Boulder Auto Repair

Which item is most often stolen from vehicles in Boulder? Is it:StereoWheelsAir BagDVD SystemWell, if you said stereo – you used to be right. But airbags have now surpassed stereos as the biggest target for theft in Boulder – approximately 50,000 a year are stolen across the country. New airbags cost about $1,000, but go for $50 to $200 on the black market in Boulder. Stolen airbags are making their way back into cars that have been in an accident. Of course, the danger to the consumer of having a stolen airbag installed is that you can never be sure what may have previously affected them and if they will work right when you need them.There are reports that 1 in 25 airbag replacements are stolen or salvaged airbags – or no airbag is installed at all. That is definitely one car part you don’t want to take a chance with, so John’s Auto Care recommends following these guidelines:Use a reputable colli ... read more

No matter how well they’re made, vehicles in Boulder, CO will have design or manufacturing problems. And when the government thinks a problem is really serious for people in Boulder, CO, they require the vehicle manufacturer to issue a recall notice and fix the car free of charge. The vehicle manufacturer then tries to contact everyone in Boulder, CO who owns that type of car to get the recall work done. Perhaps you have received a postcard notifying you of a recall issue on your car. Because these recalls always affect safety, Boulder car owners should take them seriously. This isn’t difficult to do because it’s easy to see if a vehicle’s being recalled. The government has links on its websites, or just visit AutoNetTV for links. There are many websites with free recall information and searches. There’s CarFax, AutoByTel and the DMV. Recalls are serious, but not all that commo ... read more

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