Van Nuys Auto Repair & Service Center

There are a number of factors that contribute to the high nighttime accident rate in the greater Los Angeles area, things like drowsy driving and a higher rate of impaired driving. Without a doubt, visibility is a major contributor. Let's focus on visibility… It's said that 90 percent of our driving decisions are based on what we see. Nighttime driving has the effect of reducing 20/20 vision to the equivalent of 20/50 vision. What you could clearly see at 50 feet in daylight can't be seen until you are just 20 feet away at night. Too make sure your headlights are giving you the greatest visibility, visit us at AutoAid & Rescue. you'll find us located on 14526 Erwin Street, Van Nuys, CA 91411. Please give us a call to make an appointment: 818-901-1113. Accident avoidance is dependent on reaction time. Reaction time deteriorates measurably in low light conditions. One thing we can do to impro ... read more

In very simple terms, a fuel injector is a valve that squirts fuel into your sedan engine. Your engine control computer tells the fuel injector how much fuel to deliver as well as the precise time it should be delivered. Of course this happens thousands of times a minute in every single fuel-injected car driving down Sherman Oaks, Encino, and Tarzana roads. Most fuel injectors for gas engines are known in the Los Angeles auto industry as port fuel injectors because they deliver the fuel to a port just outside the cylinder. The fuel pump provides pressure needed to squirt the right amount of fuel into the engine. Although more complicated, direct injection technology promises greater power with improved fuel economy for gas-poor Sherman Oaks, Encino, and Tarzana commuters. CA motorists can expect to see more of it in the fut ... read more

All new passenger vehicles on our Van Nuys CA 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 ... read more

Before the recession hit, the median age for cars in the Van Nuys CA area (zip code: 91411) was over nine years. And two-thirds had over 75,000 miles. At AutoAid & Rescue we hear reports that those numbers continue to rise. Many people in Van Nuys are keeping their vehicles longer. The economy has influenced that, but the fact that modern sedans are more durable and reliable means that owning a high mileage vehicle doesn't have to be a painful experience. Local car owners in Van Nuys with over 100,000 miles on their vehicles often ask which service intervals they should follow. Let's start with the special needs of the older vehicle... The reality is that time and mileage will take its toll. The engine and transmission will have more sludge. The fuel, steering and brake systems will have gum and varnish built up. There'll be more dirt and contaminants in the ... read more

Here's an interesting statistic for our friends in Van Nuys CA: Only thirty percent of car batteries make it to forty-eight months. And the life expectancy varies by where you live. It ranges from fifty-one months in extremely cold areas to just thirty months in extremely hot climates. Why is that? It turns out that it's our modern cars with all their electric accessories that are to blame. Things like, GPS, DVDs, and entertainment computers are keeping car batteries from maintaining a full charge. The longer a battery goes with a low charge, the sooner it'll die. So you must recharge your battery. This is the job of the alternator. The problem comes when the car's demand for electricity is high and we are driving in stop and go conditions or short trips around Van Nuys or Encino. The alternator just can't keep up. The result is shortened battery life. So what can we do to improve our battery's health? We need to keep the battery ... read more

With high fuel prices in Van Nuys CA comes lots of gas saving advice. Some of it, like what you hear on AutoNetTV, is really great. Some is myth. And some is just designed to prey on Van Nuys CA people desperate to save some money on gas. When you get one of those e-mails that's going around telling you how to save gas, try to think it through. Does it really make sense? Does it defy the laws of physics? Do some research on the internet or ask your Van Nuys CA service advisor at AutoAid & Rescue. There aren't any magic pills you can drop in your gas tank and the government hasn't suppressed a device you can clamp on your fuel line to make your car run on air. Not even in Van Nuys! So next time you get one of those e-mails, check it out with an automotive professional. You'll get more bang for your buck w ... read more

Let's talk about alternative fuel vehicles. In their quest to reduce the use of fossil fuels and harmful exhaust emissions to our Van Nuys environment, automakers will have a number of alternatives for us very soon. For instance, Flex Fuel vehicles are already available in the Los Angeles area. Flex Fuel vehicles can run on gasoline or on E85 fuel. E85 is a mixtrue of 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline. The ethanol is made from corn. The benefits are in using less petroleum and reduced pollution. The drawbacks are that E85 gets lower fuel economy and that when gas prices are low, E85 can be more expensive than straight gasoline. You should only use E85 if you have a Flex Fuel compatible engine. Flex Fuel vehicles have special seals and gaskets that can stand up to the high alcohol content of E85. Using E85 in a regular engine can lead to gas leaks and fires. Diesel engines have been around the Los Angeles area for a long ... read more

If you're a quart low in your sedan, there isn't enough motor oil to lubricate your engine properly. The extra friction causes drag that reduces fuel economy while you're driving around the Los Angeles area. The same goes for dirty oil; it doesn't reduce friction properly. The result is you get to watch those numbers at your local Los Angeles gas pump rolling higher and higher. The transmission also needs the proper amount of clean fluid to do its work. When it's in need of service, the transmission drags your fuel economy down. So keep it clean and give yourself a fighting chance

A lot of gas is wasted in the Encino area by dirty fuel delivery systems. Let's start at the tank. The gas tank gathers dirt, rust and sediment over the years. That's why there's a fuel filter to clean the fuel after it leaves the tank. A dirty filter will rob the engine of the clean gas it needs to run efficiently. The fuel intake components get coated with gum and varnish over time. This results in fuel being delivered inefficiently and some of that gunk getting into the engine. A fuel system service at AutoAid & Rescue will leave your intake as clean as a whistle. The big fuel thief is dirty fuel injectors. They deliver fuel to the engine at a specified pressure and in a particular spray pattern. When they're clogged, the fuel doe ... read more

A question for our Van Nuys CA motorists: How long have you been enjoying the romantic glow of your check engine light? Hey, it's not there to create ambiance; it's a warning that something's wrong. When your check engine light comes on get it checked at a capable Van Nuys CA service station. Many conditions that cause the check engine light to come on affect fuel economy. Some very dramatically. Always make sure you tighten your gas cap until it clicks. A loose gas cap can cause a false sensor reading that'll make the check engine light come on. If your date's eyes are smoldering in the reflected glow of the check engine light, try to think of all the gas money you'll save by getting it fixed. Give us a call when you are ready: 818-901-1113