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Your Ford's radiator has the important job of removing engine heat. An engine is extremely hot due to combustion and the movement of hundreds of fast-moving parts. If this heat isn't removed it will damage your engine. The radiator takes in the heat from your engine and exchanges it for cooler outside air. If your radiator is damaged, your Ford dealer can repair or replace it. We'd like you to know some signs that you need a radiator repair. Signs You Need a Radiator Repair at Your Ford Dealer Leaking Coolant Coolant is essential for your engine as it absorbs heat and takes it to the radiator where it's cooled. This liquid is pumped through the engine at high speed and under high pressure. Once the coolant enters the radiator, it flows into parallel lines of radiator tubes. Air flows over the radiator tubes and cools the hot coolant inside them. more Any damage or wear to the cooling system can result in a leak. A coolant leak is usually easy to see as coolant is pink, yellow, green, or blue. Any loss of coolant will reduce the pressure in the cooling system and increase the temperature in your engine. We can trace a leak and permanently seal it to fix this problem. Worn Radiator Cap Seals The radiator cap screws into the top of the radiator and has two seals to provide an airtight fit. This cap controls the pressure in the cooling system and prevents coolant from leaking out. If the pressure rises too high, the cap will open and bleed off some of the pressure and then close again. We check the radiator cap seals during your scheduled services. If the seals aren't checked, they will gradually shrink due to the heat and pressure. Worn radiator seals allow coolant to escape. Escaping coolant will decrease the pressure and slow down the cooling system. You can see evidence of a coolant leak in the white streaks below a failed radiator cap. We will replace the seals to fix this problem. Blocked Radiator Tubes The radiator tubes are made from aluminum and are arranged in parallel lines in the front of the radiator. As we've seen, hot coolant flows into the tubes and is cooled by airflow. Twigs, leaves, and other debris can also blow in through the radiator grille and block the spaces between the tubes. This debris acts as an insulator, keeping the heat inside the tubes and preventing its removal by cooler air. We can easily clean the tubes to remove this debris, and the cooling system will work effectively again. Don't risk your engine overheating. Call our service department today at Cloninger Ford of Salisbury.

Although no one loves finding out their car is in need of repair, it's crucial that you keep your vehicle in tip-top condition to ensure your and your family's safety. The thing is, not everyone knows when exactly they should take their car to their local Ford dealer. In this article, we'll tell you several signs that you should take your car in for brake repair. Keep reading to learn more. From Your Local Ford Dealer: 4 Signs You Need Brake Repair 1. High-Pitched Squeaking From Your Brakes If it's time for your brakes to get repaired or replaced, the first thing you'll probably notice is a squealing or squeaking noise coming from your brakes. This usually comes from worn-down brake pads nearing the end of their life, so take it as a sign that you need to bring in your car to get the brakes fixed. If you ignore the high-pitched "warning" sound, you'll eventually hear a grinding noise, which means you're actually damaging your rotors, which will be a much more expensive repair. 2. Vibration When Braking If you feel unnatural vibrations whenever you hit the brakes while driving, it's another sign that you need to get your brakes checked by a professional. It could mean that your rotors are warped, or your brake pads are wearing unevenly. 3. It Takes Longer To Stop What's the most obvious sign that your brakes aren't working properly? When your car doesn't stop as fast when you apply the brakes. If you're not stopping as quickly, as usual, it may be a sign that your brake pads are worn down. It can also mean that your brake fluid is low, often caused by a leak. Not being able to stop quickly can be incredibly dangerous for yourself, your family, and other drivers on the road. Make sure to get professional help with your brakes. 4. Your Indicator Light Is On Most cars have different indicator lights that appear on your dashboard when there's an issue with your brakes. One brake warning light is for your Antilock Braking System (ABS). Your other one should be a warning light for your brake system. This one should be the same one that lights up when your parking brake is engaged. Although it won't always flash when your car has brake issues, you should definitely take it to a brake expert if it's on without your parking brake being engaged. If your car is dealing with any of the symptoms listed above, it's time to bring your car in for a check-up. Luckily, your car will give you several signals that you can hear, feel, and see before it's too late. Bring your car to Cloninger Ford in Salisbury, NC to get your brakes fixed today!

