Every year somebody comes in on one of the first cold mornings with no heat. And every year one of the most common reasons is a thermostat that stuck open. Last year it was me. The thermostat on my truck stuck open. Mark found it. I own a repair shop and I take care of my truck the way I tell everybody else to take care of theirs. Didn't matter. You can maintain a vehicle perfectly and when a part…
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Your steering wheel starts shaking under your hands and suddenly you're gripping it like you're trying to wrestle it into submission. First thought: something is very wrong with this car. Second thought: how much is this going to cost? I get it. Take a breath. Most of the time your car is telling you something, not falling apart. And when it shakes tells us a lot about why it shakes. Only when you brake? Only on the highway? Only when…
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Every fall it's the same thing around here. The first morning it drops into the teens, a whole bunch of batteries that limped through the summer just quit. Somebody's standing in their driveway in Sycamore with a coffee in one hand, wondering why the car that started fine yesterday won't even click today. Winter doesn't really break your car. It just finds whatever was already on its way out and finishes the job. Here's what I'd look at on my…
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You call around. “Sorry, we don't work on those.” Call the next place. Same answer, maybe with an apology this time. Call a third and you might get a yes, if you can wait three weeks and don't mind driving forty-five minutes each way. If you've got a diesel, you already know this. I've had guys roll into my lot annoyed before we've even popped the hood, and it's never at us. It's at the four shops before us who…
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Have you ever walked out to your car on a Tuesday morning, turned the key, and heard nothing? Not a cough. Not a sputter. Maybe one sad little click. Then you stand there in the driveway, half a cup of coffee in your hand, staring at your car like it personally betrayed you. When a car won't start, most people blame the battery. Sometimes they're right. Sometimes the problem is the starter, alternator, wiring, or a loose connection. I'd guess…
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Ask ten drivers how often they change their oil and you'll get ten different answers, and half of them will argue with you about it. Some are still running on the “every 3,000 miles” rule their dad drilled into them. Others read somewhere that modern oil goes 10,000 miles and figure that means they can forget about it. Neither one is crazy. They're just working off information that's out of date, or too general for their actual car. I've had…
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The lazy part of summer is just about over. In a little over a week, the buses are back on the roads, the drop-off line is backed up to the stop sign, and your morning suddenly has three more stops in it than it did in July. Whether you’re running kids to school in Sycamore, DeKalb, or anywhere across DeKalb County, a car you can count on matters more once the school year starts. All summer it might have handled…
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That little amber glow shows up on your dashboard, and your stomach drops a little. Is the car about to die on the way home? Is this a fifty dollar fix or a fifteen hundred dollar one? Should you pull over right now, or finish the grocery run first? The check engine light is one of the most misunderstood things on your dashboard. Some people panic the second it appears. Others have been driving around with it on for three…
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If you run a truck, a trailer, or anything bigger than the family minivan in Illinois, there’s a good chance the state wants eyes on it on a regular schedule. That’s the IDOT Safety Lane inspection. It catches the stuff that turns a routine Tuesday into a very bad day on Route 23, and it’s the law for a lot of vehicles whether you love it or not. Here’s the good news for anyone in DeKalb County. You don’t have…
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The most common reasons a vehicle overheats are low coolant, coolant leaks, a bad thermostat, water pump failure, radiator problems, or a cooling system that cannot maintain proper pressure. Continuing to drive an overheating vehicle can cause severe engine damage. You're driving through Sycamore or DeKalb on a ninety-degree July afternoon when you notice the temperature gauge climbing toward the red. Your stomach drops a little. Nobody plans for this, and it always seems to happen on the hottest day…
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