Boulder Auto Repair

Here’s a question for Boulder, CO car owners: How long have you been enjoying the romantic glow of your check engine light? Hey, it’s not there to create ambiance; it’s a warning that something’s wrong. (And, by the way, Homer Simpson’s fix of covering it with tape is not a good idea.)If your check engine light comes on, check your gas cap. A loose gas cap can cause a false sensor reading that’ll make the check engine light turn on. Many conditions that trigger the check engine light can hurt your fuel economy. A lot. If your date’s eyes are smoldering in the soft glow of the check engine light, try to think of all the gas money you’ll save by getting it fixed. Give John’s Auto Care a call when you are ready: 303.442.2932

Today’s report from John’s Auto Care is on car batteries, why they die and what we can do to lengthen their life. Most of us have had a dead battery at one time or another. In fact, it would be very unusual if you hadn’t. You may be surprised to learn that only 30 percent of Boulder vehicle batteries last for 48 months. Now that’s an average. How long a battery lasts depends on many factors. You may not know that one of the biggest factors is the temperature where you live and drive around Boulder. You might suppose that cold weather was harder on batteries because it takes more power to crank a cold engine, but the opposite is actually true.Batteries in very cold climates have a life expectancy of 51 months as opposed to 30 months in very warm climates. The reason is simple: batteries are chemically more active when they’re hot than when they’re cold. A car battery will actually start to discharge on ... read more

Hey Boulder motorists – this is something really amazing: For every gallon of gas your family car burns, it uses 12,000 gallons of air. All of that air has to be filtered to keep your engine clean. That’s like a hundred gallons of air every block! The engine air filter is just another example of a very key but inexpensive part that has to do a tremendous amount of work. And when it works, everything goes well. But, when it doesn’t, well, it can lead to expensive problems. Of course, your vehicle manufacturer recommends how often to change your air filter. But like most service intervals, where and how you drive your car in CO affects when your filter needs to be changed. Dusty conditions around Eldorado Springs or polluted city driving means you’ll need to change your filter more often. Your cheerful John’s Auto Care service professional can check your filter for you. In fact, it’s often a ro ... read more

Your engine is like a finely choreographed dance. All the parts have to work together. If the timing is off at the ballet, dancers crash into each other and fall down. It the timing is off in your engine, it may not run at all. One of the most intricate dances in your engine, has to do with the combustion cycle. Your family car engine has cylinders in which a piston travels up and down. At the top of the cylinders are valves open to bring in the air and fuel. And there are valves that open to let out the exhaust after the fuel has been burned.It’s critical that the values be timed to open and close at precisely the right time in the combustion cycle, or the engine will run poorly or not at all. The timing belt is responsible for rotating the shafts that control the valves. It’s vital and precision work. Timing belts are made of very tough flexible material. They can last a long time. But they eventually wear ... read more

People near Boulder CO often ask John’s Auto Care how often they should have a particular service done. It’s a great thing to ask. You can look at your owner’s manual, or have your Boulder CO service advisor at John’s Auto Care look up your vehicle in a service database. What you find is often a surprise to people – there are actually two service schedules. One is the regular schedule and the other is the severe service schedule. Service intervals are shorter on the severe service schedule. When asked, most folks in Boulder CO will say that their driving is normal and that the ‘regular’ schedule probably applies to them. ‘Severe service’ sounds pretty extreme – ‘I don’t drive like that’. Well, here is what the manufacturers say constitutes severe driving conditions; you can draw your own conclusions.If that’s severe driving, what constitutes regular driv ... read more