Rocklin and Sacramento Auto Repair

Here's a travel tip that'll I'll bet you didn't know, and it might keep you safer...The average American commuter in CA spends two and a half hours daily in their vehicle.The government says 100,000 auto accidents yearly are caused by drivers who fall asleep at the wheel. (Aggressive driving is the number one traffic safety concern.)So what does this have to do with how your vehicle smells while you're driving around Sacramento?Well, which scent did you think makes drivers more alert? Is it: A. Strawberry B. New Car C. Pine D. Warm Vanilla Breeze It's C. Drivers are more alert and have less fatigue with pine scent in the vehicle, according to AroMetrics.And, drivers were less angry with overall improved driving performance with strawberry and pine scents.And you thought they just smelled nice. Jack Dane Auto Service1200 I StSacramento, CA 958149164423287http://www.jackdaneauto.com ... read more

Today's report from Jack Dane Auto Service is on vehicle batteries, why they die and what we can do to lengthen their life. Most of us have had a dead battery at one time or another. In fact, it would be very unusual if you hadn't. You may be surprised to learn that only 30 percent of Sacramento vehicle batteries last for 48 months.Now that's an average. How long a battery lasts depends on many factors. You may not know that one of the biggest factors is the temperature where you live and drive around in CA. You might suppose that cold weather was harder on batteries because it takes more power to crank a cold engine, but the opposite is actually true. For more information on your battery, please visit us:Jack Dane Auto Service1200 I StSacramento, CA 958149164423287 Batteries in very cold climates have a life expectancy of 51 months as opposed to 30 months in very warm climates. The reason is simple: batteries are chemically more ... read more

Way too many accidents happen at night.  There are a lot of factors, but a big one is simply visibility: if you can’t see something it’s hard to avoid hitting it. There are some things you can do to make sure you can see as much as possible when you’re driving in the dark. First, keep your windshield clean.  Glare from oncoming headlights can obscure obstacles in the road.  Clean off that film that builds up on the inside of your windshield.  And make sure you have good wiper blades and plenty of washer fluid. Now it could be that your headlights just aren’t as bright as they used to be.  It happens – the bulbs just dim over time.  If it’s been a couple of years since you replaced your headlamps and they aren’t lighting up the road like they used to, get some new ones.  They make upgraded headlamps too that give you a brighter light and a larger field of vision so you can see better and further down the road ... read more

Sacramento auto owners may know that most automotive failures in Sacramento, CA, are tire related, but do you know the second most common cause of vehicle failure? Nope, it's not teenagers. It is the coolant system. But if you take good care of your vehicle coolant system, it will take good care of you.A vehicle's engine creates a lot of heat - so much heat, that if it is not properly cooled, the engine can lock up, resulting in massive damage and repair bills. But when everything is working right, your vehicle engine operates at the proper temperature and all is well. Without antifreeze in your cooling system, the water could freeze and cause vehicle engine damage. This could be very expensive, not to mention inconvenient.The right mix of water and antifreeze protects the engine against damage from freezing and overheating. Antifreeze also protects the coolant system against corrosion that could cause the system to fail. The thing to remember is this: coolant system failure is v ... read more

Nothing in your engine workers harder than your oil. With hundreds of moving parts, and thousands of explosions every minute, it's no wonder that engine oil needs to be changed frequently! You've probably heard the old rule of thumb: Change your oil every 3,000 miles/ 5,000 kilometers or 3 months, whichever comes first. But some car manufacturers have introduced extended oil change intervals. They figure that a modern vehicle driven under the right conditions can go for 5,000 miles/8000 kilometers or more between an oil change. The key phrase here is "under the right conditions". If you look at your owner's manual, you'll see two different maintenance schedules: one for "normal" driving conditions and one for "Severe Service". Severe service driving conditions include stop and go, short trips, towing, hauling, hot, cold, an ... read more

For those of you in Sacramento, 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 fuel economy. 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 the cylinder. The gain in power and economy come because fuel injected directly into the cylinder ... read more

Screeching tires, crunching metal – it's an accident! If you've ever been in a car accident in Sacramento, even a minor one, you know how upsetting it can be. It's hard to think straight and know what to do.Let's review what Sacramento drivers should do in case of an accident:When an accident occurs, you should always stop. Leaving the scene of an accident in Sacramento is considered a crime - even if it's not your fault. And hit and run penalties are fairly severe, possibly resulting in steep fines, loss of your CA driver's license or even jail time.Your jurisdiction may require that you try to help someone who is injured by calling for help or performing first aid if you are able. Warn other motorists by putting out flares, using your flashers or lifting your hood. Call Sacramento emergency services as soon as possible. Tell the operator if medical or fire help is needed.You should always file a police report. It's tempting to skip this if everything seem ... read more

Everyone in the Sacramento area wants our tires to last as long as possible. Two ways to maximize tire life are wheel balancing and tire rotation. When wheels are out of balance, they wobble a bit. That makes the tires wear in a cupping pattern. And they vibrate. To fix this, your service technician at Made In America / Made In Japan puts weights on your wheels to balance them out. If a front wheel is out of balance you’ll feel it in the steering wheel. If it’s a rear wheel you’ll feel it through your seat. That brings us to tire rotation. The front tires on a car wear out more quickly than the rear tires. As they push through turns from Sacramento to Elk Grove, the shoulders of the front tires wear down. So rotating front and rear tires all ... read more

Life's full of surprises in Sacramento California, some of which cost money. A leaky roof, a broken tooth, or an unexpected car repair. Made In America / Made In Japan of Sacramento California and AutoNetTV have done some research on how we can budget for proper vehicle care. Everyone in Sacramento California does our best to budget for scheduled vehicle maintenance. What's hard is unexpected repairs. The truth is that our vehicles can stay on the road longer than ever before with proper maintenance. That's because of improved vehicle design and manufacturing quality. But some of those same improvements also lead to higher repairs costs. Let's take the fuel pump. Previous generations were often stranded by the side of the road by vapor lock. This occurred when the gas vapori ... read more

Every car in Sacramento California is at risk for theft. So it's up to us to make our cars a less appealing target and more of a challenge – hopefully sending potential thieves to look elsewhere. The National Insurance Crime Bureau recommends a layered approach to protecting vehicles: Common sense Visible and audible devices Immobilizing devices Tracking devices Let's review each of these. First, common sense: you would be surprised how many vehicles are stolen from Sacramento California where the keys were left in the ignition with the doors unlocked. Always take your keys, and lock the doors. In fact, in some places it's against the law to leave a vehicle unattended with the keys in the ignition. And don't leave spare keys in the car or hide them outside – because a thief will find them. Try to park in well-lit areas that have a lot of foot traffic. If possible, park near the end of a ... read more