AUTONET TV

Relax When the Wind Blows in Indiana : Winter Car Prep for Bloomington Drivers

When autumn comes around in Bloomington, leaves fall, nights get longer and there's a definite nip in the air. Time to unpack the boots and gloves and fold some extra blankets onto the beds. It's also time for Bloomington drivers to winterize their vehicles.

Here is some expert auto advice for Bloomington drivers on what vehicles need to keep everyone safe and rolling throughout the Indiana winter months.

1. Check your antifreeze. Top it off or change it if necessary. You don't want your radiator, engine or hoses freezing up. If your vehicle isn't generating enough heat to keep you warm, your antifreeze might be low, or you might have a thermostat problem. Either way, you should get it checked out before the full force of Indiana winter sets in. If you are due for a cooling system service at AutoChoice Service Center Inc. in Bloomington, get that done as well.

2. Check your brakes. The slushy wet conditions of winter increase stopping distances. Ice exacerbates the problem. Your first concern, of course, is to make sure you adapt your driving habits to winter weather: slow down, and give yourself plenty of room to stop. Get your brakes checked at AutoChoice Service Center Inc. and replace any worn pads or other parts. Check your brake fluid. It can accumulate moisture and decrease your stopping power.

3. Test your battery. A battery's cranking power drops in the cold, so if your battery is already weak, the onset of winter will do it in. The last thing you want is to be on a snowy Indiana road in the dark and cold with a dead battery.

4. Pack emergency supplies. Toss a blanket into the trunk. If you do find yourself stranded, your first concern will be to stay warm. If you're traveling away from Indiana population centers, then pack some emergency food and water as well. Also, it's a good idea to top off your tank in winter. That way, if you get stuck, you'll have some fuel to burn to stay warm, and it'll keep your gas lines from freezing up.

5. Check your wiper blades. They may be able to handle a light Bloomington summer rain shower, but they might not be up to the ice and snow that collect on a windshield in winter. If you experience particularly harsh winters or really wet ones, you can purchase special blades that resist freezing. And don't forget to top off your wiper fluid.

6. Check your tires. Tires lose pressure over time, but they lose pressure fast when it's cold outside in Bloomington. Tires lose about one pound of pressure every six to eight weeks; they also lose one pound of pressure for every 10°F/5.6°C drop in temperature. If the last time you checked your tires it was 80°F/26.7°C outside and it's 40°F/4.4°C now, your tires could be down five pounds in pressure — and that's serious. It's a safety issue and cuts down on your fuel economy.

7. Driving conditions in the Bloomington area may warrant special winter tires. Check with your friendly and knowledgeable AutoChoice Service Center Inc. tire professional to get the right tires for your area and for your driving habits. If you are getting winter tires, it's always best to get them for all four wheels. But if you're only going to get two, put them on the rear wheels, even if you drive a front-wheel or four-wheel drive vehicle. Traction is more important on the rear of a vehicle if you want to prevent sliding or fish-tailing on slick surfaces.

So there you have it: a quick checklist to winterize your car in Indiana . When it comes to car care, preventive maintenance is always the best practice for Bloomington drivers, especially when it comes to winter weather. None of us want to be caught out in the winter cold.

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

Keeping Your Bloomington Air Fresh When Driving With a Clean Cabin Air Filter

Pop quiz: What is a cabin air filter?

A. A filter for your Bloomington house?
B. A fresh, piney scent?
C. A filter for the passenger compartment of your car?

Clever you, it's C.

A cabin air filter cleans the outside air before it comes into the passenger compartment of your vehicle. It filters out common Indiana air particles like dust, pollen, spores, bacteria, pollutants, exhaust gas, odors and even sparrows.

These high tech filters can block particles larger than 3 microns. By contrast, a grain of sand is about 200 microns.

Not all Bloomington vehicles have cabin air filters. They are fairly new on the scene in Indiana . Last check, about 40 percent of new vehicles sold in Bloomington come with cabin air filters, but the number is growing every year.

Cabin air filters make driving a lot more pleasant for people in Bloomington. Your vehicle can be a haven during our Indiana allergy season with very little dust and pollen getting into the cabin. Of course, like all filters, the cabin air filter eventually gets clogged. When this happens, your heating and air conditioning flow can become restricted. The filter can even get kind of smelly.

Check your owner's manual for replacement guidelines. If your vehicle owner's manual doesn't mention your cabin air filter, ask your friendly and knowledgeable service advisor at AutoChoice Service Center Inc. for a recommendation. It's usually every year or 12,000 miles /19,000 kilometers. Change it sooner if you drive in dusty conditions around the Bloomington area, or if you start to notice a funky smell coming from your vents.

The team at AutoChoice Service Center Inc. urges Bloomington drivers to keep their cabin air filter cleans. It may not help with your brother-in-law in the backseat, but it will make your driving experience around Bloomington more enjoyable.

Come by and we'll take a look at your cabin air filter for you.

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

Cooling System Components

Today we want to talk about a system in our vehicles – the cooling system. It's one of those things that Bloomington auto owners don't give much thought to until it fails and then they're stranded by the side of a road in Indiana .

Cooling systems fail more often than any other mechanical system – usually because of neglect. Don't you hate it when something breaks and you could have done something to prevent it?

The good news is that if Bloomington drivers take care of their cooling systems, they can keep working for the life of their car.

