Your Neighborhood Full Service Repair Facility
50% OFF TOWING WITH ALL MAJOR REPAIRS
Shuttle Service Available
Open All Day on Saturdays!
No Credit Check Payment Plans!
August 16, 2020
Nobody has to tell you that computers are a part of so many things in our lives. Smartphones, kitchen appliances, vacuum cleaners, televisions. You name it—it has a computer in it. And your vehicle is no exception.
The earliest cars relied on the technology of their time, and there was no such thing as a computer. But now, it's not unusual for a vehicle to have as many as 150 computers in it.
They perform a variety of functions. An important one is diagnosing your vehicle's problems. There are various sensors throughout modern vehicles that measure thousands of data points. When something is not working correctly, they send a signal to another computer that stores that information. The data can be read by someone who has a special computer that plugs into a port in your car. It displays certain codes that help technicians track down the culprit.
But it's not just the diagnostics that are computerized. Everything from your vehicle's fuel injection to anti-lock brakes is. Convenience features such as power windows, rain-sensing windshield wipers, a wi-fi-hot spot, streaming video and navigation are all sophisticated computers. Then there are the safety features; air bags, traction control, automatic emergency braking and a host of others are all dependent on computers.
It is important that those computers work correctly because they interface with many of the other computers on board. To properly diagnose problems with those computers requires training and special equipment. Your service facility has invested considerable resources into both, and they are equipped to properly evaluate and repair and/or replace malfunctioning components.
Some lament the days when backyard mechanics could pull out their tools and do their own repairs. Those days are fast disappearing with the computerization of vehicles. But look at the bright side. Your vehicle does so much more, has so many more features and travels far more safely than those past generations drove. And they're bound to get better and more sophisticated down the road.
Tuffy Grand Rapids
610 28th St. SE
Grand Rapids, Michigan 49548
616.452.4425
March 2, 2025
In warm weather, you want to be in a cool vehicle. When we're talking cool, we don't mean stylish or trendy, but cool as in not sweltering inside. And if your vehicle's air conditioner stops working correctly, it seems to always break at the worst timeduring a heat wave. Automotive air conditio... More
February 23, 2025
It's bad enough in cold weather when ice and snow block your visibility. Add to that fog on the inside of your windows and you could be driving blind. So here are a few tips on how to keep your windows from fogging up when there's a chill in the air. You probably know fog is really condensation... More
February 16, 2025
Your vehicles engine runs hot. It should, since its a series of little explosions that create the power that gets you going where you want to go. To keep the engine cool, engineers have designed wonderful cooling systems that use liquid coolant, hoses, and a radiator to transfer the heat from t... More
