If your engine shuts off while driving – stay calm, all the controls will still work. Grip the steering wheel with both hands and pull over to the side of the road. The brakes may require more pressure so push harder. Newer vehicles don’t need to be tuned. If something goes wrong, the check engine light will appear. Get your car inspected soon since the self-diagnostic system monitors many functions, some very important to the health of your vehicle. Driving with your headlights on makes your vehicle more visible to other drivers. Check that all your lights are working, including all three brake lights. The extra effort to make sure your vehicle is safe to drive may just save a life.

When snow or ice coats your windshield, don’t use your wipers to wipe it off. Remove it with a scraper or brush before driving. Wiper linkage is fragile and will break under heavy loads. Have your car’s wheel alignment checked at least every two years. Always check it after bumping a curb or buying new tires. Vehicles out of alignment wear out tires, negatively affect handling and reduce gas mileage. When driving around town in cold weather, gas mileage decreases by five-to-ten percent. That’s because your car doesn’t run as efficiently with a cold engine using winter fuel. Combine your trips to save gas and regularly check your tire pressure.

  If you must park your vehicle under trees, make sure that leaves and needles don’t accumulate in your car’s cracks and crevices or in the cowl in front of the windshield. Lift the hood and clean it out or else drains may plug and rust components. When leaving your car, lock the doors with the windows up. Don’t leave valuables in the car, store them in your trunk. Never place your garage door opener near your registration – it’s an open invitation for thieves to rob your home. Most vehicles have cabin air filters. These filters are designed to create fresh, clean air for passengers. They should be replaced every 15 to 20-thousand miles… about the same schedule as your engine’s air filter.

  Check your owner’s manual to determine whether you should use regular or premium fuel in your car. There is no reason to use premium if regular fuel is recommended. Using premium will not increase fuel mileage. Never leave your vehicle running unattended, even if it’s just parked in your driveway or in the parking lot of the local supermarket. And, it’s not a good idea to leave your keys in your car either. Don’t give thieves an easy opportunity to steal your vehicle. Here’s how to increase fuel mileage. Don’t warm up your vehicle before driving. Use a gentle touch – like an egg is under the gas pedal – until the temperature gauge is in the normal range. Choose a route that has fewer stops… that saves gas and brakes.

Please click on the link to You Tube to watch. George Rode got to drive a Ferrari 458 from Dream Machines at the Las Vegas Raceway. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gVVlawb1guo

Rain, snow, and ice all come with fall and winter. Your tires are your first line of defense between you and the road. Poor tires are just plain dangerous for you and the other people on the road. Make sure your tires are in good condition. Check your tire pressure, the pressure is determined by the automobile manufacturer, not the tire company. You will find your recommended tire pressure on the driver’s door jamb, glove box lid or in your owner’s manual. Coolant check, 50-50 mixture of antifreeze/water. That will bring it down to -34 the recommended level for winter and so the cooling system doesn’t corrode and rust. Battery check. A battery receives its electric energy from chemical reactions. The colder it is, the less power a battery has. And on top of this, a cold engine requires more power to crank it over. Cold weather is a test for a battery. Get your battery checked before it deserts you. Repla ... read more

Intermittent Problems One of the daily challenges that we have at our shops are intermittent problems. Noises, poor running, no starts, vibrations that don’t happen all the time are all in this field. In any kind of problem solving in any kind of profession, there are 4 logical steps to problem solving. The first is to experience the problem. From this you can move to step two which is to theorize what the problem is. Moving to step three, you test, inspect, diagnose to prove or disprove your theory. The forth and most important of the steps is you repair or replace the part in question to make sure your theory is correct. The “proof in the pudding”. Is the problem solved or fixed? If the problem is not there all the time, you can lose two to three of these steps. This is where the problem lies. We have had vehicles that will crank over but won’t start. One of the fir ... read more