Express Car Care of Denver

"Denver's Best Auto Repair and Quick Lube"

Fuel Injector Cleaning At Express Car Care in Denver

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Fuel Injector CleaningSomething we hear quite frequently from Denver drivers is that their fuel efficiency is down and their vehicle just doesn’t have the pep that it had before.  When that happens, one of the things we look for is clogged fuel injectors.

The engine management computer tells your fuel injectors exactly when to squirt fuel into your engine.  It is vital that clean fuel injectors spray the right amount of gasoline or diesel fuel in an even, specific spray pattern.  A dirty or clogged injector can’t spray enough fuel and it comes out in an uneven, weak pattern.

When Denver drivers’ fuel injectors are dirty or clogged, the fuel just can’t burn as efficiently, which causes gas mileage to drop and your vehicles engine can’t produce as much power.

Fuel injectors just get dirty over time.  Gas and diesel fuel cause varnish and gum to build up in your fuel injectors, especially if you buy bargain gasoline.  If your fuel injectors get too dirty, they can be damaged and will need to be replaced – which can be pretty costly.

The good news is that a professional fuel injector cleaning at Express Car Care in Denver can get all of that gunk out of your injectors.  They’ll be able to spray the right amount of fuel, at exactly the right time, and in the right spray pattern.  Your gas mileage will be restored along with your engine performance.  Fuel injectors are cleaned as a part of a comprehensive fuel system cleaning service that includes the induction system ( throttle plates, intake manifold, idle air by-pass passages and – if applicable – the mass airflow sensor).

So ask your friendly service tech about a fuel injector cleaning at Express Car Care in Denver to get your engine running like new.  Give us a call @ 303-691-2760 or come in and see us.

What’s A Serpentine Belt?

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What's A Serpentine Belt?All of us in Denver have those days when we’ve got a bunch of errands to run all over town.  Suppose on your day off you need to get gas, pick up some groceries, swing by your local ATM and pick the kids up from school.  Now you could make four separate trips, but that would be a waste of time and money and totally inefficient.  Instead you get organized and hit the ATM first and get some gas next.  Then you go to your Denver supermarket and pick up the kids on your way home.  That’s a much better use of your time.

Now you may wonder what this has to do with a serpentine belt.  Well, back in the day, each of your engine’s accessories, such as the alternator and air conditioner, were powered by separate belts.  A vehicle might have five or six belts.  These days, vehicles have a single belt to run all the accessories.  It’s called the serpentine belt because it snakes around everything, efficiently connecting each accessory.  Just like bundling your errands.

A pulley attached to the engine’s crank provides the power to turn the serpentine belt.  The belt  provides the power for the power steering pump, which makes it easier to steer your vehicle.  Next comes the alternator which generates electricity to run the vehicle’s electrical system and charge the battery.  On to the air conditioning compressor.  This helps make the cold air to keep you comfortable all during the summer here in Denver.

On some vehicles – the water pump, radiator fan and the power brakes are also run by the serpentine belt.  Some even have two serpentine belts.  No matter how your engine is arranged, you won’t get very far without a serpentine belt.  Your auto manufacturer has a recommended interval for inspecting your belt and your Denver service adviser can inspect it for any damage or wear.

Finally, there is the belt tensioner.  Its job is to apply pressure on the belt to keep it tight.  Several years ago, manufacturers started making serpentine belts out of a new material.  It is much more durable, but it’s harder to tell when the belt needs to be replaced.  The old style belts would crack and chunks would fall off so you could easily see when you needed a new one.

On the new style belt, if the ribs wear too deep, it’s time to replace it.  Your service technician uses a simple gauge to tell when the belt is worn and you need a serpentine belt replacement.  A worn belt stresses your engine’s expensive accessories and causes them to wear out prematurely.  So change your serpentine belt and belt tensioner as recommended by your helpful Express Car Care tech and extend the life of your accessories and  prevent future breakdowns.

At Express Car Care in Denver we install quality NAPA replacements parts.  Give us a call @ 303-691-2760.  To learn more about NAPA AutoCare, visit www.NAPAAutoCare.com

Car and Truck Suspension Problems in Denver?

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Suspension Problems In Denver?Suspension systems should continue to operate effectively for many years and thousands of miles, but eventually components do wear out.  How long it takes for them to wear out depends a lot on how you drive.

As you can imagine, if most of your driving is on smooth Colorado highways, your vehicles shock absorbers will last a lot longer than if you do most of your driving on bumpy Denver roads or hauling heavy loads.  In addition to just wearing out, upgraded shock suspension components can be damaged in an accident or just by a hard impact – like hitting a pothole, curb or a rock in the road.

