Vehicle Services in Shirley | The Importance of a Healthy Car

As one of the leading garages in the Shirley area, Atherley Garage cannot stress strongly enough how important it is to maintain your vehicle regularly. There are standard garage services for all vehicle owners, such as car servicing and MOT testing. Our car mechanics conduct thorough inspections during both of these services, because the wear and tear placed upon key components often results in unexpected issues.

But there are also inspections on clutches and brakes to consider, and running one of our modern engine diagnostics checks can catch a small issue before it becomes a larger, more expensive problem. Avoid the need for frequent garage services by booking in for MOT testing, car servicing and inspection at our Shirley workshop regularly.

Clutches – With clutches, there are 3 common issues our car mechanics encounter:

• Slipping Clutches
• Sticking Clutches
• Biting Point Issues
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Slipping clutches usually occur when you change gear and the clutch doesn’t engage as intended. Drivers notice a slip or a jolt as the gear catches. While this can come about from wear and tear, problems are also attributed to aggressive driving, riding the clutch or contamination from oil. The experienced car mechanics at our Shirley premises can recommend the garage services needed for an immediate fix.

Sticking clutches also affect Shirley drivers. Whether sticking occurs during a gear change or when pulling away from a stationary position, clutches will rarely slot into place first time. Sticking clutches come with accompanying rumbling, squealing or banging noises, and you may need to release the clutch and try again to ensure better engagement.

To avoid costly repairs, book in for car servicing and MOT testing at the correct intervals. Our mechanics offer a complete range of traditional and modern garage services.

The biting point naturally lowers as the clutch wears down. What shouldn’t happen, however, is a noticeable change in the biting point overnight. Luckily for our Shirley customers, this could be a simple fix such as tightening the clutch cable. For the less fortunate, we can fix or replace clutches at the same time as performing car servicing or MOT testing on their vehicles.

Brakes – The most common warning signs that you might need our garage services for the repair or replacement of brakes include:

• Warning Light on the Dashboard
• Burning Smell
• Leaking Fluid
• Soft or Spongy Brake Pedal
• Squealing, Squeaking or Grinding
• Wobbling or Vibrating During Braking

Like all reputable garages, we believe abnormal behaviour with brakes poses a danger for Shirley motorists. Don’t wait until your scheduled car servicing or MOT testing appointment if you notice a change in driving characteristics; have the problem seen to by our qualified team of car mechanics immediately. Squealing, squeaking or grinding is most likely the steel brake pad wear indicators coming into contact with the rotor. Our car mechanics usually replace these for our Shirley customers before more expensive garage services are required.

Wobbling or vibrating when braking could indicate the rotors are uneven. As one of the most respected garages in the Shirley area, we recommend fixing these issues with your brakes sooner rather than later. You’ll feel the benefit immediately when driving, and also in the price when car servicing or MOT testing comes around because there will be less likelihood that you’ll need to book in for subsequent car repair work.

Our mechanics attribute soft or spongy brakes to leaking fluid from the master cylinder, which lessens the force of the brakes on the rotors. Any car with this issue is a danger to the driver and to other road users in and around Shirley. A burning smell indicates that the brakes are overheating. Stopping the car and allowing the brakes to cool down will usually solve the problem without the need for our garage services but failing to do so, especially repeatedly, could result in expensive problems in the future.

Regular car servicing and MOT testing can often help us identify issues with your brakes before problems become excessive.

Engine Diagnostics – Like all reputable garages in Shirley, Southampton and Hampshire, Atherley Garage insists that warning lights on your dashboard should never be ignored because they relate to engine diagnostics. The majority of modern vehicles driving around Shirley come fitted with an ECU (Engine Control Unit).

This device constantly monitors the performance of a car, is the root of dashboard warning lights and indicates to motorists that something is wrong. When a car with warning lights is brought to us, our car mechanics use state-of-the-art equipment that plugs directly into the ECU, and which runs engine diagnostics checks to find the source of the problem.

There are many different components in a car that can fail, from the tiniest parts to the gearbox. Running a regular engine diagnostics check, and using our accompanying garage services for repairs at the first sign of a problem, increases the chances of catching small issues sooner. Engine diagnostics play a vital role at modern garages, and help in maintaining the overall performance of a car.

Remember that warning lights come on for a reason, so book into our Shirley workshop for a prompt diagnostics check and leave the rest to our skilled mechanics and technicians.