News

After 32 years of repairing vehicles in every part of the densely-populated Atlanta metro area, DW Campbell Tire & Auto Service Centers has solved a lot of automotive issues. In honor of our six Atlanta area service centers, we've put together a list of the six most common problems we have to fix and what to do when they happen to you.

1. Check Engine Light - Ah, the vague and mysterious check engine light. This light can mean anything from a loose fuel cap to a failed emissions component to catastrophic engine failure. Don't panic. That light actually means, "I'm your car's computer and I sense something wrong," and that means our sophisticated diagnostic tools can speak to your computer and narrow the problem down significantly making it easy to find a fix. Have us plug in and find out what ails your ride. Chances are it's something a lot less scary than that light.

2. Coil Conundrums - Your battery doesn't make enough electricity to power your spark plugs, so the ignition coil takes power from the battery and sends it to your plugs at a much higher voltage. When your ignition coils or individual coil packs fail your car will do everything from skipping a bit to stopping altogether. Coils are generally inexpensive, quick to install and easy to diagnose.

3. Sensor Snafus - The sophisticated computer in your late model car, truck or SUV is constantly adjusting the amount of fuel and air in the cylinders for maximum power and efficiency. To do this it needs input from sensors like the Throttle Position, Oxygen and Mass Air Flow sensors. Failure of any one of these components will set off the dreaded check-engine light but replacing it will usually be a snap.

4. Bad Cats - We see a lot of bad catalytic converters, which clean the exhaust fumes from your engine by passing exhaust gasses through a honeycomb of tiny passages that can get blocked up with soot and crud. Catalytic converters require precious metals like platinum to work making them a pretty expensive but simple fix. If your cat is plugged your car will utterly fail to run and we will be installing a new one, usually while you wait.

5.  Tire Troubles - This may seem obvious but you would be amazed at how many ways a customer can ruin a tire. Driving on underinflated tires, failure to rotate and balance tires regularly and lack of a good alignment costs our customers a lot of dough. Do the simple things to maintain your tires and their life expectancy goes way, way up.

6. Throwing on the Brakes - Brakes use friction to slow you down and they are meant to wear out while they do their job. If you visit DW Campbell Tire & Auto Service Centers for regular maintenance and inspection then you will probably only require a set of pads when the time comes, which is fast and cheap. Ignore those failing brake components and noisy brake pads too long and they will grind each other to powder and make a bill to fix them bigger in the process. Let them go even longer than that and we will be sending flowers to your hospital room. Brakes are easy to maintain as long as you keep up with them so make sure they are regularly inspected and maintained.

When you spend three decades fixing cars you start to see a few patterns. DW Campbell Tire & Auto Service Centers reminds our customers that an ounce of planned prevention will keep you out of our shop for big dollar repairs.  Avoid being a victim of the big six repair problems and other automotive issues by visiting one of our six stores located throughout the North Georgia region.