Des Moines Auto Repair

There are two main criteria to pay attention to when it comes to selecting motor oil: Viscosity (often referred to as weight) Synthetic vs non-synthetic First of all, if you’re under warranty, always follow the terms of the warranty, which may specify the type of oil to use. Second, even if you’re not under warranty, you should follow any recommendations your owner’s manual makes in regards to oil. Some cars require either conventional or synthetic, and this will be specified if that’s the case. However, with things like viscosity, there are sometimes reasons to deviate a little, and we’ll explain why below. Why is viscosity important? Viscosity, as you probably remember from science class, refers to the thickness of liquid matter. When it come to motor oil, the viscosity is expressed in two numbers, such as 5W-20 or 10W-30. Lower numbers mean a lower viscosity; in other words, the substance will be “thinner”. Think of high oil viscosity ... read more

The national average price for a gallon of gas is at the highest its been in seven years. There are multiple factors that are driving the cost up, and they seem to indicate that we can only expect minor relief in the near future. So what can we expect, and how can we deal with this increased expense? Why are gas prices so high? 2020 was a slow year of crude production, thanks largely to COVID-19 workplace restrictions. This wasn’t an issue last year, when everybody was sitting at home and the demand for fuel was low. As the economy reopens, demand has surged past supply. But there’s more to the picture, apparently. Articles by Forbes and ... read more

The availability of new vehicles has been at a historic low for the last year or so. This has taken a toll on prices. What’s more, the demand for new vehicles is moving into used vehicles and causing shortages there, too. With cars being both expensive and hard to find, now, more than ever, it’s important to take proper care of the vehicles you own. Why are prices so high? We’ve seen inflated prices across many markets recently. Part of this has to do with the high price of shipping. Part of it is probably due to inflation, in general. In new vehicles in particular, the micro chip shortage is having a serious affect. It seems that auto manufacturers have everything they need but chips for the electronics in their vehicles. How long will this continue? Expect the shortage to linger until next year, at least. Most reports say the chip shortage will go on into 2022 and potentially longer than that ... read more

Sources like this one say that a well-kept motor can be all but expected to run up to 200,000 miles. Newer vehicles are expected to run longer than older ones because engineering has improved over the decades. The added complexity of vehicles (like the addition of electronics) means there’s more complexity and more parts that can fail, but it also increases the life span of vehicles. In recent years, we’ve even seen it extend the life of warranties. Newer players in the auto market, like Hyundai and Kia, are offering a 60,000 mile basic warranty and 100,000 warranty on their drive trains. Nissan is also offering a 5 year, 100,000 mile warranty on select2021 models. Warranty coverage is not the same as vehicle life expectancy, but the fact that warranties are getting longer is a good sign ... read more

Automobiles come with a high cost of ownership. There’s no way around it. So here are a few ways you can minimize that cost, when it comes to your brake system. 1. Don’t drive/brake aggressively Stopping abruptly increases wear and tear on your brake components, and puts more strain on the system overall. Aggressive driving (tailgating, cornering at high speeds, accelerating quickly between stop lights) leads to excessive braking. You don’t want to hold up the flow of traffic, especially in busy cities or on highways. This could be dangerous. But if the light’s red in front of you, and the intersection behind you is clear, there’s no point in zooming up to the light just so you can sit and wait. You might as well just coast up to and take it easy on your brakes. Additionally, excessive heat on your brakes (like you get from driving too fast) increases wear and tear. It can also warp your rotors ... read more