Truckee Auto Repair

Today's tires and wheels offer a lot of options for every TRUCKEE driver's style, habits and driving conditions.Tires are designed for high-performance in winter or summer and even come in a long-wearing variety for all CA seasons.TRUCKEE off-roaders should be excited about the options available to them as well. The tread on off-road tires is designed to handle the wear from bumps and rocks. The tires' high profile protects rims from damage.But what if you own an SUV but aren't interested in off-roading around CA? You can change out those high-profile beasts for a lower, wider look if it suits your style.The Auto & Tire Doctor Inc tire professionals can offer great auto advice on how to choose tires that match your needs and style.If you just need to purchase new tires, a tire professional at The Auto & Tire Doctor Inc can also help you select the tires that are best for your driving needs and habits. The right tires will protect you and your vehicle on the road.So personali ... read more

No matter how well they're made, vehicles in TRUCKEE, CA, will have design or manufacturing problems. And when the government thinks a problem is really serious for people in TRUCKEE, CA, they require the manufacturer to issue a recall notice and fix the vehicle  free of charge. The manufacturer then tries to contact everyone in CA who owns that type of vehicle to get the recall work done. Perhaps you have received a postcard notifying you of a recall. The government has links on its websites, or just visit AutoNetTV for links. There are many websites with free recall information and searches. There's CarFax, AutoByTel and the DMV.Recalls are serious but not all that common. Sometimes there are fewer issues, and for these, manufacturers issue a Technical Service Bulletin, or TSB, that tells service centers like The Auto & Tire Doctor Inc how to repair a frequent or difficult problem.The pros get updated information ... read more

The crankcase is the lower part of the engine where the crankshaft is housed and where the engine oil lives. The crankshaft is connected to the pistons that power the engine. When you are diving around TRUCKEE, fuel is burned in your vehicle engine, it pushes the pistons down and the crankshaft rotates and sends power to the transmission. Some of the explosive gases from combustion squeeze past the pistons and down into the crankcase.Now this gas is about 70% unburned fuel. If it were allowed to remain in the crankcase, it would contaminate the oil and quickly turn it to sludge. Sludge is like Vaseline and clogs passages in the engine, leading to damage. Also, the pressure build up would blow out seals and gaskets. So in the old days, there was just a hose that vented the crankcase out into the air. Obviously, not good for our air quality in TRUCKEE, CA.Enter the PCV valve. It's a small, one-way valve that lets out the gases from the crankcase and routes them back into the ai ... read more

TRUCKEE auto owners may know that most automotive failures in TRUCKEE, 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 very co ... read more

Today's report from The Auto & Tire Doctor Inc 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 TRUCKEE 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:The Auto & Tire Doctor Inc12000 PIONEER TRLTRUCKEE, CA 961615305872178 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 chemic ... read more

Let's talk about deciphering the auto service menu board. TRUCKEE, CA, service centers like The Auto & Tire Doctor Inc have a board that lists the routine services they provide. But some people don't know what these services really are unless they ask. Let's go down a typical list, in alphabetical order, starting with air conditioning service. Feel free at any time to give The Auto & Tire Doctor Inc a call at 5305872178 to learn of the many services we offer, or stop by our TRUCKEE, CA auto center at 12000 PIONEER TRL, 96161. First remember that all of these services are recommended by vehicle manufacturers. They set how often or at how many miles/kilometers the service should be done.Air conditioning service involves purging the old refrigerant and capturing it for proper disposal. Then fresh refrigerant is installed. The fresh refrigerant will lubricate the system and will also hel ... read more

There's a reason we use the word “diagnose” when we talk about fixing cars in TRUCKEE. Figuring out what's wrong with your vehicle has a lot of similarities to figuring out what's wrong with someone who is ill. Vehicles are a mass of complex systems that can produce a variety of symptoms when something goes wrong. As with human diagnoses, a specific symptom may be indicative of a number of problems, and figuring out the specific cause takes training and experience.Sometimes the diagnosis of your vehicle's trouble comes down to a matter of trial-and-error. This can be frustrating for TRUCKEE drivers because time and money are on the line. You may feel you should only be paying for repair work. Of course, you only want to pay for the right repair – and a proper diagnosis is part of getting it right. Like at the doctor's office — some of what you pay for is the doctor's time and effort to figure out ... read more

Today in the The Auto & Tire Doctor Inc auto care blog, we're going to talk to TRUCKEE drivers about oil change intervals. It seems that as engine technology advances, oil change intervals become longer for The Auto & Tire Doctor Inc customers. For example, recently four of the world's largest vehicle manufacturer's shortened the published intervals for several of their engine models. They originally published intervals that extended out to a much as 8,000 miles (13,000 kilometers).In real world TRUCKEE driving, the oil started to sludge up before the recommended change interval. Oil sludge is a thick jelly-like substance: quite literally petroleum jelly – like Vaseline. This goop was clogging vehicle small engine passages so the oil wouldn't flow to some parts of the engine. This resulted in engine damage. We see it too often at The Auto & Tire Doctor Inc in TRUCKEE.The vehicle manufacturers began to offer an extended warranty to cover sludge damage. But there ... read more

You know you need newtires, but you're not sure what type. You look at a tire to get the size: 225, 50, R, 16, 92, H. All the way to the TRUCKEE service center you keep repeating it over and over. You even say it over in your mind while waiting in line. Then you get to the counter and the manager asks what size you need. Then your mind goes blank.Tire size can be confusing for many TRUCKEE drivers. There's so much on the side of the tire, and it's hard to keep straight.Even though there's a lot on a tire - if you know what it all means, it's actually more helpful than confusing for TRUCKEE tire shoppers. Let's start with the size number.For example, let's say a tire reads: 225 50 R 16 92 H. The 225 part is the width of the tire in millimeters - the width between the sidewalls of an inflated tire with no load. The 50 is the aspect ratio - the ratio of the sidewall height to the tread width. Off-road tires will have a higher number and high perform ... read more

Here's an interesting statistic for our in TRUCKEE, 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 TRUCKEE 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 TRUCKEE. 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 as possibl ... read more