The Rice Patch

05/19/2026

In observance of Memorial Day, we will be closing at noon on Friday and will reopen on Tuesday May 26 at 9 a.m. We would like to thank our veterans and honor those who gave the ultimate sacrifice.

04/23/2026

https://youtube.com/shorts/2dFIbZ64w9c?si=_z99HLY3UaelCjju

Tip of the week: When you START to hear squealing, squeaking, or especially grinding these are all indicators to check the brake pads for wear. The wear indicator in this video is on almost all modern vehicles and is designed to help you know when it's time to change the brake pads. Healthy brakes should never make noise.

This short video gives you an example of what a brake pad wear indicator looks like. If your car is making a high pitched squeak/squeal and it goes away when...

04/10/2026

Tip of the week: tire wear indicator bars. These show when your tires are at or beyond their legal limit and dangerous to drive. When driving on overly worn or "bald" tires you are endangering yourself, your passengers, and those in vehicles around you by driving on tires that will slip and slide in any kind of wet circumstances, not just in rainstorms. Be diligent about checking your tires. If the tread is not taller than the wear markers it's time to replace them. Drive safe!

03/06/2026

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03/04/2026

Tip of the week: When you hear a squeaky or squealing from your brakes when in reverse that is typically the first sign that brake pads have worn out. If you don't get them changed promptly it could lead to a more costly repairs.

Why do brake pads wear down, and when should you replace them?Modern vehicles are equipped with disc brakes, where each wheel has brake pads fitted in calipe...

02/21/2026

Tip of the week: If you have a tapping noise coming from your vehicle, get it checked. Especially if it sounds like this, as this is likely a timing tensioner tapping on the Honda V6 and can cause catastrophic failure if left unaddressed. We charge nothing to take a look at these things, read codes, and standard diagnostic. Contact us this week to schedule a time for us to look at your vehicle!

02/14/2026

Tip of the week: If your vehicle is starting to sound like an airplane taking off or like you have mud tires you should get the wheel bearings checked. The noise is an indicator of damage that will continue to get worse. Thankfully this vehicle came in before the wheel came completely off, but it wasn't far from catastrophic failure.

01/24/2026

Tip of the week: Having electrical issues? Check fuses. Not only for blown fuses but also for fuses that may be missing or have been put in the wrong spot! 😔 Yes it happens, even to professionals (surely not!). Unfortunately we have seen two cases of this recently. It's easy enough to check on Hondas, there is almost always a diagram close showing fuse location, size, and system. Under the hood the diagram is often on the cover (as pictured), there is also a fuse box under the dash that may have a cover, may not, but the diagram is usually close to it. Please be sure to use the correct fuse size, using too small will likely blow again quickly, too large may fry the wiring harness (very costly). Buying the correct fuse and keeping spares is aways cheaper than the repair from using the wrong one. Also if you blow a fuse multiple times be sure to schedule with us to get it on and see why. There's always a reason!

01/16/2026

Tip of the week: Check your tire pressure! With the constant weather change lately tires will loose some pressure. This symbol (referred to by some wives as the harp 😆) indicates low tire pressure. Low tire pressure causes difficulty steering and can result in blowouts and sidewall damage to the tire.

01/07/2026

Tip of the day: Be aware of what parts being installed on your vehicle! This timing belt was installed 6 months ago by an independent mechanic and broke yesterday. Dried rubber doesn't last long. We only use OE level manufacturers for these vital timing parts, specifically Gates timing belts, and never buy timing parts from Amazon or eBay, the bent valves are just not worth it. (Cost of consequential repair $2500+)