General

Colorado air quality affects Thornton drivers wherever we are. Many decades ago, people began to become aware of how air pollution negatively affects health. But what about the air inside your vehicle? Cabin air filters are now coming standard on most new vehicles since the 2000 model year. These filters clean the air in the…

Your cooling system’s job is to keep your engine cool. Coolant (also called antifreeze) mixed with water flows through your engine and absorbs heat. The mixture then flows out to the radiator where it’s cooled by air flowing over the radiator. From there the cooled mix circulates back through the engine to absorb more heat.…

Some drivers don’t worry at all about their vehicles and neglect to take them in for service.  Here are six warning signs that it’s time to head over to your NAPA AutoCare Center and get things checked out. Warning light is on. Vehicles have warning lights for everything from engine troubles to brakes to battery…

When the cold weather rolls around and the first slippery days confront drivers, it’s tempting to say, “I need an all-wheel-drive or four-wheel-drive vehicle to deal with the weather.”  Well, maybe you don’t.  Maybe there’s another solution that is much more economical and may even have better results for you. There are a lot of…

Let’s talk about your suspension – you know, the system that connects your wheels to your vehicle, controls your handling, and delivers a good ride as you cruise around Thornton, Colorado. Your suspension is critical for proper steering, stopping, and stability. Hey, it’s a rough world out there in Colorado – every time you hit…

You’ve probably noticed a bunch of warning lights on your dash when you start your engine.  They flash on to test the circuits and then go off if everything’s OK.  One of the warning lights looks like a car battery.  Its job is to tell you if your battery’s not charging properly. You know that…

It’s time to talk about your engine air filter.  Your engine really needs clean air to operate efficiently: it takes about twelve thousand gallons of air to burn a gallon of gas in your engine.  And clean air is much better than dirty. When your air filter’s dirty, it simply can’t trap any more dirt,…

Thornton drivers often ask questions about the cooling system, the system that cools your vehicle engine and keeps it at the proper operating temperature. Let’s examine the topic in two areas: first, the coolant itself, and second, the parts that make up the cooling system. The coolant is the mix of water and antifreeze that circulates through…

Maintaining your car or truck will make it more efficient.  It works the way it was designed to and that means it uses less fuel:  And you save money. To help organize our discussion, let’s think of things that rob us of fuel economy in two ways: increased friction and inefficient fuel combustion. Friction: Anything that…

We’ve all heard of a car or truck that needs a new muffler. But there’s more to the exhaust system than just the muffler. The exhaust system has three main functions: To safely get hot exhaust gas from the engine out of the tailpipe Treats the exhaust to remove harmful pollutants Muffle the engine noise…