Express Car Care of Denver

"Denver's Best Auto Repair and Quick Lube"

Springtime Vehicle Maintenance

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Springtime is the perfect time to go through a vehicle maintenance checklist and get your car ready for the months ahead.  We’ve put this one together so you know what should be checked out.

  • Regular oil changes are very important for vehicle maintenance.  Clean oil in the engine keeps your vehicle running smoothly, so if it’s been a while, now is the time to change it.
  • Your vehicle’s cooling system needs maintenance.  Not only does it keep the engine from overheating but it also keeps it from freezing.  And since we experience springtime weather that can have both extremes, it’s important to have the system flushed and replaced with fresh coolant.
  • The terminals and cables on your battery should be inspected for wear or damage.  The battery fluid should also be checked along with the batteries ability to hold a charge.  If you’ve had the same battery for 4 years or more, you might want to have it replaced.
  • The tires on your vehicle should be checked to make sure they are in good condition and will provide the proper traction you need for springtime (rain, snow) driving.  Checking for proper tire pressure is another thing that will need attention.
  • Windshield wipers should be inspected and replaced if they are worn out and also refill the washer fluid reservoir.  With spring storms and dirt on the roads, sometimes we use our wipers more often than we thought we would.
  • If your car was built in the last decade, chances are good it has a cabin air filter.  This filter needs to be checked because it screens out dust and debris out of the air that’s entering your vehicle’s passenger compartment.  To improve the quality of the air you breathe while you drive, your cabin air filter should be changed.
  • Finally, the brakes on your vehicle should be checked.  If you haven’t had them checked in the last six months, now is the perfect time, because there’s no perfect time for the brakes to fail.

Vehicle maintenance can and should be done all the time, but if you haven’t started yet, springtime can be the perfect time for a new beginning.

Spark Plugs

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Good news!  The days when drivers had to change their spark plugs every couple of years has ended.  Back in the day, spark plugs really did wear out that often.  Now, a couple of things are different…

First, spark plugs have a better design and are made of better materials that last longer for drivers.  The second reason spark plugs used to have to be changed more often is because carbon deposits would build up in them when fuel wasn’t burned completely and foul them up.  But with modern engine management controls that doesn’t happen as often.

Engine control computers precisely time when fuel is injected into the engine and when the spark plugs fire.  Unless something is wrong, spark plugs just don’t misfire as often now.

Electricity from the battery goes into a coil that allows power to build up to anywhere from 12,000 to 45,000 volts, depending on the vehicle.  The engine management computer tells the coil when to release the power to the spark plug.  The electricity travels through a wire from the coil to the spark plug.  At the tip of the plug, a spark jumps between two electrodes and ignites the gas in the combustion chamber.

Some engines have more than one coil.  Coils wear out and need to be replaced occasionally.  Also, spark plug wires can wear out and need to be replaced.  Modern engines in vehicles are delivering more power and better fuel economy all the time.  That’s largely credited to fast engine control computers, advanced sensors, electronic ignition and improvements to the lowly spark plug.  It will be interesting to see where future developments take us.

One last thought…it’s important to have the right kind of spark plug for your vehicle.  Because engines are designed to run with different internal temperatures, spark plugs have different designs that work properly within those temperatures.  Your service adviser at Express Car Care will be able to get the right plugs for your vehicle and be able to advise you as to when you should replace your spark plugs as well.

Simple Answers About Alignment

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Question:  How do I know when I need a wheel alignment?

Express Car Care Answer:  When Denver drivers wheels are properly aligned, they point in the same direction.  When they are out of alignment, most drivers notice a couple of things.  First, the vehicle pulls to one side when driving.  It can be slight or pretty severe.  If your wheels have been out of alignment for a while, you’ll also start to see uneven tire wear – the shoulder on either the outside or inside of the tire is worn down more than the other.

