Santa Rosa Auto Repair

What Does This Light Mean? You're probably familiar with the “Low Fuel” or “Check Oil” lights on your dashboard. But new technologies bring with them new and often confusing warning lights. Here are a few you might need some help deciphering. Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) This light means you may have an issue with one or more of your tires – the air pressure is too low, too high or you have a slow leak or flat. Fog Lights Are On In addition to headlights, some cars have separate fog lights or daytime running lights. This tells you those lights are on. Lane-Keeping Assist This isn’t a warning light. It means that your car has a lane-keeping assist, and the system is working to keep you in your lane and not drifting from side to side. Automatic Shift Lock This one is more complicated. It means that you need to step on the brake before starting the car or shifting into Drive. Until you get the hang of what to do, this can be frustrating f ... read more

Top 10 Car Care Tips   By Rick Kranz  K.B.B.   We have all heard these stories, cars and trucks lasting 200,000, 300,000, even 500,000 miles. What’s the secret? Three words: maintenance, maintenance, maintenance. “Nobody reads the owner’s manual. Pretty much to make it run that far it’s fluids, timing belts, maintenance by the book,” said Jim Moritz, global technical trainer for an international automotive tool and equipment manufacturing company. These vehicle owners adhere to every word recommended by the automaker, for them it is a religion. In many cases, they are changing engine oil, transmission and brake fluids more frequently than required. They read that manual from cover to cover. “I know guys who are getting 300,000 miles out of a F-Series pickup and 400,000 miles from a Hyundai Sonata,” he said. “The ... read more