Van Nuys Auto Repair & Service Center

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

Warm weather or cold, Van Nuys drivers still need to think about their sedan’s air conditioning. Most Van Nuys people don’t service their air conditioning until after it fails. At AutoAid & Rescue, we can advise you on your vehicle manufactruer's preventive maintenance schedules for air conditioning service, just as we do for transmission service, oil changes and so on. Maintaining your air conditioning system means that you always have enough refrigerant to properly do the job. Small leaks in the sedan's air conditioning system allow the refrigerant to escape and the system can’t cool the air as well. We see that a lot at AutoAid & Rescue in Van Nuys. The refrigerant also contains a special oil that lubricates air conditioning components, and keeps the seals resilient. Low refrigerant and lubricating oil means that the air conditioning par ... read more