Hello York – let’s talk differentials. If you have a rear-wheel drive vehicle, your differential is on the back axle. With front-wheel drive cars, the differential is up front. All-wheel drive and 4-wheel drive vehicles have three differentials – front, rear and in the middle. So you see, you’ve got a differential (or two or three) and it needs service now and then.

What does your pickup differential do? Well, it compensates for the differences in speed between your outer and inner wheels in a turn. Using the dimensions of a typical car, let’s compare the distance the wheels travel from the start of a turn through to the completion of the turn.

The inside wheel travels about 12.6 feet. How much farther does the outside wheel travel? About 18.8 feet – over 6 feet more. This means the outer tire has to rotate 9 times in the same amount of time that the inner tire has to rotate only 6 times – so the outer tire has to spin faster in order to keep up. The differential makes this possible.

The gears in the differential are cooled and lubricated by differential fluid. It’s this fluid that needs to be serviced. Small bits of the gears break off and are suspended in the differential fluid. The dirtier the fluid, the faster the gears wear.

So your helpful Toyota of York technician drains the old fluid out and replaces it with fresh fluid. Some differentials also need a special additive that is put in at this time.

So when should you have your pickup differential serviced? Intervals vary from vehicle to vehicle – and may be as short as 15,000 miles – so check your pickup owner’s manual or ask us at Toyota of York. If you frequently drive with heavy loads, tow a trailer or drive in hot York conditions, you may need to change differential fluid more often. Servicing your differential on schedule at Toyota of York can save a pricey replacement down the road.

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Toyota of York
1885 Whiteford Road
York, PA zip code 17402

Do you like to shop for shoes in York?
When buying a running shoe, is quality important?
Does durability matter as long as the shoes look fabulous?
Would you rather have one pair of long lasting shoes or two pairs of lower quality shoes at the same price?

Is the warranty important when buying tires?
When you choose new tires in York, what’s the most important factor for you?

For most York drivers, new tires are a major purchase and they know they’ll be forking over some cash. You’re not only concerned about the price, but you want to know that it’ll be a long time before you need to do it again.

York drivers should also think about the safety aspect of tires. The tires do a lot of work – they carry the weight of the pickup and you and your passengers. You want to be sure they hold the road and provide good traction on York freeways and surface streets. If you carry heavy loads or tow a trailer on PA highways, the tires need a high load rating.

As your helpful York tire professional, I think it’s important that York people understand the effect of price on a tire’s quality, performance and durability. When I was a kid, my dad would say, “Pay twice as much and buy half as many.”

Dad applied that to a lot of things like suits and shoes. He thought that one high quality suit would last longer and look better than two cheap suits. I buy high-quality work shoes for working long hours at Toyota of York. They feel better and have steel toes and non-slip soles – and they last twice as long as cheap shoes. I don’t mind spending more initially because I get very good value for my money.

The same principle applies to tires. The major tire brands that you’re familiar with in York are known as Tier 1 tires. These tires are high quality and well-engineered. Comparable pickup Tier 1 tires are usually priced similarly.

Stepping down, you come to private label tires. Some large PA tire store chains carry tires with their own brand. It’s important to know that most private label tires are built by the same Tier 1 compaines that you are familiar with – so you are pretty safe in choosing them. To be sure, you can ask your Toyota of York tire professional which manufacturer makes their private brand.

The lowest priced tires on the market in York are Tier 3 tires which are usually imported from China or South America. Since you get what you pay for, you can’t expect a Tier 3 tire to deliver the same performance and durability as the others.

So let’s say you need new tires for your pickup. You’ve determined which features you need. You have several options, including price options. You’ve probably heard the terms “it’s a 40 thousand mile tire” or “it’s a 60 thousand mile tire”. Simply put, the manufacturer guarantees the tire for “X” number of miles. If that’s important to you, compare the warranties on the tires you are considering.

What’s the difference in the tires with high mileage warranties? It’s the rubber compounds and the amount of tread material. As you might expect, you’ll pay more for the longer-lasting tire.

