Express Car Care of Denver

"Denver's Best Auto Repair and Quick Lube"

What’s Wrong With This Car?

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You’ve been looking forward to this trip for months.  The kids are excited.  You’ve even checked the pollen forecast, and you don’t anticipate any problems.  The rental car looks perfect.  You’ve reserved a four-wheel drive for this rugged adventure in the great outdoors.  You get inside, take a deep breath, and start the car.  Then it happens.

Your chest tightens and your head pounds.  Something in this car is triggering your allergies.  Between mold in the air-conditioning system and the formaldehyde in the leather seats, your perfect rental car seems custom designed to spike your symptoms.

Common allergens and irritants found inside the average car can make driving a challenge for people with allergies.  Dust mites and mold can grow in cars, and animal allergen – tiny particles of an animal’s shed skin, urine, and saliva – may linger for years.

Awareness is key to travel by car:  awareness of your own sensitivities, of the hazards you may encounter, and of the extra planning needed for a safe and pleasant trip.

Whether you’re driving your own car or a rental, take these steps to prepare:

  • Turn on the car’s air conditioner or heater and roll down the windows for at least ten minutes before getting in.  This will help remove dust mites and molds.
  • Make sure the car’s exhaust and fuel systems are in top shape, and that there are no fluid leakages, such as transmission, antifreeze, or power brake fluids.
  • Avoid exhaust fumes by driving in the early morning or late-night hours when there is less traffic.  Also drive on less-traveled routes.
  • Make sure the car has received detailed cleaning.
  • To reduce your exposure to airborne allergy triggers, have your car’s cabin air filter changed if it has one, (most newer models have them).  If not, consider running an air filter designed specifically for automobiles, which plugs into a car cigarette lighter socket, or wear a filter mask while driving.

More and more people suffer from allergies today than they ever have before, if you’d like more information on how to protect yourself, you can find this article and more on  Allergy9.com

 

Fuel Saving Tip: Check Engine Light

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How long have you been enjoying the romantic glow of your Check Engine Light?  Hey, it isn’t there to create ambiance in your vehicle;  it’s a warning  that says something is wrong.

Fuel saving tip:  Many conditions that cause the check engine light to come on can affect your fuel economy, some very dramatically.  In newer vehicles it might be a problem with your gas cap not being screwed on tight enough (or a worn gas cap), causing the vehicle to fail the self-diagnostic evaporative emission test.  Always make sure you tighten your gas cap until it clicks.  A loose gas cap can cause a false sensor reading that will make the check engine light come on.  So if you verify that the gas cap is tight and that’s the problem, the light will turn off and everything will be fine within one or two days.

We advise drivers to resist the temptation to have someone “clear” the codes to turn off your vehicle check engine light.  This erases important diagnostic information that your service technician needs to diagnose the underlying problem for the check engine light or any other pending problems that may be stored in the computer.

So if your date’s eyes are smoldering in the reflected glow of the Check Engine Light, take this fuel saving tip and bring it in and have us check it out.

Finding Vehicle Recall Info in Denver

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No matter how well they’re made, vehicles will have design or manufacturing problems.  And when the government thinks a problem is  really serious, they require the manufacturer of the vehicle to issue a recall notice and to repair the vehicle at no charge to the owner. The manufacturer has to try to contact everyone who owns that type of vehicle so they can get the recall work done.

These recalls always affect the safety of the drivers, so Denver residents should always take them seriously.  It’s not a difficult process to see if a vehicle has a recall.

The US government has links on its websites, such as http://www.nhtsa.gov 

There are many websites with free recall information and searches. To name a few:   carfax.com, autobytel.com and dmv.org.

Recalls are serious, but not all that common.  Sometimes there are less significant issues….when these occur a Technical Service Bulletin , or TSB, is issued.  This tells Denver auto service centers how to repair a frequent or difficult problem.

The automotive pros at Express Car Care in Denver get updated information through subscription plans, which can also be available in consumer versions for a reasonable cost.

So if you find yourself with a vehicle recall, get the work done at Express Car Care and keep you and yours safe.

 

 

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.

