Wilmot Auto Repair

Remember snow tires? They were basically just regular tires with big, knobby lugs to get them through deep snow. They were loud and rode hard, and Wilmot drivers couldn't wait to get them off the car. Then along came television advertisements for “all-season” radials. NH drivers ran out and bought some and we thought we were done with snow tires forever.Tires have come a long way since then. Modern winter tires sold in the Wilmot area are much better designed for the wide range of conditions that come with NH winter weather. They are made with a rubber compound that helps them stay flexible in cold weather. Regular tires become hard and stiff at Wilmot temperatures below 45°F (7° C) which reduces their traction. That's a concern in winter, especially with snowy or wet conditions. But it also means that Wilmot drivers are better off with winter tires in cold weather even when it's dry.The tread design on winter tires has been improved to move snow, slush and water ... read more

The automotive professionals at Walker Automotive would like to give Wilmot drivers an update on some of the things happening in automotive fluids. You know, vehicles are becoming more sophisticated every day.  Fluids such as, oil, coolant and transmission fluid are becoming more specialized at about the same pace.The Wilmot do-it-yourselfer has to be pretty careful so that they do not actually harm their vehicle with the wrong type of fluid. That is why so many NH ] owners rely on the advice of their friendly and knowledgeable Walker Automotive service advisor to not only get the correct family of fluids, but to suggest the formulation that is best for their vehicle and their driving habits in the Wilmot area.Let's start with engine oil. Wilmot drivers who have been paying attention will have noticed a number of new oil weights on the NH scene in the last several years. Modern engines are built to m ... read more

Here's a travel tip that'll I'll bet you didn't know, and it might keep you safer...The average American commuter in NH spends two and a half hours daily in their vehicle.The government says 100,000 auto accidents yearly are caused by drivers who fall asleep at the wheel. (Aggressive driving is the number one traffic safety concern.)So what does this have to do with how your vehicle smells while you're driving around Wilmot?Well, which scent did you think makes drivers more alert? Is it: A. Strawberry B. New Car C. Pine D. Warm Vanilla Breeze It's C. Drivers are more alert and have less fatigue with pine scent in the vehicle, according to AroMetrics.And, drivers were less angry with overall improved driving performance with strawberry and pine scents.And you thought they just smelled nice. Walker Automotive3 Deerwood DriveWilmot, NH 0328760

When your vehicle breaks down in the Wilmot, NH, area, or just needs some routine service, it can make you a little nervous. Because your vehicle's so important to your life, you need to be back on the road as soon as possible — with the problem fixed right the first time.We've been checking into some of the training our Wilmot, NH, technicians receive, and we're very impressed. It's amazing how much knowledge and skill goes into diagnosing and repairing a modern vehicle. So it's not like when your uncle worked on his hot rod over the weekend.Today there are four-cylinder engines around Wilmot that make more power than the V-8's in luxury cars did 20 years ago. A new V-6 Toyota Camry could beat Sonny Crocket's Ferrari in a race to 60 mph/97 kph.Our engines are more and more powerful. And they're so reliable. This is all due to engineering. But the benefits come to Wilmot drivers at the price of simplicity. Modern cars are so much more complex from a mechanica ... read more

Many Wilmot drivers have found themselves in the following situation: They go to get their oil changed and their friendly service advisor at Walker Automotive recommends a new engine air filter. They say yes, but don't know what an air filter is or what it does.If this has happened to you, rest assured that you did the right thing by getting a new one. But you should never be too embarrassed to ask your Walker Automotive service advisor for more information. It's your vehicle and you have a right to understand what you're paying for.Let's review: "What does an air filter do?"Air is the focus of this discussion. What is the air like outside in Wilmot right now? Can you see any smog? Is it full of pollen? How about dust? Anyone in NH with hay fever can tell you that there's plenty in the air that you can't see. Well, the engine air filter's job is to clean that air before it goes into your vehicle engine, to mix with the fuel and be burned. Without an e ... read more

