Graham Auto Repair

Why is My Check Engine Light On? We all know that the Check Engine Light means something is wrong! Unfortunately finding what is wrong can be difficult. Why? Because it could be so many different things! The check engine light can mean something simple like a loose gas cap. But it could also mean your engine is misfiring. There are many different things in between! My Check Engine Light is Flashing! You definitely shouldn't ignore any check engine light. But if the light is flashing it can mean something more serious. Please don't ignore it! At Graham Auto Repair we have trained and certified Automotive Technicians ready to help you diagnose your concerns. Give us a call as soon as possible!   When you call, the more information you can provide us the better! Let your Service Advisor know of any possible concerns you have been experiencing. Has your engine been making strange noises? Does it hesitate when you drive? Any details you can provide will help our Technicians ... read more

Digital Vehicle Health Inspection At Graham Auto Repair our Automotive Technicians will complete a Digital Health Inspection of your vehicle with every service. This is a courtesy service with no additional cost for you. During the vehicle inspection our Technicians take pictures of everything that they find. The inspection includes a walk-around where they inspect things like the overall body condition, the headlights, windshield, tire depth, vehicle mileage and warning lights. They also perform a Test Drive where they inspect the horn, chassis, parking brake, engine performance, shifting, steering, braking, and acceleration. They check all of your fluids, including the engine oil, coolant, brake fluid, transmission fluid and power steering fluid. They inspect the battery, spark plugs, air filter, drive belts and cooling system hoses. They check for fluid leaks and perform a visual inspection of the brakes, tires and struts. After the vehicle inspection is complete, o ... read more

What is Brake Rotor Resurfacing? When your Brake Rotors are no longer in optimal condition, you may have more than one option. One option is a Brake Rotor Replacement. There may be some cases when it’s possible to Resurface the Brake Rotors instead. What is Brake Rotor Resurfacing? It's a process where we remove a small amount of the Brake Disc’s material using a Brake Lathe. This process will remove any corrosion and/or Brake Pad deposits. It will also smooth out any surface irregularities that can cause vibrations. How do you know if you should have your Brake Rotors Resurfaced or Replaced? That will partly depend on the condition of your Brakes. It's not always going to be possible to Resurface them. We will first need to inspect them to ensure that the Brake Discs are free of cracks and grooves. They will also need to have enough material left to maintain safe operational thickness. Either way, it's important to ensure that your Brakes are performing at the ... read more

Why is My Car A/C Blowing Hot Air? There may be huge gaps in time when you don’t need the Air Conditioning in your car. Especially in Washington State! When it gets hot you finally reach for that A/C button … You wait expectantly for that refreshing cold air! If you are reading this blog you are probably not that lucky. You may be asking, "Why is my cars ac not blowing cold air??" There are multiple things that can cause your car's A/C to stop functioning properly. It could be caused by low Refrigerant (also called Freon) or by a breakdown of the Compressor. There could also be a problem in the Electrical System or with the Cooling Fan. These are just a few examples. To find out what's going on in your A/C System you can schedule an A/C Service with us at Graham Auto Repair. How Can We Help? At Graham Auto Repair we have an Air Conditioning Service to diagnose your A/C concerns. I will give you a quick run-down of the steps that are performed during t ... read more

How Often Should You Change Your Brakes? Brake Pads and Brake Shoes will wear out over time. The more often they are used, the thinner they will become. As they thin out they are no longer able to generate the same amount of friction and heat. This makes it harder for you to stop your vehicle quickly, which will increase the distance that’s required for you to stop. There are many factors that contribute to how quickly our Brake Pads or Brake Shoes need to be replaced. Our driving habits and the environments we drive in both make a difference in how fast they thin out. The material our Brake Pads or Brake Shoes are made from also makes a difference. Different materials have a different amount of durability. Let’s talk about the different warning signs that you can watch for, to know when it’s time to change your Brakes. 1. Vehicle Warning Light One sign you should watch for is the Brake System Warning Light. If this warning light comes on it could mean more t ... read more

How Do I Check My Oil? It is important to Check Oil Often. In today’s blog we are going to give you a few steps to follow so that you can Check Your Oil today. If you are asking, “How Often Should I Change My Oil?” you can  read our blog post here. Step 1: Prep Your Car First thing you want to do is park your vehicle on a flat, level surface with the engine turned off. Let your car cool down before Checking Your Oil. Pop the hood open and get ready to Check The Oil! Step 2: Find the Dipstick Next you will need to locate the Dipstick. This may or may not be easy to find. Sometimes it will have a colored handle that is yellow or orange. If you do not see it, you can check your owner’s manual for it's location. Step 3: Clean the Dipstick Next thing you will want to do is clean the Dipstick off so ... read more

What is Our Vehicle In-Process? Hi! Welcome to Graham Auto Repair! Today we are going to share with you our current Vehicle In-Process. If you don't know what I mean by that: the process that we go through when we process our customers' vehicles before having any repair or maintenance services completed at our Shop. Some of these steps have always been part of our process. But recently, due to the Coronavirus COVID-19 Pandemic, we have begun adding even more steps for added assurance of Health and Safety. Check out our YouTube Video by clicking on the Link or on the Picture above. In this Video our Service Advisor Rob goes through our Vehicle In-Process steps that we are going to discuss below.               First things first: greeting our Customers! If it's been awhile since yo ... read more

How Important is Coolant & Antifreeze? Check out our YouTube Video about Antifreeze and Coolant! We all know that it's important to get our Oil Changed regularly (even if we do procrastinate) and we all know that it's impossible to drive our vehicle without filling it up regularly with Gas (boy do we all wish THAT wasn't true?!). But do you know that Antifreeze/Coolant is another very important fluid for our vehicles? Making sure that our vehicles have Antifreeze/Coolant with the proper amount of protection is VITAL to our vehicle's well-being. What is Antifreeze/Coolant? Before we get into the finer details about Antifreeze and Coolant you should know this: The names "Antifreeze" and "Coolant" are interchangeable. In the Summer it's better known by the name "Coolant" and in the Winter it's better known by the name "Antif ... read more

It's important to know when it's time to purchase New Tires. It's extremely unsafe to drive on worn out Tires! Continue reading below as we answer the question, "How Do I Check My Tires?" We will give you 5 different things to look for, to help you decide when it's time to Replace Your Tires. You can also watch our YouTube Video. Our Service Advisor, Rob will show you step by step what to look for when checking your Tires. 5 Ways to Check Your Tires   1. Check the Tread DepthAt 3/32 it's Time to Replace Your TiresYou can watch the YouTube Video to see an example of How to Check the Tread Depth of Your Tires. The easiest, most straight-forward way to Check Your Tires is to use a Tread Depth Gau ... read more

When to Change Brake Pads Watch this Video on YouTube: What Are Brake Pads? Brakes are one of the most important parts of any vehicle! They help to ensure that you and your passengers are safe on the road. That is why it's so important to know When to Change your Brake Pads. The easiest way to find out is by scheduling a Brake Inspection. Most of us wait until something breaks before we actually look into fixing it. With an Automobile this can often be a mistake! Especially with something so vital as your Vehicle's Brakes. The last thing that any of us wants is: to find out that our Brakes are bad in an emergency, when it's too late! If someone runs out in front of our car while we're driving; if someone slams on their brakes in front of us unexpectedly - those are both times that we really need to be able to depend on our Brakes. What Ar ... read more