The transmission is one of the hardest working parts of your Ford, and it suffered more wear than any other component. Its job is to convert your engine power into a usable form to move your car. A transmission is a highly complex piece of engineering, and it can suffer wear and damage. When you need a transmission repair, your Ford dealer in Salisbury, NC, can help. These are a few signs that your transmission has a problem, Signs You Need a Transmission Repair at Your Ford Dealer Your Transmission Slips A slipping transmission can be very dangerous. When you or your computer shift gears, your transmission should remain in that gear until you or the computer shift it again. If your transmission slips, it will unexpectedly shift into another gear. If you have an automatic transmission, it will most likely shift back to the previous gear. A manual transmission will usually shift into neutral, and your car will stop. more The unexpected movement of the gears can lead to an accident, as the gear change could cause your car to stall. It will also cause damage to the transmission, due to the sudden, violent movement of the gears. There are several different causes of this problem, but one of the most common causes is a lack of brake fluid. Our technicians will examine your transmission and find the cause of the problem. Difficulty Shifting Your transmission should shift gears easily, whether you or the transmission computer initiate the shift. Should your transmission have difficulty in shifting, this is a sign of a problem. If you have an automatic transmission, you'll usually experience a delay between when the gear shift is initiated and when the gear shifts. A manual transmission will show far higher RPMs than you should have for the gear you selected. The problem could be caused by an electrical or mechanical fault, or it could be caused by a lack of transmission fluid. A lack of transmission fluid, for example, will make shifting gears very difficult. One of the uses of transmission fluid is to provide hydraulic power to enable your gears to shift. Our technicians are very experienced and will quickly find the cause of the problem. Leaking Fluid A transmission leak can cause problems for your transmission. The fluid is essential for keeping the transmission operating correctly. Transmission fluid reduces the temperature in the transmission, and it provides a friction barrier around the parts to protect them against damage. A fluid leak will cause your transmission temperature to increase and it could seize up. Most leaks are easy to spot, and our technicians will find and fix the leak. If you experience any transmission problems, call us at Cloninger Ford of Salisbury.

There are several different reasons why the 2020 Ford Fusion stands out from an ever-growing crowd. The car is plenty pretty to look at, that's the first thing it has going for it. There are also a ton of features that make it fun to drive. Best of all is the technology packed in that makes the car one of the safest out there on the market. more Fuel Efficiency In 2020, things like fuel efficiency tend to get ignored for flashier bells and whistles. The fact of the matter is that being able to get somewhere on a single tank of gas while saving as much money as possible is more important than ever before. That's why the Fusion's fuel efficiency stands out from the pack. That's especially true when talking about the hybrid version, which boasts even better numbers. The car is able to get as far as 43 miles per gallon on the highway, and it's not much of a dropoff when you're tooling around in the city. 40 miles per gallon is the norm when doing your day-to-day driving. BLIS Info-Tech Safety features are more important than ever before when you're talking about a new car. The good news is that the Ford Fusion comes packed with a ton of great options. Chief among those is one addition people often don't think about until it's too late. The Blind Spot Information System or BLIS is there to help monitor what you can't easily see. We've all been in a situation where we thought it was safe to merge into another lane, only to nearly collide--or actually collide--with another vehicle that was in our blind spot. With this technology, sensors around the car will let you know if there's something where you weren't able to see. It's an extra layer of safety that can mean a big difference. FordPass These days, the Ford Fusion isn't the only car that offers connectivity features, but the FordPass is something truly different. Not only are you able to connect to your car using your favorite mobile device, but you also earn rewards for doing so. The car's mobile app allows you not only to start the car remotely but schedule that start at the most convenient time. You can also check on the status of a vehicle and when it needs a tuneup or repair. Every time you access the car remotely, you'll earn reward points that can be used to pay for service, parts, and accessories. Save up enough of the FordPass points and you can even use those savings to eventually get yourself a new vehicle. How you build up the points depends on how often you use the connectivity features. If these features have got you interested, you should know there are even more to check out live and in person. Contact us at Cloninger Ford today in order to schedule a test-drive and see everything in action for yourself.