by | Apr 25, 2022 | Car Care & Driving Tips
A long road trip with kids is either a cherished family memory or an endurance test, and the difference usually comes down to preparation. Snacks and screens get all the attention, but the foundation of a good family trip is a vehicle you do not have to think about: one that starts, cools, stops, and cruises without drama for hundreds of miles. Here is how East Valley families can prepare both the car and the crew for a long drive, from a Chandler, AZ auto repair shop that preps road trip vehicles all year long.
Get the Vehicle Inspected Before You Pack a Single Bag
A breakdown is inconvenient when you are alone. With a car full of children on a remote stretch of highway in the Arizona heat, it can become genuinely dangerous. Schedule a pre-trip inspection a week or two before departure so there is time to fix anything it turns up. A good pre-trip check covers:
- Tires. Tread depth, pressure, sidewall condition, and the spare, which most drivers have not looked at in years.
- Brakes. Long descents into and out of Arizona’s high country work brakes hard, and a system that is marginal around town will show it on a mountain grade.
- Fluids. Oil, coolant, transmission fluid, brake fluid, and washer fluid, all topped and in good condition.
- Battery. Heat-stressed Valley batteries fail without much warning, and a jump start in the middle of nowhere is nobody’s favorite family activity.
- Belts and hoses. The most common causes of summer roadside breakdowns, and inexpensive to replace before they fail.
Treat Your Air Conditioning as Trip-Critical
For desert families, A/C is not a comfort feature on a road trip. It is a safety system. Hours in a hot car are miserable for adults and dangerous for small children, who overheat much faster. If your A/C has seemed weaker lately, takes longer to get cold, or makes new noises, have it checked before the trip rather than hoping it holds. Our A/C and cooling system articles describe the early warning signs. It is far easier to fix in the shop this week than in a small town halfway to your destination.
Pack an Emergency Kit for the Whole Family
Every car should carry basic emergency supplies, but a family trip raises the stakes and the quantities. Build a kit with:
- More water than you think you need, at least a gallon per person in summer.
- Non-perishable snacks beyond the fun ones, in case a delay stretches into hours.
- A first aid kit, any needed medications, sunscreen, and diapers or wipes for the little ones.
- A flashlight, phone chargers, jumper cables, and a basic tool kit.
- Sunshades for the windows, and a blanket or towels, which do double duty in both hot and cold conditions.
Keep the kit reachable, not buried under all the luggage. An emergency kit you cannot get to is decoration.
Plan the Drive Around the Kids, Not Just the Map
Veteran family travelers plan stops before they are needed, roughly every couple of hours, at places where kids can move and burn energy. Plan drive times around your children’s rhythms too. Many Arizona families leave very early in the morning, which beats both the traffic and the worst heat of the day, and often earns a couple of quiet hours while kids doze.
Load the entertainment, then load backup entertainment. Downloaded shows, audiobooks, simple travel games, and a surprise or two for the roughest hour of the trip can save everyone’s sanity. Assign an easy job to older kids, like navigator or snack manager, and the miles pass faster for them.
Drive for Conditions, Especially in Summer
Arizona road trips can swing from urban traffic to open desert to steep mountain grades within a couple of hours. Keep the fuel tank above half in remote stretches, since gas stations thin out fast outside the metro area. Watch the temperature gauge on long climbs, and if the engine begins running hot, turn off the A/C, and if needed pull over safely and let it cool rather than pushing on. During monsoon season, respect dust storms and heavy rain: pull off the road, lights off, foot off the brake for dust, and slow down significantly for rain. If anything about the car worries you mid-trip, a quick call to a shop you trust can help you decide whether to keep driving or stop. Our number is (480) 444-0242, and we are happy to talk it through.
Prep the Cabin Before You Load It
A long drive is far more pleasant in a cabin that is ready for it. Start with a real cleaning: vacuum the seats and floors, wipe down surfaces, and clear out the accumulated clutter so packing starts from zero. Replace the cabin air filter if it has been a while, because everyone breathes recirculated air for hours on a road trip, and a fresh filter noticeably improves both airflow and odor, especially in our dusty climate.
Then organize for access. Keep water, snacks, wipes, and the day’s entertainment within arm’s reach of the back seat rather than buried in the cargo area. Sunshades on the rear windows make an enormous difference for kids on Arizona highways, where afternoon sun through the glass can make a car seat miserable. Finally, check that every seat belt and car seat is properly installed and adjusted before departure day, when you have time to fix problems calmly instead of in a hotel parking lot.
