3 Indicators Your Ford Requires Professional Service

There are many different signs that your vehicle needs maintenance or a repair. As your Ford dealership, we want to tell you some of the signs you need to visit us for a professional service.

Strange Smells

Musty, earthy smells in the cabin, the odor of burning plastic or rubber, or the smell of hot metal are all signs something is wrong. As time passes, components gradually wear out, and this can lead to trouble if they’re not replaced. Regular servicing prevents all these issues, as our technicians can identify potential problems and fix them.

Burning plastic usually means damaged wiring. Electricity will continue to flow into a wire up to the break, causing it to overheat and burn the protective insulation. A burning rubber smell is caused by old transmission fluid overheating in the hot transmission. An earthy, musty smell means bacteria have infested the AC ducts and need to be removed. Our technicians can quickly fix these and any of these issues.

Illuminated Warning Lights

Your Ford contains a vast network of sensors that receive instructions from and relay information to your car’s computer so it can make decisions. The sensors also monitor the component they’re connected to and warn the computer if the component is malfunctioning.

If the computer can’t correct the issue, it logs it with an error code and illuminates the warning light most directly related to the problem. If a warning light comes on, contact our service department and we’ll investigate. Sensors can detect minute changes in their connected component, so the quicker we fix the issue, the greater the chance we can prevent a serious problem.

Colored Exhaust Smoke

Normal exhaust smoke is often difficult to see. If the exhaust suddenly vents blue, black, or thick white smoke, it’s time to visit our service department ASAP. Blue smoke means an oil leak into the cylinders, which can be caused by damaged cylinder seals or a worn gasket.

Thick, white exhaust smoke is caused by an engine coolant leak due to a crack in the head gasket, a protective seal that prevents oil and coolant from mixing in the engine. Black exhaust smoke means the catalytic converter isn’t correctly converting the dangerous chemicals produced by combustion.

If your Ford isn’t working as well as it should, we can fix it. Contact us today at Courtesy Ford in Altoona, PA.

Tags: Car Maintenance, Courtesy Ford Lincoln, Ford Service
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