Welcome to our Blog page!

Our blogs are updated once a month, usually on the first day of the month. On this page, we offer advice, tips, and insights for becoming a safer driver and for better travels on Chico roads. Bookmark this page and remember to check back!

If you need auto repair service, don’t forget that you can schedule an appointment at this link for D&E Auto Repair in Chico. We look forward to seeing you! Remember that you are a part of the family at D&E Auto Repair in Chico. We’re located at 3328 Esplanade St., Chico, CA 95973.

Monthly Archives: January 2020

Fuel System Service at D AND E AUTO REPAIR

Today's D AND E AUTO REPAIR post contains a quick overview of the fuel system. It starts with the fuel tank. The fuel pump is located inside the tank and pumps fuel out to the engine. Somewhere along the way is a fuel filter whose job is to filter out dirt before it hits the engine. Then there's the fuel intake system and the fuel injectors that deliver the fuel to be burned in the engine. Our focus is to discuss how to make the various components of your fuel system work well and last as long as possible. The best thing you can do for your fuel pump is to use good quality fuel. Top tier CHICO gas typically has fewer contaminants and more detergents to keep things clean. Using good gas, or adding a fuel system cleaner to your tank, can prolong the life of your fuel pump. Because the fuel pump lives inside your tank, it's pretty expensive to replace, so helping it last as long as possible is a worthwhile goal. The fuel filter catches dirt and contam ... read more

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Fuel System

Making Your Vehicle Last With Regular Service in CHICO

A lot of people in CA have older vehicles. They're good commuters, grocery-getters or toy-haulers. They enjoy that fact that they're paid off, or soon will be. They would gladly like to keep their vehicles for 200,000 miles/320,000 kilometers or more – as long as it's economical to do so. There are plenty of people in CHICO whose vehicles are running after 150,000 or 200,000 miles (240,000 or 320,000 kilometers). We can learn from what they're doing to keep our own cars on the road. A common denominator is that they never skip an oil change. That may sound a bit unsophisticated, but it's really not. First off, oil is the life blood of your engine and it needs to be clean to properly lubricate. Skipping oil changes leads to clogged oil filters and sludge that can damage your engine. Enough said. There's another reason the scheduled oil change is so important. It's simple — a ... read more

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Maintenance

Battery Upgrades at D AND E AUTO REPAIR in CHICO

Batteries are a huge part of modern CHICO life. I mean, how many battery chargers do you have in your CHICO home? Of course, our purpose here is to talk about car batteries in CHICO. When CHICO drivers come into D AND E AUTO REPAIR and need a new battery, they're really not that happy about having to spend the money. But the fact is that 70% of batteries don't make it for 4 years. There are some things CHICO drivers can do to extend the life of their battery. First, keep it clean. If you see it getting dirty or greasy, let your friendly and knowledgeable D AND E AUTO REPAIR service advisor know so it can be cleaned off. A dirty battery runs hotter and that shortens its life. If your battery terminals are corroded, let us take a look at that too. We can clean them, and if the corrosion has gotten into the battery cables, we can replace them. Also running your battery way down is bad for it: Things like running the headlights or watching a DVD player with ... read more

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Batteries

Viva la Differential

With front-wheel drive being so common these days, the differential is just taken care of during a transmission service, so most folks don’t even have to think about it.  And most rear-wheel drive differentials don’t need to be serviced for many miles, so it’s understandable that it’s not something on the top of mind.  So, it’s not uncommon for people to not know they have a differential let alone know that it needs service. To better understand what a differential does, think about a high school track.  There are lanes marked off on the track.  For the long-distance races, the starting lines are staggered.  The starting lines for the outside lanes are ahead of the starting lines for the inside lanes.  That’s to compensate for the longer length of the outside lanes.  Staggering the starting lines means that each runner has the same distance to run. The differential compensates for the difference in speeds on drive ... read more

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Maintenance

D AND E AUTO REPAIR Takes Care of Your Vehicle's Suspension

After many years and tens of thousands of miles CHICO vehicles' suspension system components do wear out, but how long that takes depends a lot on how you drive in CHICO. As you can imagine, if most of your driving is on smooth CA highways, your shock absorbers will last a lot longer than if you do most of your driving on bumpy roads or hauling heavy loads in CA. In addition to just wearing out, vehicle suspension components can be damaged in an accident or by a hard impact like a pothole, hitting a curb or a rock in a bumpy CHICO road. Because the life span of shocks can vary so widely, your vehicle's manufacturer recommends periodic inspections. During an inspection, your friendly and knowledgeable D AND E AUTO REPAIR service advisor will check for worn, broken or missing parts. Signs for CHICO residents that shocks or struts are wearing out: the vehicle tires may have a cupped wear pattern. This is from the shocks bouncing unevenly. CHICO r ... read more

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Maintenance

Battery Replacement In CHICO

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

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Batteries

The Fallacy of Cheap Tires Sold in CHICO

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

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Tires