A question for our Pella Iowa motorists: How long have you been enjoying the romantic glow of your check engine light?
Hey, it’s not there to create ambiance; it’s a warning that something’s wrong. When your check engine light comes on get it checked at a capable Pella Iowa service station.
Many conditions that cause the check engine light to come on affect fuel economy. Some very dramatically.
Always make sure you tighten your gas cap until it clicks. A loose gas cap can cause a false sensor reading that’ll make the check engine light come on.
If your date’s eyes are smoldering in the reflected glow of the check engine light, try to think of all the gas money you’ll save by getting it fixed. Give us a call when you are ready: 641-628-9223
The function of the fuel filter is pretty self-explanatory. It filters your fuel. The fuel filter is in the fuel line somewhere in between the fuel tank and the engine. Both gas and diesel vehicles around Pella Iowa use fuel filters.
For more information about your fuel filter, visit Pella Car Care or come by our shop located at 90 Truman Road in Pella, Iowa 50219.
Please call 641-628-9223 to make an appointment.
Generally speaking there’s not a lot of dirt in our fuel supply, but there is enough that you want to screen it out. The problem actually gets worse the older your vehicle becomes. That’s because dirt, rust and other contaminants will settle out of the fuel and onto the bottom of the fuel tank. After your vehicle is five years or older, it can actually have a fair amount of sediment built up.
That just means that the fuel filter has to work harder as your vehicle ages. It’ll get clogged sooner and need to be replaced more often.
A symptom of a clogged fuel filter is that the engine sputters at highway speeds or under hard acceleration. That’s because enough fuel is getting through around town, but when you need more fuel for speed, enough just can’t get through the filter. Obviously, that could be dangerous if your car or truck can’t get enough power to get you out of harm’s way.
For just that reason, fuel filters have a bypass valve. When the filter is severely clogged, some fuel can bypass the filter all together. Of course that means that dirty, unfiltered fuel is getting through to be burned in the engine.
This dirt can then clog and damage your fuel injectors. Now injectors are not cheap to replace, so you don’t want to cause them damage just because you didn’t spend a few bucks to replace a fuel filter.
You know, in a way, the fuel filter can be the poster child for preventive maintenance. It’s a little part, it’s simple and it’s cheap to take care of. But if it’s neglected, it could lead to thousands of dollars of repair bills.
Those auto service schedules in your owner’s manual are there for a reason. If ever you don’t understand a recommended service, just ask your service advisor at Pella Car Care. We’ll be happy to explain.
Welcome to the Pella Car Care blog. Today, let’s talk about the effect of tire tread depth on braking. When talking about stopping power, most of us tend to focus on our brakes. But our tires are where the rubber meets the road. So having good brakes isn’t enough. Safe drivers need to have tires with enough traction to translate braking power into stopping power.
Let’s focus on stopping in wet 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, drivers can actually spin out of control. 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 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 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 SUV on wet roads.
So that’s why it’s so important to replace our 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.
By comparison, you’ve probably seen the wear indicator that’s molded into tires. When tires are worn 3/32 of an inch, the tread wear bar is visible. So the recommended standard has twice the tread depth as a completely worn out SUV tire.
At Pella Car Care, we want our customers to know that the deeper recommended tread depth makes a big difference. Stopping distances are cut dramatically on wet roads. A safe stop from freeway 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 tires. With a Canadian quarter, the tread should cover the numbers in the year stamp.
Many car owners have heard of this technique using a penny and Abe Lincoln’s head. That measure gives you 2/32 of an inch – half the suggested amount. Of course, SUV tires are a big ticket item. Most of us want to get as many miles out of them as we can. But there’s a real safety trade-off. It’s your choice.
Every Pella car owner who has taken their car in for an oil change has been told that their engine air filter’s dirty.
Here’s what goes into the determination of when to change the filter: First, your SUV owner’s manual will have a recommendation of when to change the filter. Second, a visual inspection by your technician may determine that your filter it is visibly dirty and needs to be changed.
So between your owner’s manual and your technician’s inspection there’s really no guesswork involved.
Now, most air filters don’t cost a lot to replace. It’s just that people hate getting caught with an unexpected expense. On the plus side, though, changing a dirty air filter at Pella Car Care can often save enough on gas to pay for itself before your next oil change in Pella .
Think about a dirty furnace filter in your Marion County home. When it’s all clogged up, enough clean air can’t get through. In your SUV, that means that your engine can’t get as much air as it needs to burn the fuel efficiently. So it makes do with less air and has to use more expensive gas to move your vehicle around Pella roads.
Your SUV actually needs about 12,000 gallons of air for every gallon of gas it burns. Engine air filters don’t cost much at Pella Car Care. When it’s time to change yours, just get it done. You’ll buy less fuel, have better performance and protect your engine.
Many conditions that cause the check engine light to come on affect fuel economy. Some very dramatically.
