Cary Auto Repair

If you’ve ever put off an oil change, a tune-up or getting your brake pads replaced, you may have well thought, “Well, what’s the big deal, really?” Maybe it isn’t a big deal, depending on how long you have put off your car maintenance. But if you’ve ever bought a used car, what’s the first, beyond the price, thing that you find yourself wondering about? “Boy, I hope the person who owned this car before me took good care of it…” That’s something to keep in mind, the next time you ask yourself, “Is it really a big deal that I’m putting off getting my tires rotated and that I’m going to hold off on the oil change I’ve been putting off for a while now?” Yeah, it kind of is. It’s a big deal for your car and for you, as the paper work on maintaining/repairing your vehicle will have an effect on much the car is worth and how much you’ll likely be able to sell or trade your c ... read more

Some of the easiest-to-ignore things in life are some of the most important to remember. You probably don’t think about your tire pressure much, but arguably, we all should. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, tire failure causes about 11,000 crashes a year. And some of those crashes are deadly. A tire blowout can be very scary. For instance, in February 2018, a TV station reported a driver whose tire blew out near Kingsport, Tennessee – the driver (who was not injured) lost control of his car, which then went through a median and a cable barrier and dragged the tangled cables behind it across northbound lanes. Incredibly, nobody was injured, but traffic was delayed for hours. So, you probably don’t need to be convinced that tire safety is impor ... read more

“It’s time to get that replaced.” Those are words that no car owner wants to hear. After all, replacing, or repairing a car part means that you’re going to spend money, and if you’re short on cash, you may understandably be tempted to put off getting something fixed. After all, if your car is fully functioning, and money is tight, why not wait a little while longer? Indeed, sometimes the answer is, “Why not?” But at Milex Complete Auto Care / Mr. Transmission we will make sure you understand what needs to be complete immediately and those things that you can wait and schedule later.  Some car parts, when they start weakening, can set off a chain reaction and cause other problems with your vehicle. Sometimes trying to save a $60 repair job can translate into a few months from now, or in even a few days, having a $600 problem. Putting off a car repair or delaying in getting a car part ... read more

High on the short list of terrible things that can happen on a summer road trip – along with getting lost in a different state or forgetting your valuables in a rest stop bathroom – is having your mode of transportation fail on you. Car troubles are bad enough when they happen during your everyday life. Having something happen to your car while you’re on a road trip just compounds the frustration, fear and confusion. Here at Milex Complete Auto Care / Mr. Transmission, we want your summer vacationing to be as pleasant as possible, so the only screams you hear are ones of delight as your family spends time making memories, and not waiting for roadside assistance. Here are four tips for preparing your car for the rigors of the summer road trip. 1. Check fluid levels! This might seem like a massive checklist already, but the risk of something going wrong and damaging your car’s parts or leaving you s ... read more

It’s one of those things that we all take for granted. Every time you’ve reached for those buttons, turned those knobs and set those dials, your air conditioner has always worked for you. That chilly blast is a blessing of arctic comfort in a vehicle where interior vehicle temperatures can rise well above 150 degrees in the summer. So, it’s no surprise that you lose your cool when there’s no breeze at the push of a button or no cool when you crank a temperature dial down as far as it will go.   What you can do? Getting stuck in traffic is enough to get even the most patient person hot under the collar, but getting stuck in traffic with no air conditioning in the middle of the summer can leave you steaming — literally. Vehicle HVAC systems are complex, and unless you’re familiar with how to work on them and have the necessary tools, it might be best to leave that to the experts at your local  ... read more

The maintenance-required light is easy to reset if you know the proper steps to take with your specific vehicle. Below is a breakdown of the most common procedures by manufacturer. If you have a vehicle that is not covered in these procedures, you can always come by a Milex Complete Auto Care/Mr. Transmission and we can help you get it reset. ToyotaStep 1 - Turn the key to the on position. Step 2 - Determine that the odometer reading is displayed. (For some models, it's the trip-meter "A" that you want to be displaying.) Step 3 - Turn the key back off. Step 4 - Push and hold the reset button for the trip meters. (Same button as used to navigate between the odometer and the two trip meters.) Step 5 - While continuing to depress the reset button, turn the key back to the "on" position, but not so far as the "sta ... read more

Have you ever felt like you were driving inside a blender? That is, your car started shaking uncontrollably? If that’s ever happened to you, you probably needed new shock absorbers/struts. Shock absorbers (struts) do exactly what they say they do, they absorb shock, which means that they keep your tires firmly planted on the road and consequently you can easily control your car. Without properly working shock absorbers/struts, your car is going to bounce and keep bouncing. This bouncing is going to make your car hard to steer, especially on turns. Also, when you brake, you may find the front of your car dips downward. Driving a car with shocks/struts that are failing or falling apart is a little like going on a ride at an amusement park, without the amusement. So how can you tell if your shocks/struts are worn and need replacing? Obviously, if your car is bouncing, rolling in turns, dipping when braking and/or shaking uncontrollably, you probably need shock absorbers/struts. Aft ... read more

At some point, if you keep your car long enough, your battery will need to be replaced. It’s just the circle of battery life. In fact, most new car manufactures equip your car with a battery that meets the bare minimums as far as performance. A lot of the time these batteries that come with your new car will give you little to no notice before it gives up. You’ll never keep it going indefinitely, past the usual two to four-year time frame that most of them last. Still, there are strategies you can try, if you’re really interested in keeping your battery around as long as possible. Some of those strategies include… Don’t leave your car out in the heat. Sadly, here in the Carolinas we have our share of hot weather, so batteries probably won’t last as long as they might in Minnesota. In other words, the heat can take a toll and if you park outside on hot, humid summer days, like most of us have to do from time to time, you may b ... read more

  In honor of Earth Day celebrated next Monday, April 22, Milex Complete Auto Care / Mr. Transmission is offering suggestions of things you can do with your vehicle and commuting routines to take better care of the planet. Earth Day Network says transportation is now the fastest-growing source of greenhouse gas emissions, accounting for 24 percent of global emissions. Here’s the good news: Going green doesn’t mean spending a ton of green. Let’s examine several solutions to protect the environment with your car that don’t involve adding a brand-new hybrid to your garage.   Carpool We understand that ditching the car in favor of a bike or the bus may not be feasible to most people. However, spending one or two days catching a ride with a co-worker who lives nearby, or even a neighbor who works near you, can make a dif ... read more

      Everyone knows a car engine needs oil. But you may not know why your car needs oil, and if you don’t know, it becomes easier to put it off. After all, the thought is you’ll get around to it sooner or later. A little later may not hurt your car – too much. But again, there are good reasons to take your car’s oil needs very seriously. Your oil keeps your engine working smoothly. At Milex /Mr. Transmission we aren’t just talking figuratively but also literally. Your engine has a lot of metal parts that move and work in close proximity to each other, but they aren’t supposed to touch. In fact, the term bearing in an engine is not like a ball bearing that you are familiar with, it is a soft metal sleeve that precisely fits with a rotating assembly, like a crank shaft. Crank bearings keep the crank shaft running smoothly on a thin film of lubricant, bu ... read more