Van Nuys Auto Repair & Service Center

There’s a segment of the Sherman Oaks population that’s not committed to proper vehicle maintenance. Mistaken perceptions have crept into the CA area over time. Many Sherman Oaks motorists think the root lies in the fact that modern cars are so reliable. Reliability has improved dramatically in recent years. Quality surveys report fewer problems with new cars than ever before. Back when cars spent more time in the repair shop, Sherman Oaks drivers were more mindful of routine service. Now, it’s much easier to put it off. Take tune-ups for example. In the days of mechanical ignition systems, an engine needed to be tuned-up every couple of years. The ignition points had to be replaced, spark plugs and coils replaced and the timing adjusted. If your engine was out of tune, you knew it. It ran poorly and got bad fuel economy ... read more

The push for fuel economy has two benefits: using less gas, and fewer emissions. Tarzana cars and trucks run cleaner than ever. Tarzana people may not realize that the first federally mandated pollution control device came out almost fifty years ago. Tarzana folks that were around in the early 60's may remember that the PCV valve came out on 1964 model cars. PCV stand for Positive Crankcase Ventilation. The crankcase is the lower part of the engine where the crankshaft is housed and where the engine oil lives. The crankshaft is connected to the pistons that power the engine. When fuel is burned in the sedan engine, it pushes the pistons down and the crankshaft rotates and sends power to the transmission. Some of the explosive gases from combustion squeeze past the pistons and down into the crankcase. Now this gas is a ... read more

Van Nuys drivers rely on their car's coolant system to keep their engine cool. Coolant (also called antifreeze) mixed with water flows through your sedan engine and absorbs heat. The mixtrue then flows out to the radiator where it’s cooled by air flowing over the radiator. From there the coolant/water mix circulates back through the engine to absorb more heat. There’s a reason we mix coolant and water. Water alone actually does a good job transferring heat from the engine. The problem is that water boils at a temperatrue that’s easily reached inside your sedan's engine, so it can turn to steam which does not conduct heat as well and is harder to contain. Also, if it’s freezing outside in Van Nuys, the water in your engine could freeze while your vehicle is sitting out in the cold. So, if you remember your Van Nuys high school chemistry, you’ll know that a mixtrue has both a higher boiling point and a lower freezing point t ... read more

Most of our Encino clients want to save on gas and seek our advice on improving fuel economy. At AutoAid & Rescue, we are frequently asked, however, just how much money Encino motorists can actually save. Well the US government has a website dedicated to helping us use less fuel. It presents the cost savings in a way Encino car owners can relate to and is relevant for all vehicles. Let me give you an example: Having your sedan engine properly tuned, can save up to 4%. If you’re paying three-fifty for a gallon of gas, you could save fourteen cents a gallon. In today's AutoAid & Rescue post, we’re going to talk about several things you can do to improve your sedanfuel economy driving around Encino. We’ll tell you the potential savings per gallon of gas at three dolla ... read more

Today in the AutoAid & Rescue auto care blog, we’re going to talk about oil change intervals. It seems that as engine technology advances, recommended oil change intervals have gotten longer for AutoAid & Rescue customers. High quality oil in a well-engineered sedan engine has lead to extended intervals. But it’s also lead to some confusion among Van Nuys drivers. The old mantra “change your oil every three months or three thousand miles, whichever comes first” once applied to every vehicle in your garage. Time and miles take their toll on motor oil. But now, you could have a different oil change recommendation for every car or truck you own. Van Nuys people are like everybody else, they have a tendency to put off all the oil changes to the schedule of the vehicle with the longest interval. Of course, that can lead to problems. For ex ... read more

Many Van Nuys drivers have been hearing about new advances in power steering technology, specifically, electric power steering. Some very high-end cars have been featuring electric power steering for a few years. An electric motor directly provides the power assist to make steering easier. Undoubtedly we’ll see much more of this in Van Nuys as full electric cars and electric hybrids become more common. The vast majority of cars and trucks serviced at AutoAid & Rescue in Van Nuys use a hydraulic power boost system. With hydraulics, fluid is pressurized by a pump which actuates a hydraulic cylinder to reduce steering effort. Some of these pumps are powered by an electric motor. Most pumps are powered by the serpentine belt driven by the engine. Power steering fluid has the necessary hydraulic properties and the ability t ... read more

Your sedan requires plenty of clean fuel to run. When your fuel isn’t clean, your fuel injectors can start to become clogged up. When this happens, your sedan engine may not get the proper amount of fuel at the correct pressure to run efficiently. This hurts fuel economy and performance as you drive around Los Angeles. It can also lead to the buildup of harmful deposits on valves and in the combustion chamber. That’s why all vehicles, including sedans, come equipped with a fuel filter somewhere between the engine and the fuel tank. The job of the filter is to clean out little pieces of dirt and contamination. The filter captrues the contaminants and holds them out of the fuel stream. Of course, the filter will eventually get clogged up and need to be replaced at AutoAid & Rescue. If your fuel filter is clogged, the sedan engine can&rsquo ... read more

If you’ve ever heard a squealing sound under your hood, chances are it was your serpentine belt. Your serpentine belt is a long belt that’s driven by your engine. It winds around several accessories that power important automotive systems in your sedan. Let’s go over them. First, the serpentine belt drives your air conditioning system. It spins the compressor that makes the cool air that takes the edge off the summer heat in Van Nuys.Next, the belt powers the alternator. The alternator creates electricity that’s used by your sedan’s electrical systems and also charges your car battery. Without the alternator, the battery will go dead in a few miles. The serpentine belt may also run the pumps for both the power steering (some are electric) and power brakes (some use vacuu ... read more

Today's AutoAid & Rescue post focuses on using the proper fluids for your vehicle. Big advances in automotive technology have lead to the development of high-tech fluids to keep pace. Some because of engineering advances and others, advances in the materials used to build sedan automotive systems. A simple example of this is the cooling system. For decades it was primarily made out of iron, steel and rubber hoses. There was one kind of coolant that protected these components from corrosion. Now cooling system components are made with various metal alloys and plastics. These materials require different additives to protect them from corrosion. Since the materials used vary from manufactruer to manufactruer, we now have a number of different kinds of coolant. And it’s important that Sherman Oaks car owners use the right coolant ... read more

High gas prices in Van Nuys have hit most of our budgets. You’ve probably budgeted a certain amount for vehicle related stuff. Increased fuel costs are now consuming a bigger portion of that budget and you may be tempted to skimp in some other areas – like scheduled maintenance.According to news reports and industry studies, you’re not alone. Nine out of ten personal vehicles on the road have at least one maintenance or repair item that hasn’t been done. Some of these items are serious safety concerns. Others are just more likely to affect the cost of operating your vehicle.In this area, we can take a lesson from professional Van Nuys vehicle owners. I’m talking about fleet owners and operators. You know, Van Nuys folks like the trucking companies and delivery services. Because their livelihood depends on it, they have gotten scheduled maintenance down to a science ... read more