AUTONET TV

A.G. Automotive & Diagnosis Alternator Replacement Service in Winnetka

Your vehicle alternator doesn't get enough credit. Though your battery gets your engine started, after that – it's all about the alternator. 

Driving around Winnetka is a lot of work for your alternator, and as upgrades such as heated steering wheels, cooled seats, stability control and lane departure warning become more common, it will have to work even harder. Eventually this workhorse just wears out. When it does you have no choice but to order an alternator replacement because your vehicle won't run without one. 

Come see your friendly and professional service advisor at A.G. Automotive & Diagnosis to learn more.

A.G. Automotive & Diagnosis
19735 Sherman Way Suite 2
Winnetka, CA 91306
(818) 438-9608
www.agautodiagnosis.com

To Save Gas Around Winnetka: Keep up with Your Scheduled Service

One topic that hits the news in CA on a regular basis is the price of gas. The answer for some CA drivers is to buy a vehicle that gets better fuel economy. For those of us in Winnetka who don't want to add a car payment to our monthly expenses, we need to improve our fuel economy any way we can.

Following recommended service intervals by coming into A.G. Automotive & Diagnosis is one of the best ways people in Winnetka can keep their vehicle running efficiently. That means better fuel economy. When you give it some thought, it only makes sense. Dirty oil or transmission fluid can't lubricate or clean. That means more drag which reduces fuel economy.

Keeping up with scheduled oil changes and transmission services will save gas for CA drivers.

Dirty engine air filters are another efficiency pirate. They rob your engine of enough air to effectively burn the fuel, so you need more gas to get the job done. Replacing a dirty air filter can pay for itself in fuel savings before the next oil change.

You can imagine what dirty fuel injectors can do to your vehicle as you drive around Winnetka. If your owner's manual recommends a fuel system cleaning, come into A.G. Automotive & Diagnosis and ask us to get it done for you.

A simple, but very effective way for drivers to save gas is to keep their tires properly inflated. Low tires can cost you up to a mile per gallon/.425 kilometers per liter. Check your tire pressure when you gas up – or at least once a month.

A.G. Automotive & Diagnosis
19735 Sherman Way Suite 2
Winnetka, CA 91306
(818) 438-9608
www.agautodiagnosis.com

A.G. Automotive & Diagnosis Tire Safety: Washington vs. Lincoln

Welcome to the A.G. Automotive & Diagnosis automotive blog. Today, let's talk about the effect of tire wear.

Let's focus on stopping in wet Winnetka conditions. In order for a tire to have good contact with the road, it has to move the water out of the way. If it can't move the water, the tire will actually ride on top of a thin film of water.

That's called hydroplaning. If it's really bad, Winnetka drivers can actually spin out of control - endangering themselves and the other drivers around them. At best, you won't stop as fast.

So how does a tire move water? It has channels for water to flow through. Look at your vehicle tire and you'll see channels: channels that run around the tire and channels that flow across the tire. They're designed to direct water away from the tire so it can contact the road better.

And the deeper the channel, the more water it can move. A brand new A.G. Automotive & Diagnosis tire has very deep channels and can easily move a lot of water. As the tire wears down, the channels become shallower and can move less water. When it wears down enough, it can seriously affect your ability to stop your vehicle on wet Winnetka roads.

So that's why it's so important for Winnetka drivers to replace their vehicle tires when they get worn. Consumer Reports and other advocate groups call for a standard of 3/32 of an inch and they have the studies to prove it.

At A.G. Automotive & Diagnosis, we want our customers to know that the deeper recommended tread depth makes a big difference. Stopping distances are cut dramatically on wet Winnetka streets. A safe stop from CA speeds with 4/32 of an inch of tread would result in a crash with worn out tires.

There's an easy way to tell when a tire's worn to 4/32 of an inch.

Just insert a quarter into the tread. Put it in upside down. If the tread doesn't cover George Washington's hairline, it's time to replace your vehicle tires. With a Canadian quarter, the tread should cover the numbers in the year stamp.

Many Winnetka residents have heard of this technique using a penny and Abe Lincoln's head - the old method. That measure gives you 2/32 of an inch – half the suggested amount. Of course, vehicle tires are a major purchase. Most of us in Winnetka want to get as many miles out of them as we can. But there's a real safety trade-off. It's your choice.

A.G. Automotive & Diagnosis
19735 Sherman Way Suite 2
Winnetka, CA 91306
(818) 438-9608
www.agautodiagnosis.com

Wipe Out! New Wiper Blades for Winnetka Drivers

When people in Winnetka talk about vehicle safety, they think of tires and brakes. But do we think about our windshields? Isn't the ability to see a prime safety factor when it comes to driving around CA? Yet we often don't even notice our windshields until we can't see through them or our wiper blades fail.

It's estimated that around 46 million people are driving with wipers that won't keep their windshields clear during a storm — that's 46 million people with impaired vision during a storm. For safety's sake, Winnetka drivers need to change the way they think about wiper blades. Most of us, 78% in fact, only change our wiper blades after they fail. In other words, we don't get new ones until the old ones become a safety hazard. Instead, we need to make wiper blades part of our preventive maintenance routine.

Wiper blades should be changed twice a year, in the spring and in the fall. In CA areas that experience harsh winter weather, special blades are available that prevent ice and snow from collecting on the wiper. Ask your friendly and knowledgeable service advisor at A.G. Automotive & Diagnosis about wiper blades that repel ice and snow.

No matter what blades you use on your vehicle in the winter, don't expect them to clear the ice and snow from your windshield after your vehicle has been parked for a while. Using your wipers will shred your blades and may even damage your wiper motor. And don't drive on Winnetka roads with a frosted windshield. That's a serious safety hazard. It can cause accidents, and you could be held liable.

Wiper blades are subjected to harsh conditions in CA. They're out in the Winnetka sun and in the cold. Over time, they become hard and brittle and lose their flexibility. Then they start to tear. Without flexibility, wipers just can't clear a windshield of water or snow. And torn wipers can actually scratch your windshield. Then the entire windshield has to be replaced — along with the wiper blades. It's a prime example of how preventive maintenance could have saved you repair bill.

Winnetka drivers can purchase new wiper blades at A.G. Automotive & Diagnosis or at any Winnetka auto parts store. They cost about the same. But at A.G. Automotive & Diagnosis we'll also throw in the installation.

Once you have good wipers installed, don't forget to top off your windshield washer fluid. If you take your vehicle in for a full-service oil change at A.G. Automotive & Diagnosis in Winnetka, your washer fluid will get topped off then. But it's good auto advice to purchase a jug of washer fluid to keep at home — just in case. And pack it in the car when you go on long trips.

While we're on the subject, A.G. Automotive & Diagnosis advises Winnetka drivers to always fill their washer fluid reservoir with windshield washer fluid. Don't ever use water. Water can freeze in the reservoir, which can damage it. It can also freeze onto your windshield. Besides, plain water just can't get a windshield clean. Think about it. Do you use plain water to clean your bathroom mirrors? And a bathroom mirror doesn't get exposed to anything near the gunk that can end up on your windshield. Windshield washer fluid was designed to do one thing — to clean windshields. Let it do its job.

A clean windshield is not just good vehicle care for Winnetka drivers — it's also a safety feature. Let's keep it that way.

A.G. Automotive & Diagnosis
19735 Sherman Way Suite 2
Winnetka, CA 91306
(818) 438-9608
www.agautodiagnosis.com