Elysian Auto Service

  Is Your Vehicle Ready For The Holidays? Before we know it, Christmas and the New Year will be upon us! For a lot of us, that means extra miles on our vehicles.  Making sure your vehicle is ready to take on the fierce Minnesota winter and holiday travel is very important, and might help give you some peace of mind the next time you have to hit the road. Here are a few things you can do to ensure that your vehicle is in top shape and ready for the season: 1. Check your tires, make sure they are in good condition and have a tread depth of at least 5/32". Buying a set of winter tires is another good option, they contain a specialized tread that can help with traction.  2. Check your tire pressure and make sure they are up to manufacturer recommendations. The cold causes tire pressure to drop. 3. Test your battery, the cold is very tough on batteries. Especially pay attention to your cold-cranking amps, this is what will determine if your battery starts in cold temperatures....

  When Should I Replace My Brakes? How often should brakes be replaced? When was the last time my brakes were replaced? You might find yourself wondering about the answer to these questions. There is no simple answer, it depends on where you are driving and your driving style. Someone who is frequently applying brakes (bumper-to-bumper traffic, only drives in the city) is going to need to replace their brakes more frequently than someone who mainly puts on highway miles, meaning they apply their brakes a lot less frequently. Brakes are crucial and should be checked out immediately if there are ever any concerns. Our Minnesota winters make brakes that much more important, can you imagine going into the winter without adequate brakes? There are a few telltale signs to be aware of that will help indicate it is time for new brakes.  Grinding brakes. This is a great indicator that your brake pads are worn down and need to be replaced. If your brakes start grinding, get them checked...

  What is Brakes For Breasts? Starting September 19th, 2022, Elysian Auto Service in Elysian, MN will join hundreds of Independent Auto Repair Shops across the US and Canada to raise funds for breast cancer vaccine research as part of the Brakes for Breast fundraiser. As part of the fundraiser, participating auto repair facilities will give away FREE (quality) brake pads . The customer simply pays for the labor and any other parts necessary to complete the brake job, and the shops then donate 10% of the brake job directly to Dr. Vincent Tuohy & the Cleveland Clinic Breast Cancer Vaccine Research Fund. Brakes for Breasts fundraising efforts started in 2011 with 5 automotive repair shops in the Cleveland, Ohio area that raised $10,000 and has now evolved to incorporate hundreds of shops in the United States and Canada. Since then, these shops have collectively raised over $1,000,000, making Brakes for Breasts the largest third-party fundraising entity at the Cleveland Clinic. Mor...

  Auto Repair Shop Near Me: Elysian Auto Service Did you know that Elysian Auto Service is a local family-owned business and has been around since 1984? Owners Carl and Susan Morsching can be found at the shop every day, taking pride in the business they created. We are located on 203 East Main St. in Elysian, Minnesota. We love our small town and supporting communities.  Our technicians are ASE-certified. And our shop is AAA-approved. No job is too big or small, we do it all. Everything from an oil change to a new motor. We also sell tires and offer alignments. We are open Monday through Friday from 8:00-5:00.  Why choose Elysian Auto Service? We pride ourselves on customer satisfaction. Working with customers and making them happy is our main priority. We do everything possible to make your trip to Elysian Auto Service as convenient and quick as possible. We also offer unique amenities such as: -Free Loaner Cars -Free Shuttle Rides -Free Pick Up and Delivery -Digital Ve...

Tips For Traveling With Pets Most of us own a pet that we love like a family member. Approximately 78% of Americans travel with their pets. For some pet parents, this can seem like a daunting task, and for others, it is as easy as can be. Here are some tips to help make traveling with your pet easier.  -Invest in a harness or some type of restraint. This will ensure that your pet is secured in case of an accident. The back seat is the safest place for pets. The front seat has an airbag which could cause injury.    -Portable food dishes. These are usually lightweight and packable, which means they take up less space. -Make sure they have an ID tag with up-to-date information. Have you recently moved or changed phone numbers? If your pet has a microchip make sure to update your info in there as well.  -You never know what traveling might bring, be sure to have extra cleaning supplies and towels along.  -Bring familiar or comfort items. Traveling can be very stress...

  4th of July Travel Tips Are you planning to put on some miles this 4th of July? Maybe taking a trip up north to the cabin? An estimated 42 million people are expected to travel somewhere this weekend. If you plan to leave on Friday, July 1st the best time to hit the road is before 10:00 a.m or after 9:00 p.m. according to Bob Pishue, a transportation analyst. It is best to plan ahead and anticipate running into traffic. Here are some tips for planning a successful 4th of July road trip: -Check your tires. Look at all 4 and make sure they are free from any slashes and have a safe amount of tread. Check your inflation, and make sure all your tires have adequate air. This will save you from an unplanned tire failure. -Do you have a full-sized spare tire? Did you know that traditional “donut” spare tires are only meant to be driven at slower speeds and for only a few miles? Basically, they are adequate enough to get you to the nearest gas station. Purchasing an extra tire when you ...

  Does My Vehicle Need an AC Recharge? Can you imagine a Minnesota summer with no AC? Me neither. If you feel like your vehicle is taking longer than usual to cool, or maybe it isn't cooling at all you might have an issue. These are just a few signs that your vehicle's AC needs a recharge.  Additional issues you might notice:  -Your AC is cooling on only one side of the vehicle. -The back is cooling more than the front, or vice versa. -You periodically have cool air which eventually turns warm. -You can see an oily residue on the vents or blowing from the vents.  An AC recharge is when refrigerant is added to the cooling system which will then allow it to resume blowing cold air. At Elysian Auto Service, we will remove all old refrigerant and replace it with new fluid. Some are still under the impression that you can just top off the AC yourself with some refrigerant every summer, which is not the case and can actually damage your cooling system. It is important you ...

