does it mean? If the ALT light appears on your vehicle’s dashboard, it stands for the alternator, which means that your alternator (or other electrical part) is having issues. In other vehicles, the ALT light is a part of the battery light or can be displayed as G-E-N. Regardless, you will need to diagnose your electrical dashboard warning light and make the necessary repairs so that you aren’t left stranded.    The alternator is a key electrical component, responsible for charging your battery and supplying power to various car accessories like the windshield wipers, power seats, GPS, and more. Here are some of the warning symptoms that indicate you have a faulty alternator: Accessory Malfunction Of course when your alternator stops working, so does the function of the accessories it powers. They may phase out instead of stop working completely. For example, your car lights may appear dim ... read more

Your brakes are at the top of the list when it comes to your car’s many safety features. They not only allow you to stop your car, SUV, or truck safely but ensure smooth handling and full control over your overall speed. Brake parts are some of the most vulnerable parts to wear out over time. Therefore, it is essential for you to know the warning signs of worn brakes. 1 - Thin Brakes You can physically crouch down to check on your brake pad’s condition. If you see less than one-quarter of an inch of brake pad in this space, it is probably time to have new brake pads installed. 2 - Loose or Sinking Brake Pedal  A normal brake pedal should have some sort of resistance when you push on it. If the brake pedal seems to fall straight toward the floor of your vehicle when you push your foot down, you should have your mechanic look at your brake fluid. 3 - Squeaky Brakes Brake pads have small strips of metal called shims. Once your brake pads have worn down to a certain ... read more