Florissant auto repair

At garysautorepair we hear from a lot of people who are excited about the new diesel engines that will soon be available in passenger cars and SUV's. But our Missouri friends are often curious about the preventive maintenance requirements. People may not know that diesel engines have long been used extensively in Europe and Asia. In fact, in some markets, there're nearly as many diesel powered passenger cars as there are gasoline.Here's who's announced or is expected to announce new diesels for North America: BMW, Mercedes, Audi, Volkswagen, Nissan, Honda, Toyota, Hyundai and Subaru. Of course, the US auto makers will be expanding their diesel offerings as well. Diesels will become a very big deal here in Missouri.You may ask, why has it taken so long getting to Missouri and North America? There are a bunch of reasons like fuel tax policies and such, but the biggest hurtle was that Missouri diesel fuel had a high sulfur content – too high for the latest generation of highly refin ... read more

Nowadays, Florissant drivers are paying more at Missouri gas pumps. For some families it adds up to several hundred dollars every month. That's got to come out of the budget somewhere. This is one of the reasons many Missouri drivers are putting off buying a new car. They plan on keeping their old vehicle for a year or two longer than before.Even now, 2/3 of the personal vehicles on our local Florissant, Missouri, roads have over 75,000 miles (120,000 kilometers) on them. The average age of vehicles is over nine years. And most people in the Florissant area can't afford to be stranded or inconvenienced by a breakdown. So following a regular maintenance schedule, like personal diet and exercise plans, is actually critical to preserving your investment.Determining what to do for a higher-mileage vehicle can be challenging because many owner's manuals don't publish service intervals after 60,000 miles (100,000 kilometers). Thus, Florissant drivers need to be better at keeping records ... read more

When your vehicle has a problem or just needs some routine service, you might get a little nervous. Your vehicle's so important to your life in Florissant, you need to get back on the road as soon as possible – with the problem fixed right the first time.If you've ever checked into some of the technician training garysautorepair professionals receive, you may be surprised at how much specialized knowledge and skill goes into diagnosing and repairing a modern car. For example: Today there are four cylinder engines that generate more power than the 1980s-era V-8's. I mean a new V-6 Toyota Camry could beat Sonny Crocket's Ferrari in a race to 60 mph/100 kph. Our engines are more and more powerful and at the same time their fuel economy keeps inching up – even with steep Florissant gas prices. They are also amazingly reliable: Kudos to the automotive engineers. But the advances come at the price of simplicity. The modern veh ... read more

At garysautorepair we've had a lot of Florissant customers asking how they can make their vehicles last longer. These questions are actually a reflection of a trend that's been building for several years in Missouri. The median age of personal vehicles is now over nine years. And 33 percent of all vehicles on the road have over 75,000 miles (120,000 km) on them. It looks like it's going to keep heading in that direction for a while. With high fuel prices, a lot of Missouri folks are putting off buying a new car. So let's say you're one of the average in the Florissant area; you've got a nine-year-old car with 80,000 miles (130,000 km) on the odometer. What can you do to make it last another year or two?Let's start with the premise that there's no reason that a modern car can't run for 200,000 miles (320,000 km) with proper care in Florissant. The engineering and manufacturing quality is there.Of course, some parts will wear out along the way, but there's no r ... read more

A recent report stated that over 80 percent of the vehicles on our Florissant, Missouri, roads have one or more service or repair that's needed but hasn't been taken care of. Now that's a lot of undone service. That translates into something over 160 million vehicles in North America alone. Some of the neglected items are minor. Others are serious safety concerns.There are several reasons we hesitate to take care of recommended services, especially services that our Florissant automotive advisor recommends when we're in for something else, like an oil change.The first issue boils down to comfort with car care. We don't always feel we know enough to make good decisions. Some of that can be attributed to the fact that vehicles are so reliable these days. They almost become an appliance. Of course you love your vehicle, but if you don't have to worry about it breaking down all the time, you're not forced to think as much about preventive main ... read more

Why are wheel bearings for Florissant vehicles important? It's simple: your wheel bearings keep the wheels on your vehicle. In today's garysautorepair post, we'll discuss more about wheel bearings and how you can make sure they can do their very job while you drive around Florissant, Missouri. Wheel bearings are pretty simple parts. They're made of high quality steel and are engineered to last 100,000 miles (160,000)  or more if properly cared for. The bearings do two jobs: First, they allow the wheel to freely rotate with as little friction as possible. Second, they support the weight of the vehicle. For example, if your car weighs 3,600 pounds (1600 kilogram), each wheel has to support approximately 900 pounds (400 kilograms). That's a lot of heavy lifting over those long distances.Even though wheel bearings are pretty straightforward, they need to be in near perfect condition to do their job for Florissant vehicles. The bearings are packed with heavy grease to ... read more

  One topic that hits the news in Missouri on a regular basis is the price of gas. The answer for some Missouri drivers is to buy a vehicle that gets better fuel economy. For those of us in Florissant who don't want to add a car payment to our monthly expenses, we need to improve our fuel economy any way we can.Following recommended service intervals by coming into garysautorepair is one of the best ways people in Florissant can keep their vehicle running efficiently. That means better fuel economy. When you give it some thought, it only makes sense. Dirty oil or transmission fluid can't lubricate or clean. That means more drag which reduces fuel economy.Keeping up with scheduled oil changes and transmission services will save gas for Missouri drivers.Dirty engine air filters are another efficiency pirate. They rob your engine of enough air to effectively burn the fuel, so you need more gas to get the job done. Replacing a dirty air filter can pay for itself in fuel savings before ... read more

The hottest Missouri 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 Florissant. 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 Florissant 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 Florissant 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 Florissant service centers will fill up your tires for free, so just ask garysautorepair. Also, make a habit of checking your tire pressure whenever you fill up. Many Florissant gas stations have an a ... read more

In very simple terms, a fuel injector is a valve that squirts fuel into your vehicle engine. Your engine control computer tells the fuel injector how much fuel to deliver as well as the precise time it should be delivered. Of course this happens thousands of times a minute in every single fuel-injected vehicle driving down Florissant roads.Most fuel injectors for gas engines are known in the Florissant automotive community as port fuel injectors because they deliver the fuel to a port just outside the cylinder. The fuel pump provides pressure needed to squirt the right amount of fuel into the engine. A few have recently introduced gas direct injection systems on some engines. They are now available at some Missouri dealerships. These systems inject the gas directly into the cylinders under very high pressure – many times the pressure of port injection systems. Although more complicated, di ... read more

Myths passed around our Florissant, Missouri community start with a grain of evidence and are then built up with a lot of imagination and very elastic logic. And the internet is a breeding ground for automotive myths. Some bloggers recall the vehicles of yesteryear and declare their modern decedents to be virtually maintenance free and that anyone who says otherwise is out to rip you off. To get the truth about auto myths you hear around the Florissant area, come over to garysautorepair. Let's examine a couple of the more popular rants and look at the truth behind them.The first one is that the chassis no longer needs lubrication for suspension, steering and the driveline. They declare that anyone who has charged you for lubrication is a charlatan.The truth on which this myth is based is that many new vehicles come from the factory with sealed joints and cannot be greased. However, there are still some grease points ... read more