Now the cheapest tires you can find in York won’t have a manufacturer’s warranty or if it does, it’ll be relatively low. That brings us back to dad’s saying. If you buy the cheapest Tier 3 tire you can, you will likely go through two sets in the time it would take to wear out one set of high quality tires. And the high-end tires won’t cost twice as much in York, so you’ll end up paying less per mile driven in York with the more expensive ones.

I realize that sometimes the budget will only allow for a Tier 3 tire. I provide them for my York customers who need them because I would rather see them driving with safe, new tires than pushing their old tires beyond their limits. But I always advise my York customers to buy as much tire as they can afford, because it will be far cheaper over the long haul.

Your tires are the only part of your vehicle that touch the road in York. You’re only as safe as your tires are well built. Buy value – not price.

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Toyota of York
1885 Whiteford Road
York, PA zip code 17402

Many York drivers probably don’t think of their shock absorbers as an important safety system; but that’s just what shocks and struts are. They’re all about ride control – keeping your pickup tires in contact with the road and managing body motion.

Every time you hit a bump or pothole on a York road, your tire wants to bounce up. The bigger the bump, the higher the bounce. Your shocks or struts push down on the tire to maintain the traction you need to start, stop and turn.

If you’ve ever ridden in a pickup with bad shocks, you know how it wallows in corners. The front end dives when you hit the brakes and the rear end squats when you accelerate. It’s not only uncomfortable, it is difficult to handle.

You may have heard vehicles described as having “flat cornering”. That means that when you take a corner, the body doesn’t roll very much. When shocks start to get worn, your vehicle will roll more in corners. The weight of your vehicle’s body shifts and tosses your vehicle to the outside of the turn, making it harder to control.

With good shocks you can turn corners with confidence. When the shocks are bad, the body rolls too much and you need to slow down to maintain the same level of control. When you have to combine brake dive with body roll, you can quickly end up with an unsafe handling situation.

Shocks can break or start to leak, but they usually just wear out. After all, your pickup shocks will move up and down over 75 million times in 50,000 miles. If you replace shocks at Toyota of York in York, it will restore your vehicle’s original ride control and quality. You can even upgrade shocks and struts if you want better handling or towing capacity on York roads.

Shocks are an important safety system: don’t wait until they are completely shot, perhaps risking your safety or damaging other suspension components. At Toyota of York we can help you with quality shocks and struts as advised in your owner’s manual, usually at around 50,000 miles, for a comfortable, safe handling ride in York.

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Toyota of York
1885 Whiteford Road
York, PA zip code 17402

Hello York! Today’s Toyota of York car care topic is: Synthetic Oil vs. Petroleum Based Oil. Synthetic motor oil is a substitute for petroleum based oil. If you aren’t currently using synthetic motor oil, maybe you ought to consider it.

Synthetic doesn’t gel or gum up like petroleum based oil and it doesn’t vaporize as easily. It protects better in severe York driving conditions like stop and go driving as well as in extreme hot or cold PA conditions. More and more new pickups are being delivered in York with full synthetic motor oil – with the recommendation to use synthetic for the life of the vehicle.

Why’s this? Synthetic motor oil maximizes engine power and fuel economy. To see why we’d need a microscope, so we’ll have to settle for using our imaginations. The molecules of conventional motor oil are long hydrocarbon chains. Synthetic motor oil, on the other hand, has uniform, round molecules. Which is slipperier? – a pile of pencils or a pile of marbles?

Synthetic motor oil lubricates better because there’s less friction. This results in myriad benefits: better wear protection, cooler operating temperatures, more power and better fuel economy. And synthetic oil doesn’t sludge up like conventional oil so it prevents those small oil passages from clogging up. (We see that all the time at Toyota of York in York.)

Some manufacturers are extending oil change intervals for many models including pickups. The added protection of synthetic oil covers you for these longer intervals. Talk with your Toyota of York advisor about how you drive in York and see if he thinks you can benefit from synthetic oil for your pickup. Also ask about the appropriate oil change interval for synthetic, because it may very well be longer than for conventional oil.

Most York drivers have a busy life and occasionally miss an oil change – go ahead admit it. Since we’re not perfect, doesn’t it make sense to use a motor oil that’s got your back?