Make the Memory the Destination
The best family road trips are the ones where the car never becomes the story. A pre-trip inspection, a working A/C, a well-stocked kit, and a kid-aware plan take most of the risk and stress out of the drive, leaving room for the good stuff. Network Automotive Service Center is family-owned and has been keeping East Valley families on the road since 1995. Check out our services and call (480) 444-0242 to schedule a pre-trip checkup. Then go make some memories.
by | Apr 18, 2022 | Car Care & Driving Tips
Traveling with toddlers can be a challenge. Toddlers get bored easily and are not content with sitting in a car seat for long periods of time. The best way to avoid a road trip meltdown is to find a way to entertain your toddlers and keep them occupied during the trip. These five games are easy to understand and fun to play. They are sure to keep your toddler busy in the car, regardless of the length of the trip. If you need to have your car inspected or tuned up before you road trip, be sure to make an appointment at a Mesa, AZ auto repair shop.
I Spy
I spy is a fun game for kids of all ages and is easy enough for toddlers to master and enjoy. One player gives hints about something they can see in the car or out the window, and the other players try to guess the object. The players take turns giving hints and guessing until someone guesses right. Whoever guessed the right answers gets to give the clues for the next round.
The Color Game
The color game is fun and educational and is a great way to teach children about colors while also entertaining them. One player or a parent picks a color and challenges the other players to find as many different objects of that color within a specified amount of time. Whoever finds the most objects of that color within the time span, gets to pick the color for the next round.
Road Trip Safari
Toddlers love animals and the road trip safari game is a fun way to pass the time and encourage your children to look out their windows and enjoy the things they can see. For this game, challenge your toddler or toddler to find any many different animals as possible. They can either call out the name of the animal or even draw a picture of each animal they find.
The Sound Game
The sound game teaches children to associate sounds with the things that make them. Each player takes turns making a sound, and the other players try to guess what makes that sound. Whoever guesses first gets to make the sound for the next round. You can make animal sounds, electronic sounds, car sounds or any other noise or sound.
When it comes time for a road trip, you want to be abel to keep your toddlers busy in the car so they don’t get bored or act up. You also want to make sure your vehicle is in safe working condition and ready for the road trip. Be sure to keep some of these games in mind when trying to have fun with your kids in the car. If you need to have your vehicle inspected or tuned up, you can make an appointment with a qualified Mesa, AZ auto repair shop. We are happy to assist you with all your repair needs.
by | Feb 21, 2022 | Car Care & Driving Tips
If you have kids and spend a lot of time in your car, chances are you have a lot of things in the car that take up space and make everyone excited. When you have kids, it’s easier to keep all of your exercise equipment, blankets, toys, and other essentials in the car than it is to remember to pick them up every day before you go out. If you’ve drowned in everything you keep in your car, it may be time to clean it up with these tools. If you are worried about making sure your car is safe for your kiddos, be sure to keep it in good condition. You can make an appointment with a Mesa, AZ auto repair.
Trunk Organizer
Large items and sports equipment are often thrown into the trunk of a car but are rarely organized. This makes it easy for you to lose your soccer shoes or baseball gloves. The luggage compartment organizer can hold and organize all your bulky items and helps create more storage space in the luggage compartment. They come in a variety of shapes and sizes and are reasonably priced in most stores.
Toy Organizer
If you have a young child, you may want to keep small toys, toys, colored pencils, and coloring books in your car. Instead of throwing these things on the floor and between the chairs, keep them in the backseat organizer. Bag organizers can hold a lot of things and everything in one hand.
Storage Boxes
Do you use the space under your seats? Otherwise, you will lose a good place to keep hats, gloves, baby wipes, snacks, books and other small items that are often stowed in the car. Find a storage box small enough to fit under your seat and put all of your belongings in it.
Coin Sorter
You never know when you will need money to buy a snack or drink at a soccer game or on your way to school. By arranging coins in your machine, you can take all of your money off the floor, take it out of your seats, tidy up and easily collect it when needed.
Expandable File Folder
The children have enough school papers, license forms, registration forms and registration papers to keep, sign and return. These papers are easy to store in the machine so you can keep them when you need them. The best way to organize them is to use an expandable folder. The folder can neatly store your papers and fits easily between the chair and console.
