Van Nuys Auto Repair & Service Center

At AutoAid & Rescue we’ve had a lot of people asking how they can make their vehicles last longer. These questions are actually a reflection of a trend that’s been building for several years. The median age of personal vehicles is now over nine years. And 33 percent of all vehicles on the road have over 75,000 miles on them. It looks like it’s going to keep heading in that direction for a while. With high fuel prices a lot of folks are putting off buying a new car. Thanks to AutoNetTV, we can provide you with a video answer to this question. So let’s say you’re one of the average people in the Los Angeles area; you’ve got a nine year old car with 80,000 miles on the odometer. What can you to do make it last another year or two? Let’s start with the premise that there’s no reason that a modern car can’t run for 200,000 miles ... read more

Everyone in Van Nuys knows we're supposed to go to the dentist twice a year. We get our teeth cleaned and have a thorough dental inspection. Once a year, we get x-rays to look for problems that can’t be seen with the naked eye. When the dentist is done, he tells us what he’s found – “Everything’s fine, see you in six months.” Or “You’ve got a small cavity starting, let’s schedule an appointment to take care of it.” By the time you leave, you have a plan for addressing any necessary repairs. This system works so much better than waiting for a painful problem before going into the dentist. Small problems are fixed before they turn into big problems. And you avoid those huge bills. If we buy into this way of handling our dental care, why do we resist so much when facing the same system for our car care? Following the manufactruer’s recommended intervals can be confusing. First there are recommendations for so many things ... read more

Today at AutoAid & Rescue we want to talk with you about a very important safety issue. This automotive safety warning is coming from a very unusual source: fire fighting experts. You’ve probably heard of E-85 gasoline being offered in the Los Angeles area. Some newer vehicle models are specifically built to run on E-85 – the rest are not. E-85 gasoline has been developed to fight air pollution and reduce oil consumption. E-85 fuel is a mix of 15% ethanol, a grain-base alcohol, and 85% gasoline. So-called Flex-Fuel vehicles are designed to use either normal gasoline or E-85 gas. The result is lower harmful exhaust emissions to our local Los Angeles community. All gas engines can run with up to 10% ethanol and in fact a lot of gasoline sold in the Van Nuys CA area does contain some ethanol. The problem comes when well meaning people without Flex Fuel certified vehi ... read more

One topic that hits the news in Van Nuys on a regular basis is the price of gas. The answer for some people in Van Nuys is to buy a more fuel efficient vehicle. For the rest of use, we need to improve our fuel economy anyway we can. Following recommended service intervals by coming into AutoAid & Rescue is one of the best ways to keep your car running efficiently. That means better fuel economy. When you give it some thought, it only makes sense. Dirty oil or transmission fluid can’t lubricate or clean. That means more drag which reduces fuel economy. Keeping up with scheduled oil changes and transmission services will save gas. Dirty engine air filters are another efficiency pirate. They rob your engine of enough air to effectively burn the fuel, so you need more gas to get the job done. Replacing a dirty air filte ... read more

Thank you very much for helping AutoAid achieve the coveted AAA Approved garage programs' 100% customer satisfaction award for 2009. David & I look forward to continue providing you, your friends and family with excellent customer care service. Happy Holidays and thanks again

About 90% of our Van Nuys CA driving decisions are based solely on what we see. So having a good pair of windshield wipers is extremely important. Everyone in Van Nuys CA has experienced the frustration and fear of not being able to see clearly during a storm, or when our windshield is just dirty. In fact, it’s estimated that 46,000,000 motorists from Los Angeles and across the nation are driving with wipers that can’t adequately clear their windshield in a storm. It seems like your wiper blades are always at their worst when you need them the most. If that sounds like you, you’ve got plenty of company in the Los Angeles area. 78% of drivers only change their wiper blades after the blades function so poorly that they become a safety hazard. We need to change our thinking. Instead of blades being something to replace when they fail, we need to consider wiper blades as an i ... read more

No one near Van Nuys, CA likes high fuel prices. But if one good thing has come about, it’s that people are really focused on how to reduce their fuel consumption. North Americans literally drive billions of miles less each month during times of high fuel prices. But we still need to drive, so it makes sense to try and increase our fuel economy however we can. Let’s look at a real life example of one of our AutoNetTV producers. He has one of those really big SUVs. Lots of kids and horses to haul around, you know. His family was planning a four day camping trip. Here’s what he did to cut his fuel costs: First, he installed a new, high flow engine air filter. Then he had his service center change his oil, flush his cooling system and service his front and rear differentials along with the transfer case. He also had a fuel system cleaning ... read more

One Van Nuys automotive service issue that doesn't get much attention is driveline service. Drivelines don't get talked about very much around Van Nuys, but they're very important. First let's define what the driveline is: Taking a small step back, the power plant is comprised of the engine and transmission. The driveline starts there and includes all of the components that transfer power from the transmission to the wheels. That's not really a lot of components, but they handle the full force of the engine. Without the driveline you're not moving. So we need to take good care of it. The driveline components differ depending on whether your vehicle has front wheel drive, rear wheel drive, all wheel drive or four wheel drive. For purposes of our discussion, we're going to have to over simplify a bit. Let's start with front wheel drive. The point where the tr ... read more

Every car in Van Nuys CA is at risk for theft. So it's up to us to make our cars a less appealing target and more of a challenge – hopefully sending potential thieves to look elsewhere. The National Insurance Crime Bureau recommends a layered approach to protecting vehicles: Common sense Visible and audible devices Immobilizing devices Tracking devices Let's review each of these. First, common sense: you would be surprised how many vehicles are stolen from Van Nuys CA where the keys were left in the ignition with the doors unlocked. Always take your keys, and lock the doors. In fact, in some places it's against the law to leave a vehicle unattended with the keys in the ignition. And don't leave spare keys in the car or hide them outside – because a thief will find them. Try to park in well-lit areas that have a lot of foot traffic. If possible, park near the end of a row and near a ligh ... read more