Hello, welcome to Walker Automotive. Today's focus is batteries. It seems like everything in Wilmot runs on batteries. Of course, the batteries we're most concerned with here at Walker Automotive are those in our customer's vehicles. Just like the batteries in our smoke detectors or TV remote, they wear out and need to be replaced . This can be thought of as the power output used to start a cold vehicle engine. The number of cold cranking amps you need depends on your vehicle and where you live in NH, specifically how cold it is. (Many Wilmot drivers have first-hand experience trying to start their car on a cold winter morning.) The two factors are that the colder your vehicle's engine is, the more power it takes to turn the engine over to get it started. It has all that cold, sluggish oil to contend with.The other factor is that the chemical reaction in the battery that creates electrical energy is less efficient when the temperature dips. Let's say it's ... read more

Bad air quality while you're driving around Wilmot is nothing to sneeze at. But seriously, more and more vehicles these days come equipped with a cabin air filter. Since they're fairly new on the scene, a lot of folks don't know about them yet.These filters clean the air in the passenger compartment, or cabin, of your car or truck. They do the same job as the furnace filter you have at home. They can filter out particles as small as three microns. By contrast, a grain of sand is about 200 microns.So your cabin air filter can clean out dust, pollution, pollen and spores to keep the air in your car nice and clean. And just like your furnace filter, they need to be replaced when they get dirty. Check your owner's manual or ask your service advisor at Walker Automotive, but they typically need to be replaced at around 12,000 to 15,000 miles (19,000-24,000 kilometers).The filter is usually either under the hood or under the dashboard. Some are a little tricky to get to, so you'll ... read more

Every vehicle on NH roads has a differential, and it is important to the proper operation of the vehicle.  But most Wilmot residents don't have a clue what it is.The differential compensates for differing wheel speeds. For example, when you turn, the inside tire on the turn travels a much shorter distance than the outside wheel. So the inside wheel of the vehicle must move at a slower speed than the outside wheel. Without a differential, the wheels would hop and scrape while turning.Have you ever seen the large bulge in the middle of the rear axle of a truck? That's the differential. In a rear-wheel drive vehicle, the differential is located on the back axle. Four-wheel drive vehicles and SUV's have differentials on both the front and the rear axle.You might expect that the differential is located on the front axle of a front-wheel drive vehicle. You'd be right. But the differential is called a transaxle on a front-wheel drive vehi ... read more

Road trip, anyone? Nothing spoils a great vacation faster than ending up stranded on the side of the road or spending a week in a rundown motel while our vehicle sits in the shop. Long days on the road can bring out the worst in your vehicle, so before you leave, prepare it for the journey by getting a trip inspection at Walker Automotive in Wilmot. After all, you wouldn't travel without clean socks, why ask your vehicle to travel with a load of dirty oil?The first step in a trip inspection at Walker Automotive is to look at your travel plans. What kinds of roads will you be driving on? Will you be in the NH back country or on the freeway? Will you be crossing mountains? Off-roading? What will the weather be like? How far away from Wilmot will you be traveling? How much are you hauling? Will you be towing a trailer or lugging a rooftop carrier? Will you encounter dust, mud, snow or sea salt? All of these questions can help determine which services are most needed. And don't ... read more

In our auto video today we'll be talking with Alan Peterson about myths surrounding automotive maintenance. You can lump these myths into the statement that "modern vehicles are so reliable, they are virtually maintenance free."Any good myth has some elements of truth. No offense to Wilmot Bigfoot fans, but this maintenance-free myth has more evidence than most. If we look at some isolated areas of auto maintenance, we could conclude that maintenance isn't so important. But other areas would just as easily lead you to believe that maintenance is more important than ever.Here are some examples for our friends in Wilmot. Some vehicles in Wilmot no longer require chassis lubrication. They're made with self-lubricating materials and have sealed joints. There's literally no way to grease those joints. -Chalk one up for the myth.On the other side, some vehicles come with sophisticated variable valve timing. A lot of complicated parts are up in the valv ... read more