If you have kids you know how hard it is to keep your car clean and organized. The above tips can help you come up with some ways to organize all the things in your car. If you want to make sure your kids are safe while you are driving, be sure to make a tune up appointment with a Mesa, AZ auto repair shop. You can schedule your appointment by calling the Network Automotive Service Center. We are happy to help ensure that your vehicle is safe for your kids. Call today to get your appointment.
by | Feb 14, 2022 | Car Care & Driving Tips
Everyone has a favorite thing about their car. For some drivers it is the seat heaters on a chilly desert morning; for others it is the backup camera, the power liftgate, the premium sound system, or simply air conditioning that gets properly cold. These comfort and convenience features are a big part of why you chose your vehicle, and when one quietly stops working, most people just live without it. The window switch that only works sometimes, the vent that never blows cold on the passenger side, the seat that stopped adjusting: they get demoted from features to annoyances. Here is the case for fixing them, and how an auto repair shop approaches the features drivers assume are not worth repairing.
Small Failures Are Often Small Repairs
Drivers frequently assume a broken convenience feature means an expensive, complicated repair, so they never even ask. In reality, many of these failures come down to inexpensive causes: a blown fuse, a failed relay, a worn switch, a corroded connector, or a small motor at the end of its life. A power window that stopped moving may need a regulator or just a switch. A dead 12-volt outlet is often a fuse. A seat heater that quit can be a relay rather than the heating element.
The diagnostic process is what separates guessing from fixing. Modern vehicles route most comfort features through electrical modules and fuse boxes, and a technician who works on battery and electrical systems every day can trace a dead feature to its cause quickly. You may be pleasantly surprised how often the answer is minor.
Some “Comfort” Features Are Really Safety Features
It is worth separating the nice-to-haves from the need-to-works. Several features that feel like conveniences are actually part of how you drive safely:
- Air conditioning: In Arizona, working AC is not a luxury. Driving through a Phoenix-metro summer without it is a genuine health risk for children, older passengers, and pets, and a fatigued, overheated driver is a less safe driver.
- Power windows: A window stuck down is a security problem; more importantly, windows you cannot open are an emergency exit you do not have.
- Backup cameras and sensors: If you have adapted your parking habits around a camera, driving without it removes a layer of protection you actually use.
- Defrosters and climate control: Clear glass on a monsoon evening or a foggy winter morning is basic visibility.
When one of these fails, repair belongs on the schedule, not the someday list.
Deferred Small Repairs Tend to Multiply
There is a practical reason not to let broken features accumulate. Electrical problems often share causes: a chafed harness, a corroded ground, a weak battery pushing odd voltages through sensitive modules. The mystery rattle and the flickering dome light can be chapters of the same story. Addressing failures as they appear keeps diagnosis simple, because there is one new symptom to trace instead of five old ones that may or may not be related.
Heat plays a role here too. Arizona’s extreme summers are hard on switches, connectors, displays, and motors, and small electrical components age faster in our climate than in mild ones. A car that spends its life in the East Valley sun will accumulate these little failures sooner, which makes a shop that sees heat-related wear constantly a better diagnostic partner.
There is also a resale angle. When you eventually sell or trade the car, a list of broken features becomes a list of negotiating points against you. Fixing them on your own schedule is almost always better than discounting them on a buyer’s.
What an Honest Repair Conversation Looks Like
Fixing a favorite feature should start with a diagnosis and a straight answer, because not every repair is worth it on every vehicle. A good shop will tell you what failed, what the fix costs, and whether it makes sense given the vehicle’s age and your plans for it. Sometimes the answer is an easy yes: the part is minor and your daily comfort is worth far more. Occasionally the honest answer is that the repair is significant and worth weighing. Either way, you deserve the information rather than a shrug. That is the kind of conversation we have been having with East Valley drivers for a long time; Network Automotive Service Center has been family-owned since 1995, and you can read about the shop on our about page. If you want a quick read on whether a broken feature is likely a small fix, call (480) 444-0242 and describe it; that costs you nothing and often settles the question.
Fixes Drivers Are Glad They Finally Made
Some examples of features that commonly come back to life with straightforward repairs:
- Power windows and door locks that respond intermittently or stopped entirely
- Seat heaters, power seats, and memory settings
- AC that cools weakly on one side or takes forever to get cold
- Backup cameras with dark, flickering, or missing images
- Audio systems with dead speakers or steering wheel controls that stopped responding
- Key fobs, interior lights, and power outlets that quit working
Each of these has a real diagnostic path and, more often than drivers expect, a modest fix at the end of it.
Make a List, Then Make One Appointment
Here is a practical tip: walk through your car this week and note everything that does not work the way it used to. Buttons, vents, seats, cameras, speakers, lights, locks, the works. Bundle the list into a single visit. Diagnosing several small issues in one appointment is more efficient than five separate trips, and you get your whole car back at once, working the way it did when you fell in love with it.
