Kansas City Auto Repair

Here's a question for Kansas City, Missouri : 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. (And, by the way, Homer Simpson's fix of covering it with tape is not a good idea.) Many conditions that trigger the Check Engine light can hurt your vehicle. A lot.If your date's eyes are smoldering in the soft glow of the Check Engine light, try to think of all the gas money you'll save by getting it fixed. Give I - 70 Auto Service a call when you are ready. I - 70 Auto Service3111 Stadium Dr.Kansas City, Missouri 64128816-921-0505http://www.i70autoservice.com

Modern vehicles in and around Kansas City run on 12 volt electrical systems. 12 volts is enough to get the job done for Kansas City drivers without having so much power that there is danger of electrocution. But today's vehicles have more electrical components and do-dads than ever before. This really strains your electrical system, making it hard for the battery to keep up. Think about it: electric seats, seat heaters, power locks windows and sun roofs. And then us Missouri drivers have all the power outlets for our cell phones, computers and DVD players.We also have navigation systems and powerful stereos. Plus there are all the engine and transmission computers, traction control, stability control, anti-lock brakes, sensors and on and on. Even the security system is running off the battery while the car is turned off.Fortunately, battery technology has given Kansas City drivers resilient batteries that are able to meet these strenuous requirements. But the fact is, batteries j ... read more

  Today we're talking to Kansas City drivers about shocks and struts. They're so easy for Missouri folks to forget about because they last so long and wear out so slowly. But your shocks are really responsible for keeping your tires on the road – so they're very important.Without shocks, your wheels would be bouncing over bumps and lifting on corners. The shocks push the tire down to the road to maximize traction. Good shocks equal good ride quality and safe handling for Kansas City drivers. There's a difference between shocks and springs. Springs support the weight of the vehicle, keeping it suspended up off the axles. The shocks moderate the rebound motion as wheels hit bumps. Now a strut combines a shock and a coil spring in one compact unit. It's best to replace all four shocks at the same time. That way you'll have even, predictable handling at all four corners. Anything less could be dangerous. Visit I - 70 Auto Service to have ... read more

Pop quiz: What is a cabin air filter? A. A filter for your Kansas City house?B. A fresh, piney scent?C. A filter for the passenger compartment of your car? Clever you, it's C.A cabin air filter cleans the outside air before it comes into the passenger compartment of your vehicle. It filters out common Missouri air particles like dust, pollen, spores, bacteria, pollutants, exhaust gas, odors and even sparrows.These high tech filters can block particles larger than 3 microns. By contrast, a grain of sand is about 200 microns.Not all Kansas City vehicles have cabin air filters. They are fairly new on the scene in Missouri. Last check, about 40 percent of new vehicles sold in Kansas City come with cabin air filters, but the number is growing every year. Cabin air filters make driving a lot more pleasant for people in Kansas City. Your vehicle can be a haven during our Missouri allergy season with very little dust and pollen getting into the cabin. Of course, like all filters, th ... read more

The government mandates a lot of equipment on cars in Kansas City, Missouri: emission devices and control computers, safety equipment like airbags and crash worthiness requirements. All of this is great for the Kansas City motoring public, but it does add quite a bit to the price of a new vehicle.Because new vehicles are more expensive, people in the Kansas City area are driving their old vehicles longer. The average vehicle is now over nine years old. Two thirds of vehicles on the road in Missouri have more than 75,000 miles (120,000 km) on them. As cars age, their performance drops, they have difficulty idling for long periods and are more sensitive to weather extremes. Fortunately today's cars are up to the challenge – but they need a little help to keep on goin'.Give I - 70 Auto Service a call at 816-921-0505 to schedule your next maintenance.Some owner's manuals don't specify service requirements at higher mileage. That doesn't mean it doesn't ... read more

Here's an interesting statistic for our in Kansas City, Missouri, drivers: Only 30 percent of car batteries make it to 48 months. And the life expectancy varies by where you live. It ranges from 51 months in extremely cold areas to just 30 months in extremely hot climates.Why is that? It turns out that it's our modern cars with all their electric accessories that are to blame. Things like, GPS, DVDs and entertainment computers are keeping vehicle batteries from maintaining a full charge. The longer a battery goes with a low charge, the sooner it'll die.It's clear that you Kansas City drivers need to recharge your batteries. This is the job of the alternator. The problem comes when the car's demand for electricity is high and we are driving in stop and go conditions or short trips around Kansas City. The alternator just can't keep up.The result is shortened battery life. So what can we do to improve our battery's health?We need to keep the battery as close to a full ... read more

All Missouri pilots have checklists for every aspect of flying. They always use their checklists even if they only have two steps on them. They do this simply because a checklist is a great way to not forget steps. It is also how they can assure a predictable outcome. That is why Kansas City automotive service centers including I - 70 Auto Service have procedural standards for each service they perform. I - 70 Auto Service technicians are trained step by step. And they perform the procedures step by step, the same way each time. By training to procedural standards, Missouri service centers can assure a quality outcome. The job is done right every time and Kansas City customers leave happy with how their vehicle performs. Each company trains its technicians to standards. The Missouri automotive industry as a whole is very committed to standards of excellence and encourages individual Missouri service center operators to apply them to every vehicle they serv ... read more

One Kansas City automotive service issue that doesn't get much attention is driveline service. Drivelines don't get talked about very much around Kansas City, but they're very important. First let's define what the driveline is:Taking a small step back, the power plant is comprised of the engine and transmission. The driveline starts there and includes all of the components that transfer power from the transmission to the wheels.That's not really a lot of components, but they handle the full force of the engine. Without the driveline you're not moving. So Kansas City residents need to take good care of it. The driveline components differ depending on whether your vehicle has front wheel drive, rear wheel drive, all wheel drive or four wheel drive. For purposes of our discussion, we're going to have to oversimplify a bit. If you are ready to have your drive train looked at, give us a call at 816-921-0505. Let's start with front wheel drive. The point wh ... read more

When I was a kid, my dad always made sure he took the cars in for Spring and Fall checkups. I was telling a friend that it's about time to get into I - 70 Auto Service for a checkup and he said that he read on the internet that modern cars don't need seasonal service.My friend is (technically) right about some things, but from a practical standpoint, a seasonal check up still makes sense.Back when my dad was teaching me about how to take care of the family vehicle, most of them used a different weight of oil in the winter and in the summer. But most of today's modern engines run the same oil year round. High-tech engines and high-tech motor oils are better able to handle the seasonal changes.Your owner's manual or Kansas City service advisor at I - 70 Auto Service can tell you the right oil to use.Of course, you're concerned about the coolant or antifreeze. You don't want to overheat in the Missouri summer or free ... read more

People in Kansas City have been hearing a lot about higher oil change intervals these days. Maybe you're wondering: What are the key issues?Some new vehicle manufacturers are now recommending much higher oil change intervals than they have in the past. As much as 5,000 to 8,000 miles (8,000 km to 13,000 km) or more. This practice came under scrutiny when four of the largest new vehicle manufacturers announced that owners like those in Kansas City were experiencing engine damage resulting from these higher oil change intervals.The manufacturers' standard oil drain service for particular vehicles was scheduled at around 7,500 miles/12,000 km. People following these recommendations were experiencing engine damage. It turns out that oil sludge was building up. This caused small oil passages to clog and engine parts to fail.What causes oil sludge? It's a factor of time and mileage. There are hot spots in every engine that cause oil burn off that leads to slu ... read more