Because the life span of shocks can vary so widely, your vehicle manufacturer recommends periodic inspections.  During a car inspection at Express Car Care, your service technician will check for worn, broken or missing suspension parts.  If the inspection reveals any problems, it’s important to have them  taken care of quickly.  When you do need to replace your shocks, it’s usually a good idea to replace all four at the same time.  This will give you even handling at all four corners of the vehicle.

If you have special road handling needs – like – improved cornering or towing and hauling requirements in Denver, your Express Car Care adviser can recommend an upgraded shock or strut that will meet your needs.

At Express Car Care, we have been providing quality auto repair in Denver for over ten years.  Ask manager Rob about transmission service and windshield wipers.  We are here to help with all your auto repair needs.  Give us a call @ 303-691-2760 or come in and see us.

Chilling In Denver With Winter Tires

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Chilling In Denver With Winter TiresThere is more to winter tires than Denver drivers may think.  Those days of clunky, tractor-like snow tires are long gone in Colorado.  They have been replaced by high-tech winter tires with special rubber compounds and advanced tread designs.

In Denver winter temperatures, the rubber in summer tires becomes hard and inflexible and they don’t grip the road as well.  In contrast, winter tires use special rubber compounds that are more pliable when the thermometer drops below 45 degrees, giving you better road contact; so even if you don’t get much snow, winter tires will really add to your cold weather safety in Denver.

Winter tires may also use a micro-pore rubber compound that increases surface area so they can bite into ice and packed snow on Denver roads and highways.

The tread on winter tires needs to clear out water, snow and slush as the tire turns so it’s ready to take another bite when it comes back in contact with the road.  But summer tires can actually be dangerous because they get packed with snow, making them very slick, so your vehicle will be hard to control.  Winter tires have a lot of thin slits in the tread which help the tire grab ice and packed snow, providing extra traction.

Many new vehicles in Denver come with all-season tires which are good for a wide range of Denver weather and road conditions, but don’t provide top performance in Colorado snow and ice.  For example, winter tires provide 25 to 50% more traction than all-season tires.  And all-season tires take up to 42% longer to stop than winter tires in slick conditions.  For all these reasons, the tire experts at Express Car Care in Denver recommend you put winter tires on all four wheels because it makes sense to have equal traction and handling at all four corners of your vehicle.  Uneven traction could result in loss of control for Denver motorists.

Your vehicle may be equipped with stability control, anti-lock brakes and traction control – all important safely systems for Colorado auto owners.  But in order to do their job you still need good traction.  Winter tires help you start, stop and corner when things get cold and slippery.

So when temperatures drop below 45 degrees, be sure you have a set of four winter tires for maximum performance in snow, ice and wet Denver roads.  Your Express Car Care professional can help you find the right winter tire for your vehicle and driving needs.  Give us a call @ 303-691-2760 or come in and see us.

Busted in Denver: The Maintenance Free Myth

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Busted in Denver: The Maintenance Free MythQuality surveys report fewer problems with new Denver cars than ever before.  So does that mean that modern vehicles have become maintenance free?  Not really.  Back when cars spent more time in Denver repair shops, drivers were more mindful of routine service.  Now, it is much easier to put it off.

Take tune-ups for example.  In the days of mechanical ignition system, an engine needed to be tuned-up every couple of years.  If your engine was out of tune, you knew it.  It ran poorly and got bad gas mileage driving on Colorado streets and highways.  Now, the ignition system is electronic and controlled by the engine management computer.  Spark plugs rarely get extremely dirty and will last for as much as a 100,000 miles.  So car tune-ups used to force you in for service and while you were there you just took care of whatever else was on the list.

So what is the benefit to keeping up with factory scheduled maintenance at Express Car Care?  Well, your vehicle will perform better and return better fuel economy.  Those benefits pay for the service as you go along.  the big plus is that major repairs – and the associated breakdowns – are prevented.  And these aren’t just repairs that are a long way off.  Modern engines are far more sophisticated and have many parts that are in critical need of lubrication.  Missing just one oil change at Express Car Care can allow oil sludge to start forming.  Sludge clogs small engine passages, robbing car parts of the lubrication they need.  An expensive failure could easily occur with two or three years.

Taking care of the little things at Express Car Care prevents big problems with your vehicle later.  No Denver motorist wants to be stranded by a breakdown.  Your car still needs to be taken care of – it’s just that some of those points of care have changed with automotive advancements.  The need for proper maintenance at Express Car Care in Denver did not go away.