There are many steering and suspension components that are joined together.  Everyday driving can cause a drivers wheels to go out of alignment over time just from the joints loosening up.  That’s why a simple alignment check is recommended every couple of years.  Depending on where you live or the conditions you drive in ( off-road driving, harsh winter conditions, poor pavement, etc.) an alignment inspection every year may be necessary.

Suspension and steering components wear over time as well, which can lead to alignment issues for drivers.  Of course, hitting a curb or pothole can knock a wheel out of alignment or damage a steering or suspension part.

Your friendly and knowledgeable service adviser will check your tires for uneven wear.  The type of wear provides clues to what might be wrong.  Parts located under the car are inspected for wear or damage.  An alignment machine will provide a reading of how each wheel is aligned.  The reading is compared with the alignment settings and then makes the necessary adjustments and repairs to bring your wheel back into alignment.

Due to the size of our shop, we don’t have the equipment to provide alignment service, but we can recommend quality shops that do provide this necessary service.

Putting off a wheel alignment can be dangerous because of tire wear, a bad alignment can chew through a tire pretty quickly.  If you see uneven tire wear, or if your steering wheel is off center, or your vehicle pulls to one side, ask your service adviser about getting an alignment check.

New Fuel Filter?

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Hello Denver drivers.  Today’s Express Car Care auto care post is focusing on your fuel filter.  Is it time for a new fuel filter?

When the fuel your engine is getting isn’t clean, your fuel injectors can start to become clogged and the engine on your vehicle may not get the proper amount of fuel at the correct pressure to run efficiently.  This hurts your fuel economy as well as your vehicle’s performance and can also lead to the buildup of harmful deposits on valves and in the combustion chamber.

This is the reason why all vehicles sold in Colorado come equipped with a fuel filter.  The job of the filter is to clean out the small pieces of dirt and contamination.  Of course, the filter will eventually get clogged up and need to be replaced.  Fuel filters for diesel cars need to be replaced more frequently than those that run on regular gasoline.

If your fuel filter is clogged, the engine can’t get all the fuel it needs, and it may sputter at high speeds or quick acceleration.  These could be signs you might  need a new fuel filter.  You may also find that you need to get a new fuel filter more frequently as your vehicle ages.  Over the years, additional sediment and rust accumulates in your fuel tank and can be drawn into the fuel system.  Your fuel filter is the part that stands guard at the gates to your engine, to protect parts and to maintain performance and fuel economy.  If you would like more information on this subject, call us at Express Car Care at 303-691-2760.

Question on Your Transmission

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Express Car Care Tech Question:
My name is Suzanne.  We were taking a camping trip at our favorite state park over a three day weekend.  About halfway to our campsite, the transmission went out on our vehicle.  It took all weekend to get it towed out and to get back home.  What can I do to prevent transmission problems in the future?

Express Car Care Answer:  Transmission repairs can be expensive at auto service centers.  On top of that, Suzanne was in the back country, her vacation weekend turned into three days of car repairs.

First of all, vehicle transmissions are tough and durable.  All that needs to be done to maintain them is to replace the transmission fluid on schedule.  The fluid gets contaminated with bits of clutch plates and metal.  Dirty transmission fluid under pressure acts like liquid sandpaper, eating away at important gaskets and seals.  Then your transmission doesn’t shift as well.  It can start to leak and overheat, and then you could end up in a situation like Suzanne.

Another thing to consider:  if you carry heavy loads, or are towing a trailer on the highway or up mountain passes, your transmission is working much harder and running hotter than under normal conditions.  Your transmission fluid may need to be changed sooner.  Check your vehicle’s owner’s manual for your severe service schedule or talk with your helpful and knowledgeable pros about when you should have your transmission serviced.  If you’re planning a trip that you know you will be doing some towing or other severe driving, make sure to have your transmission fluid checked before you head out.  It’s always better to be safe, rather than sorry.

