Rockville Auto Repair

Every Rockville 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 vehicle owner's manual will have a recommendation of when the filter should be replaced. Now, most air filters purchased in Rockville don't cost a lot to replace. It's just that MD people hate getting caught with an unexpected expense. On the plus side, though, changing a dirty air filter at Auto Clinic Care can often save enough on gas to pay for itself before your next oil change in Rockville. Think about a dirty furnace filter in your Rockville home. When it's all clogged up, enough clean air can't get through. In your vehicle, 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 gas to move your vehicle around Rockville roads. Your vehicle actually needs about 12,000 times mo ... read more

The hottest MD news story may be different every day, but there's one topic that seems to come up over and over again – the price of gas in Rockville. If you feel like most of your paycheck goes into your gas tank, this post is for you. Here are several basic things people in Rockville can do to greatly reduce their gas consumption, save money, and help the environment. You can really improve your fuel economy by how you drive – but first, here's a review of things you can do for your vehicle that'll save gas no matter how you drive.The first one for Rockville drivers is keeping tires properly inflated. That can save 2 miles per gallon/.85 km per liter. Driving on low tires is like driving through sand – your car just has to work harder. Most Rockville service centers will fill up your tires for free, so just ask Auto Clinic Care. Also, make a habit of checking your tire pressure whenever you fill up. Many Rockville gas stations have an air hose y ... read more

Since driving requirements and lifestyles differ among Rockville drivers, your vehicle manufacturer publishes two auto maintenance schedules: the regular schedule and the severe service schedule. Which schedule should Rockville drivers follow? Here are some questions to ask yourself:Are most of your trips less than four miles/six kilometers around Rockville?Are most of your trips less than 10 miles/16 kilometers in below-zero MD temps?Are most of your trips off-highway in MD?Do you drive often in dusty Rockville areas?Do you regularly tow a trailer or carry heavy loads around Rockville?Do you drive in very hot or very cold MD weather?Think about your typical week. Do you live by your nearest Rockville on-ramp and enjoy a non-stop commute? Or, do you drive the neighborhood car pool in stop-and-go traffic on Rockville surface streets? Let's suppose your owner's manual says the severe service oil change recommendation is 3,000 miles/5,000 kilometers and the stan ... read more

We live such busy lives nowadays: work, social events, running the kids all over Rockville. Some days it's all we can do to keep track of everywhere we need to be. That's why you've gotta be organized. Smartphones, calendar apps - we have to keep track of it all.So let's talk about schedules. Specifically, automotive service schedules. And particularly, the scheduled services that are sometimes forgotten.Here is a list of 10 service items that are often overlooked by Rockville residents. They're all very important and need appropriate attention. So here we go, in no particular order.1. Power Steering ServiceBe honest; have you ever thought of this on your own? Your power steering fluid gets dirty and builds-up moisture over time. Cleaning out your power steering system means that dirt and gum are removed and your power steering parts are protected from corrosion. Next time you're in for an oil change, ask your Auto Clinic Care service advisor if it's time fo ... read more

If you are a driver in Rockville and you aren't currently using synthetic motor oil in your vehicle, maybe now's the time to consider it. Need more information? Well, synthetic motor oil is a substitute for petroleum based oil. Synthetic oil doesn't gel or gum-up like petroleum based oil and it doesn't vaporize as easily. It protects better in severe driving conditions like stop and go driving around Rockville, as well as in very hot or very cold conditions. More and more new vehicles are being delivered with full synthetic motor oil, with the recommendation to use synthetic for the life of the vehicle. Why is this? Synthetic motor oil maximizes engine power and fuel economy. To see why, we'd need a microscope, so we'll have to settle for using our imaginations. The molecules of conventional motor oil are long hydrocarbon chains. Synthetic motor oil, on the other hand, has uniform, round molecules. Which is more slippery, a pile of pencils ... read more

The median age for cars in the Rockville, MD area was over nine years. And two-thirds had over 75,000 miles. At Auto Clinic Care we hear reports that those numbers continue to rise. If you have a high-mileage vehicle in the Rockville area, bring it into Auto Clinic Care for high-mileage maintenance.5531 Nicholson LaneRockville, MD 20852301.881.7891 Many people in MD 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 Rockville 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 built up. There'll be more di ... read more

High gas prices in Rockville increase the cost of living for MD drivers. You've probably budgeted a certain amount for vehicle related expenses. Increased fuel costs now consume a larger portion of our incomes, causing some Rockville vehicle owners to skimp in other areas – like scheduled maintenance.According to MD news reports and automotive industry studies, this is becoming increasingly more common. In fact, nine out of ten personal vehicles on the road have at least one maintenance or repair item that hasn't been done. Some of these items pose serious safety risks. Others are just more likely to make it more expensive to drive. In this area, we can take a lesson from professional Rockville vehicle owners. I'm talking about fleet owners and operators. You know, Rockville folks like the trucking companies and delivery services. Because their livelihood depends on it, they have gotten sch ... read more

We live in such a disposable society. It's amazing all the stuff we throw away. New stuff comes out so fast, we just toss the old and move on. In the old days, MD folks were real sticklers about taking care of their things. If something got lost or ruined by neglect, tough - they had to do without. Most Rockville drivers couldn't afford new vehicles very often, so they had to make them last as long as they could.It's a good thing that vehicles are more reliable these days. They just don't break down as often. And the good news for us MD penny pinchers is that a modern vehicle can easily go 200,000 miles/320,000 km with proper care. The engineering and the manufacturing quality is tremendous. The missing ingredient is us Rockville vehicle owners making sure we follow the vehicle manufacturer's recommended maintenance schedules.Every time you go a little farther between recommended oil changes, you have created an opportunity for sludge to be formed and for clogg ... read more

  Which item is most often stolen from vehicles in Rockville?Is it: Stereo Wheels Air Bag DVD System Well, if you said stereo – you used to be right. But airbags have now surpassed stereos as the biggest target for theft in MD – approximately 50,000 a year are stolen across the country. New airbags cost about $1,000, but go for $50 to $200 on the black market in MD.Stolen airbags are making their way back into cars that have been in an accident. Of course, the danger to the consumer of having a stolen airbag installed is that you can never be sure what may have previously affected them and if they will work right when you need them. Contact us at Auto Clinic Care for more information about where to get your airbags checked or replaced.Find us at 5531 Nicholson Lane, Rockville, MD 20852You can reach us by phone at: 301.881.7891 There are reports that 1 in 25 airbag replacements are stolen ... read more

In our auto video today we'll be talking with Alan Peterson about myths surrounding automotive maintenance. You can lump these myths into the statement that "modern vehicles are so reliable, they are virtually maintenance free."Any good myth has some elements of truth. No offense to Rockville Bigfoot fans, but this maintenance-free myth has more evidence than most. If we look at some isolated areas of auto maintenance, we could conclude that maintenance isn't so important. But other areas would just as easily lead you to believe that maintenance is more important than ever.Here are some examples for our friends in Rockville. Some vehicles in Rockville no longer require chassis lubrication. They're made with self-lubricating materials and have sealed joints. There's literally no way to grease those joints. -Chalk one up for the myth.On the other side, some vehicles come with sophisticated variable valve timing. A lot of complicated parts are up in ... read more