Dim Lights

The alternator is part of the electrical system of your vehicle. Its key role is to provide power to operate the starter, ignition and all of the electronic accessories in your car. If the alternator starts to die, you might notice your headlights and/or dashboard lights beginning to dim. Once the dash light or headlights dim, it is a clear indication of potential alternator malfunction. A waning alternator may cause other electronic accessories such as power windows and/or power seats to operate a more slowly than usual.

What's the use?

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. 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, you also flush away any grit or dirt in it. Getting your oil changed regularly is
probably the single best thing you can do for your engine. To reduce repairs and improve performance, follow your manufacturer’s oil change recommendations listed in your owner’s manual.

Air + Tires

The Benefits of Correct Air Pressure: Experts agree that keeping the correct air pressure in your tires is as important as giving your engine a tune-up. In fact, the economic benefits may be even greater. With the
right amount of air pressure, your tires wear longer, save fuel, enhance handling, and prevent accidents. Failure to maintain the correct air pressure can result in poor gas mileage, reduce tire life, affect vehicle
handling, and cause vehicle overloading. If you consider these factors, then the need to routinely check your tire pressure is even clearer.

Tean Tips

Keep Your Cell Phone Off

Multiple studies indicate using a cell phone while driving is the equivalent of driving drunk―that’s even when using a hands-free phone.

Turn on Your Headlights

Using your headlights increases your visibility and help other drivers see you, even when you feel like it’s light out.
In the early morning and early evening (dusk), you need to use your lights or other drivers might not see you, which can be disastrous.

Obey the Speed Limit

Speeding is a major contributor to fatal teen accidents. That’s especially true when driving on roads with lots of traffic or with which you’re not familiar.
Don’t feel pressured to keep up with traffic if it seems like everyone else is flying by you. Driving a safe speed helps ensure your well-being, and keeps you away from costly traffic tickets that can cause a sharp hike in your auto insurance premiums.

Precipitation 101

Slow down: Driving too fast for conditions is especially dangerous on wet pavement because your tires lose traction with the precipitation, Van Tassel says. “When roadways are wet, the friction is reduced between the tire and the road,” Hersman adds. No friction is a bad thing. Tires are meant to grip the roads, not slide on them.
How much does traction decline in wet weather? “You might lose about one-third of your traction,” Van Tassel says. And that figure is why this recommendation makes sense: Reduce your speed by about a third when it’s wet or rainy. If the speed limit is 55 mph, aim for under 40 mph. “That is not a hard statistic but a rule of thumb,” he says.
Back off: Forget the old rule about keeping a certain number of car lengths between you and the vehicle in front of you, Van Tassel says. Focus on staying 3-4 seconds behind the vehicle in front of you in dry conditions. Watch the vehicle in front of you as it passes a fixed marker, such as a street light, he says. Then count 3 seconds. Add more time if it’s raining, staying about 5 seconds behind.
For each additional driving challenge, add another second, Van Tassel says. If it’s raining and you are driving at night, you should aim to be 6 seconds behind the vehicle in front of you.
If possible — and in heavy traffic, it might not always be — try to keep from being boxed in by cars in the lanes on either side of you, Van Tassel says. If you have space on either side of your car, you have an easy out in case the vehicle ahead of you stops suddenly.

Do you smell something weird?

An alternator works in conjunction with a system of belts. If a belt is not turning freely, the excess friction will cause the belt to heat up, which produces a burning rubber smell. If you catch a whiff of a smell similar to that of an electrical fire, this could indicate that the belt is slipping on the alternator pulley, causing poor alternator output. Tightening the belt often does the trick. If the situation arises where tightening your belt does not fix the strange smell and alternator output, we recommend having your alternator evaluated by a professional.

Warning Light?

Most modern cars have a dashboard warning light that alerts you when the alternator is on the fritz. Usually, the light will be shaped like a battery, though, some might say ALT (for alternator) or GEN (for generator). This light may only trigger if you are using multiple electrical components. It is generally contingent on how much life your vehicle’s alternator has left and how much electricity your vehicle is using.

Happy New Year

Happy New Year from our family to yours!

Happy Holidays!

About Us

Buying a used car can be tough. But we break the stereotype, providing trustworthy service with genuine care. Our family owned business was established in 2000, and is home to some of the best used cars, trucks, SUVs and vans in the Erie area. "At Lakeside Auto, we believe that our customers are more than just a statistic to profitability," says Andy Gabler, President of Lakeside Auto Sales. "Unlike many other car dealers, we strive to create a family dynamic within our team and our customers, in order to retain them. We have a so many repeat customers - simply because we live up to the high standards they expect of us."