Downey Auto Repair

When Is a Good Time to Change My Transmission Fluid? It takes a lot of fluids for your vehicle to operate correctly. The first two that come to mind are probably gas and oil. But there are several other auto fluids that are just as important for your car, including brake fluid, radiator fluid (antifreeze/coolant), and power steering fluid. One of the most important fluids is your transmission fluid. Just like every other fluid in your vehicle, transmission fluid needs to be changed in a timely manner. How often you should change it varies on several factors. Most automakers recommend getting a transmission fluid flush at 100,000 miles. However, other automakers, including Ford, recommend getting a flush at 150,000. On the other hand, there are mechanics that recommend flushing your transmission at 50,000-mile intervals. Furthermore, vehicles with manual transmissions usually stick to a different ma ... read more

One of the questions we get the most at Glenn’s Auto Service is, “how can I get better gas mileage?” or “Why has my car’s gas mileage gone down?” And with gas prices so high, it’s no surprise most drivers care so much about their fuel economy. When your car gets older, it’s not unusual for your gas mileage to suffer. However, when you take good care of your vehicle, including getting regular preventative maintenance, your fuel economy should stay consistent. Top Causes of Bad Fuel Economy Of course, many car owners do see decreased fuel economy. But why? Why does your car start to get bad gas mileage? Here are some of the most common causes and what you can do about them. Tire Pressure Is Off – it might not be the first place you check, but low tire pressure can affect your fuel economy. Thankfully, this is an easy fix. Just properly inflate your tires, based on the correct amount of pressure lis ... read more

Remember what headlights used to be like? They were pretty basic, and they almost never drew anyone’s attention. They sat in the front grill, and they didn’t look fancy, or do anything special. You could say the same thing for taillights, brake lights, and blinkers. Their job was to make it possible for you to see and for others to see you. New Wave of Lights Well, that was then, and this is now. And times have definitely changed when it comes to the lights on your vehicle. Now they light up in several different ways, and lights have become a huge part of the overall car design. They come in dozens of shapes and sizes and manufacturers use them to make cars look more sophisticated. Lighting on this current generation of vehicles has way more to offer compared to lights in the past. But with all the fancy bells and whistles, they’re also a lot more complicated to replace or fix. Don’t Wait to Fix it However, if a light quits ... read more

You know what it’s like to blow a fuse, right? Everyone has done that at their house at some point. Maybe you plug one too many things into the same circuit and it’s just too much juice at once. It’s very common for a hair dryer to make this happen. But whatever the cause, when a fuse gets tripped or blown, normally you just have to reset the breaker, and everything works again. So, while it is inconvenient, tripping a fuse is not the end of the world. If you blow the fuse completely, then you will have to replace it. And the same is true with your vehicle. Most of the time the tiny little fuses that power the electrical components of your car are hidden away in hard-to-reach places, but they are extremely important. The fuses in your vehicle even help protect it from overloading or short-circuiting. So, what happens if a fuse blows in your car and how do you fix it? How Come Fuses Blow? Fuses usually blow for one of two reasons. The first is when ... read more

With every passing year auto technology continues to get more advanced. New cars these days all have sophisticated computers that help in so many ways. Simply put, this new generation of cars is amazing. All these advances in auto technology are very nice for drivers and they can make caring for your vehicle much easier. However, even with all the ongoing advancements, cars still have to be regularly maintained because they have so many mechanical components that wear out and break down. And in some cases, those fancy computer based diagnostic tools can’t pinpoint mechanical problems. So, what happens when a diagnostic tool can’t determine a specific mechanical problem? Thankfully, our ASE certified technicians have other ways to figure out car problems. The following “tools” are a few of the “tricks” they use. Standard Diagnostic Tools in DowneyMovements and Vibrations – mechanics spend a lot of time aroun ... read more