Trust Your Vehicle to Us

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Your vehicle is much more to you than a transportation appliance.  It gets you to work, helps you take care of errands, goes on dates, and takes you on vacations.  You could almost say it’s part of the family, or maybe a business partner.  You rely on your vehicle for so many things.  We understand how important your car or truck is to your life.  And we want you to know that you can trust your vehicle to us.  You can rely on us to do all that we can to keep you safely on the road.

We put special focus on preventative maintenance.   Taking care of the routine things is what will help your vehicle last longer, perform consistently, retain its safety, and help prevent breakdowns and repairs.  You can trust your vehicle to us when it’s sidelined.  We’ll do everything we can to get it back in the game as quickly as possible.

To us, keeping your trust requires investing in our employees, their training, and equipment.  When we do that, we can keep our promise of high-quality, convenient service and repair that’s done right the first time.

We appreciate the confidence you have in us and we want to continue to earn it every time you bring your vehicle in for service.  We’d like for you to think of us first for all your car care needs.

Proper Grade of Gas

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Proper Grade of GasThere are a lot of misconceptions about fuel grades-and by fuel grades, I mean, the octane rating.  Names like “Standard”, “Super”, “Plus”, and “Premium”, lead people to believe that the octane rating/grade is associated with quality.  Octane ratings are expressed as a number that typically ranges from 87 to 91 at the pump.  The number doesn’t mean “better” but rather signifies the appropriate grade of fuel for a particular engine.

Octane is a measure of gasoline’s ability to resist igniting before the spark plug goes off.  Gasoline and air are compressed in the engine’s combustion chamber.  When the pressure reaches a certain point, the gas will spontaneously ignite.  You don’t want that to happen; you want the spark plug to ignite the fuel at precisely the right time.  When the gas ignites prematurely, the piston will try to go down while it is still being pushed up by the crank shaft and you will hear a pinging or knocking sound.  That sound is metal banging into other metal which isn’t suppose to happen.  As you can imagine, this can lead to expensive damage.

Because engines have different designs, they have different compression ratios.  An engine with a high compression ratio needs gasoline with a higher octane rating to prevent premature combustion.  Also, turbo-charged or super-charged engines have higher pressure in the engine and often require higher octane gas.  The bottom line is that your vehicle has a recommended octane rating – often on a sticker in the gas cap area – and you should always use at least the octane number recommended.  Using a lower octane rating than recommended could cause engine damage.  Using a higher octane rating than recommended won’t have any noticeable power of efficiency benefit in modern engines.

Now, just because the octane number doesn’t measure quality, that doesn’t mean there isn’t a quality difference in gasoline.  The government mandates that all gas have a minimum level of detergent added to keep the engine and critical fuel system, and emission components, clean and operating efficiently over the long haul.  Top tier gasoline will have many times the minimum level of detergent.  To give you an idea of how important that is, all U.S. automakers use top tier gasoline in their government mandated 100,000 mile durability tests.  Good quality fuel is critical to long life of engine components.

No matter what kind of gasoline you use, there will be some carbon build up on your valves, pistons, fuel injectors, etc.  This is especially prevalent on the intake valves of the GDI (gasoline direct injection) engines that are found in more and more vehicles today.  Because the gas is injected directly into the combustion chamber in these engines and the detergents in the fuel don’t wash over the intake valves, a professional fuel system cleaning is needed to clean and restore the efficiency of this fuel system and to keep your fuel economy up.

Ask your service adviser it it’s time for a professional fuel system cleaning.

 

Essential Engine Maintenance Tips

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Essential Engine Maintenance TipsAs we all know, the engine is as important to a car as a heart is to a human body.  Therefore, it’s important to keep the engine finely tuned so you’ll have trouble free performance, as well as longevity.  Still, engine maintenance is one of the most neglected aspects of the overall maintenance of a vehicle.  Here are five essential engine maintenance tips that if you follow, you can not only keep up the performance of the engine, but you can also keep your pockets safe from costly engine repair bills.

