Rockville Auto Repair

If you're reading this article in Rockville, MD, then you probably care about your vehicle and how it runs. Even though you care, there is still that moment of dread when your professional service advisor at Auto Clinic Care tells you the manufacturer recommends some additional service. Your heart beats a little faster, your blood pressure rises. You worry about spending more money than you had planned. And you worry that if you say "no," you might be harming your vehicle or risking your family's safety. At the risk of sounding like your dad, you really should have done your homework. Service recommendations are in your owner's manual. But it is not like you want to keep your vehicle auto maintenance schedule on your nightstand for bedtime reading.Vehicles are complicated machines and it takes some effort for Rockville residents to keep them running well. That is why they have maintenance schedules that explain how to keep your vehicle performing efficiently ... read more

So you have some exciting plans for the weekend. You're going to take some of your friends out on the boat for some water skiing. Of course, you've gotten the boat all ready. And you haven't forgotten about your tow vehicle. You've gassed it up and even vacuumed it out. However, there is something even more important than the cleanliness of the interior: you want to make sure that your vehicle maintenance is up to date. Think about it – heavy traffic on the way out of Rockville. There's hilly terrain as you get to the lake. Some dirt roads – and it's going to be pretty hot in MD this weekend. And all the time you'll be towing around a lot of extra weight. That all adds up a lot of severe strain on your engine, brakes and transmission. Let's just consider the transmission. It's going to be working overtime, spending more time in lower gears. The internal transmission temperature is going to be much higher than normal. A fun little blast to the local MD ... read more

No one in Rockville, MD, likes to spend a chunk of change at the gas pump. Rising MD fuel prices, however, have spurred Rockville drivers to focus on how to improve their fuel economy. North Americans literally drive billions of miles/kilometers less each month during times of high fuel prices. But we still need to drive (we love our vehicles, after all!), so it makes sense to try and increase our fuel economy however we can.Let's look at a real life example. This man has one of those really big SUVs. Lots of kids and horses to haul around, you know. His family was planning a four day camping trip. Here's what he did to cut his fuel costs:First, he installed a new, high flow engine air filter. Then he had his service center change his oil, flush his cooling system and service his front and rear differentials along with the transfer case. He also had a fuel system cleaning, replaced his PCV valve and breather element. He also made sure his tires were up ... read more

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 Rockville use fuel filters. For more information about your fuel filter, visit Auto Clinic Care at 5531 Nicholson Lane in Rockville, MD 20852.Please call 301.881.7891 to make an appointment. Generally speaking there's not a lot of dirt in our Rockville area auto 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 o ... read more

  How do Rockville drivers know if an odometer is telling the truth?Well, back in '86, Congress passed the Truth-in-Mileage Act to protect MD consumers against mileage fraud. It says a MD seller must certify the mileage reported is the actual mileage.To have your odometer checked in Rockville, MD, stop by Auto Clinic Care: Auto Clinic Care5531 Nicholson LaneRockville, MD 20852   If it isn't, the seller must say why; for example, maybe the odometer is past its mechanical limits. Some older odometers only go to 99,999 and then start over at 0. Or, the odometer has been tampered with, broken or replaced.If the seller tells you the mileage isn't accurate, there's not much chance of putting a good number to it. And there's the unscrupulous seller who claims the reading is true, but it isn't. What can Rockville vehicle owners do?You can go to www.CarFax.com, where, for a small fee, they'll give you a comprehensi ... read more

People near Rockville, MD, often ask Auto Clinic Care how often they should have a particular service done. It's a great thing to ask. You can look at your owner's manual or have your Rockville, MD, service advisor at Auto Clinic Care look up your vehicle in a service database. What you find is often a surprise to people – there are actually two service schedules.One is the regular schedule and the other is the severe service schedule. Service intervals are shorter on the severe service schedule. When asked, most folks in Rockville will say that their driving is normal and that the 'regular' schedule probably applies to them. 'Severe service' sounds pretty extreme – 'I don't drive like that.'Well, here is what the manufacturers say constitutes severe driving conditions; you can draw your own conclusions. Most of your trips are less than four miles (six and a half kilometers). Most of your trips are less than ten miles (16 km) and outside temperatures are b ... read more

We find that a lot of Rockville drivers are a little tentative when they talk with their automotive advisors. They want to ask questions but don't want to be embarrassed or seem pushy. Vehicles are very complicated and there's more to know about them than most of us have the time to learn. Maybe it's because vehicles have become so much more reliable that the average person just doesn't need to know as much to keep their vehicle on the road.You know, your local hospital has a Patient's Bill of Rights that they post throughout the hospital. We think our Rockville automotive service customers also have a right to ask any question they need to understand what is wrong with their car and what it will take to fix it. They need to feel free to ask the cost and benefits of recommended services. And they certainly have a right to understand the financial end of the transaction.It's all about the communication. It's a little harder when you're trying to find the right ... read more

Getting adequate fuel to your engine is very important for performance, fuel economy and safety. In order to accomplish this, your fuel system needs to be clean.Today's production cars have fuel injectors, rather than a carburetor. The injectors need to be cleaned from time to time in order to deliver the fuel with the correct pressure, spray pattern and volume.Rockville drivers can buy fuel system cleaners that you pour into your gas tank to help maintain an already clean fuel system; however, they can't do a major cleaning. For that, you need to see Auto Clinic Care in Rockville. We have the tools and chemicals to do the job right. Our friendly and knowledgeable team at Auto Clinic Care can remove particles, gum and varnish from your fuel system and get those injectors running cleanly and efficiently. You'll find Auto Clinic Care at 5531 Nicholson Lane in Rockville, MD 20852. Or just give us a call at 301.881.7891 to schedule an appointment. You'll enjoy more power, better fuel econo ... read more

Don't you hate it when you hear that squeal from under the hood when you're zipping down a busy Rockville road? It usually means there is a problem with the serpentine belt. The serpentine belt powers a lot of engine accessories. It runs the alternator - which charges the battery; the water pump - which cools the engine; the air conditioning and the power steering pump. All are pretty important parts. It is called a serpentine belt because it snakes around a bunch of engine components. Serpentine belts are amazingly tough. They can last for years and go long distances. Like all moving parts, however, they eventually wear out. If your belt breaks while you are driving around Rockville, everything will come to a halt within minutes. You need to stop the vehicle immediately or it will overheat, potentially causing engine damage. You can be sure that it won't happen at a convenient time or place. (As if there was a convenient time or place!) You might even need to get your ... read more

All modern Rockville vehicles come with fuel injection systems, so it's a topic Rockville drivers need to know something about. The mighty fuel injector is a valve that delivers the gas or diesel fuel to the right place, in the right amount at the right time—to be mixed with air and burned in the engine.So how many fuel injectors does your vehicle have? There's one for each cylinder. So four, six or eight for most folks in Rockville, MD. Some vehicles have 10 or 12 cylinders. The engine control computer makes adjustments to the fuel injector as it monitors the engine and other sensors. Fuel injectors are a pretty high-tech.Auto Clinic Care can help Rockville drivers with a fuel injector cleaning service. What's the benefit? In order to work right, the fuel injectors have to deliver the fuel at a precise pressure at a very precise time. It's important that the fuel is sprayed in a particular pattern as determined by the engine design.Over time, varnish can st ... read more