Colorado Springs Auto Repair

If you drive a manual transmission vehicle, you have a little extra maintenance to worry about. You want to keep your clutch system healthy. This will allow you to shift between gears smoothly while also protecting your transmission and gear box from unnecessary wear and tear.  Modern vehicles with manual transmissions will have a clutch system with four primary components: pressure plate, driven plate, cover plate (which incorporates a diaphragm spring) and release bearing. Some older vehicles may have a hydraulic clutch, which will feature a master cylinder and slave cylinder to control the system. All clutches will have the pedal that the driver uses to control the engagement and disengagement actions used during shifting. Here are a few tips that will help you keep your clutch system healthier: 1. Watch Your Driving Habits The best maintenance tip really isn't a mechanica ... read more

Ray recently moved to Colorado. He needed some automotive repair and maintenance work done, so he did his research on local auto shops. After searching online and calling around, he decided to give LightHouse Automotive a chance to earn his business. In the end, he was glad he chose our shop! "Just moved to Colorado and had to find a good mechanic," Ray says. "The LightHouse team did a thorough diagnosis and was upfront about findings and cost. The work was done professionally and all old parts saved for my review (rare but appreciated detail)." Once Ray's vehicle was in our shop, our skilled automotive technicians performed a thorough inspection. We ran diagnostic tests and inspected key parts and systems throughout the vehicle. Then, we presented him with an inspection report to l ... read more

Many vehicle owners are mentally tricked into spending more money at the gas pump. They think the “premium” fuels with higher octanes will offer better performance. The truth is, that’s not necessarily the case. Higher-octane gasoline generally won’t make your car go faster, achieve better fuel economy or run cleaner. Check the Owner's Manual The first thing you should do before taking any new car to the gas station is read the owner’s manual. Most vehicles only recommend and require the standard octane rating. Paying more money for premium fuels won’t necessarily add any benefits at all. It probably won’t hurt the vehicle. It just won’t give you a significant enough boost in performance to warrant the extra price per gallon. Engine Knocking The o ... read more

A car has hundreds of smaller parts that help drive the bigger pieces we can see at first glance. Like every machine, parts get worn out and need to be maintained to avoid problems. One such part is the power steering pump. If you've ever had a stiff steering wheel or heard funny noises when driving, your power steering pump might need a professional to investigate and fix. 5 Symptoms of a Failing Power Steering Pump 1. When a steering wheel feels stiff or is slow to respond to turns you make at low speed, that is a sign of a fluid level or quality problem in the steering wheel system. A leak that goes unchecked or liquid too thick inside the pump, can cause long-term damage to the steering wheel system. 2. A failing power steering pump can also cause whining or growling noises when turning the steering wheel. The noise which comes from inside the hood of the car can also be heard when the car is in idle mode once the ignition is turned on. This indicates a need to have the powe ... read more

If you want your vehicle to run well and last longer, you need to perform standard preventative maintenance from time to time. It doesn't matter if the car is old or new, foreign or domestic, manual or automatic. It needs to be cared for to keep it safe and performing its best for as long as you own it. Even if you plan to sell it in a couple years, it pays to take care of the vehicle in order to enhance its resale or trade-in value. The Importance of Preventative Maintenance We call it "preventative" maintenance for a reason. It is done to help prevent major problems from happening. These services should be performed proactively rather than waiting for something to go wrong. You will save a lot of money and headaches if you keep up with preventative maintenance. Some common maintenance procedures include: Oil Change— ... read more

Michael depends on his truck every day for his work, which requires him to drive all over Colorado. Unfortunately, he was having some problems with the ignition system and he only had one day off in which to get the truck repaired. This is what led him to contact LightHouse Automotive and schedule an appointment. "I had called LightHouse Automotive because the key to my truck kept getting jammed in the ignition," Michael says. "Rylan [Blair, owner] promptly ordered the part and scheduled an appointment. Even though his technician, Gary, wound up sick shortly after we made the appointment, Rylan came in himself to repair my truck." Like all businesses right now, we have to adapt. If one of our employees is feeling ill, we make sure they stay home and the rest of our team is willing and able to pick up the slack. Our customers' needs still come first and we want to ma ... read more

Have you ever considered the fact that the only parts of your car that actually touch the road are your tires? Tire care becomes much more interesting when you think about it from this perspective. Your tires affect the vehicle's handling, braking ability, safety and even the fuel economy. Plus, tires aren't cheap to replace when the treads eventually wear out. Why wouldn't you want to take care of your tires to make them perform better and last longer? Here are a few helpful automotive maintenance tips from LightHouse Automotive to extend the lifespan of your car's tires: 1. Check the Air Pressure Regularly You should try to get in the habit of checking your tires' air pressure regularly. If they are inflated too much or too little, it will cause them to wear out quicker. It can also hinder the vehicle's handling and ... read more

Whether you have a brand-new car or an old model, provided you've driven it for some time, it will need some tune-up. Once in a while, you need to take the car to a mechanic for a checkup and tune-up. The mechanic may replace filers, wires, spark plugs, and deal with any other thing that requires attention. This will ensure the vehicle continues to perform efficiently. Sometimes a tune-up may be necessary if your vehicle shows some signs that indicate the vehicle needs some tune-up. These signs include but not limited to: 1. Frequent Or Occasional Stalling If your vehicle suddenly loses power when you are driving, it may indicate that there's an issue with the spark plugs. Some vehicles stall when the AC is running or when it's too cold or too hot. Knowing when your vehicle is likely to stall will help your mechanic diagnose the problem. 2. It Gets More Difficult To Start The Car When your car is new, it will be quite easy to start it. But as time goes by and with cont ... read more

Spring is officially just around the corner. However, we all know the winter weather tends to stick around a little longer in Colorado Springs. There are still plenty of cold days ahead, which means ice, snow, rain, salt and grease on the roads that will put your vehicle's brake system to the test.  If you haven't yet had your brakes serviced this winter, now may be a good time to take care of it. At the very least, you should bring your car, truck or SUV into a local auto repair shop like LightHouse Automotive for a professional brake inspection. Our experienced technicians can look over all your brake components and make sure everything is healthy. Here are some of the things we look at during a brake inspection: Brake Pads Of course, brake pads wear out with time and use, and the winter weather usually takes its toll because of the freezing temperatur ... read more

Jasmine was in a tough situation. She was on her way to a job interview when her car broke down and she was stranded on the side of the road. Jasmine was able to get her vehicle towed to LightHouse Automotive, where the team led by owner, Rylan Blair, performed a thorough inspection and offered some specific repair recommendations. "I am so grateful for this auto repair facility," says Jasmine. "I walked into the repair shop extremely worried. Rylan was really nice and made me feel comfortable leaving my car with them (I've had bad experiences in the past with other places)." After Jasmine's vehicle was properly inspected, we let her know our findings and which repairs we would recommend. We told her which services were most urgent and which repairs may not be necessary right away (yet were still worth noting for her to make informed decisions in the near future) ... read more