Your car’s features exist to be used, and living without them is a choice, not a requirement. If your favorite feature has been broken long enough that you have stopped noticing, explore our services or call Network Automotive Service Center at (480) 444-0242 to schedule a visit. Let’s get your car back to being the car you actually paid for.
by | Jan 24, 2022 | Car Care & Driving Tips
If you are planning on going on a vacation for the holidays and you want to be able to make sure your car is in good condition, you have a lot of things to think about. You don’t want to take a chance of having your car break down while you are on the road or on your vacation. Here are some things to do to prepare your car for your trip and ensure it is safe and comfortable. Take it to a Chandler, AZ auto repair to have these points focused.
Brakes
The brakes are one of the most important and safest parts of a vehicle. Nonetheless, they can fail and put you in danger, particularly in the event that they have not been serviced in some time. Along these lines, guarantee the brakes are in the best condition before you jump in the vehicle. No one can really tell what kind of conditions you may experience during the excursion, from creatures going across the interstate to a lot of hills or heavy traffic. Signs that your brakes need support can be squeaking, crushing, and sparking when you apply the brake pedal, and wheel shaking.
Lights
A vehicle’s headlights are clearly an important aspect of your vehicle and make it safe to drive.. In any case, there are a few bulbs inside the lights that need to be checked and could need to be replaced before you go on your trip. There’s nothing more bothersome than attempting to utilize an inside light just to find it’s not working. Lights are generally simple to supplant, and most auto shops have a wide exhibit of substitutions, in this way saving you an outing to the shop while you are on your vacation.
Fluids
You will need to actually take a look at all liquids, including oil, brake fluid, transmission liquid, power steering fluids, windshield washer liquid, and radiator fluid. Check the oil level and the date or mileage for when you are expected for an oil change. In case you are near these figures, you want to replace the oil before you leave on your long excursion. It’s better to deal with all these things before your trip than to have to mess with them when you are on the road. Failing to do it could also make your car now work as well as you would hope and could even lead to an accident or more serious and expensive repairs during your trip.
When you are planning to have a vacation for the holidays, you want to ensure your vehicle is ready for it. That could mean having it serviced at a Chandler, AZ auto repair shop. The above things are just a few that you need to pay attention to and ensure are in good working condition. If you plan to have your car serviced and are ready to make an appointment, be sure to reach out to the Network Automotive Service Center. We are happy to assist you with your plans.
by | Jan 17, 2022 | Car Care & Driving Tips
If you are going to be traveling in the winter it’s a good idea to have a lot of emergency supplies in your car. If you don’t keep these things in your car at all times, you should load it up in the winter. You should also take your car to a Mesa, AZ auto repair shop to ensure it is safe to drive. You should also make sure there are some of these things in it.
Emergency Kit
Continuously be ready with a completely supplied emergency treatment unit. You’ll need to begin with the fundamentals, similar to a couple of vinyl assessment gloves, emergency treatment tape, plastic glue wraps, medications, cotton swabs, band aids, clean wipes, alcohol. disinfectant swabs and scissors. It’s also a good idea to add anything you might use in an emergency. Make a convenient agenda of packed things, then, at that point, continue to add to your list. Furthermore, remember to renew your provisions often so they don’t expire or become damaged. You can keep these things in a plastic box or even a metal box. Slide it under your seat or keep it in your trunk. Wherever it stays safe is best.
Water
Water and winter aren’t a perfect pair. With beneath zero temperatures, it might sound senseless to keep water in your vehicle. Nonetheless, without it, you could run into genuine medical problems on the off chance that you stall while out and about in an unfortunate climate. Store your water in the front rather than in the storage compartment, and for best outcomes, go with water that is completely purified. Never leave your water in direct sunlight, as this can cause problems and even lead to the plastic breaking down and becoming part of the water you drink.
Lights and Flares
Since it gets darker prior in the cold weather months, on the off chance that you stall out and about you’ll need to ensure different vehicles see you. Keep a safety vest to wear while you are replacing a tire, a S.O.S. banner and wellbeing whistle with cord on the off chance that your vehicle stalls in an area where there are no plugs or you don’t have any batteries. You never know when you will be broken down at night or if you would happen to drive off the road and need something that would make it easier to find you.
You will likely have to drive in winter weather at some point in your life. Some people do it a lot more often than others. You should always have some important gear in your car in case of an emergency. Now only should you have the inside of your car ready, but you should make sure the engine and other components are safe for the road as well. You can do that by taking it to a Mesa, AZ auto repair shop. Call Network Automotive Service Center to make an appointment for service today.