Van Nuys Auto Repair & Service Center

People from Van Nuys CA love their cars. And nothing goes with cars better than a CA road trip. Freedom from daily schedules, new sights and the open road – it's great! But there's nothing like car trouble to bring the fun to a grinding halt. Now you can't always avoid problems, but you can take steps to reduce the probability of getting sidelined on your trip. Let's look at some of the auto maintenance related problems you might encounter on a road trip and what you might do to avoid them. It all starts with a thorough trip inspection by your Van Nuys CA service professionals at AutoAid & Rescue. Let's talk about some of the items on the trip inspection checklist. The most common vehicle component to fail is the tires. Of course, you can't always avoid a road hazard that leads to a flat, but you may be able to head off some maintenance-connected tire problems. A good ... read more

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 i ... 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 ... read more

If you've ever been driving around Van Nuys and had a headlamp go out, you've probably just wanted to replace the bad bulb. If your car uses halogen headlamps, they dim over time. So if you just put in one, they won't have the same brightness which can be distracting and will affect your field of vision. To have your headlights inspected, visit us at AutoAid & Rescue. We're at 14526 Erwin Street in Van Nuys, CA 91411. Or give us a call at 818-901-1113 Experts in Van Nuys recommend replacing your halogen headlamps every year. It's easy to remember if you do it when daylight savings time changes in the fall. That way you'll have bright headlamps for those long Van Nuys winter nights. There are other types of headlamps in addition to halogen. There are the old standard bulbs that have been around for decades. These are OK, but you can usually upgrade to halogen. They cost a little more but you ca ... read more

Good brakes are obviously very important. If you've ever had your brakes go out while you're driving around the Los Angeles area, you'll know how terrifying it can be. Today we'll focus on how to tell when you have a brake problem, and how to make good repair choices. Often, the first indication that something's wrong with the brakes is an unusual sound. It could be a squeal, chatter or grinding sound. Some brake pads have a little piece of metal embedded in them that will make a squeal or chirping sound when the brake pads have been worn down to the point that they need to be replaced. It's an early warning indicator. When you hear that sound, schedule an appointment at AutoAid & Rescue soon. Now a chattering sound is more urgent. That usually indicates that something is loose. It could be a brake pad or even the brake calipers. If one o ... 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

For those of you in Van Nuys CA who pay attention to these things, you may have been hearing about the new direct injection engines and want to learn more about them. Some deliver the power of a V8 with the economy of a V6. For example, in one family of engines the conventional V6 makes about 250 horsepower. The direct injection version of the same engine makes over 300 horsepower and gets essentially the same gas mileage. The turbocharged version makes over 350 horsepower. So what are the differences from a conventional engine? The core difference is in the fuel injection system. The system most vehicles use now is called a port injection system. The fuel injector squirts fuel into a port just outside the cylinder where it's then drawn into the engine with the air. With a direct injection system, the injector squirts the fuel directly into th ... read more

People near Van Nuys CA often ask AutoAid & Rescue how often they should have a particular service done. It's a great thing to ask. You can look at your owner's manual, or have your Van Nuys CA service advisor at AutoAid & Rescue look up your vehicle in a service database. What you find is often a surprise to people – there are actually two service schedules. One is the regular schedule and the other is the severe service schedule. Service intervals are shorter on the severe service schedule. When asked, most folks in Van Nuys CA will say that their driving is normal and that the 'regular' schedule probably applies to them. 'Severe service' sounds pretty extreme – 'I don't drive like that'. Well, here is what the manufactruers say constitutes severe driving conditions; you can draw your own conclusions. If that's severe driving, what constitutes regular driving? Well, it would look something l ... read more

Buying a new car in Van Nuys is always a big financial decision. The allure of that new car smell is powerful, to be sure. But what if your current car is still in good shape? How do you decide? People in Van Nuys who've been used to driving a new car every three to five years may be having second thoughts in this economy. For many, the question is, how does the certainty of a new car payment stack up against uncertain repairs for a car that may be out of warranty? For purposes of our discussion, let's assume you live right here in Van Nuys and have a five year old vehicle. It's now paid off. If you keep it, you fear that there'll be some repairs over the next five years, but you really don't know what to expect. For help we turned to Edmunds.com. Edmunds.com has compiled maintenance and repair information for cars and trucks ... read more

Let's talk about deciphering the auto service menu board. Van Nuys, CA service centers like AutoAid & Rescue have a board that lists the routine services they provide. But some people don't know what these services really are unless they ask. Let's go down a typical list, in alphabetical order, starting with air conditioning service. First remember that all of these services are recommended by vehicle manufactruers. They set how often or at how many miles the service should be done. Air conditioning service involves purging the old refrigerant and capturing it for proper disposal. Then fresh refrigerant is installed. The fresh refrigerant will lubricate the system and will also help it cool better. Alignment. Service centers like AutoAid & Rescue make sure all four wheels are lined up and track with each other. This reduces tire and suspension wear and improves safety and handling. Battery service. Service cen ... read more