Chico Auto Repair

Car batteries wear out just like any other battery and need to be replaced.  There are a couple of things you should know when looking for a new battery: one is cold cranking amps and the other is reserve capacity. Let’s start with cold cranking amps.  This can be thought of as the power output used to start a cold engine.  The number of cold cranking amps you need depends on your vehicle and where you live, specifically how cold it is where you live.  The two factors are that the colder an engine is, the more power it takes to turn the engine over to get it started.  It has all that cold, sluggish oil to contend with.  The other factor is that the chemical reaction in the battery that creates electrical energy is less efficient in the cold.  So, the colder it gets, more power is needed, but the available power drops. So, if you live where it’s cold, you need a battery with more cold cranking amps than you do where its moderate or hot ... read more

New tires are a big ticket item for most CHICO drivers. You're not only concerned about the price, but you want to know that it'll be a long time before you need to buy new tires again. And of course there's the safety aspect as well. The tires do a lot of work – they carry the weight of the vehicle and you and your passengers around CHICO. They need to be up to the task. You want to be sure they hold the road and provide good traction. CHICO drivers who carry heavy loads or tow a trailer need a high load tires to be up for the job. The tire professionals at D AND E AUTO REPAIR think it's important that CHICO drivers understand the effect of price on a tire's performance and durability. The major tire brands sold in CHICO that you're familiar with are known in ... read more

Ever get musky odors coming from your car's air vents? It's fairly common for CHICO drivers. Moisture can accumulate in the air conditioning/heating ventilation system allowing mold, mildew, fungus and bacteria to grow. Disinfecting and deodorizing is a process. Depending on how bad the problem is, there are a couple of approaches D AND E AUTO REPAIR may take to get rid of the unwanted smells. For mild situations (especially on newer vehicles), a special deodorizing disinfectant is introduced into the ventilation system. This may be an aerosol or a mist application. The treatment kills the offending organisms and deodorizes the system. Sometimes in older vehicles, a good deal of mildew or other microorganisms can grow on the air conditioning evaporator which is housed in the heating/air conditioning air blend box behind the dashboard. In cases like this D AND E AUTO REPAIR fills the blend box with disinfecting foam that can eliminate stubborn organisms and return a fresh, cle ... read more

Question: My car has a bad odor when I run the heater or air conditioner. My friend said I might need a new cabin air filter – what's that? D AND E AUTO REPAIR Answer: A cabin air filter is a special filter that cleans the air that comes into the CHICO drivers' passenger compartments – or cabin – of their vehicles. Most new vehicles sold in CA now have a cabin air filter. A cabin air filter catches dust, pollen, spores and other pollutants before they can get into your cabin. It's kind of like the filter on your furnace in your CHICO home, cleaning the air you breathe inside your vehicle. As CHICO drivers can imagine, it eventually gets filled up and can even start to get smelly. So – you just have it replaced. Now some are really easy to access and others are tougher to get to. Your friendly and knowledgeable D AND E AUTO REPAI ... read more

Question How do I know when I need a wheel alignment? Answer When your wheels are properly aligned, they all point in the same direction.  When they are out of alignment, most people notice a couple of things.  First the car pulls to one side when driving.  It could be slight or severe.  If your wheels have been out of alignment for a while, you’ll also start to see uneven tire wear – the shoulder on either the outside or inside of the tire is worn down more than the other.  A whole bunch of steering and suspension components are joined together.  Everyday driving can cause your wheels to go out of alignment over time just from the joints loosening up.  That’s why most manufacturers recommend an alignment check every couple of years.  Depending on where you live or the conditions you drive in (off-road driving, harsh winter conditions, poor pavement, etc.) – an alignment inspection every year may be called for. Suspe ... read more

Your fuel pump sends fuel from the fuel tank to the engine. Fuel pumps just wear out over time; it might be the electric motor, a sensor, a valve, a relay or some other electrical component. Whatever the exact cause for the fuel pump failure may be, the solution to getting you back on the CHICO road is to replace the pump assembly. When one component has failed, another one is probably just around the corner, so it makes sense to replace everything at once and save the future labor costs. The fuel pump is inside the fuel tank on most vehicles, and for many cars, trucks and SUVs, the fuel tank must be removed to replace the fuel pump. As you can imagine, that is pretty labor intensive: removing heat shields, retaining straps, all of the EVAP lines, fuel lines and electrical connections. And, of course, there is properly and safely handling the fuel that must be drained from the tank. Some vehicles have an external fuel filter that should be replaced at the same time. The fuel tank may ... read more

When all a vehicle’s wheels are lined up exactly with each other, your wheels are in alignment.  Hitting a road hazard or even just the normal bumps and bounces of everyday driving can cause your wheels to be out of alignment.  This can lead to expensive premature tire and suspension wear. Here are some alignment basics: The first angle is called toe: do the wheels point in towards each other or away from each other at the front of the tire. The next angle is called camber: do the wheels tip in or out at the top. And finally, there is castor.  Castor measures the angle where the front axles attach to the vehicle. The ideal alignment for your car was designed by its engineers.  Alignment service starts with an inspection of the steering and suspension – so see if anything’s bent, broken or worn out.  Then the technician will look at tire condition.  From there, the vehicle is put on an alignment rack and an initial alignment reading ... read more

It’s said that 90% of our driving decisions are based on visual information.  Our wiper blades play an important role in this.  A dirty or streaked windshield can catch the glare of the sun or on-coming headlights and make it nearly impossible to see. Most of us deal with our wiper blades from a failure perspective.  We address them when they no longer function.  Instead, we should think about wipers blades as an important safety system that we should maintain, rather than repair. And don’t think that your wiper blades will last longer because you don’t use them very often.  Hey, they live outside in the harsh sun and freezing cold – ice and wind.  They just dry out and crack over time. Experts recommend that we change our wiper blades twice a year, in the spring and fall.  That way you have functional blades for those spring showers and winter storms.  And consider a windshield treatment to help repeal water and make i ... read more

Most CHICO motorists know that their owner's manuals have schedules for  vehicle maintenance. What they may not know is that there are actually two service schedules: the regular schedule and the severe service schedule. The distance and time intervals are lower on the severe service schedule. Now when you hear “severe service”, you may think it doesn't apply to you because you don't feel your driving conditions are severe or extreme – it's just normal everyday driving around CHICO. At D AND E AUTO REPAIR, we discuss the conditions that manufacturers classify as severe so that you can make the judgment on your own driving. Most CHICO drivers operate under severe driving conditions at least some of the time. How do you know which schedule to follow for your vehicle? Carefully think about your driving conditions and decide if you should do your preventive maintenance closer to the severe service recommendation or th ... read more

It is pretty amazing how auto makers have been able to consistently build more powerful engines in vehicles that get better fuel economy while at the same time meeting increasing environmental standards.  One of the little miracles that helps make this happen is the Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR) Valve.  The EGR valve routes some exhaust back into the air intake system in both gasoline and diesel engines.  The exhaust gas takes up some space in the engine cylinders, replacing some of the oxygen-rich air that would otherwise be in there.  This means that the fuel burning event is cooler.  Cooler combustion means fewer harmful nitrous oxides are produced. Your EGR valve can get gummed up, messing the timing and amount of exhaust that is supposed to be recirculated in the engine.  Symptoms of EGR valve problems are rough idle and poor engine performance.  Performance can be restored by cleaning or replacing the EGR valve, depending on how dirty it is ... read more