If your daughter started to cough and wheeze, you’d probably check her temperature and look for other signs of an illness. Automobiles are much like children in that they usually give signs of their condition when something is wrong. Just as, when you take your daughter to the doctor, you’ll want to describe the symptoms that brought you into the doctor’s office, when you bring the car into the garage for a checkup or repairs, symptoms are vital tell-tale signs of any problems.

Here at Performance Unlimited, we’re very familiar with Murphy’s Law and its application to sounds made by automobiles: “It’s been making that sound for three days now and, as soon as I bring it into a repair shop, the sound goes away.”

Hopefully, your vehicle will produce the same cacophony of bumps, grinds and whistles for us as it’s done for you. That makes it easier to track down the malady at hand. But, even if your car hides the aural clues at the approach of a mechanical practitioner, sharing those sounds will go a long way to pointing your auto mechanic down the correct path in search of the problem.

Listen carefully to the sounds your car is making. We sometimes wish we had a video camera running as someone’s mouth contorts while they reprise the clunk-clunk-screeeeeeach-wala-wala sound their car has been making. But, beyond the obvious entertainment value, telling us about those sounds really can help us identify a problem.

In fact, you should use all your senses to monitor and record your vehicles condition. Does it shake or shimmy? Where do you feel the vibration? In the steering wheel? Do you see smoke coming out from under the hood or liquids on the ground? Do you smell something burning – maybe the smell of burning tires? The more clues you provide the easier it is to solve your car’s mechanical puzzle. OK, you may not find a use for your sense of taste in this realm but the principle holds true – more feedback is better.

At Performance Unlimited, we love the sounds of a vehicle that is operating at peak performance. But, we also appreciate the value of sounds when your car or truck is under the weather. As mechanical detectives, those sounds are the “Ah-ha” clues we live for.

For more information about Performance Unlimited, visit www.4performanceunlimited.comor call 815-728-0343.