Automotive News & Information - Nott's Automotive

It doesn't matter if you are driving a car or truck, jeep or SUV, a diesel 4x4 or a classic when those dash warning lights go off the first thing you do is think "how bad is it?" and "how much will it cost me?" followed quickly by "when was my last service visit?"!! Driving your vehicle longer safely is all about getting it serviced based on what your vehicle manual recommends and these warning lights are alerting you to a situation that requires your attention.

While not all warning lights are a sign that disaster is imminent, no warning indicator light should ever be ignored!

There is a reason we check your brake fluid when you come in for a service check. Maintenance pays big dividends and we want to avoid high repair costs for our Sarasota drivers. Did you know that brake service isn't just all about the brake pads, drums & rotors? That we have found low brake fluid to be the cause of a large percentage of brake issues here at Nott's Automotive? Seriously, brake fluid is an important part of your braking system and with your service intervals being less frequent on the newer vehicles 5,000-10,000 more miles this has become an issue! Why?...

Sometimes it is EASY to see if your car or truck needs to come into our shop for professional repairs!
1. You see steam rising from the engine!
2. The Check Engine Light is on!
3. The engine starts, but there is an odor that is not right.
4. You hear grinding or thumping noises.

If you own a Ford vehicle you may be affected by this recall. According to CBS News, Ford recently announced a recall that affects over 1.3 million vehicles that are primarily located in North America. The recall was issued mainly due to problems with rear suspension and transmission control software.

Here at Nott's Automotive in Sarasota we often do diagnostics and sometimes the problem is obvious after hooking the car up to the computer and reading the codes. However, sometimes it isn't obvious during a test drive or after hooking it up to all those computer programs! You know there is a problem and a Check Engine Light is on with the fleet customer telling you the car has been having issues starting and the light has been going off and on depending on several factors. No pattern, no simple answer but the problem becomes obvious when you start following the "threads of the issue" thanks to all that ASE Technician training.

We see this with our fleet customers, our regular Sarasota car pool drivers and our diesel truck drivers so it isn't just one type of driver that ends up with a nightmare on their hands costing thousands of dollars to repair, asking about the costs of a JASPER replacement engine! The fact is your driving habits and maintenance habits can easily avoid this issue! 6 EASY STEPS - Service, Tires, Don't Ignore Service Engine Lights, Keep it Clean & Stop Driving Crazy!

I will never take my car anywhere else. My car runs better now then I did when I bought it. These guys truly know their business! I cant even express how happy I am with them! Thank you Mark and Troy for a job well done. - Vicki M. (5 star review on Google)

We were told great things about Nott's. So glad we called them. We had 3 college students visiting from Michigan. The heat shield was hanging down. The driver's Dad duck taped it, but was concerned about the girls driving home like that. Neighbors recommended we call Nott's. So glad we did! They looked at the car as soon as we got there. Fixed it and...Mark was wonderful, as was everyone we talked to. Definitely recommending them to everyone!! Thank you Nott's for your help, honesty and our peace of mind!!! - Avis H. (5 star review on Google)