With record temperatures across the UK, demand for air conditioning servicing has boomed. During repair work, or changing the air compressor, it’s crucial that the air conditioning system is cleaned out, as harmful substances and solids can form in the refrigerant circuit, leading to component damage. In its latest technical messenger bulletin, Mahle offers six key prompts to clean the system and avoid consequential damage.
Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) have become vital for a car’s safety and form a critical part of EuroNCAP’s star safety rating system. But to ensure ADAS items continue to work correctly they need to be recalibrated after remedial work. With that in mind, tyre service and maintenance provider ATS Euromaster is advising fleets to consider recalibration work in any SMR undertaken on a vehicle that might affect the proper functioning of the affected safety system.
After recently selecting Bridgestone as exclusive tyre partner for its upcoming Ocean all-electric SUV, Fisker Inc. has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that covers Bridgestone’s provision of comprehensive aftersales and related maintenance solutions, beginning in France and Germany. Bridgestone will leverage its retail and service network to provide aftersales services to Fisker customers in these countries through the Speedy, Pitstop and Reiff-ABS networks.
Recent data released by the DVLA and Department for Transport (DfT) has illustrated that the UK car parc is older than it has ever been. Older cars are undoubtedly popular, and as a result aftermarket support will be required for these vehicles long into the future.
A third of UK motorists (32%) have put off getting their car serviced because COVID-19 financial pressure, according to BookMyGarage.com.
BookMyGarage surveyed 10,000 of its subscribers and found that, in addition, a similar number (29%) of drivers delayed servicing procedures simply because their car had covered far fewer miles during lockdown.
An investigation into the best and worst regions for MOT pass rates showed surprising patterns. The top pass rates are all in South East England, and on the flip side, the most failures fall in Scotland.
National Tyres and Autocare has begun offering vehicle servicing at selected outlets. It offers three vehicle servicing packages, starting with a 25-point Express Service and going up to a full 51-point Full Service.
Halfords will extend its Mobile Expert service to London, following its pilot in the West Midlands, Manchester and Surrey. The retailer will place five new vans in London from 30 March, which it says will cover the capital. The service means that Halfords Mobile Expert vans will be available to nearly a third of UK households. The company added that it plans to roll out between 100 and 150 vans across the UK within the next two years.
ZF Services UK is leading the market in the remanufacture and repair of transmissions and axles for bus and coach applications. Supported by ZF Services UK’s Centre of Competence in Nottingham – which has recently boosted capacity to supply a wider stock of remanufactured transmissions and axles – service partners can attend bus operators within a 48-hour window and perform on-site diagnosis, repairs and component exchange to ensure vehicle downtime is minimised. All Service Partner staff are trained in line with the factory production standards, which form part of ZF’s core competencies.
Technological tipping points are not always easy to identify, and the pace of change in the automotive industry can make it a challenge for garages not affiliated with new car dealerships to stay on top of new carfeatures as they begin to require repair. Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) are emblematic of this, and considering their centrality to the safe operation of many new cars, the stakes have also risen. Tyres & Accessories visited Hella Gutmann Solutions’ facilities in and around Ihringen, Germany to see how the supplier of diagnostic and camera and sensor recalibration solutions is responding to garages’ increasing need for new equipment, technician training, and data, to address the rise of ADAS.
Electric vehicles cost an average 23 per cent less to service and maintain over three years/60,000 miles than petrol models, research from Cap HPI has found.
Bournemouth’s Asset Systems has become the first independent software vendor (ISV) to sign up to CAM’s TiDaeXTM platform. The company said the move would help its commercial service customers enjoy the benefits of integration into an emerging number of third party systems in the truck, bus and van tyre service domain.
Randstad Ltd has introduced TerraSteer, its TerraClean Power Steering Service Machine that is capable of restoring a vehicle’s power steering system back to its best in less than ten minutes.
The de-carbonising specialist brand is renowned for its unique tools that offer deep-cleaning services and this new introduction demonstrates TerraClean’s commitment to developing its offering to meet motorists’ requirements and extend its network’s area of expertise within the automotive aftermarket.
Goodyear has presented its European 2016 TruckForce Awards in Luxembourg, recognising the customer support of its 2,000-strong network. The awards ceremony was part of the second international TruckForce Convention and was held in parallel with the launch of the new Dunlop on-road truck tyre range.
Hyundai Motor Group has outlined plans to bring connected cars to reality and is currently working on technology that, it claims, will “remotely diagnose and fix vehicle issues before they become apparent.”
Mahle
ATS Euromaster
Skica911; Pixabay