Steering, suspension and radiator
Steering, suspension and radiator work, handled before it strands you on 249
Shocks and struts, power steering systems, steering column repairs, and radiator repairs and replacements. Our ASE-certified technicians have the skills and equipment to keep your vehicle from overheating, backed by a free 12-month, 12,000-mile nationwide warranty.
Chapter 01
What a bouncy ride is telling you about the shocks
Shocks and struts control how the suspension absorbs a bump and, just as important, how quickly it settles afterward. Worn shocks let the car keep bouncing after a bump instead of settling in one motion, and that continued motion can wear tires unevenly and stretch out stopping distance without the driver noticing either one happening gradually.
It is easy to get used to a softer, wandering ride and stop noticing it as a problem. We check shocks and struts as part of a suspension inspection rather than waiting for a customer to describe a specific complaint.
The front office and service counter at Michel Auto Cares in Tomball, with the shop's yellow Labrador behind the desk
Power steering and the column, the two failures people drive on too long
Power steering systems make turning the wheel light instead of physical work, and a failing system usually announces itself gradually: heavier steering effort, a whining noise when turning, or fluid showing up somewhere it should not be. Because the car still steers, people keep driving on it well past when the repair would have been simpler.
The steering column is a related but separate problem. It houses the mechanical link between the wheel and the rest of the steering system along with the ignition switch and the wiring for wheel-mounted controls, and looseness or play in the wheel often gets tolerated the same way, because the car still turns, until it does not turn as cleanly as it should.
Chapter 03
Overheating in Texas traffic starts long before the gauge moves
The radiator's job is to shed the engine's heat into the air passing through it, and a radiator that is leaking or partially clogged loses that cooling capacity slowly, not all at once. Stop-and-go traffic with the air conditioner running hard, which describes most drives around Tomball for half the year, is exactly the load that exposes a radiator that is already behind.
Radiator repairs and radiator replacements both come through this shop regularly, and catching a slow leak or a clogged core before it fails is the difference between a scheduled repair and being stuck on the shoulder of SH 249 in July.
Ten bays means we can keep the car moving through the shop
This shop started as four bays in 1995 and has grown to ten, and that space matters most on jobs like these, where diagnosis, parts, and the actual repair do not always happen in the same hour. A vehicle is not sitting idle waiting for one bay to open up.
If the vehicle needs to stay with us for the day, the free local shuttle covers the five miles around the shop, and emergency towing is available if a steering, suspension, or overheating problem means the car cannot be driven in safely at all.
Michel Auto Cares, Every repair carries a free 12-month, 12,000-mile nationwide warranty. Call (281) 351-9499.