Kansas City Auto Repair

Today we want to talk to Kansas City drivers about timing belts. They're something that many drivers don't know much about and yet your vehicle won't run if it's broken – and it could cause many thousands of dollars damage if it does break. A broken timing belt is usually a tale of woe. Even though timing belt replacement is scheduled in the owner's manual, it's not the kind of thing that most Kansas City area auto owners remember because it's not well understood.Let's review what a timing belt does. As most know, the engine's power is generated in the cylinders. A piston rides up and down in the cylinder. During the first down stroke, an intake valve at the top of the cylinder opens and air and fuel is drawn into the cylinder. Then the piston returns to the top, compressing the fuel and air mix. At the top, the spark plug fires, igniting the fuel, pushing the piston down in the power stroke. As the piston once again returns up in the final stroke of the cycle, an exhaust valve ... read more

About 90% of our driving decisions in the Kansas City area are based solely on what we see. So having a good pair of windshield wipers is extremely important.Most Kansas City drivers have experienced the frustration and fear of not being able to see clearly during a storm, or when our vehicle windshield is just dirty. In fact, it's estimated that 46,000,000 drivers across the nation are driving with wipers that can't adequately clear their windshield in a storm.It seems like our wiper blades are always at their worst when we need them the most. If that sounds like you, you've got plenty of company in the Kansas City area. 78% of drivers only change their wiper blades after the blades function so poorly that they become a safety hazard.Kansas City drivers need to change their thinking. Instead of blades being something to replace when they fail, we need to consider wiper blades as vehicle safety component. Then we'll stay ahead of ... read more

When your Check Engine light comes on, you may be torn between utter panic and just wanting to ignore it and hope it goes away. That's perfectly understandable. That same Check Engine light could come on for anything from a serious engine or transmission problem all the way down to a loose gas cap.There's a very common misconception that the trouble codes stored in your engine computer when your check engine light comes on will specifically identify a problem. It's really more like pointing to the symptoms of a problem. Call I - 70 Auto Service at 816-921-0505 for help with your Check Engine light. Think of taking your temperature. Say it's 101°. Your heat sensor – the thermometer – tells you that your temperature is out of the normal range. But it doesn't tell you why you have a fever. Is it the flu or a sinus infection? You need more information, more tests.For any given trouble code, there could be a number of causes. So your trained technician&nb ... read more

Lease? Or buy? It's always a tough question for residents in the Independence area. But here are a few ideas that'll make the choice more clear. Either option gives you a choice of how you might finance your car. If you buy, you'll pay the full cost of the car, with maybe an initial down payment, then monthly payments on the balance that pays down the loan principal, and the finance charge. If you lease, you're financing the portion of the cost of the car that's used up during the term of the lease. When the lease is up, you return the car to your local Independence area dealership. You'll pay some money upfront; fees, security deposit, first month's payment and maybe a capital reduction. The month payments include a depreciation cost and a finance charge. So how do you decide? First, how big a down payment can you make? A lease would require a smaller down. How much monthly payment can you afford? Again, lease payments will be m ... read more

The median age for cars in the Kansas City, Missouri area was over nine years. And two-thirds had over 75,000 miles. At I - 70 Auto Service we hear reports that those numbers continue to rise. If you have a high-mileage vehicle in the Kansas City area, bring it into I - 70 Auto Service for high-mileage maintenance.3111 Stadium Dr.Kansas City, Missouri 64128816-921-0505 Many people in Missouri are keeping their vehicles longer. The economy has influenced that, but the fact that modern vehicles are more durable and reliable means that owning a high mileage vehicle doesn't have to be a painful experience.Local car owners in Kansas City with over 100,000 miles on their vehicles often ask which service intervals they should follow. Let's start with the special needs of the older vehicle...The reality is that time and mileage will take its toll. The engine and transmission will have more sludge. The fuel, steering and brake systems will have gum and varnish ... read more

Kansas City drivers may know that all 2008 model year and newer cars, mini-vans and light trucks in Missouri come with a tire pressure monitoring system. Many slightly older vehicles around the Kansas City area have these systems as well. A tire pressure monitoring system – called TPMS – consists of sensors on each wheel that measure tire pressure.If tire pressure drops 25 percent below the vehicle manufacture’s recommended pressure, the sensor sends a signal to a monitoring unit that causes a warning to light up on the dashboard. When drivers see the warning light, they know it's time to put some air in the tires.There are many benefits to people in Kansas City who drive with properly inflated tires. First is cost savings. Running at the correct air pressure improves fuel economy. Driving on underinflated tires is like driving through sand – it drags down your fuel economy. Drivers in Kansas City will also see longer, more even tread ... read more

Let's talk about alternative fuel vehicles. In their quest to reduce the use of fossil fuels and harmful exhaust emissions in our Missouri environment, automakers will have a number of alternatives for Kansas City drivers very soon.For instance, Flex Fuel vehicles are already available in the Kansas City area. Flex Fuel vehicles can run on gasoline or on E85 fuel. E85 is a mixture of 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline. The ethanol is made from corn. The benefits to Kansas City drivers are in using less petroleum and reduced pollution. The drawbacks are that E85 gets lower gas mileage and when gas prices are low, E85 can be more than straight gasoline.Kansas City drivers should only use E85 if they have a Flex Fuel compatible engine. Flex Fuel vehicles have special seals and gaskets that can stand up to the high alcohol content of E85. Using E85 in a regular engine can lead to gas leaks and fires.Diesel engines have been aro ... read more

New car dealership closings are all over the news. Nearly 800 Chrysler dealerships canceled. About 1,100 GM dealers’ contracts will not be renewed after October 2010. And record numbers are just shutting down because they aren’t selling enough cars and trucks to stay in business. It’s estimated that some 40,000 dealership service bays could be taken out of service in the next year or so. Of course, this is a tragedy for those who work at our local Kansas City dealerships and the owners that risk losing much of their life’s work. Our Kansas City communities will lose some of our best corporate citizens. Think of all the youth sports team, service clubs and Kansas City community events that have been sponsored by our local new car dealers. One question we hear a lot at AutoNetTV is, 'Who will service my car?' Kansas City folks are concerned that they will not get the care and attention they need. They're wonder ... read more

You know, at I-70 Auto Service we get a lot of people asking about how to prepare their car for a trip. That’s a big deal. You could be driving through mountains and deserts in some pretty lonely areas outside of Kansas City so you may be anxious to know that the car is up to the task and won’t leave you stranded. You really do need to plan ahead for a major road trip – there are a lot of things to get ready. Where should you start? You could start with the tires. Look them over for tread wear and check to see that they are properly inflated. Take a quick test drive around Kansas City to see if you can feel any vibrations: are the wheels are in balance? Is the car tracking straight? Is the alignment ok? The next thing is a full service oil change to make sure all of your fluids are topped off and you have fresh oil for the trip. And if your car has over ... read more

You can make your vehicle tires last longer with regular tire rotation and wheel balancing.Let's start with tire rotation. In normal driving around Kansas City Missouri, your front tires wear more on the shoulders because they handle much of the cornering forces in turns. Front-wheel drive vehicles have even more force on the front tires.We rotate the tires so that all of the tires do some duty on the front end as well as getting a little break on the back end. That way, all four tires wear more evenly over their life and last longer.For most vehicles in Kansas City Missouri, tires are rotated front to back. Some manufacturers recommend a cross rotational pattern that includes the spare tire, and some high-performance vehicles have different size tires on the front and rear and may even have uni-directional tires that can only be on the left or the right side of the vehicle. Your Kansas City Missouri s ... read more