Give us a call @ 303-691-2760

The Maintenance Mindset: Full-Service Oil Change

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The Maintenance MindsetPeople generally accept that many things in life require regular maintenance:  their teeth, clothes, homes, yards and so on, but Colorado motorists don’t often apply the same idea of maintenance to their vehicles.  If you never brush your teeth or go to the dentist, you’ll become painfully aware of your neglect when you get a big cavity.  Once the damage is done, we learn our critical lesson and start to take better care of things.

Unfortunately, Denver people too often learn the hard automotive lesson only after they bring their vehicle to Express Car Care on a tow truck.  So many times, a little routine maintenance would have prevented an expensive breakdown.

So how do Denver car owners get into the habit of taking care of their vehicles?  It’s so easy to forget it’s not like cutting the grass which you can see every time you pull in the driveway.

Here’s something that will help:  The key to good vehicle maintenance starts with the oil change.  Think about it – when you go in for a full-service oil change in Denver, your cheerful Express Car Care service adviser will check all your fluids.  If one of them is low, he can look for the reason why.  If your serpentine belt is worn, he’ll see it and let you know.  Corroded battery cable – they’ve got you covered.  And they’ll check to see if your manufacturer has recommended any critical services at your current mileage.

The oil change becomes kind of a focal point, a way to check in to see what needs to be done.

The fact is that vehicle inspection surveys consistently reveal that over 80% of vehicles have one or more needed repair or maintenance service that goes undone.  Vehicles are generally very reliable and can take a lot of abuse and neglect – but you can only press your luck for so long.

So when you come into Express Car Care for an oil change, you get a visual inspection of your car and a reminder for recommended services so you can avoid a total failure.  Also keep in mind that your service professional can help you work out a maintenance and repair plan for your vehicle, prioritizing and scheduling the work to make sure you and your family are safe and help you avoid expensive breakdowns.

In addition to full-service oil changes, at Express Car Care we also offer air conditioning service, transmission service and tire rotation.

Give us a call.  Express Car Care 303.691.2760

 

 

 

The Express Car Care Guide to Synthetic Oil

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The Express Car Care Guide to Synthetic OilSynthetic motor oil has been around for a long time in Denver and more and more new cars are leaving the auto manufacturers factories with synthetic oil in their engines.  But a lot of car owners still don’t really know much about it.

Let’s start with conventional oil – the kind Denver folks are familiar with using in their engines.  Conventional oil is made up of naturally occurring hydrocarbon chains, which means its molecules are long and have various lengths, ( like a pile of pencils ), some of them are new and some of them are used.

Synthetic oil is man-made.  Its molecules are more uniform and regular in shape -more similar to marbles than pencils.  Some synthetic oil starts with a petroleum base that’s modified and others are entirely synthesized from other materials.

Synthetic motor oil works best in both hot and cold Denver temperatures.  It’s more chemically stable so it doesn’t readily evaporate or breakdown in the high heat produced inside your vehicles engine.  This means it resists turning to sludge, which is a real engine killer.

Remember the marbles and pencils thing we were talking about?  Well, that makes synthetic oil more slippery than conventional oil which means less friction in your engine when you use synthetic oil.  Your vehicle’s engine runs cooler, wears less and lasts longer.  You also get a boost in power and maybe even an improvement in fuel efficiency.   Synthetic oil also lasts longer so you change it less often – which is great for the environment.  With longer oil change intervals, you will need to use an oil filter specifically built for the longer service life of synthetic oil.  Talk with your cheerful Express Car Care service professional about synthetic oil and synthetic blends -they might be just what you need to improve engine performance and extend the life of your vehicle.

Give us a call at 303-691-2760 or stop by and see us.

Extend the Life of Your Cooling System in Denver

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Extend the Life of Your Cooling System in DenverOur vehicles  need to operate in a wide range of temperatures.  That’s why vehicle manufacturers use testing grounds from the frozen tundra to the blistering desert.  The engine antifreeze/coolant in your cooling system must be able to perform in these extreme temperatures.

Antifreeze/coolant has to move heat away from the engine to prevent costly damage.  Water does a very good job of holding heat, but it freezes at thirty two degrees.

That’s why we mix anti-freeze with water – it lowers the freezing point of the coolant, and raises the boiling point as well.  A fifty/fifty blend of water and antifreeze/coolant is the usual recommendation for Colorado motorists.

And on top of that, antifreeze/coolant has the job of  protecting the components of your vehicles cooling system from corrosion.  Your manufacturers owners’ manual will tell you what kind of antifreeze/coolant you should be using in your car.  Of course, at Express Car Care, we can advise you on what coolant to put in your vehicle.

