Boulder Auto Repair

Modern cars and trucks in and around Boulder run on 12 volt electrical systems. 12 volts is enough to get the job done for Boulder car owners without having so much power that there is danger of electrocution. But today’s vehicles have more electrical components and do-dads than ever before. This really strains your electrical system, making it hard for the battery to keep up. Think about it: electric seats, seat heaters, power locks, windows and sun roofs. And then us CO car owners have all the power outlets for our cell phones, computers, and DVD players. We also have navigation systems and powerful stereos. Plus there are all the engine and transmission computers, traction control, stability control, anti-lock brakes, sensors and on and on. Even the security system is running off the battery while the car is turned off. Fortunately, battery technology has given Boulder motorists resilient batteries that are able to meet these strenuous requirements. But the fact is, batterie ... read more

Your family car requires plenty of clean fuel to run. If your fuel contains contaminants, your fuel injectors will eventually become clogged up. When this happens, your family car engine may not get the proper amount of fuel at the correct pressure to run at peak performance. This hurts gas mileage and performance as you drive around Eldorado Springs. It can also lead to the buildup of harmful deposits on valves and in the combustion chamber. That’s why all vehicles, including family cars, come equipped with a fuel filter somewhere between the engine and the fuel tank. The job of the filter is to clean out little pieces of dirt and contamination. The filter captures the contaminants and keeps them out of the fuel stream. Of course, like all filters, it will eventually get clogged up and need to be replaced at John’s Auto Care in Boulder .If your fuel filter is clogged, the family car engine c ... read more

All new passenger vehicles on our Boulder CO roads now have tire pressure monitoring systems – TPMS for short. They are designed to alert you if your tires are under inflated. Since they are fairly new, a lot of people have questions about TPMS. First off, the most important thing is that you still need to check your tire pressure every week – or at least every time you gas up. The TPMS system alert comes in when your tire is twenty percent below the factory recommendation. So if the recommended pressure is thirty five pounds per square inch, the TPMS warning won’t come on until the pressure is at twenty eight pounds. That’s significantly under-inflated. Enough to raise safety concerns. The worst is tire failure. A severely under inflated tire can overheat and fail. Also, handling degrades to the point that you may not be able to ... read more

If you’re reading this article in Boulder, CO, then you probably care about your car and how it runs. Even though you care, there is still that moment of dread when your service technician tells you the manufacturer recommends some additional service. Your heart beats a little faster, your blood pressure rises. You worry about spending more money than you had planned. And you worry that if you say “no”, you might be harming your family car or risking your family’s safety.At the risk of sounding like your dad, you really should have done your homework. Service recommendations are in your owner’s manual. But it is not like you want to keep your family car auto maintenance schedule on your nightstand for bedtime reading. Cars are complicated machines and it takes some effort for Boulder auto owners to keep them running well. That is why car makers have ... read more

Under-inflated tires waste gas for lots of folks in the Lafayette area. Think how hard it is to walk in sand – you just have to work harder because of the resistance. When your tires don’t have enough air in them, their rolling resistance is dramatically increased and it simply takes more gas to get from Boulder to Lafayette. Always check your tire pressure when you gas up at one of our local Lafayette service stations. If they’re low – even just a little bit – bring them up to proper pressure. There’s a sticker on the inside of your driver’s door that gives the manufacturer’s recommended tire pressure. And don’t rely on your tire pressure monitoring system to alert you to when you need more air. The TPMS system is set to warn you when pressure drops twenty percent below recommendations. That’s severely under inflated and you needed more air a long time ago. And if you have a sl ... read more