Here at AutoChoice Service Center Inc. in Bloomington, we emphasize preventive maintenance services like replacing your coolant according to the factory schedule. But the various parts that make up the cooling system need attention too. The major components of the cooling system are the water pump, freeze plugs, the thermostat, radiator, cooling fans, the heater core, the pressure cap, the overflow tank and the hoses.

It sounds complicated, but we Bloomington residents don't have to be experts – we can leave that to our friendly and knowledgeable service advisor at AutoChoice Service Center Inc.. But, having an overview will help us remember how to take care of your car's cooling system.

Most Bloomington folks would be surprised to know that burning fuel in your engine produces up to 4,500 degrees F/2,500 degrees C of heat. And all that heat has to be dealt with. If the heat can't be drawn off the engine, the pistons will literally weld themselves to the inside of the cylinders – then you just have to throw the engine away and get a new one. That would cost thousands of dollars.

Now the water pump is what forces the coolant through passages in the vehicle engine to absorb heat. The pump is driven by a belt that needs replacement from time to time. And the water pump will eventually wear out and need to be replaced. Spending some cash on replacing the belts and water pump is much less than the cost of repairing the extremely massive damage that can be done when an engine seizes.

There's another little known but important part of the coolant system that protects the engine. It's called a freeze plug. If you remember from high school chemistry, water expands when it freezes. In very cold areas, the coolant can actually freeze when the vehicle is left sitting.

It is hard to believe, but the expanding frozen coolant is enough to actually crack the engine block. The freeze plugs fit into the engine block. They fit tight enough to withstand the pressure of a running engine, but can expand or pop out if the coolant freezes. These little things save a lot of engine blocks.

The team at AutoChoice Service Center Inc. can check your cooling system and make any necessary adjustments or repairs. Give us a call.

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

AutoChoice Service Center Inc. Automotive Tips: Diagnostic Service

Imagine waking up one morning with a stomach ache. You pick up the phone, call the doctor’s office and say, “I’ve got a really bad tummy ache. How much will it cost to make me feel better?” Of course you wouldn’t do that. You know that there could be a lot of reasons for your symptoms and that the doctor will have to examine you, ask some questions and probably run some tests before she can tell you what’s wrong and give you treatment options.

This same scenario plays out every day at Indiana auto repair facilities. When the cause of the concern isn’t obvious, the car will need to undergo a diagnostic examination. The typical car has about 30,000 parts, including several networked computers and miles of wiring. Finding exactly what is wrong can be very complicated and take some time. The most experienced technicians at AutoChoice Service Center Inc. in Bloomington are the ones who tackle the difficult diagnostic jobs. Once they have determined the cause of the trouble, they can work out the plan for how to fix it and tell you how much it will cost.

When you think about it this way, it makes perfect sense that, 1) the AutoChoice Service Center Inc. service advisor cannot provide an estimate before the diagnosis is done, and 2) there is a charge for auto diagnostic services in Bloomington. You expect to pay for an office visit to the doctor and for any necessary tests before you can be presented with your treatment options and costs; same goes for your vehicle.

We know it can be frustrating for Bloomington drivers when something is wrong with your car and you aren’t sure what is going to be involved in getting it fixed. We are passionate about helping you through the process, communicating with you at each step along the way. We have highly trained diagnostic technicians and technologically-advanced diagnostic equipment to uncover the cause of your trouble. We use quality replacement parts to help make sure you stay on the road after the repair is done. That’s our prescription for automotive peace of mind.

Give us a call.

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

I Can See Clearly Now: Wiper Blade Replacement in Bloomington

About 90% of our driving decisions in the Bloomington area are based solely on what we see. So having a good pair of windshield wipers is extremely important.

Most Bloomington 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 Bloomington area. 78% of drivers only change their wiper blades after the blades function so poorly that they become a safety hazard.

Bloomington 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 the storm.

Bloomington vehicle owners really ought to replace wiper blades twice a year; in the spring and the fall. If you live in the colder parts of Indiana , you may even want to get special winter blades in the fall.

Winter blades are made to resist freezing. Speaking of winter and freezing Bloomington conditions, if your vehicle has been sitting for a long time and the windshield becomes frozen, don't use your wipers to clear off snow and ice. That can shred your blades and may even damage the wiper motor.

Your wiper blades live outside in the freezing cold and blistering sun. Over time, they become hard and brittle, and then tear. They also lose their flexibility and just don't clear the vehicle windshield effectively. Worn wiper blades aren't just a safety hazard for Bloomington drivers; they can also scratch their windshield. That may require replacing the entire vehicle windshield – that's the consequence for neglecting such a small part.

AutoChoice Service Center Inc. recommends Bloomington drivers replace worn blades right away. We can provide you with a quality replacement blade. At AutoChoice Service Center Inc., they cost about the same as they would at the store – but installation is included.

Of course you also need washer fluid to help your blades do their work. Even though AutoChoice Service Center Inc. will top off the washer fluid with a full service oil change, it is a good idea to have some extra fluid at home. Take it with you if you're heading out on a road trip.

Always use windshield washer fluid. Plain water, even that fancy French bottled water, just doesn't cut it. It can freeze in the fluid reservoir or on the windshield itself, making things worse. Besides, water won't clean your windows as well.

So follow these tips to keep your windshield clear and your eyes on the road.

Find us at:

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