If your car, truck or SUV is experiencing major engine issues, the technicians at Downtown Automotive in Siler City, NC have you covered. You hear the engine knocking when it decides to start? Is there smoke pouring from your truck’s exhaust pipe? Whether you’re burning oil, your engine is on it’s last leg or has simply given up altogether, we can help. And if you’re not sure what you need, we can help with that too.

Your drive belts run everything - your AC, power steering, alternator, and water pump are all dependent on the belts that turn them. At Downtown Automotive in Siler City, our goal is to keep your truck maintained, so you’re never stuck out on the road. Drive belts are a critical part of that goal.

When driving around town, your vehicle's engine needs clean air to burn the fuel – and it needs a lot. In fact, a typical vehicle needs about 216,000 gallons of air for every tank of gas. All that air passes through a filter that catches the dust and dirt. Eventually, the filter gets completely full, and because the filter can only hold so much, dirt starts getting through. At Downtown Automotive in Siler City, we want to help you get the best air quality in your vehicle, but first, we want to explain the process of where this dirty air is going. 

At Downtown Automotive in Siler City, efficiency is a concept that interests us. While your fuel economy is largely dependent on what kind of car, truck, or SUV you drive, there are a variety of tips and tricks to get the most bang for your buck. We’ve provided a few of our favorites here.

At Downtown Automotive in Siler City, we understand that safety and driving comfort are largely dependent on truck maintenance. Driving in the rain can be a hassle, especially if your vehicle isn’t prepared.

Ride quality is an essential part of your driving experience. At Downtown Automotive in Siler City, we strive to keep your car, truck, or SUV as smooth and comfortable to drive as the day it came off the lot. Your shock absorbers play a huge role in ride quality; here’s what you should know.

At some point or another, it’ll happen to you. You leave your headlights on, your battery finally fails, or for some other reason, you don’t have enough juice to start your car. Don’t call a tow truck just yet, though...Downtown Automotive in Siler City has the info you need to properly jump start your car.

If you drive a vehicle with more than a few miles on it, there’s a good chance you’ve noticed an occasional drip underneath it that leaves spots wherever you park. Identifying what is leaking from your car will help you determine whether or not it’s a cause for concern, and what to do about it.

There are seven liquids a car can possibly drip: oil, gas, brake fluid, transmission fluid, gear oil, water, and coolant. How do you tell the difference? This article aims to help your know-how.

Repairs are costly and we all want to avoid them including our team here at Downtown Automotive!  It's our job and we take it seriously.  Here, it is all about keeping your car or truck serviced and looking for problems "before" they happen to avoid those high repair costs and ensuring you avoid any breakdowns when it's hot outside or cold outside as either is a problem for our Siler City drivers!  Nobody can forsee a flat tire or blowout due to running over a nail, but we can avoid some of the regular issues we see all the time such as....

We know you’re busy. At Downtown Automotive in Siler City, NC, we also know that while there are certain issues with your car, truck, or SUV you can ignore for a while, some of them shouldn’t wait. While serious issues are often obvious, sometimes they aren’t - ball joints are one such case.

At Downtown Automotive in Siler City, we know that a huge part of the ride quality of your car, truck, or SUV is how well it keeps road and engine noises out of the passenger compartment. Few things are more annoying on a long commute or road trip than the drone of tires on pavement, the constant sound of your car battling the air outside, loud semi-trucks, and so on.

If you drive performance or luxury vehicle (Subaru, BMW, Mercedes, Porsche, Land Rover, etc.) you’re aware that you have a complex and precision-engineered machine. When things start to go wrong, sometimes they go wrong in a hurry. Here are some things to watch out for, from Downtown Automotive in Siler City, NC.

At Downtown Automotive in Siler City, we know how annoying a dead battery can be. Here’s some information on the subject, that will hopefully help you understand your battery issues a little better.

If your car has climate control, then it also has a cabin filter. Cabin filters are simply air filters for the interior of your car, truck, or SUV. All air entering circulation through the climate control system first passes through this filter, to prevent your AC or heat systems from accumulating debris or blowing them out of your vents. The result is cleaner, quieter, and longer-lasting climate control systems, which keep the inside of your car as comfortable as possible. 

If you drive a car, truck, or SUV that runs on gasoline, there's a good chance you’ve run it low on fuel a few times (or more than a few times,) and maybe even run out of gas completely a time or two. At Downtown Automotive in Siler City, NC, we like to provide information applicable to you. Running a vehicle low on fuel is something we’re all guilty of, and most of us don’t think twice about it. But, can it be bad for your car?

Sometimes it is EASY to see if your car or truck needs to come into our shop for professional repairs! 
1.  You see steam rising from the engine!
2.  The Check Engine Light is on!
3.  The engine starts, but there is an odor that is not right.
4.  You hear grinding or thumping noises.

At Downtown Automotive in Siler City, NC, we know the key to making your vehicle last; good maintenance. An overwhelming percentage of the problems we see, especially the really catastrophic ones, are a result of poor maintenance. While properly maintaining a vehicle can seem like a bit of a hassle, it is absolutely worth the payoff. Good maintenance is the only difference between a car that lasts 80,000 miles and a car that lasts 400,000 miles. Preventative maintenance and repair when a problem occurs are your two concerns, and both will keep your car on the road far longer if observed properly.

At Downtown Automotive in Siler City, NC, we have seen our fair share of preventable engine failures. Frequently, engine disaster could have been avoided if the driver had known beforehand what the warning lights or gauges on the dashboard indicated. While some dash lights are fairly benign, others indicate imminent trouble. This guide from Downtown Automotive in Siler City, NC will prepare you for the next time your vehicle shows you a warning you shouldn’t ignore.

Don’t you hate it when potholes sneak up on you? There is a lot of money being spent on vehicle damage due to potholes. Do you know what parts of your car could receive the most damage? Downtown Automotive is the leader in Siler City, NC for the service and repair of automotive tires. We know the kind of damage that can be done, so if you suspect something is wrong with your car or truck, it’s always a good idea to stop by so we can take a quick look.

Here are 10 steps to keep your car up and running from our team here at Downtown Automotive! Whether you choose to do the maintenance yourself or take your car to see our professional service technicians, the non-profit Car Care Council recommends 10 basic maintenance procedures to keep your vehicle running its best.