Archive for February 2023Steering You Right (Power Steering Signs of Problems)Posted February 19, 2023 9:06 AMNearly every modern vehicle on the road today has power steering, a wonderful invention that makes steering take far less effort than it did in the "good old days." Today, we take our steering for granted: until something goes wrong, that is. Most power steering these days is rack-and-pinion, the rack being a metal bar between the front wheels with notches in it and the pinion being a gear whose teeth fits into those notches. Adding power assist makes it easy to turn. That assist comes in the form of hydraulic fluid that is pressurized by a pump powered by the engine, an electric motor that adds a power assist or a system that uses both an electric motor and hydraulic fluid. Your vehicle usually gives you a heads up that something is going wrong with its steering. Here are a few signs to look for:
If you notice any of these signs, it's a good idea to have a trained technician check them out. They may be signs of:
It's important to have these checked out sooner rather than later. You need to be able to steer properly in order to drive safely. Plus, some of these problems can cause more serious—and expensive—damage if they're not fixed. Power steering is a wonderful feature of your vehicle. Keep it well maintained and it will steer you right. Kingwood Service Center What's in a Number? (What Tire Numbers Mean)Posted February 12, 2023 8:47 AMYou've probably never paid much attention to the writing on the sides of your tires, but they contain a wealth of information. There's a long combination of letters and numbers that can tell you a whole lot about what tires your vehicle was designed to be riding on. Let's check out this example found on an SUV: P245/70R17 108T. The first letter, P, means it's intended for passenger vehicles. If there's no letter, it means it's a metric tire. If there's an LT at the beginning or end that means a tire designed for light trucks. Moving on to our example, the 245 shows how wide the tire is in millimeters from sidewall to sidewall. The number that follows in our example, 70, means the height of the tire is 70% of its width. The letter after that in our example, R, describes the type of tire (on this vehicle, radial). Following that is the diameter in inches, in our SUV example, 17 inches. How much load the tires' sidewalls are designed to take is what that next number is all about (108 in our example). The higher the load index, the more weight the sidewalls can take. And the last letter is the speed rating of the tire, in our example, T. The further along in the alphabet that letter is, the higher its speed rating. So now you know what those letters and numbers mean. But why are they important? When you are getting ready to replace those tires, those numbers are telling you what the original equipment was when your vehicle was new. Sticking with the same rated tires is always a good idea. If you don't know what you're doing, trying different sized tires and wheels can cause real issues when it comes to performance and safety, considering all the computerized systems now found on vehicles. When in doubt, consult your service advisor when it comes to buying new tires. He or she knows what those tire numbers and letters mean… and a whole lot more. Kingwood Service Center | ||
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Kingwood Service Center notified me it was time on 04 Nov 24 for certain maintenance on my 2017 Toyota Sienna according to the recommended warranty plan. The work was performed in a very timely and excellent manner. They continie to do an excellent job keeping my 8 year old Toyota Sienna in great shape and I intend to use them for the life of the vehicle following their maintenance plan. They also alerted me to some upcoming work on the Sienna in several months
We have been going to KSC for over 25+ years. They are by far the best repair shop in the area. They are quick and efficient for oil changes as well. I have had many vehicles brought to them over the 25+ years and this shop has always been fair in their pricing for their work, reliable and trustworthy in all they do. Believe me, I wouldn’t be going back to them over these past 25 years if they didn’t do good work. If you want proof of their customer commitment as a testament of their work, just look at the parking lot where you will see cars lined up waiting to be worked on. The folks who work @KSC are diligent and hard working. Make them your “go to” guys if you want reliable repairs and services. Dan Zotti