Chico Auto Repair

When you step on the accelerator, you expect your vehicle to speed up, not slow down.  But, what if it doesn’t?  That can be a big problem. The answer may be a problem with the sensor that helps your vehicle determine that the proper mix of air and fuel for your engine.  It's called the TPS, or Throttle Position Sensor. Here's how it works. Your vehicle’s throttle opens when you need more air to accelerate and closes when you need less.  The throttle position sensor does pretty much what its name says: it senses the position of the throttle.  That reading, along with air flow measurements, is sent to the vehicle's computer.  The computer factors in air temperature, how fast the engine is turning over, and air flow to determine how much fuel to supply the engine.  If everything's working correctly, you'll get the acceleration you want along with the fuel economy you expect.  However, if the TPS fails, your vehicl ... read more

We've all been there.  You park somewhere only to return and find one of your tires is flat; you've picked up a nail on the road.  You're hoping you can just have it patched and be on your way.  That beats the cost of replacing the tire, but will that patch hold up for the long haul? The key is where the tire has been punctured and how big the hole is. First, tires can be punctured by more than just nails.  Sometimes you can put a hole in a tire when you hit a curb, pothole, or road debris.  Holes larger than ¼ of an inch or 6 mm, cannot be safely repaired.  The next factor is where the puncture is.  If it's in the tread blocks, that's good.  But if the hole is on the sidewall or shoulder of the tire, then it's time to replace the tire. Here's why. Sidewalls flex on a tire when you drive.  The strain from that flexing eventually can cause a repair to loosen up.  A weak spot in the sidewall will be m ... read more

D AND E AUTO REPAIR Tech Question: I'm Doug. A few years ago I was driving my '85 powder blue Dodge Ramcharger with about 80,000 miles (129,000 kilometers) on it. I was going up a hill in CHICO and heard a noise like a tin can rolling down the road. I looked back and saw my drive shaft bouncing down the hill. I put it in four wheel drive and drove to my CHICO mechanic to get it fixed. What could I have done to prevent that? D AND E AUTO REPAIR Tech Answer: Now that's quite a story. Doug was fortunate that his vehicle had a part-time four wheel drive system that would let him get home without a rear drive shaft. This “case of the missing drive shaft” highlights the need for regular inspections. Now most drivers in CHICO are familiar with recommendations for preventive maintenance services like oil changes and coolant replacement. What you may not know is that there are also recommendations for inspections at various intervals ... read more

When your fuel isn’t clean, your fuel injectors can start to become clogged up and your engine may not get the proper amount of fuel at the correct pressure to run efficiently. This hurts fuel economy and performance and can also lead to the buildup of harmful deposits on valves and in the combustion chamber. That’s why all vehicles come equipped with a fuel filter, although on many newer vehicles, the filter is inside the fuel tank and is not serviceable. The job of the filter is to clean out little pieces of dirt and contamination. Of course, the filter will eventually get clogged up and need to be replaced. Fuel filters on diesel powered vehicles need to be replaced more frequently than those that run on gasoline. If your fuel filter is clogged, the engine can’t get all the fuel it needs, and it may sputter at high speeds or quick acceleration. You may find that you need to change your fuel filter more frequently as your vehicle ages. Over the years, additional s ... read more

If your vehicle has a few years on it, you've no doubt had your tires rotated a few times. That means, of course, that a technician has loosened the lug nuts (which hold the wheels on) to remove the wheels and then put them back on.  Many vehicles have lug bolts that go through the wheel into the wheel hub rather than bolts that are attached to the hub and poke out through the wheel.  For our purposes, we’ll simply refer to both styles as “lug nuts”.  Don't be surprised if your Service Advisor tells you it's time for several of those lug nuts to be replaced.  Here's why. There are different styles of lug nuts.  Many of them are constructed from two separate pieces.  One is the main part that is steel, and the other is a chrome, aluminum, or stainless steel cap that fits on top and makes it look pretty.  Time takes its toll on your lug nuts because they're exposed to the elements (salt, water, grime).  The st ... read more

