Lehman Volvo Cars

There are many factors that can impact the performance and handling of your Volvo. This month, I will discuss the importance of proper wheel and tire balance and the effect it has on your Volvo. Modern automobiles continue to have larger and larger wheels. As the diameter of the wheel increases, the size of the tire must change as well. Because of this, many tires have smaller sidewalls. These lower profile sidewalls make even the slightest of imperfections in the wheel or tire balance much more noticeable. Wheel balance is used to cancel the vibration of an out of balance wheel and tire assembly. At 60 mph an average size tire rotates about 850 times per minute. At that speed, even slight variations in balance, sidewall stiffness and/or an out of round wheel or tire will be very noticeable to the driver and passengers. Not only does this significantly reduce the ride quality of your vehicle, it can also cause damage and unsafe conditions such as: Damage to suspension and steerin...

With winter weather arriving early this year, I would like to take a moment to write about a few tips to improve the safety of your winter weather travel. There are many factors to consider before venturing out into the harsh winter environment. Getting your vehicle checked by a professional prior to doing so is a great start to successful winter travel. Below is a checklist to follow to ensure your vehicle is fully winterized: Examine the condition of all four tires (I recommend switching to snow tires for winter travel. Read why here ). Check and adjust tire pressure (For every 10 degrees the ambient temperature drops you lose about 1 PSI of tire pressure. Read more about tire pressure here ). Check the condition of wiper blades, and replace if needed. Check your vehicle’s antifreeze condition to ensure the coolant is mixed correctly to protect against cold temperatures. Check your vehicle’s windshield washer function and switch to a winterwindshield washer fluid. Using a no...

With winter weather right around the corner, I would like to discuss a topic extremely important to your safety—winter tires. With many automobiles equipped with All-Wheel Drive, all season tires and other safety systems, you may ask yourself “why should I be concerned with the use of a dedicated winter tire?” All-Wheel Drive will certainly help assist you on snow covered roads when accelerating, but when it comes to braking, steering and maintaining stability, the type of tire makes all the difference. Even the best all season tire is no competition for a dedicated snow tire. The rubber used to make all season tires can harden in cold weather, causing reduced grip. Snow tires are made of a special compound of rubber formulated to provide excellent traction on cold snow covered roads. This type of rubber remains much more pliable in cold weather allowing it to make firm contact with the roadway. Dedicated snow tires have special tread designs made specifically for snow and ice. ...

Jason McKinsey, Lehman Volvo Cars Service Manager, writes about Volvo trending topics, including this month’s segment on the importance of routine brake fluid flushes. Looking for more information on a particular Volvo service topic? Submit your topic suggestion to Jason at jason@lehmanvolvocarsyork.com. Jason’s Journal: Reasons Why Brake Fluid Flushes are Important By: Jason McKinsey, Service Manager Preventive maintenance can make a big difference in your vehicle’s cost of ownership over the years. We all know oil changes are essential, but there are other fluid changes that can help lower your repair cost down the road, such as brake fluid changes. Brake fluid is a hydraulic fluid used to create pressure within the braking system by the force you apply to the brake pedal. That pressure causes the brake caliper to compress the brake pads onto the brake rotor surface. The friction from the brake pads being compressed onto a spinning brake rotor creates heat. The heat tha...

Jason McKinsey, Lehman Volvo Cars Service Manager, writes about Volvo trending topics, including this month’s segment on Volvo Genuine brakes. Looking for more information on a particular Volvo service topic? Submit your topic suggestion to Jason at jason@lehmanvolvocarsyork.com. Jason’s Journal: Don’t Just Stop, Think About It  By: Jason McKinsey, Service Manager  Maintaining a vehicle’s brake system has always been an important part of automotive safety. Specifically in Volvos, it is critical to choose the correct type of brake pads and rotors because they not only provide the ability to perform the everyday duties of bringing your Volvo to a smooth controlled stop, but they also now interact with many other systems in the vehicle. These systems include: Antilock Brakes  Automatic Braking  City Safety  Collision warning with auto brake  Pedestrian detection  All of these systems work in conjunction with the braking system to increas...

Jason McKinsey, Lehman Volvo Cars Service Manager, writes about Volvo trending topics, including this month’s segment on the headlight restoration. Looking for more information on a particular Volvo service topic? Submit your topic suggestion to Jason at jason@lehmanvolvocarsyork.com . Jason's Journal: Light Your Way to Safety By: Jason McKinsey Service Manager As your Volvo matures, you may notice a discoloration, or yellowing, of the headlight lens, which may degrade the appearance of your Volvo. But, did you know that this headlight discoloration can also be a safety hazard? The discoloration reduces the light output of the headlight, therefore causing a reduction in your ability to see during night driving. Not only will this reduce the distance you are able to see while driving, it will also reduce the overall clarity of the illuminated area. Many years ago, automotive headlight lenses were made of glass. While the glass never became discolored, the lenses were easil...

