If you’ve owned a vehicle long, particularly one with a few miles on it, you have probably encountered a peculiar smell that grabbed your attention. Scents that you encounter while driving (emanating from your vehicle, not the horse farm down the road) are indicators of your vehicle's health and often the first warning that something may be wrong. Melvin's Auto & Truck Repair in St Augustine has assembled this list to prepare for you for the next time you smell something odd, so you’ll know what’s going on next time you notice a funny smell.

At Melvin's Auto & Truck Repair in St Augustine, FL, it’s important to us that your car, truck, or SUV is ready for any condition. Coolant flushes are an important part of getting your vehicle ready for winter - here’s why.

Obviously, your brakes are essential. However, it’s easy to neglect or ignore brake issues, and even miss them altogether; as long as the car, truck, or SUV still stops, many people don’t see the need to have their brakes serviced. From Melvin's Auto & Truck Repair in St Augustine, here are some common brake issues, and why you should fix them.

Obviously, your brakes are essential. However, it’s easy to neglect or ignore brake issues, and even miss them altogether; as long as the truck still stops, many people don’t see the need to have their brakes serviced. From Melvin's Auto & Truck Repair in St Augustine, FL, here are some common brake issues, and why you should fix them.

The exhaust on your truck is an important series of components, that work together to insure smooth, reliable operation. At Melvin's Auto & Truck Repair in St Augustine, FL, we also know that exhaust systems are especially susceptible to damage and rust; pipes, mufflers, and other parts are exposed to hazards on the road, and to the environment. This situation, combined with caustic emissions and extreme heat, create a perfect opportunity for problems to arise.

There are many parts and systems outside of the car’s transmission that is equally as important as the parts and systems inside the transmission. Without them, the transmission won’t do much. There’s no way to transfer power from the engine to the shafts, disengage it to shift the gears, or power the differential without them. Just in case you need us, at Melvin's Auto & Truck Repair in St Augustine, FL, we can help keep your transmission in top shape, but here’s what you need to know.

At Melvin's Auto & Truck Repair in St Augustine, we know that some of the most elusive issues with any car, truck, or SUV are often caused by the simplest of malfunctions. While you might consider a gas cap fairly innocuous, it can actually malfunction too, prompting a check engine light on your dashboard.

At Melvin's Auto & Truck Repair in St Augustine, FL, we know that transmissions are witchcraft to most people. More often than not, if major damage has occurred, it’s a lot more time and cost-effective to just replace the entire unit and get a fresh start. Our trained technicians at Melvin's Auto & Truck Repair want to keep you informed so you are aware of what to look out for.

A slipping transmission is never a good thing. What causes it, what forms does it take, and how do you know if yours is slipping? From Melvin's Auto & Truck Repair in St Augustine, FL, here’s what you need to know.

At Melvin's Auto & Truck Repair in St Augustine, FL, a big part of our job is helping you make decisions that are right for you, your car, truck or SUV. When it comes to replacing a transmission there are a lot of options out there, and we’re here to help you make the right choice. Our technicians can help you decide based on your budget, vehicle and lifestyle. We're here to get your car going again and earn your business in the future.

Manual transmissions are generally more reliable than automatic transmissions. They don’t have as many parts, aren’t as complex, and can take a lot more abuse. However, if an issue is allowed to persist, more and more damage to surrounding components on your manual transmission will occur. Melvin's Auto & Truck Repair in St Augustine, FL can help you take care of your car as soon as you notice a problem.

If your car, truck or SUV is experiencing major engine issues, the technicians at Melvin's Auto & Truck Repair in St Augustine, FL have you covered. You hear the engine knocking when it decides to start? Is there smoke pouring from your truck’s exhaust pipe? Whether you’re burning oil, your engine is on it’s last leg or has simply given up altogether, we can help. And if you’re not sure what you need, we can help with that too.

The turbo on your diesel pickup truck is a precision-engineered component. As a result, proper maintenance is essential to keep it going strong, and Melvin's Auto & Truck Repair in St Augustine, FL is the place to do that. At tens or even hundreds of thousands of RPM, keeping everything in good shape is absolutely necessary. Fortunately, turbos don't really require any special maintenance - they just make the maintenance you do all the more important.

Your turbocharger will work in essentially the same way, whether you drive a Powerstroke, Cummins, or Duramax diesel pickup. While there are differences in designs and applications, turbos haven’t changed all that much over the past century. Now that you know what one is made of, we’ll look at how it works.

When driving around town, your vehicle's engine needs clean air to burn the fuel – and it needs a lot. In fact, a typical vehicle needs about 216,000 gallons of air for every tank of gas. All that air passes through a filter that catches the dust and dirt. Eventually, the filter gets completely full, and because the filter can only hold so much, dirt starts getting through. At Melvin's Auto & Truck Repair in St Augustine, we want to help you get the best air quality in your vehicle, but first, we want to explain the process of where this dirty air is going. 

At Melvin's Auto & Truck Repair in St Augustine, we know there’s a lot of conflict on when you should maintenance certain things on your truck. We also know there are consequences to neglecting maintenance; the difference between a truck that breaks down all the time and a truck that has covered over a million miles virtually trouble free all boils down to maintenance.

At Melvin's Auto & Truck Repair in St Augustine, FL, we know there’s a lot of conflict on when you should maintain certain things on your truck. We also know there are consequences to neglecting maintenance; the difference between a truck that breaks down all the time and a truck that has covered over a million miles virtually trouble-free all boils down to maintenance.

Hitting a pothole always hurts - you may not be sure exactly what happens when you hit a pothole, but you can tell it’s not good for your car, truck, or SUV. Here are issues caused by potholes, and what to watch out for if you hit a really rough one, from Melvin's Auto & Truck Repair in St Augustine, FL.

At Melvin's Auto & Truck Repair in St Augustine, we understand that big trucks mean bigger risk on the road. Here are some tips to remember, to reduce the likelihood of an accident resulting in large repair costs next time you're on the job.

As your vehicle ages, it not only gains sentimental value but a number of maintenance measures arise as well. Trucks from previous decades have the potential to keep their value and functionality for many years. Here are some tips from Melvin's Auto & Truck Repair to keep your older truck running for a prolonged time.