Automotive Transmission Issues
Transmission failure is one of the leading issues that cause drivers to call our expert roadside assistance team. In this blog entry, the roadside towing experts here at Chicago Towing will detail the top signs that indicate a car’s transmission is experiencing failure.
Gear Shift Issues
If your car won’t shift into the right gear, it’s likely due to transmission issues. You might experience a delay in gear engagement after shifting from drive to spark (with automatic transmission cars.) If your car has manual transmission, this issue can be seen in a delay between revving your engine and the speed of the vehicle increasing (your car will accelerate slower than expected.) This phenomenon is known as slipping transmission.
Strange Sounds
If you’re hearing strange and unfamiliar sounds coming from your vehicle – like humming, clanking, or a buzz, it’s likely due to a failed transmission. Transmissions are complicated pieces of machinery with many moving parts – and wear on a single one of these parts can cause strange noises. These sounds indicate the potential of a transmission failure. Automatic transmission issues cause buzzing or humming, while manual transmission failures cause clunking.
Fluid Leakage
Transmission fluid is essential for lowering the friction in your vehicle and stopping it’s engine from overheating. Transmission fluid leakages increase the chances that your transmission will overheat or completely fail. If you see bright red liquid under your car, it must be brought to a transmission shop as soon as possible. If there’s leaking black or dark brown fluid that has a burning smell, it indicates that your transmission is overheating and that the transmission fluid has been burnt – meaning that the transmission must be fully replaced.
Burning Odor
Like mentioned above, a burning odor indicates that transmission fluid is beginning to overheat, likely because of a metallic part breaking down, or sludge or debris within the clutch. Transmission fluid must be flushed out after 100,000 miles – neglecting to do so will cause this burning smell. This smell is reminiscent of burning rubber, and may be accompanied by smoke.
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3 Reasons Why Tow Trucks Get So Busy in the Spring Time
While Winter is certainly one of the busiest times of the year for tow trucks, Spring is far from being an incident-free season for drivers on the road. Yes, the weather has improved so there are fewer risks when driving, yet the impact that the long winter has on your vehicle often rears its head come Spring time.
This leads to a surprising amount of vehicle breakdowns, with all kinds of issues causing drivers to require roadside assistance. As a result, tow trucks get very busy during Spring time, so let’s take a closer look at some reasons why this happens!
1. Better Driver Conditions Means More Drivers on the Road
This one is surprisingly simple – Spring brings better driving conditions so people tend to drive more frequently compared to winter. Icy and snowy conditions have subsided for the most part, so people can drive longer without any risks, leading to a notable increase in vehicles on the road.
As you can image, more vehicles mean more possibility of breakdowns, whether from long-term issues that developed over winter or general auto accidents like a fender bender or getting locked out the car.
2. The Effects of Winter
Winter is a harsh time for any vehicle. Beyond the inherent risks of driving in ice, snow, sleet, and rain, the extreme conditions can wreak havoc on various parts of your vehicle. These problems sometimes don’t rear their heads until spring, where the changing conditions and/or increased use of your vehicle cause the issues to become very apparent.
For example, the low temperatures in winter force the car battery to work harder than normal, and when the temperatures rise in Spring the fluids in the battery evaporate much quicker, increasing the chances of the battery completely dying.
Similarly, constant changes in temperature between Winter and Spring cause tire pressure to fluctuate, leading them to be over or underinflated. When this happens, tires are susceptible to bursting, with many people needing to call a tow truck in spring for a tire change.
These are a just a few examples of the various auto issues that start to develop in winter and come to head by the Spring time. Always make sure to get your car checked and serviced for Spring time!
3. Spring Break
One of the busiest times of the year for travelling, Spring break sees students across the country head home or away on vacation while schools take a short break. Colleges have different dates for Spring break, so for most of Spring time you will find a lot of students driving on the road, often across long distances as they head home for vacation.
Tow trucks often find themselves assisting students that are travelling during Spring break, often in vehicles that aren’t in the newest condition. These breakdown issues can be something minor like a failed tire or something more serious with the engine, which can often happen when making a long-distance drive.
