Calcium Auto Repair

Photo by Nicholas Jackson from Pixabay   Welcome to the May blog for Service Plus! We hope Spring is treating you well and that your family is either vaccinated or scheduled to be soon!   This month’s blog is a look into how to change a flat tire. There’s a lot to know, and the first point to make is that there’s a difference between coming across a flat tire on a parked car and having a blowout.    If you have a blowout, your first steps are about making sure you get to safety. Pull over as far away from the road as you can manage, and set down signals if you have them. Be sure you are in the Parked gear and that the parking brake is fully engaged. If you&r ... read more

If this is your first year at Fort Drum or in Calcium, it might interest you to know that the Fort Drum area has a great tradition of holiday lighting displays! The community really bands together to put on gorgeous presentations that will dazzle your children and put the whole family in the holiday spirit. If you’re going to be in the area this December, we hope you’ll come to some of the local events. Here are our top three holiday displays to see in the Fort Drum area! Wegman’s LIGHTS ON THE LAKE November 16, 2020 - January 10, 2021, 5 p.m. - 10 p.m. Lights on the Lake is a two-mile long drive-through show, featuring towering holiday displays, a larger-than life Land of Oz display, a twinkling fantasy forest, memorable animated scenes and a fairy tale magic grand finale! It’s a long slow drive in the comfort and safety of your own car, while listening to the wonderful sounds of the season on Sunny102!  Tickets are pre-sale only this year and can be ord ... read more

Do you know how to spot the signs that your car is in need of a new battery? Service Plus is offering you a helpful guide in case you don’t know. Let’s start with the benign signs. These usually don’t require immediate action, but warrant bringing your car into Service Plus Automotive for a quick check: Slow start. This is when you ‘turn the car over’ (attempt to start the vehicle) and the engine makes a slow whirring crank sound... the engine is sluggish and takes longer than normal to start. This might not be for sure a battery issue. It can be the alternator or it can be extreme cold, so it’s better to get it checked out. Check Engine Light or Check Battery Light. The check engine light sometimes appears when your battery power is weak or a different battery image shows when it senses a problem. Again, this isn’t urgent, but to avoid being stranded, get it checked out. Electronics Not Running at full level. This means that the headlights ... read more

Winter is coming! It’s time to start preparing for your travels in the cold weather, snow, and icy roads. At Service Plus Automotive, we’ve put together some ideas to help you approach the season’s worst conditions with confidence and preparedness: Take a Winter Driving Safety Course at Fort Drum Each year, Fort Drum offers a Winter Driving Safety Course for the community, so that drivers who are inexperienced with snow driving can learn safely how to get around in icy conditions. Why not sign all the drivers in your family up, and take it together? It’s a small thing that can help you survive if you encounter a winter emergency on the road.  Check the NYSDOT website for possible issues Get yourself in the habit of checking the roads before a trip for possible issues! The New York State Department of Transportation has a website where accidents and issues have been flagged. A quick check before you leave the house could ... read more

Photo by Olga Subach on Unsplash In our August blog, we shared some benefits about the increased flexibility to travel with kids during the 2020/2021 school year. Adding to the discussion, we have three reasons why you should take more road trips this Fall.   Labor Day Weekend: This is one of our favorite holidays. It’s the last chance to enjoy Summer weather and get away for a few days. It’s a 3-day weekend and an opportunity to relax, unwind, and unplug from your daily duties.    This Labor Day Weekend, you can go camping, take a hike, visit a lake, go fishing, or explore nature. If you and your partner don’t have kids, you can head out for a romantic getaway and spend quality time with e ... read more

Photo by Deleece Cook on Unsplash The kids are back in school and it’s a very unusual school year, thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic. Because we are all trying hard not to catch this virus, parents, teachers, kids, and school staff are all adjusting to the new normal.  Because education is so different during the COVID-era, we are seeing three ways that the back-to-school season is different for drivers in 2020. Here are three observations we are making here at Service Plus Automotive in Calcium, New York. First, we should let you know that the majority of our auto repair team members are parents. So, we are going through these adjustments, too. Though things are different for the 2020/2021 schoolyear, we are finding some pos ... read more