Boulder Auto Repair

Are your tires worn out? What is the standard for our Colorado roads? How can you tell on your family car? While there may be legal requirements for the Boulder area, there are safety concerns that go beyond meeting minimum replacement mandates. 2/32 is the depth of the tire tread wear indicator bars that US law has required to be molded across all tires since August 1, 1968. When tires are worn so that this bar is visible, there’s just 2/32 of an inch – 1.6 millimeters – of tread left. It’s that level of wear that’s been called into question recently. We’re referring to the Consumer Reports call to consider replacing tires when tread reaches 4/32 of an inch, or 3.2 millimeters. And the recommendation is backed by some very compelling studies. The issue is braking on wet surfaces in and a ... read more

The last new car sold with a carburetor in North America rolled out of the dealership in 1990. Since then, all new vehicles have had fuel injectors. In very simple terms, a fuel injector is a valve that squirts fuel into your car’s engine. Your engine control computer tells the fuel injector how much fuel to deliver as well as the precise time it should be delivered. Of course this happens thousands of times a minute in every single fuel-injected car driving around Boulder. Most fuel injectors for gas engines are known as port fuel injectors because they deliver the fuel to a port just outside the cylinder. The fuel pump provides pressure needed to squirt the right amount of fuel into the engine. Although more complicated, direct injection technology promises greater power with improved fuel economy for Front Range commuters. CO motorists ... read more

What is a cabin air filter? Is it: A filter for a house in the middle of the woods?A fresh, piney scent?A filter for the passenger compartment of your car? Clever you, it’s 3. A cabin air filter cleans the outside air before it comes into the passenger compartment. It filters out dust, pollen, spores, bacteria, pollutants, sparrows, exhaust gas and odors. These high tech filters can block particles larger than 3 microns. By contrast, a grain of sand is about 200 microns. Not all vehicles have cabin filters. They are fairly new on the scene. About forty percent of new vehicles come with cabin air filters, but the number is growing every year. Cabin air filters can make for a very nice driving environment or turn your car into a sealed environment that fogs up with a carload of friends. With a properly working Cabin Air Filter, very little dust and pollen will get in. However, the filter eventually gets clogged. When this happen ... read more

With high fuel prices in Boulder CO comes lots of gas saving advice. Some of it, like what you hear on AutoNetTV, is really great. Some is myth. And some is just designed to prey on Boulder CO people desperate to save some money on gas. When you get one of those e-mails that’s going around telling you how to save gas, try to think it through. Does it really make sense? Does it defy the laws of physics? Do some research on the internet or ask your Boulder CO service advisor at John’s Auto Care. There aren’t any magic pills you can drop in your gas tank and the government hasn’t suppressed a device you can clamp on your fuel line to make your car run on air. Not even in Boulder! So next time you get one of those e-mails, check it out with an automotive professional. You’ll get more bang for your buck with an oil cha ... read more

For most of us, it is hard to remember life without power steering – cranking those great big steering wheels was quite the workout.  Now with Power Steering standard in all vehicles, we have to go to the gym to tone our arms. The heart of any power steering system is its pump. The pump pressurizes the power steering fluid that provides assist for steering. Most pumps are driven by a belt that is run by the engine – a few are electrically powered. A high-pressure hose passes fluid from the pump to the steering gear. A low pressure hose returns the fluid back to the pump. These hoses can develop leaks, so it is a good idea to inspect them at every oil change. Low or dirty Power Steering Fluid can damage the power steering pump. That is why a fluid level & inspection is always part always part of every oil change service we perform at John’s Auto Care. The fluid cleans, cools and ... read more