West Bend & Hubertus Auto Repair

How to Improve Gas Mileage As the gas prices keep climbing, now is a great time to reflect on your driving habits. There are a few tips and tricks to help you improve your vehicle's fuel efficiency. Start by limiting the vehicles idling time. Idling uses more fuel than restarting your vehicle and gives off 80% more pollution than when your vehicle is traveling down the road.  After you hit anywhere between 45 and 50 mph, your vehicle becomes less fuel efficient. The faster you start to travel the worse the fuel efficiency becomes. When you are traveling at the same speed for a good amount of time consider using your cruise control. Rapid braking and hard braking uses up fuel quickly.  Something as simple as just checking your vehicle's tire pressures can also help with fuel efficiently. When the tires are under inflated, fuel consumption can increase by as much as 3%. It can also cause uneven wear on your tires.  Performing routine main ... read more

How to Properly Check Your Tire Pressure   Maintaining the proper PSI is easy and important to the overall tire performance of your vehicle. A properly inflated tire will help provide a longer life, better fuel efficiency, and a smoother ride. Over inflation and underinflation can cause premature treadwear and possible tire failure. The best way to make sure you're getting the most out of your tires is to check your tire pressure on a regular basis.  The tire pressure you use for checking your tire pressure can be standard or digital. Any auto parts stores typically carry both tire pressure gauges. They also sell portable air compressors that run from your car battery or the 12 volt power port. There are even a few gas stations left out there that have air available for a small charge.  Always start with your vehicle's tires being cold if possible. The manufacturer of the vehicle usually bases the specific PSI assuming the ... read more

What is causing my battery to drain?  There are many reasons your battery may be draining. The four most common reasons are the battery may be old, a parasitic drain, faulty charging system, or a bad alternator diode. When your battery is showing signs of the battery draining, call us at Bob's Main Street Auto & Towing to have you look over your charging system.  Faulty Charging System  If your vehicle has a faulty charging system, it may drain the battery while the vehicle is running. The alternator on the vehicle may not be putting out enough voltage which will allow the battery to drain quickly. The headlights and radio will stop working and the vehicle will no longer start when the battery drains.  Old Battery We recommend replacing your battery every four to five years. Old batteries that have been drained completely are unable to hold a full charge.  Bad Alternator Diode ... read more

During the winter months in Wisconsin, we never know what to expect for weather. Drivers hear snow is coming and the first thing they do is put their wipers up on their vehicle. They do this to prevent them from freezing to the windshield. When you put the wipers up, keep in mind that it is putting stress on the spring that holds the wiper arms against the windshield. Leaving the wipers up exposes the plastic gears and other mechanical components. Those items could be weakened or damaged by forceful wind gusts. Exposing your wiper blades to the weather can also cause the rubber blade to be blown off. If the wind does catch the wipers or someone bumps them, it can cause the wipers to slam against the cold windshield and crack your windshield.   The best way to keep the elements off your windshield and to save your wipers is to cover the entire windshield. You can use a blanket, tarp, or they even make covers you could over on amazon specifically made for this purpose

Oil changes are an important routine maintenance. For these newer cars with such infrequent oil change recommendations, we still suggest getting your oil changed every 5,000-7,500 miles. Why? Think of oil in your vehicle like your body and water. Our bodies are 60% water. There's always H2O streaming through us. Yes, we can go a few days without it, but it is still important to replenish ourselves and stay hydrated since we lose that water in different ways. However, the longer we go without water, the more our body starts to shut down and not cooperate. The same goes with our vehicles. Oil is constantly pumping throughout the vehicle and its engine. Our job, as the user, is to maintain the oil so that it's always clean and at the level it needs to be. Yes, the vehicle could last months on end without changing the oil, but in the meantime the oil is getting more and more dirty, sludge-like, and building up particles. The more dirty the oil gets, the worse it is for th ... read more