AUTONET TV

Can Your Car Last Another Year?

Have you checked out the price of new vehicles at Bloomington car dealers? Ouch! Add financing and insurance and a new ride may not seem so attractive. A lot of Bloomington, Indiana , folks are hoping to make their cars last a lot longer.

Fortunately, with the current state of automotive engineering and manufacturing, there's no reason a modern vehicle can't be made to last for a 150,000 miles (250,000 kilometers) or more for smart Bloomington drivers.

The old adage: 'a stitch in time saves nine' is really true for Bloomington residents when it comes to car maintenance. A great example is coolant service.

Over time, coolant becomes corrosive and actually starts to damage your radiator and other parts. Smart Bloomington drivers have their cooling system service taken care of right on schedule at AutoChoice Service Center Inc..

Ditto for your power steering system, brake fluid, air conditioning system, differential and transmission. Of course, oil changes should be done right on schedule to avoid the build-up of harmful oil sludge.

Don't let your brake pads go too long before they are worn to the point that your rotors are at risk. Preventative auto maintenance at AutoChoice Service Center Inc. is a great way to keep your operating costs down.

Replacing belts and hoses is much cheaper than repairing the damage that can be caused by failure.

We know that this is a lot for busy Bloomington area drivers to remember. Let the team of automotive professionals at AutoChoice Service Center Inc. keep on top of this stuff for you. We can tell you what your vehicle manufacturer recommends and help you develop an affordable plan to take care of it.

Bottom line – do routine maintenance on schedule and you will reduce operating costs, prevent repairs and maintain your warranty coverage.

Let us take good care of your car at AutoChoice Service Center Inc. in Bloomington, and it'll take good care of you.

AutoChoice Service Center Inc.
2009 S. Yost Ave.
Bloomington, Indiana 47403
812-339-9898

Automotive Tips from AutoChoice Service Center Inc.: Timing Belt Overview

In your engine, valves over each combustion chamber open to allow fresh air in, close during the combustion event, and then other valves open to let out the exhaust. All of this happens over and over thousands of times a minute when you are driving around Bloomington. The timing belt’s important job is to make sure that all of this happens as it should – at precisely the right time. If the timing is off, your engine won’t run efficiently or maybe not at all – so a good timing belt is important. If it should break, you could end up at AutoChoice Service Center Inc. with expensive engine damage.

Ask your friendly and professional AutoChoice Service Center Inc. service advisor when your timing belt is scheduled for replacement.

Give us a call.

AutoChoice Service Center Inc.
2009 S. Yost Ave.
Bloomington, Indiana 47403
812-339-9898

Differential Service at AutoChoice Service Center Inc.

Here at AutoNetTV, we have national viewers, like your neighbors in Bloomington, who write to us with questions or feedback. One common question we're asked is: "What is a differential and what does it do?" You may have been told by your AutoChoice Service Center Inc. service advisor that your differential needs serviced, or it's seen it as an option up on the service menu. Differential service at AutoChoice Service Center Inc. covers a lot of things, so let's first talk about what a differential does.

As you drive through a turn, your outside wheels and inside wheels turn at different speeds. Kind of like the cars going around a race track - the ones driving in the outside lanes have a greater distance to travel than the cars in the inside lanes. The differential is what allows the outside and inside drive wheels to rotate at slightly different speeds so that the tires don't hop or skip while taking corners, or lose traction in dirt or snow on Bloomington area roads. Differentials have gears in them that transfer the power from the drive train to your wheels - which is why they're often referred to as gear boxes. The gears need to be very strong to do this work, and they need to be properly protected so that they'll last.

All vehicles in Bloomington have some form of differential. If you have a front-wheel drive car, your differential is sometimes called a transaxle and is located in the front. If you have rear-wheel drive, the differential is in the back of the car. Bloomington auto owners with a four-wheel drive vehicle have a differential in the front and the back - and in the middle as well. The center differential adjusts for differences in speed between the front and rear wheels.

Differential fluid lubricates and cools the gears. Over time, the fluid can get dirty from bits of the gears grinding off. The additives that keep the fluid clean and protect the differential break down over time. So your vehicle manufacturer has scheduled intervals for you to have your differential fluid changed. Talk to your friendly and knowledgeable AutoChoice Service Center Inc. service advisor if you are not sure about your recommended schedule.

AutoChoice Service Center Inc.
2009 S. Yost Ave.
Bloomington, Indiana 47403
812-339-9898