  1. Regular Oil Change:  This is the most important and a must follow engine maintenance tip.  We should strictly follow the oil change schedule provided by the manufacturer in order to keep the lubrication level at its proper place.  The engine oil catches metal particles and dirt, and if not kept at the right levels and changed at the right time, it can negatively affect the life of the engine.
  2. Avoid Rough Driving:  We should avoid driving our vehicles roughly and should practice engine friendly driving habits, like using proper speed-gear combinations and avoid overheating the engine.
  3. Maintaining Fluid Level:  The cooling system maintains the engine temperature and keeps it safe from overheating.  Maintaining the proper fluid level in the cooling system is very important and should be checked and refilled on a regular basis.
  4. Listen to Your Vehicle:  Keep a close eye and ear on the performance of every component and as soon as you hear any unusual sound coming from the engine, have it inspected.  Even a faulty spark plug or a dirty air filter can prove harmful for an engine.  These parts should be repaired or replaced as soon as you suspect a problem in any one of them.
  5. Regular Service:  We should strictly follow the service schedule recommended by the manufacturer.  This service includes checking, repairing, cleaning, replacing many of the essential components of the engine.  By staying on top of these essential engine maintenance tips, we can improve the performance and increase the life of our vehicle’s engine.

Axles

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AxlesQuestion:
I hear a clunking sound from my front wheel when I make a turn.  What could be the problem?

Express Car Care Answer:  One possible cause of the problem is a worn axle.  Front-wheel drive vehicles have axles that transfer power from the transmission to your front wheels.  There is one for each front wheel.  These axles are called constant velocity axles or CV axles for short.  Rear-wheel drive vehicles have axles that are in back and run between the differential and the rear wheels.  Then there are all-wheel drive vehicles which have an axle at each wheel.

When a front CV axle goes bad, it will make a clunking noise as you make a slow turn.  When a rear axle goes bad, the clunking or moaning sound will be in the back.  No, there really isn’t any preventative maintenance you can have performed to make your axles last longer, but you can have them inspected from time to time to see if a problem such as a leaking seal or torn protective boot has arisen.  Sometimes finding the problem early will make the repair easier and less costly.

Of course, axles do wear out and need to be replaced.  This is dangerous and should not be put off by drivers, because a severely worn axle can seize up causing damage to your transmission or other components.  This could even lead to an accident for any driver who ignores a worn axle.

If you suspect an axle problem, have it looked at right away.  Ask your friendly and knowledgeable service adviser at Express Car Care if it’s time for your axle to be replaced.

Ball Joints

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Most drivers in Denver know that ball joints are an important part of the suspension system.  Visualize a ball attached to a spindle, with the ball enclosed in a cup.  This allows the joint to move in several directions, kind of like the way your hip works.

Most vehicles have two or four ball joints on the front, depending on the type of suspension system.  The joint allows the wheels to move up and down as the tires go over bumps, as well as allowing the wheels to turn as you steer.  The ball joints are continuously working and are subject to normal wear.  Most ball joints on modern vehicles are maintenance free, meaning they are sealed and cannot be lubricated.  Once the lubricant breaks down or leaks out due to a broken seal, the ball joint will wear more quickly.  Ball Joints

You may hear a clicking or popping sound from a corner of the vehicle when turning and /or going over bumps as a ball joint is failing.  Your steering may begin to feel sloppy or stiff, depending on how the joint is wearing.  You may even feel vibration in the steering wheel at highway speeds.  Unusual tire wear is also a sign of a problem.

It’s important to replace worn ball joints BEFORE they fail.  Once it fails, the joint may not be able to constrain the steering angle of a wheel, causing you to lose control.

Your owner’s manual calls for periodic suspension system inspections.  The ball joints are an important component that will be inspected for safe function.  We can check to see if you are due for a suspension system inspection or ask you service adviser for an inspection if you are experiencing any of the signs of ball joint wear.

 

Brakes Service

Oil Change

Suspension

Transmision Service

Engine Service

Auto Tips & Tricks