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We all do the best we can to protect our vehicles. For instance, making sure to perform the required maintenance services such as changing the oil, checking the brakes periodically, and checking the tires as well. These are items we can easily see, but what about those other maintenance items we can’t see or detect when they need to be serviced?

One of  the least known and understood maintenance services is the timing belt service. What is the timing belt and what does it do?  To understand what makes the timing belt maintenance so important, and how we can…

Rotating the tires, which is recommended by all tire manufacturers, involves changing the tire’s position on the vehicle from one wheel location to another. This helps to even out tire wear between all the tires so the tires last longer and do not develop abnormal wear patterns. 

Refer to your owner’s manual/tire manufacturer handbook for the recommendation as to the time/mileage intervals to rotate your tires.

On most vehicles, the front wheels tend to wear at a much faster rate than those on the rear. This is because we use the front wheels of course, to…

It always happens at the most inconvenient time. Vehicle batteries always die at the wrong time. Not that there’s necessarily any good time for a battery to fail. But you usually only discover it’s dead when you’re in a rush to get somewhere and your engine won’t turn over. Rick Case Mazda in Duluth can help.

What should you do? 

Below are a few possible quick solutions that will get you back on the road in a short time.

Depending on where you are and what time of day your battery’s decided to punch the…

When Should I Get My Alignment?

If you’re wondering whether your vehicle needs an alignment, first look at your tires. Uneven tire wear -- often, more wear on the outside of some tires -- is a prime indicator that your car is likely out of alignment.

An out-of-alignment car is a common result of everyday driving. But the term alignment doesn’t really refer to your vehicle’s wheels but rather to the suspension. As part of normal driving, parts of your car’s suspension may become worn, and springs can be stretched out. Even a small accident or bumping a…

Imagine this, the highway is rain-soaked and full of puddles when suddenly the car begins to swerve, then skid. Your car is in motion of hydroplaning. 

Hydroplaning can happen at almost any speed, but it is far more likely to happen at high speeds. Invariably, hydroplaning catches drivers by surprise. Inexplicably, the car begins to skid although you haven’t swerved, haven’t braked, haven’t changed lanes, or drastically changed your speed.

Yet now you are in a skid you can’t seem to correct. Steering in the direction of the skid (as most driving experts advise) doesn’t…

Most vehicle manufacturers recommend that the tires be rotated on the same schedule as oil changes. In most cases that means every 7,500 miles or six months.

A good time to rotate your tires is when you get the oil changed, assuming you do that at least once a year and more often if you drive in excess of 12,000 miles a year.

On front-wheel-drive vehicles, the weight of the engine and transmission, and because the front tires do most of the work in turns, it’ll certainly wear quicker than the rear tires.

Rotating the tires between…

For parents here in the greater Atlanta area, especially those with growing families, attention is a finite resource. Let's face it folks, there's nearly always something vying for your attention, whether it's work, family life, or other obligations that crop up from time to time. But while you can certainly multi-task at the home or office, once you sit behind the wheel of a vehicle, your full attention has to be on the road. Now, that in itself can be a bit of a challenge, as driving your kids around town often means having to keep an…

At Rick Case Mazda, we really don't like to toot our own horn all that much. Sure, we'll gladly give our customers a fair and balanced competitive analysis of how our Mazda models stack up to competitors, but we really don't like to go on and on about the strengths and successes of the Mazda brand. That being said, every so often a bit of news comes to our attention that we can't help but share. That's why we're proud to announce that the Mazda brand took home two big accolades at the 2018…

In the expansive midsize sedan segment, the Mazda6 is one of the rare few that never fails to bring excitement to the market. In fact, even we here at Rick Case Mazda watch the automotive news with anticipation when Mazda announces a new model year of the Mazda6. And we can happily say that this year, the 2018 Mazda6 is really going to set the standard for the midsize sedan segment with a host of new features and capabilities.

There are many reasons that drivers from all over the greater Atlanta, GA area are drawn to the Mazda brand, but chief among them is the unparalleled level of craftsmanship that goes into each and every new Mazda vehicle. Now, if that's what drew you to your Mazda car, you should know that it takes just as much care to maintain that standard of craftsmanship in the long run. Fortunately, when it comes to Mazda service and repairs, there's no one better equipped than we are here at Rick Case Mazda.