Plaza Towing has been serving the roadside and vehicle transporting needs of Coachella Valley since 1969. With locations in Palm Desert and Indio, and a fleet of over 30 tow trucks, Plaza Towing is able to handle every roadside service challenge and meet every towing need. Offering light duty towing, medium duty towing, heavy duty towing, specialized trailer transport, and private party impounds, one or more of our tow vehicles are always out on the road providing quality service to both individual and commercial customers somewhere in Coachella Valley. Readily available 24/7/365, contact Plaza Towing to get a truck dispatched to your location either now, or at a planned time of your choosing. Reach us online, or call us now at (866) 775-4314!
The post 3 Reasons Why Tow Trucks Get So Busy in the Spring Time appeared first on Plaza Towing.
5 Common Reasons That Big Rig Trucks Need Roadside Assistance
As some of the largest vehicles on the road, it is little surprise that big rig trucks are susceptible to frequent breakdowns. Add in the fact that these vehicles travel long distances for prolonged periods and it’s easy to see why most big rig trucks need to call for roadside assistance at some stage!
There are other factors that make the huge vehicles more prone to breakdowns, from the age of the rig to the current driving conditions, leading to various types of auto problems that typically appear at the worst time possible.
Let’s take a look at the 5 most common reasons that big rig trucks need roadside assistance – being aware of the causes may help you avoid a breakdown in the future!
Tires
Without a doubt the most common cause of big rig breakdown is tire problems, accounting for around half of all breakdowns. The reasons that tires fail on big rigs are much the same as any other vehicle, with things like under or over inflation, worn treads, and misaligned axles on being contributing factors for tire failure.
Additionally, give the massive weights that these tires are carrying over long distances, wearing tends to occur at a much quicker pace than a car, even if the huge tires are designed to withstand larger loads.
Brakes
Damaged brakes account for roughly 30% of big rig breakdowns, making it the second most common cause for needing roadside assistance.
The reason brake failure is so common on big rig trucks is the immense pressure that the drum brake and discs are under – they are exposed to more friction, heat, and pressure than brakes on other vehicles.
Most of this can be avoided with regular maintenance, checking for signs of wearing on the brakes like rusting, corrosion, air leakages, water contamination etc.
Refrigeration Issues
With a large portion of big rig trucks transporting temperature-controlled goods, such as food and medicine, they require special refrigerated trailers to maintain the correct temperature to avoid spoiling the goods.
Should any sort of problem arise with the refrigeration unit then roadside assistance is quickly needed to prevent the products from going to waste. It’s the type of problem truck drivers cannot overlook or their entire load could end up ruined.
Cooling System
Lots of connections are needed in big rig trucks to operate the coolant system, yet these connections are susceptible to breaking and disconnecting during transit, leading to coolant loss that will cause issues with the thermostat.
Thankfully, it can be fixed with relative ease, although the need to stop wait for roadside assistance is still a huge inconvenience for drivers.
Electrics
Big rig trucks have a lot more electrics than your average vehicle, including cranking and charging systems, along with standard electrics like the truck’s lights. These complex electrical systems need regular maintenance to avoid failure, which is a common cause for big rig breakdowns.
In fact, there are three electrical systems that need maintained, with start motor, alternator, and battery all playing an important role in the vehicle functioning. Any issues with these will require immediate roadside assistance, whether it’s the truck failing to start or battery dying mid drive.
Plaza Towing has been serving the roadside and vehicle transporting needs of Coachella Valley since 1969. With locations in Palm Desert and Indio, and a fleet of over 30 tow trucks, Plaza Towing is able to handle every roadside service challenge and meet every towing need. Offering light duty towing, medium duty towing, heavy duty towing, specialized trailer transport, and private party impounds, one or more of our tow vehicles are always out on the road providing quality service to both individual and commercial customers somewhere in Coachella Valley. Readily available 24/7/365, contact Plaza Towing to get a truck dispatched to your location either now, or at a planned time of your choosing. Reach us online, or call us now at (866) 775-4314!
The post 5 Common Reasons That Big Rig Trucks Need Roadside Assistance appeared first on Plaza Towing.