Disc brakes are called disc brakes because of the big metal disc – or rotor – that spins with the wheel.  The brake pads rub against the rotor to slow the vehicle.  In technical terms, the motion energy of the moving vehicle is transferred into heat energy by the brakes.  The job of the rotor is to absorb that heat and dissipate it into the atmosphere.  To do that effectively, the rotor needs a certain amount of mass (measured by the thickness of the rotor) and a good surface to mate with the brake pads.  Let’s talk about those two things. First is the thickness.  A new rotor is nice and thick.  It can absorb a lot of heat and dissipate it effectively.  Over time, the rotor will wear away slightly.  If it wears away too much, there is not enough metal to take care of this heat transfer and the vehicle will not brake as well.  In fact, each rotor is stamped with the minimum thickness the rotor must have.  When the ... read more

Question When do I need to replace my battery? Answer That’s a smart question.  All batteries wear out and need to be replaced – but some are being replaced before their time.  Look, if your battery is dying and you need a jump-start, it could very well be that you have a bad battery.  But have your service center test the battery first to see if it’s bad.  The problem could be parasitic drain or a bad alternator that’s not properly charging your battery. But you also need to have your alternator tested.  A surprisingly high percentage of “bad” alternators are actually just fine: the problem is a worn serpentine belt and/or belt tensioner.  If the belt is slipping, it’s not spinning the alternator properly so it can’t fully charge the battery. So, you see a dead battery can be the result of a chain of events: a worn serpentine belt, a worn belt tensioner, a bad alternator or a bad battery.  If you ... read more

CHICO residents who are old enough have probably heard the term “fan belt”. Back in the day the radiator fan in your vehicle was turned by a belt driven by the engine. There are still belt driven fans, although most are now driven by the serpentine belt. But most CHICO vehicles now have electric fans that draw fresh air across the radiator to cool it. As coolant/antifreeze circulates in the cooling system it captures heat from the engine and flows into the radiator. Air cools the radiator and the coolant in it before it sends it back into the engine to pick up some more heat. Now your engine has an ideal temperature range in which it is most efficient: it shouldn't be too hot or too cool. The electric radiator fans help maintain the ideal temperature. A switch mounted in a cooling system passage checks the temperature of the coolant. If the coolant is at the low end of the range, the switch turns off the fan motor. When the coolant rises to a certain temperature ... read more

Question: My water pump went out and it costs much more to replace than ones I've had replaced in the past. My CHICO technician said it's because of where it's located. Why is that? D AND E AUTO REPAIR Answer: Some water pumps are driven by the serpentine belt and are bolted on out in the open with the alternator and air compressor and such.  Other water pumps are driven by the timing belt.  These water pumps take a lot of labor to access and replace.  I suspect your current vehicle has a water pump that is driven by the timing belt. Water pumps are fairly simple devices that circulate engine coolant/antifreeze around the engine and out to the radiator.  Like any mechanical device, they eventually wear out.  Although having a cooling system service done on schedule at D AND E AUTO REPAIR will extend the life of your water pump and its seals and gaskets, it will eventually fail and need to be replaced. Those wate ... read more

Diesel engines are appearing in more and more vehicles in nearly every category from compact cars to pick-up trucks to high-performance luxury vehicles.  In much of the world, 40% or more of passenger vehicles are equipped with diesels.  North American is beginning to appreciate the power and fuel economy benefits of diesel engines. Many maintenance items for diesel engines are similar to gasoline engines.  One notable difference is the requirement of Diesel Exhaust Fluid, or DEF.  Modern clean-diesel engines burn very lean to reduce soot and other pollutants.  A side effect is the production of nitrogen oxides which are harmful to the environment.  DEF is added to the exhaust and reacts with nitrogen oxide to produce harmless water and nitrogen. Diesel vehicles have a tank to hold the DEF.  A small amount of DEF is metered into the exhaust as the engine runs. When the DEF starts to run low, the DEF tank must be refilled. Because DEF is so importan ... read more