Unsafe At Walking Speed

Last week after work my wife and I were going to go out for a date night. (A very rare occurrence when you have two small children) My wife had swapped vehicles with her mother, who was babysitting our children. I hopped in the driver’s seat and did not go more than 10 feet before I realized that something in the steering of my mother in-law’s Lexus ES300 was drastically wrong, the steering wheel started shaking violently as the vehicle started to move forward.

My wife said she had not noticed anything wrong with the car. “What?!?” I exclaimed. The car was not safe to drive at anything over walking speed. Upon returning the car that night to my mother in-law, she too said she felt no problem.
An inspection revealed that the front tire was coming apart and could have led to a blow-out that might have caused a serious accident.
The next day, my father brought his Toyota Corolla in for front brakes. When driving the vehicle, Phil, the shop foreman noticed that the Air bag light was on, he asked my father how long the light had been on. “Oh a couple of months”.

Am I in the twilight zone? Two potentially serious car problems that could have caused serious harm or death were either not noticed or ignored.

This got me thinking about how safe are your vehicles?

Most automotive repair shops do not road test your car when you bring it in for an oil and filter change. Because of this the shop has no way of knowing of any drivability problems your vehicle might be having. It is best to let your mechanic know if you have any dash warning lights on or your vehicle is not riding the way it should so it can get a proper road test.

You and your family’s safety are extremely important to the staff at Ken’s Quality Auto Repair.

Don’t panic if you see any of my family members driving down the road. Their cars are safe and road worthy again!

I hope this article helps you. I am Ken Levine, the owner of Ken’s Quality Auto Repair in Thousand Oaks, where we specialize in Lexus and Toyota vehicles. If you have any car questions please e-mail me at kq@verizon.net, visit www.kensqualityauto.com or call 805-494-4344