What about price? Petroleum based oil may appear to win out on this point, but let’s consider all the facts. Though synthetic oil costs more in York, it lasts longer, protects your pickup engine better and increases fuel economy. You’ll likely save money in the long run. If you’re serious about making your car last longer, start using synthetic motor oil right away.

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Toyota of York
1885 Whiteford Road
York, PA zip code 17402

Today in our Toyota of York blog, we’re going to talk about following recommended service intervals. Your pickup isn’t the only aspect of your life with recommended intervals: What about six-month dental cleanings and regular physical exams? Then there’s laundry, mowing the lawn, paying your electric bill, changing your furnace filter – you get the idea.

Now, what would happen if you didn’t follow these intervals? For one thing, your teeth may get more cavities. You might not discover health issues that benefit from early detection and treatment. And you’d have to wear dirty clothes, be embarrassed by your overgrown lawn and have your power shut off.

We all realize there are some things in life that we have to take care of regularly. If we don’t, there are negative consequences. Our quality of life diminishes and it inevitably costs more money.

So why is it so hard for York folks to remember to have regular preventive auto maintenance?

Probably a couple of reasons. One is that automotive maintenance items just don’t seem that pressing unless our car won’t start. Everyone in York can see our dirty shirt, but no one knows how dirty our pickup transmission fluid is. It’s easy to procrastinate. Some York drivers are not familiar with automotive maintenance, so it’s a bit intimidating. If this applies to you, remember that you don’t have to memorize your owner’s manual.

Have you ever wondered, “How often should I bring my car in for scheduled maintenance?” You can let your helpful Toyota of York technician remind you of the manufacturer’s recommendations: he has checklists of what the manufacturer recommends and can find potential problems when he inspects your pickup. Rely on Toyota of York professionals to help you make good car care decisions, that’s our job.

For those in York who want to be more proactive with their pickup care, here are some simple ways to remember what has a maintenance interval:

First: fluids. If it’s liquid, it’s got a replacement schedule. Oil, transmission fluid, coolant, power steering fluid, brake fluid, differential fluid, etc.
Then think tires. They need air, rotation, balancing, and alignment. And while you’re thinking tires, think brakes and shocks.
And what makes your car go? Air and fuel. Air filter replacement, fuel filters and fuel system cleaning.

Of course there are more items, but if you remember to take your pickup into Toyota of York for these things, your helpful service advisor will help you with the rest.

And if you don’t follow recommended service intervals? Your gas mileage gets worse, your car doesn’t function to its potential, and your safety is compromised. So it’s the same as everything else: The quality of your motoring life takes a hit and it ends up costing you more. That’s why I follow recommended service intervals.

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Toyota of York
1885 Whiteford Road
York, PA zip code 17402

Shopping for tires in York can be bewildering because there are a multitude of choices. Let’s simplify. There are four main classifications of tires, each designed for different purposes.

First off, there are summer tires. Those who buy summer tires in York are looking for maximum summertime performance. The rubber is a little softer to help stick to the road on fast corners on York roads. The tread has wide blocks at the shoulder to stiffen the tire in turns. The tread design can handle rain in York, but really isn’t set up for snow and ice.

Next comes winter tires. York people buy winter tires because they still like performance driving when it’s cold and slippery on PA roads, so they need a tread design that’ll really bite into ice and snow. The rubber compound is formulated to stay pliable when temperatures drop below 45 degrees so they get great traction even on dry roads. On the other end of the winter tire spectrum are tires designed to handle severe ice and snow conditions.

The third category is all-season tires. Most new cars in York showrooms come with all-season tires. This is a tire that is designed to be used all year round. The tread design and rubber compound is a compromise that won’t give you the extreme capabilities of summer or winter tires, but if your driving and weather conditions aren’t at the extreme ends of the range, all-season tires might suit you just fine.

The last category is what you might have on your SUV or pickup. All-terrain or off road tires are designed for both York highway and off-road use – a tire that gets good traction in the dirt and on off-road obstacles, but still performs well on paved York roads.

Choosing the right tire is important for York car owners. Talk with your Toyota of York tire professional about your driving requirements and receive valuable guidance on tires that will meet your needs.

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Toyota of York
1885 Whiteford Road
York, PA zip code 17402