 

Emergency Items for Your Vehicle

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Emergency Items for Your VehicleEmergencies you might encounter in your vehicle can range from a flat tire in downtown Denver to being stranded in a snowy ravine for three days.  So you may want to consider a basic car emergency kit to keep in your vehicle at all times and also a travel kit that’s tailored to a specific trip.

Your close-to-home kit should include some basic items to work on your car, plus all the items you would need to change a tire, and also gloves, a couple quarts of oil, some anti-freeze and water.  A can of tire inflator is a good temporary fix for minor flats.  You’ll also want to have jumper cables or a booster box, flares, a flashlight and some basic hand tools.

Now for your comfort and safety:  a first aid kit, drinkable water, high calorie food, ( like energy bars) blankets, toilet paper, cell phone, towel, hat and boots.  Keep some change for a pay phone, emergency cash and a credit card.  If you live in an area in Colorado with frequent severe weather or an area where you might experience extreme conditions, you may want to carry provisions for longer emergencies.

For trips away from Denver, consider the weather and geography as you assemble your emergency items for your vehicle.  You’ll need to have a source of light and heat and will want to provide protection against the elements as well as adequate food and water for every person in your vehicle.  Always tell someone where you are going and have a plan for checking in along the way.  Then if you run into trouble, you can be reported missing as soon as possible and rescuers will be able to narrow the search area.  The key to safe travel is to keep your vehicle properly maintained, plan ahead, and let others know your itinerary.

Gasoline Direct Injection

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Gasoline Direct InjectionQuestion:  My new car has a “GDI” engine.  What does that mean to me and other drivers with this new type of engine?

 Express Car Care Answer:  GDI stands for Gasoline Direct Injection, it’s a type of fuel injection system that is becoming very popular on modern engines.

Let’s talk about the two most common forms of fuel injection.  Port Fuel Injection has been common in vehicles for the last several decades.  With this type, there is a small port just outside the cylinder on the engine.

  • The fuel injector squirts a bit of gas into this area just before the intake valve opens.
  • When the valve opens, air enters the port and mixes with the gas and then flows passed the valve and into the engine.
  • The gas and air mixture is compressed by the piston.
  • The spark plug fires, igniting the gas which pushes against the piston, thus powering the engine.

With Gasoline Direct Injection the process is a bit different.

  • First, there is no port outside the cylinder.
  • When the intake valve opens, air is drawn into the cylinder.
  • The air is compressed by the piston.
  • At the correct time, the engine management computer signals the fuel injector to spray gasoline directly into the cylinder. Because of this it’s called Gas Direct Injection.
  • The pressurized gas and air are ignited by the spark plug, powering the engine.

So why the move to GDI?  Well, by injecting the gas directly into the engine, the management computer is able to time the injection event more precisely.  Also the gas sprayed directly into the engine cools the compressed air enough to allow for better combustion.  This adds up to more power for an engine.

These two types of fuel delivery systems call for different kinds of fuel injectors.  Port fuel injectors squirt their fuel at 40 to 65 pounds per square inch – that’s like the pressure in a bicycle tire.  GDI injectors operate at over 2,000 pounds per square inch.

Of course it’s always important to keep your fuel injectors clean – but it’s even more necessary for GDI injectors.  When they become contaminated, the performance ends.  Different cleaners and cleaning processes are required for GDI engines.  Intake valves get a fair amount of carbon build-up over time.  With port injection, some gasoline flows over the valve when it opens to let in the gas and air.  This has a cleaning effect – which doesn’t occur with GDI.  So pouring a bottle of fuel system cleaner in your gas tank won’t reach the backside of those intake valves.  A professional fuel system cleaning process needs to be done on the GDI engines in order to get them clean.

So, GDI will continue to become more prevalent in everything from compact cars to pick-up trucks.  Ask your Express Car Care service adviser if your vehicle could benefit from a fuel system cleaning.

Risky Behaviors

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This article ( written by AAA) is important for all of us to read and take steps to change our behaviors if necessary.

Risky BehaviorsAbout 87 percent of drivers engaged in at least one risky behavior while behind the wheel within the past month, according to research by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety.  These disturbing results come as nearly 33,000 Americans died in car crashes in 2014, and preliminary estimates project a 9 percent increase in deaths for 2015.