Cooling system failure is one of the most common mechanical problems for Denver motorists.  Much of that can be avoided by following factory scheduled service intervals.  Check your owner’s manual or with your Express Car Care service adviser for recommendations.  He can also conduct a cooling system inspection to look for leaks, weak hoses or bad connections.

Give us a call

Express Car Care   303-691-2760

 

The 411 on Cabin Air Filters

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The 411 on Cabin Air FiltersThe cabin air filter is a filter that is placed in the vehicles ventilation system to remove pollutants from the air before they enter the passenger compartment.  Cabin air filters can also be called pollen or dust filters, interior ventilation filters, ACC filters, or passenger compartment filters.  Since cabin air filters are a fairly recent addition to automobile equipment, this filter can often be overlooked.  The cabin air filter purifies the air as well as protecting the heater and air conditioning components.  If your filter becomes dirty or clogged it can greatly reduce the effectiveness of the vehicle’s air conditioning and heating performance and significantly reduce air flow from the cabin vents.  You might also notice unpleasant odors coming from the cabin vents.  The recommendations for replacing this filter are at least once a year or every 12,000 to 15,000 miles.  It should be replaced more often if your car is driven in areas with heavy pollution or dusty conditions.

There are two types of filters that are offered for replacement, a single stage filter and a multi-stage filter.  Single stage filters trap dust, large soot, and allergens.  Multi-stage filters use activated carbon that reduces toxic gases and odors as well as dust and allergens.  Multi-stage filters are usually recommended more often because of their higher quality.

Since this filter is a relatively new feature, not all vehicles have them.  If your car is a 2000 or newer, it probably has a cabin air filter.  Cars and trucks in the U.S. started using cabin air filters around 1995, so if you aren’t sure whether you have one or not, check your owner’s manual or talk to your repair technician.  Most repair technicians should be able to tell you whether or not your car has one.   The ease or difficulty of replacing the filter depends on the make and model of your vehicle.  There might be some models that would be a lot less trouble to have an auto repair technician replace it , rather than trying to replace the filter on your own.

Top Maintenance Mistakes Denver Drivers Are Making – Are You?

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How old is your car? Is it brand new? Five years old? Ten years old? Twenty years old?

Top Maintenance Mistakes Denver Drivers Are Making – Are You?Cars of today are capable of making it a lot further than they were even just a few short years ago. To keep cars in top running order, regular maintenance is needed. But just like cars have changed and improved over the years, so to has the way we should regularly maintain our cars.

People still think of regular car maintenance in much the same way as we did decades before. Yet that may be where your maintenance mistakes begin. Every car has a supplied maintenance schedule – in the owners manual that came with your car, or in a a separate maintenance log book. A few minutes looking through this guidebook and assessing the requirements needed with your make and model can help you avoid maintenance mistakes that do little to help maintain your car.

Proper tire maintenance

Tires leak – it’s a fact of life. Therefore they need occasional checking to make sure they are still in good working order. Under or overinflated tires wear out sooner and can put you at risk under emergency maneuver situations, so it is important to check. Furthermore tires on the front of your car wear differently than on the back of your car – making tire rotation necessary on a periodic basis. How often? At least twice a year – winter and summer extremes can and do cause havoc on your tires.

Wipers

Colorado gives you all the extremes. Hot dry summers. Cold wet winters. The only way to avoid hitting things is if you can see them – something that can be difficult if your wipers aren’t working properly. And under extremes, wipers dry out and fossilize into noisy and useless tools. To avoid a common maintenance mistake – and give yourself the edge on keeping your car up to date – replace wipers at least once per year.

Tune ups

Remember when tune ups were necessary on every make and model? Well no more. Today’s cars don’t have valves that need adjusting or carburetors to fiddle with. Instead, everything inside your car is controlled and monitored by computer. Sure, belts and other parts will need the occasional adjustment or replacement. But overall, your car will happily carry you from place to place in a much more reliable way.

Oil changes

As long as a car runs on oil, you will need to replace it on occasion. But the old rule of every 3,000 miles may not be true anymore. Today, engine design and lubricants make oil changes something that needs to be performed when the schedule calls for it. Check with your owners manual – some cars can go 10,000 or even 15,000 miles between oil changes.

Brakes

One of the most important parts of your car are your brakes. When they squeak, make noises, sound or feel funny in response, its time to talk to your mechanic. Its never worth putting you or your family at risk to try and squeeze a few more miles out of your brakes.

Brakes Service

Oil Change

Suspension

Transmision Service

Engine Service

Auto Tips & Tricks