Memphis Auto Repair

  There was a man in the Memphis area who learned that most car accidents occur within a mile of home – so he moved. (Just kidding!)When we think of defensive driving, we often focus on our local Tennessee highway situations. The fact of the matter is we need to be just as careful close to home in Memphis, because that's where we do most of our driving. We can't let our familiar surroundings keep us from driving defensively.Defensive driving begins with the proper attitude. Have in mind that you won't let anyone take your safety away from you. You'll be aware of your surroundings, road conditions, other vehicles and hazards. And the first person to be concerned with is you: start with your own environment.Don't leave without securing all occupants including children and pets. Watch for loose items that can become projectiles during evasive maneuvers.Driving too fast or too slow increases the chance of an accident.Never drive impaired: Alcohol is a facto ... read more

Taking care of our tires is part of vehicle care for Memphis drivers. We know they have to be replaced when they wear out, but tires also require some preventive maintenance. This maintenance will improve and extend the life of the tires, so it's well worth the effort and expense for Memphis drivers to get it done. Tire maintenance includes keeping tires properly inflated, rotating tires and balancing wheels.The recommended tire pressure for a vehicle's tires is printed on a sticker on the inside of the driver's side doorjamb. A lot of engineering goes into calculating the correct pressure, so it's an important number for Memphis vehicle owners to know. Not following this recommendation can throw off the suspension system and can lead to tire damage. Underinflated tires wear out more quickly than properly inflated tires. Vehicles also get better traction and handling on properly inflated tires. Check your tire pressure at least once a week and add air if necessary.Don't be t ... read more

Many Memphis drivers probably don't think of their shock absorbers as an important safety system; but that's just what shocks and struts are. They're all about ride control – keeping your vehicle tires in contact with the road and managing body motion.Every time you hit a bump or pothole on a Memphis road, your tire wants to bounce up. The bigger the bump, the higher the bounce. Your shocks or struts push down on the tire to maintain the traction you need to start, stop and turn.If you've ever ridden in a vehicle with bad shocks, you know how it wallows on corners. The front end dives when you hit the brakes and the rear end squats when you accelerate. It's not only uncomfortable, it is difficult to handle.You may have heard vehicles described as having “flat cornering." That means that when you take a corner, the body doesn't roll very much. When shocks start to get worn, your vehicle will roll more on corners. The weight of your vehicle's bo ... read more

Memphis residents' vehicles have to operate in a wide range of Tennessee temperatures which requires the engine coolant to be able to perform 'no matter what.' Think for a moment about the environment where the coolant does its thing. Very hot, high pressure, corrosive...And all the while, it has to protect the components of the cooling system from corrosion. These components are made from steel and aluminum, plastics and rubber. The coolant has to be formulated to protect against corrosion for all of these different materials. That's why vehicle manufacturer’s recommend different types of anti-freeze for our Memphis, Tennessee, vehicles.There are several different 'families' of anti-freeze available to us here in Memphis. Your owner's manual will tell you what kind you should use. Of course, the automotive professionals at Allen's Automotive Center will know the right kind for your vehicle.It's important to stay on top of this because coolant system failure is th ... read more

No matter how well they're made, vehicles in Memphis, Tennessee, will have design or manufacturing problems. And when the government thinks a problem is really serious for people in Memphis, Tennessee, they require the manufacturer to issue a recall notice and fix the vehicle  free of charge. The manufacturer then tries to contact everyone in Tennessee who owns that type of vehicle to get the recall work done. Perhaps you have received a postcard notifying you of a recall. The government has links on its websites, or just visit AutoNetTV for links. There are many websites with free recall information and searches. There's CarFax, AutoByTel and the DMV.Recalls are serious but not all that common. Sometimes there are fewer issues, and for these, manufacturers issue a Technical Service Bulletin, or TSB, that tells service centers like Allen's Automotive Center how to repair a frequent or difficult problem.The pros get ... read more

Tires are an expensive purchase, so knowing when tires should be replaced is important for Memphis drivers. Tires will just wear out with normal use. The depth of the tread on your tire determines how well it will stop, start and steer – especially in wet conditions. 4/32th of an inch (3.2 mm) of tire tread is considered a safe amount of tread.Uneven tread wear can be a symptom of other problems, and simply replacing your tires will not prevent the same uneven wear from happening to the new tires. At Allen's Automotive Center in Memphis, we can inspect your tires for excessive or uneven wear. Unusual wear may lead to further inspection of steering, suspension or alignment problems. We can help with necessary repairs and with getting you the right tires for your needs.Give us a call.Allen's Automotive Center1195 WINFIELD AVE.Memphis, Tennessee 3811690

When all of your vehicle's wheels are lined up exactly with each other, your wheels are in alignment. Hitting a road hazard or even just the normal bumps and bounces of everyday driving in Memphis can cause your vehicle's wheels to be out of alignment.Driving for an extended time around Memphis when your wheels are out of alignment results in uneven tire wear. This is dangerous … and expensive. Worst case scenario, you have a blowout on a crowded Tennessee highway. It can also cause premature wear to your suspension system, which can be really expensive to repair. At the very least, you may have to replace your tires years too early. The ideal alignment for your vehicle was designed by its engineers. Alignment service at Allen's Automotive Center starts with an inspection of the steering and suspension – to see if anything's bent or broken. Then your friendly and knowledgeable Allen's Automotive Center technician will look at tire condition ... read more

Fuel filters clean the dirt, dust and debris out of your fuel. Both gasoline and diesel-powered engines have them. The fuel filter is located in the fuel line between the fuel tank and the vehicle engine.Memphis auto owners don't need to filter their fuel because it has lots of grit in it; they need to filter it because it has some grit it in. Any dirt is bad for your engine. The cleaner the fuel, the better your vehicle engine will run.Over time, the small amounts of rust, dirt and contaminants in your fuel settle out inside the fuel tank. After about five years, this can amount to a quite a bit of sediment. This means that as your vehicle ages, your fuel filter has to work harder to screen your fuel: more sediment in your tank means more potential for grit in your fuel.The harder your fuel filter works, the more often it needs to be replaced. Check with your owner's manual to find out how often it should be serviced and how long you can expect it to last. Memph ... read more

Here at AutoNetTV, we have national viewers, like your neighbors in Memphis, who write to us with questions or feedback. One common question we're asked is: "What is a differential and what does it do?" You may have been told by your Allen's Automotive Center service advisor that your differential needs serviced, or it's seen it as an option up on the service menu. Differential service at Allen's Automotive Center covers a lot of things, so let's first talk about what a differential does.As you drive through a turn, your outside wheels and inside wheels turn at different speeds. Kind of like the cars going around a race track - the ones driving in the outside lanes have a greater distance to travel than the cars in the inside lanes. The differential is what allows the outside and inside drive wheels to rotate at slightly different speeds so that the tires don't hop or skip while taking corners, or lose traction in dirt or snow ... read more

When your experienced Allen's Automotive Center technician changes your oil, he will also inspect your air filter. You shouldn't need a new air filter at every oil change, but you will need to change it regularly. Heed your technician's auto advice if they tell you to change your air filter.An air filter does what its name implies: it filters stuff out of the air. Air is drawn into your engine through the filter because your engine needs air to burn fuel. If the filter weren't there, a lot of dust and debris would come into the vehicle engine with the air when you are driving around Memphis. That dust and debris would get hot, burn and produce all kinds of ash and gumminess that would eventually clog up your engine. Drop in an air filter and voilá! Problem solved. But air filters themselves get clogged up with all the junk they clean out of the Memphis air. This doesn't allow the junk into the vehicle engine, but it d ... read more