Jason McKinsey, Lehman Volvo Cars Service Manager, writes about Volvo trending topics, including this month’s segment on the importance of having your Volvo routinely detailed. Looking for more information on a particular Volvo service topic? Submit your topic suggestion to Jason at jason@lehmanvolvocarsyork.com. Jason's Journal: Spring Cleaning By: Jason McKinsey, Service Manager Purchasing a new vehicle is a major investment. Keeping up with routine maintenance and repair needs is extremely important, however there are also other ways to help protect that investment. Over time the environment can cause damaging effects on your Volvo. Your Volvo is exposed to harsh UV rays, rain, snow, chemicals from roadway salt treatments and many other factors that can degrade your Volvo’s appearance. One way to help combat these unavoidable factors, is to have your Volvo routinely detailed. A “detail” is a thorough vehicle cleaning and restoration performed by a professional wh...

Jason McKinsey, Lehman Volvo Cars Service Manager, writes about Volvo trending topics, including this month’s segment on the importance of having a wheel alignment performed on your Volvo during this time of year. Looking for more information on a particular Volvo service topic? Submit your topic suggestion to Jason at jason@lehmanvolvocarsyork.com. Pothole Blues By Jason McKinsey, Service Manager No driver looks forward to the abundance of potholes during this time of year. Sometimes it seems when one pothole is repaired, two more pop up in its place! As you can imagine, potholes take a toll on your Volvo. Wheel alignment is one of the most common things affected by potholes and other road hazards. Wheel alignment is the adjustment of steering and suspension components that affect how the tires make contact with the surface of the road. There are several angles that can be adjusted to change the wheel alignment, including the most common: Caster, Camber and Toe. But, h...

Jason McKinsey, Lehman Volvo Cars Service Manager, writes about Volvo trending topics, including this month’s segment on the importance of using Volvo Genuine Wiper Blades on your Volvo. Looking for more information on a particular Volvo service topic? Submit your topic suggestion to Jason at  jason@lehmanvolvocarsyork.com . Jason's Journal: The Importance of Using Volvo Genuine Wiper Blades By: Jason McKinsey, Service Manager While many people usually do not think of wiper blades as a safety feature on a vehicle, I can assure you they are! An unclean or obscured windshield is a hazard to you, your Volvo, and other drivers. According to Volvo Cars, approximately 20% of all road accidents are related to lack of visibility. We depend on wipers to remove rain, snow and dirt in all degrees of weather and at various speeds.  Understanding the importance of wiper blades, Volvo Cars tests its wiper blades in several different ways before the wipers are app...

  Replacing your Volvo's Battery By: Jason McKinsey Volvos today are equipped with advanced technologies.  Some technology systems are designed to keep passengers safe, while others provide entertainment and useful travel and vehicle information.  Regardless of what the technology systems are designed for, all of them require electrical power from the vehicle.  While the vehicle’s battery does not directly supply power to these systems once the engine is running, the battery is a very important part of the electrical system. With the introduction of Start/Stop Engine technology, Volvo now utilizes two batteries in every new vehicle.  One battery is designed to start the engine, while the other battery is used to maintain the technology systems during the Start/Stop sequence. Volvo’s use of batteries will continue to evolve, as the automotive technology becomes more complex. There are two main types of batteries in Volvos: Starting-Lighting-...

Measuring your Tire Pressure By: Jason McKinsey Imagine this: You jump into your Volvo and start the engine.  Your heated seats and steering wheel feel amazing on this cold November morning.  You begin driving down the driveway and notice an orange warning light on the instrument panel which reads “Low Tire Pressure.”  You step out of your Volvo and begin to assess your tires.  The tires appear normal. You think, “Maybe the message is a false alarm.”  This nuisance is all too familiar to drivers this time of year.  But, why does this happen? The pressure in your tires drop one pound of pressure for every 10 degree temperature drop.  Meaning, if you set your pressure to 36 PSI (Pounds per Square Inch) in 90-degree July weather, and today its 30 degrees outside, your tires are now 30 PSI.  Newer Volvos are equipped with a tire pressure monitoring system.  This system constantly checks the pressure in your tires and alerts you when the...

Jason McKinsey, Lehman Volvo Cars Service Manager, writes about Volvo trending topics, including this month’s segment on the importance of using the correct coolant in your Volvo. Looking for more information on a particular Volvo service topic?  Submit your topic suggestion to Jason at  jason@lehmanvolvocarsyork.com . Volvo Coolant: 101 By: Jason McKinsey With cooler weather on the horizon, many Volvo owners may be concerned with the condition of their vehicle’s coolant, also known as antifreeze. Owners worry about the ability of their vehicle’s coolant to withstand the low winter temperatures, as well as the proper type of coolant to use. Why does your engine need coolant?  Heat is a byproduct of the internal combustion engine. Approximately one third of the energy created by the fuel/air mixture of an internal combustion engine produces usable power.  The other two thirds of the energy is generated in heat form. Therefore, the engine must be...