Got a question?

Last Saturday I made the statement that a clogged air filter would NOT affect fuel economy. This flies in the face of popular marketing and historical thought. I said I could provide proof for our listeners. I have provided a link to a study done by the Oak Ridge National Laboratory on behalf of the federal government. You can scroll to the conclusions or read the entire article. The bottom line is that modern engines measure the air coming in. Less air equals less fuel therefore no extra fuel going in. In fact, even on an engine with a carburetor, the filter had to be so plugged that the engine would barely run to have any significant affect on fuel economy. If your filter is dirty, by all means change it. Just don’t expect to get better mileage.

http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/pdfs/Air_Filter_Effects_02_26_2009.pdf

We covered a lot of material on our May 22nd episode about insurance and motor vehicle claims. Here’s a link to the Washington Administrative Code on what the state considers unfair for an insurer to ask when you total your vehicle: http://apps.leg.wa.gov/WAC/default.aspx?cite=284-30-390. And here’s the WAC that spells out the options your insurance company can choose when settling your loss: http://apps.leg.wa.gov/WAC/default.aspx?cite=284-30-391. Drive safe, now!

On occasion, some of us shops are known to install a customer-supplied part into their vehicle. I wouldn’t recommend it as a rule, because in most cases it won’t save you time or money. Most of our customers don’t have the expertise or time to find the right part and forfeit our warranty because we did not sell the part. It would kind of be like bringing your own steak to a restaurant and asking them to cook it for you.

The Toyota and, to a lesser degree, Honda recalls have been headline news the last couple of weeks. Should you be worried if you own one of these vehicles? By all means you should have any recall performed as soon as is possible, but I wouldn’t stop driving my Toyota in the meantime. There should be warning signs present in the case of the sticking throttle such as a pedal that has a change in feel. If that happens you may want to park it. If you do experience an unintended acceleration problem, STAND on the brakes, shift into neutral, and turn off the ignition.

My main point here is to say that ALL manufacturers have recalls at various times. Some more serious than others. One has to wonder why the government (which owns major parts of two domestic car companies) and the press have made such a HUGE deal over these particular recalls. It may backfire as this could be a good time to get a good deal on one of these vehicles.

if you have questions about these or any other recalls you can go to the NHTSA website or you manufactures website and find the particulars.

Happy holidays from the Auto Guys! You know, they say most of us in Whatcom County wont see a white Christmas this year, but before the weather outside gets too frightful, be sure to get your oil changed and have your battery and coolant level checked at a local shop. Have a safe winter from all of us at In the Shop!

How much to change my??? This is often the first question we get when a potential client calls. It is understandable because most don’t know the proper questions to ask.

These days everyone is watching their finances and the lowest price can sound like the best deal. Make sure when you are comparing that you compare apples to apples. If you ask “how much to change my timing belt?”, that may be the only answer you get. But we in the industry all know that you should replace the seals, water pump, and tensioners on many engines. That is the answer you will get when you call one of us rather than a surprise call partway into the job saying you also need these things.

A quality job with quality parts and a outstanding warranty may not be the cheapest but is usually the most economical.

Wow! This is really cool!
Who would have ever thought that I would have my own Radio show!
(Well, share a radio show with 3 other really groovy dudes.)
And a Web site too!
Kirk.

The annual Lights On event put on by the Automotive Association was a great success again this year.  Local ASA Technicians replaced hundreds of light bulbs for free, helping to improve night time safety as there are more cars on the road in the dark.  John and I had an excelling live show form the Bellingham High School location.  We gave away piles of great prizes to those who stopped by to visit during the show.  Hope the see you there next year!

We talked about every car topic in the book on this week’s show. And even though I couldn’t be there, I want to thank everyone who showed up at the ASA Light’s On event last weekend. I heard that 277 vehicles came to both our Bellingham High School and Everson Elementary School locations, and 266 bulbs were replaced. That’s awesome!
Feel free to ask us a question through this Web site, and keep checking in for updates.

Thanks to everyone who showed up at our ASA Lights Out event on October 3rd. You can listen to our live broadcast from the Bellingham High School parking lot by clicking here. And keep checking our new Web site for updates.