Rocklin and Sacramento Auto Repair

Here's an interesting statistic for our in Sacramento, CA, drivers: Only 30 percent of car batteries make it to 48 months. And the life expectancy varies by where you live. It ranges from 51 months in extremely cold areas to just 30 months in extremely hot climates.Why is that? It turns out that it's our modern cars with all their electric accessories that are to blame. Things like, GPS, DVDs and entertainment computers are keeping vehicle batteries from maintaining a full charge. The longer a battery goes with a low charge, the sooner it'll die.It's clear that you Sacramento drivers need to recharge your batteries. This is the job of the alternator. The problem comes when the car's demand for electricity is high and we are driving in stop and go conditions or short trips around Sacramento. The alternator just can't keep up.The result is shortened battery life. So what can we do to improve our battery's health?We need to keep the battery as close to a full charge a ... read more

Today's Jack Dane Auto Service post focuses on using coolant. If you pour in the wrong kind, it won't protect the cooling system and may even void the warranty. Check your vehicle owner's manual. Of course, your Jack Dane Auto Service service advisor will know the proper coolant for your vehicle.Brake fluid is confusing for some Sacramento drivers. Back when we opened Jack Dane Auto Service, most vehicles used Dot 3 brake fluid. Now we have Dot 4 and Dot 5. Some Sacramento residents mistakenly think the higher numbers are an upgrade. You know, if 3 is good then 4 must be better. That's not how it works. They are different formulations to meet the demands of differences in brake systems. Only one of them is designed for your vehicle.Ditto for transmission fluid. For decades there were two basic types of tranny fluid used at Jack Dane Auto Service: friction modified or not. With the tremendous engineering advances in vehicle automatic transmissions, there have been several new typ ... read more