  • “The vast majority of motorists believe they are more careful than others on the road,” said Peter Kissinger, President and CEO of the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, “though most of them are not making safe decisions while behind the wheel.”

Common unsafe behaviors include:

  • DISTRACTED DRIVING – More than two in five drivers (42%) admitted to reading a text message or email while driving in the past 30 days, while 12% reported doing this fairly often or regularly.  Nearly one in three drivers (32%) admitted to typing or sending a text or email over the past month, while 8% said they did so fairly often or regularly.  Distracted driving related to 3,000 deaths in 2014 and increased by 9% in 2015.
  • SPEEDING – About 45% of drivers reported going 10 mph over the speed limit on a residential street in the past 30 days, and 11% admitted doing so fairly often or regularly.  Speeding related to 10,000 deaths in 2014.
  • DROWSY DRIVING – Nearly one in three drivers (32%) said they drove when they were so tired they had a hard time keeping their eyes open in the past 30 days.  Drowsy driving related to 6,400 deaths in 2014.
  • RED-LIGHT RUNNING – More than one in three drivers (39%) admitted to having driven through a light that had just turned red when they could have stopped safely during the past 30 days.  Red-light running related to 697 deaths and 127,000 injuries in one year.
  • SEAT BELTS – Nearly one in five drivers (18%) reported driving without a seat belt within the past 30 days.  50% of all vehicle occupants who died in a crash in 2013 were unrestrained at the time of the crash.
  • IMPAIRED DRIVING – More than one in eight motorists ( 13%) reported driving when their alcohol level might have been near or over the legal limit within the past 12 months.  Impaired driving related to 10,000 deaths in 2014

The AAA Foundations annual Traffic Safety Culture Index identifies attitudes and behaviors related to driver safety, the survey data cited here came from a sample of 2,442 licensed drivers ages 16 and older who reported driving in the past 30 days.

Improve Fuel Economy

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Improve Fuel EconomyLet’s review some things that Denver residents can do to improve fuel economy.  Bottom line – the better you maintain your vehicle, the less fuel you will use.  It all adds up in a big way.  For example, replacing your dirty engine air filter will pay for itself in fuel savings before your next oil change – and will keep saving you money after that.

A clean, well-maintained fuel system really pays big dividends for budget conscious Denver residents.  A clogged fuel filter wastes gas.  So does a dirty fuel system, grimy fuel injectors and plugged up PCV valves.  A fuel system service decreases the gas you use, and increases the power – so you can’t go wrong.

Some of us might ignore our check engine light.  But fixing the problem that caused the light to come on will usually improve fuel economy as well.

It may simply be time for a tune-up.  Tune-ups should improve your fuel economy as well as keeping your vehicle in good running condition.  Don’t overlook the routine maintenance items, like scheduled oil changes, transmission and cooling system service.  Dirty or low fluids actually use more fuel.  Just look at your recommended service intervals in the owner’s manual, or ask your helpful Express Car Care service adviser for the schedule.

Don’t overlook your tires.  Under-inflated tires waste gas because they don’t roll easily and cause the engine to use more fuel to turn them.

Check your gas cap to make sure it isn’t worn or doesn’t leak.

None of these things are very complicated or expensive and when you maintain your vehicle properly, you will improve fuel economy today and prevent repairs tomorrow.

Reality Check on Car-Care Myths

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Reality Check on Car-Care Myths“The truth is always the truth, even if no one believes it.”  This couldn’t be more true when it comes to car care.  It’s time for a little reality check on car care myths.  Here are some myths that can do more harm than good.

