Trusted repairers
All workshops are MTA approved, so you know your car's in safe hands. All work is covered by our 6-month / 10,000km warranty.
Troubleshooting Guide
My Auto Shop makes it easy to find a local MTA approved mechanic to fix even the most obscure repair. We appreciate that not everyone knows the difference between a harmonic balancer and EGR valve. Thats why we've focused on making it easier to diagnose a mechanical problem without all the technical language.
So if you hear, smell or see something coming from your car that makes you feel uneasy, throw your details into our platform and we will help get to the bottom of the issue.
Common Symptoms
Some of the more common symptoms of car trouble are easy to diagnose. Once you know the cause, these straight forward issues are often easy to fix as well, and can be done without any technical training. If you find any of these problems, and want a little help from a pro, we are here ready to help.
Oil Leak
Oil is CRITICAL to the health of your vehicle. Without it the working parts of the engine will seize, and the very least they will wear quickly and heat up to dangerous levels. An oil leak might not be a big deal and its not uncommon for older cases to leave a few spots on the driveway. If you've lost a lot of oil however, you should get your car to a mechanic quickly.
Oil leaks are often a result of:
- Your oil filter not being installed properly;
- A damaged oil pan;
- A loose, damaged or missing oil cap;
- Damaged oil cooler lines or valve cover gaskets.
Rough Idle
Rough idling is a term used to describe when your cars revs fluctuate (move up or down) when the car is stopped. There are many reasons for rough idling and it often requires a visit to a mechanic to get to the bottom of it. Here are a few of the main reasons your cars idle might bounce around:
- Dirty Fuel Injectors;
- Old or ineffective spark plugs;
- A blocked air filter may be choking your engine;
- A damaged Oxygen Sensor may be sending incorrect information to your engines computer causing it to run lean or rich.
Key's Not Turning
Finally, an easy one! Most of the time this will be because your battery is dead.If this isn't the case you will likely have an issue with the key itself, or the ignition lock cylinder.
Car Overheating
There are a few giveaways of an overheating car to look out for. The clearest signal is if the temperature gauge on the dash is higher than normal. In most modern cars the check engine light will illuminate once your car gets to a certain temp as well. If you car emits steam or white smoke from the engine bay pull over and seek assistance.
You car may overheat if any of the following things have occurred:
- You've had a coolant leak and its not been cooling your engine down;
- Your radiator fan is broken or damaged; or
- The thermostat in you car is broken.
In any case this is probably a fix for a mechanic.
AC Won't Work
God forbid this happens on a hot summers day! If air is coming from the vents but it won't get cold it probably due to refrigerant leak or an issue with the AC Compressor. If air won't come out at all there are other issue at play. Get a mechanic to look at the blower motor.
Smoke From The Exhaust
The cause of smoke from the exhaust can be diagnosed by determining the smokes colour.
1. Black smoke - typically means the engines fuel / air mix is rich, and is often the result of a leaking fuel injector, faulty engine control module (ECM) or a damaged fuel pressure regulator;
2. Grey smoke - is a clear symptom that the engine is burning oil. More often than not you've overfilled your engines oil during the last oil change;
3. White smoke - is most likely condensation but if these is a lot of smoke being omitted you should check to be sure there is not a coolant leak.
Car Warning Lights
Modern cars have clever computers that help to identify and diagnose an issue before any physical symptoms are often found. Keep an eye out for lights on the dash that usually extinguish shortly after starting up your car. These might be telling you something important.
At My Auto Shop we make diagnosing a warning light simple. Just enter your vehicles details and describe the light. We will take it from there.
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