  What Happens If My Coolant Is Low? When a vehicle has a low coolant/antifreeze scenario some common symptoms will occur. The first symptom in almost all cases is a rising temperature gauge and a dashboard warning light if the vehicle is equipped with that feature. The internal heating system will not function properly blowing hot air in summer or cold in the winter. A distinct sweet smell may occur on the inside of the vehicle if there is a leak. In some cases, the vehicle will go into a shutdown mode automatically if the car is too hot. The coolant/antifreeze is the most important fluid underneath your hood, this fluid circulates throughout the engine to prevent overheating. If you expose your motor to overheating it can do severe damage to many internal components leaving you stranded, and with a hefty repair bill in your hand. Some causes of low coolant could be a leak from your coolant hoses, or even the radiator itself. Your radiator cap could be leaking due to not being pro...

  Why is my brake pedal spongy? A “spongy” brake pedal can result from a few different things. You could have air in your brake line. Or you may have a leak in the brake line. If you have an air bubble in your brake line this can prevent the fluid from flowing down the brake line causing that spongy sensation. The other culprit, a leak in the brake line, can cause this spongy sensation, or your brake pedal may press all the way down to the floor. These are major symptoms and should not be ignored! In a disc brake vehicle, the process is simple to follow, every time you step on your brakes hydraulic brake fluid is sent down the brake line to an item called a caliper. The caliper then squeezes the brake pads against that shiny round silver disc called a rotor, which stops your vehicle. If you have any interruption in the process you have a major problem, and will lose braking power. If there is air in the line we perform a brake fluid service or brake bleed to get all the old fluid a...

  Do my wheels need balancing? Have you ever had your wheels balanced? Many customers at some point will experience a serious vibration or shake while driving and assume they have an alignment or tire problem and that may be true, but often times your wheels are out of balance. Tires and wheels don’t have equal weight distribution, they will be heavier in spots. That is why the weight must be evenly distributed around the circumference of the wheel to make sure each tire rolls smoothly. Imagine one or a few of those weights getting worn down or falling off, which can happen over time. You can see how it can throw off the precise balance of the wheel very quickly.     When you bring your vehicle into Elysian Auto and we do find an imbalance we will mount the tire on a balancing machine and then the wheel is spun while vibration measurements are taken. This process will tell the technician how much weight to add to the wheel and where to add it. Wheel balancing work is...

  What Does Brake Fluid Do? We install hundreds of sets of brakes during the year here at Elysian Auto Service, but not everyone is aware of the importance of brake fluid! Did you know that every time you step on the brakes it heats up that fluid and sends it through the system? When it cools, condensation is created and that moisture is absorbed into the fluid which will cause corrosion, especially in the calipers.  So to avoid a costly repair and to keep your brakes operating at peak efficiency we encourage everyone to have a BG brake fluid service at regular intervals to protect those components as you head down the road. Brake fluid should be a part of your regular maintenance schedule much like your coolant or transmission fluid. We like to see most fluids changed every 30,000 miles.  Contact Elysian Auto Service if you would like to set up an appointment or find out more about the benefits of this fluid service.

  BG Products: What Are They? Elysian Auto Service proudly uses BG Products for various services we perform. BG Products help maintain high-quality maintenance on your vehicle. Their products can help with fuel efficiency, miles per gallon, and reliability long term. They offer products for fuel systems, transmissions, brakes, engines, cooling, power steering, climate control systems, and battery. Products are created and tested in their research and development lab located in Kansas. They also have an innovation center where they analyze products and try to solve vehicle drivability problems. We like BG Products because they do a lot of testing and research and are able to prove their products work and produce results.

  Winter Maintenance: Fluids  Winter is right around the corner! Living in Minnesota, it is important to make sure your vehicle's fluids are ready for the cold. A couple particular fluids are very important to ensure your vehicle runs properly. You want to pay close attention to your: -Anti-Freeze/Coolant: Antifreeze ensures that your engine does not freeze up in the winter or overheat in the summer. Some antifreeze comes as a concentrated liquid and some are already pre-diluted. Make sure you pay special attention to which you buy, and that if needed you properly dilute it. We suggest a coolant service every 30,000 miles or 3 years.  -Oil: Make sure your oil change and filter are both up to date. Cold oil has a thicker consistency which puts more pressure on the filter. You want to make sure you have a clean filter, this will ensure that the oil can pass through with minimum resistance.  -Windshield Washer Fluid: Check your windshield fluid level and make sure you h...

Before we know it, winter will be upon us. For some that might be exciting, but for those who commute to work daily, it might not be. Making sure your vehicle is ready to take on the fierce Minnesota winter is very important, and might help give you some peace of mind the next time you have to hit the road. Here are a few things you can do to ensure that your vehicle is in top shape and ready for the ice and snow: 1. Check your tires, make sure they are in good condition and have a tread depth of at least 5/32". Buying a set of winter tires is another good option, they contain a specialized tread that can help with traction.  2. Check your tire pressure and make sure they are up to manufacture recommendations. The cold causes tire pressure to drop. 3. Test your battery, the cold is very tough on batteries. Especially pay attention to your cold-cranking amps, this is what will determine if your battery starts in cold temperatures. 4. Replace your windshield wipers. Visibility is cr...