  • Myth:  If the brake fluid is low, topping it off will fix the problem.
  • Reality:  As brake pads wear, the level in the brake-fluid reservoir drops a bit.  That helps you monitor brake wear.  If the fluid level drops to or below the Low mark on the reservoir, then either your brakes are worn out or fluid is leaking.  Either way, get the brake system serviced immediately.  You should also get a routine brake inspection when you rotate the tires, about every 6,000 to 7,000 miles.
  • Myth:  If regular-grade fuel is good, premium must be better.
  • Reality:  Most vehicles run just fine on regular-grade fuel.  Using premium in these cars won’t hurt, but it won’t improve performance, either.  A higher-octane number simply means that the fuel is less prone to pre-ignition problems, so it’s often specified for hotter running, high-compression engines.  So if your car is designed for 87-octane fuel, don’t waste money on premium.
  • Myth:  Flush the coolant with every oil change.
  • Reality:  Radiator coolant doesn’t need to be replaced that often.  Most owner’s manuals recommend changing the coolant every five years or 60,000 miles.  Of course, if the level in the coolant reservoir is chronically low, check for a leak and get service as soon as possible.
  • Myth:  After a jump-start, your car will soon recharge the battery.
  • Reality:  It could take hours of driving to restore a battery’s full charge, especially in the winter.  That’s because power accessories, such as heated seats, draw so much electricity that in some cars the alternator has little left over to recharge a run-down battery.   A “load test” at a service station can determine whether the battery can still hold a charge.  If so, some hours on a battery charger might be needed to revive the battery to its full potential.
  • Myth:  Let your engine warm up for several minutes before driving.
  • Reality:  That might have been good advice for yesteryear’s cars but is less so today.  Modern engines warm up more quickly when they’re driven.  And the sooner they warm up, the sooner they reach maximum efficiency and deliver the best fuel economy and performance.  But don’t rev the engine high over the first few miles while it’s warming up.
  • Myth:  A dealership must perform regular maintenance to keep your car’s factory warranty valid.
  • Reality:  As long as the maintenance items specified in the vehicle owner’s manual are performed on schedule the work can be done at any auto-repair shop.  If you’re knowledgeable, you can even do the work yourself.  Just keep accurate records and receipts to back you up in case of a warranty dispute on a future repair.

Hopefully this article from Consumer Reports sheds some light on the reality of car care rather than the myth.

Driving Distracted

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Driving DistractedWhen asked, most people think they are good at multi-tasking.  Scientific studies, however, reveal that only around 2% of the population can truly demonstrate the capacity to effectively multi-task.  For the rest of us who are not so biologically wired, no amount of practice can increase our effectiveness at multi-tasking.  Turns out, multi-tasking is almost a superpower.  Think of fighter pilots:  capable of maintaining their orientation in three dimensional space and performing specific and highly complicated functions,  while accessing life threatening situations and coming up with an appropriate response.  Admit it – you can’t do that.

Yet when it comes to driving, we seem to think we are very capable of safely operating a motor vehicle with a myriad of distractions.  77% of young adults feel somewhat confident that they can safely text and drive, while 55% claim it’s easy to text and drive.  Can they possibly be right?  Let’s look at some statistics.

Nearly 23% of all accidents in the United States involve cell phones.  Every day, 11 people are killed and over 900 are injured in texting-related accidents.  In fact, texting while driving is six times more likely to cause an accident than driving intoxicated.  Just think back at your own experiences; how many of your “near misses” as a pedestrian or in a vehicle have involved a driver with a cell phone in their hand?

There are three types of driving distractions:

  • Visual (eyes off the road)
  • Manual (reaching for something or manipulating an object)
  • Cognitive (mind off the task of driving)

Of course, texting or using a cell phone involves all three.  Eating, applying make-up, arguing, and working on-board features like the stereo and navigation system cause distracted driving.  You may find it interesting that hands-free cell calls are not substantially safer than using a handheld phone.  Any time you glance away from the road (like looking at a text or incoming phone call) your eyes are off task for at least 5 seconds.  At 55 miles per hour you will cover the length of a football field in that time.  Would you ever consent to strapping on a blindfold and driving down the road for that distance?

So what do we do?  First, accept the fact that we are not part of the 2% of all the people on the planet who can truly multi-task ( if you’re one of the lucky ones, you would know by now because your performance doesn’t degrade, no matter how many additional tasks are added).  Next, don’t ever drive distracted.  An incoming text will wait for later.  A juicy hamburger, eat it in the parking lot.  No exceptions!  And don’t accept anything less from drivers of vehicles where you are a passenger.

Another way to avoid distractions is to keep on top of schedule maintenance and necessary repairs so that your vehicle itself doesn’t become a distraction.  We can help you with that.  Give us a call.

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