Colorado Springs Auto Repair

The hottest Colorado 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 Colorado Springs. 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 Colorado Springs 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 Colorado Springs 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 Colorado Springs service centers will fill up your tires for free, so just ask Lighthouse Automotive. Also, make a habit of checking your tire pressure whenever you fill up. Many Co ... read more

If you're a quart low in your vehicle, there isn't enough motor oil to lubricate your engine properly. The extra friction causes drag that reduces fuel economy while you're driving around the Colorado Springs area.The same goes for dirty oil; it doesn't reduce friction properly. The result is you get to watch those numbers at your local Colorado Springs gas pump rolling higher and higher.The transmission also needs the proper amount of clean fluid to do its work. When it's in need of service, the transmission drags your fuel economy down.So keep it clean at Lighthouse Automotive  and give yourself a fighting chance. Lighthouse Automotive 2499 East Platte Ave Colorado Springs, Colorado 80909 719

When your vehicle breaks down in the Colorado Springs, Colorado, area, or just needs some routine service, it can make you a little nervous. Because your vehicle's so important to your life, you need to be back on the road as soon as possible — with the problem fixed right the first time.We've been checking into some of the training our Colorado Springs, Colorado, technicians receive, and we're very impressed. It's amazing how much knowledge and skill goes into diagnosing and repairing a modern vehicle. So it's not like when your uncle worked on his hot rod over the weekend.Today there are four-cylinder engines around Colorado Springs that make more power than the V-8's in luxury cars did 20 years ago. A new V-6 Toyota Camry could beat Sonny Crocket's Ferrari in a race to 60 mph/97 kph.Our engines are more and more powerful. And they're so reliable. This is all due to engineering. But the benefits come to Colorado Springs drivers at the price of simplicity. M ... read more

Power steering is standard on nearly every vehicle in Colorado Springs, Colorado, these days. Now there are some exotic, new types of power steering systems, but for the most part, the general setup is a pump that's driven by a belt powered by the engine. Contact the automotive professionals at Lighthouse Automotive in Colorado Springs for questions about your power steering. The pump generates power that assists drivers as they steer their vehicle around Colorado Springs, Colorado. Power steering systems use hoses to move pressurized fluid back and forth. These hoses can develop leaks so it's a good idea to have Lighthouse Automotive inspect them at every oil change. A check of the power steering fluid level is on the list for every full service oil change at Lighthouse Automotive because low fluid can damage the power steering pump. And the fluid needs to be compatible with the hoses and seals, so it's important to use the correct ty ... read more

Colorado Springs drivers know that underinflated tires wear out more quickly. Underinflation is also a major cause of tire failure for Colorado auto owners. More flats, blow outs, skids and longer stopping distances are all results of underinflated tires.It's hard for many Colorado Springs drivers to tell when a radial tire is underinflated. If your owner’s manual recommends 35 pounds of pressure, your tire is considered significantly under-inflated at 26 pounds. The tire may not look low until it gets below 20 pounds.Uncle Sam to the rescue! A recent U.S. federal law required vehicle manufacturer’s to include a Tire Pressure Monitoring System - or TPMS system - in all vehicles. Many Canadian vehicles have them as well.  The system is a dashboard mounted warning light that goes off if one or more of the tires falls 25% below its pressure recommendations.Obviously, all of this doesn't come free for Colorado ... read more

Driving on bald tires is like playing roulette. Though you may be fine today, eventually your luck is going to run out.The Feds don't have any laws for tread depth, but 42 of the states, and all of Canada, do have regulations. They consider 2/32 of an inch to be the minimum legal tread depth. Two other states, including California, consider 1/32 to be the minimum and six states have no standards at all. Call us at Lighthouse Automotive; (just call 719.634.0005) to find out what your requirements are in the Colorado Springs, Colorado, area.Since 1968, U.S. law has required that a raised bar be molded across all tires. When tires are worn enough that this bar becomes visible, there's just 2/32 inch/1.6 mm of tread left. But does that older standard give Colorado Springs vehicles enough safety?Consider this: Consumer Reports recommends tire replacement when tread reaches 4/32 inch/3.2 mm. And the recommendation is backed by some very compelling studies. Now before w ... read more

Have you ever had an experience like this in Colorado Springs, Colorado? You drive through the one of those automatic car washes. When you get to the end, where the dryer is blowing, your Check Engine light starts flashing!You fear the worst, but within a block or two, the light stops flashing, but stays on. By the next day, the light is off.You wonder; "What was going on?" Well, it's actually a good lesson in how the Check Engine light works.Your air intake system has a sensor that measures how much air is coming through it. When you went under the high-speed dryer, all that air was blasting past the sensor. Your engine computer was saying, there shouldn't be that much air when the engine is just idling. Something's wrong. Whatever's wrong could cause some serious engine damage.Warning, warning! It flashes the Check Engine light to alert you to take immediate action.It stopped flashing because once you were out from under the dryer, the airflow returned to normal ... read more

  Hey Colorado Springs area drivers, are your tires worn out? What is the standard for our Colorado streets? How can you tell on your vehicle?While there may be legal requirements for the Colorado Springs area, there are safety concerns that go beyond meeting minimum replacement mandates.Two-thirty-seconds of an inch is the depth of the tire tread wear indicator bars that US law has required to be molded across all tires since August 1, 1968. When tires are worn so that this bar is visible, there's just 2/32 of an inch – 1.6 millimeters – of tread left. It's that level of wear that's been called into question recently.We're referring to the tread depth on a tire, it can't move surface water out of the way and you start to hydroplane.In a safety study, a section of a test track was flooded with a thin layer of water. If you laid a dime on the track, the water would be deep enough to surround the coin, but not enough to cover it.A car and a full-sized pick-up a ... read more

Every Colorado Springs 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 Colorado Springs don't cost a lot to replace. It's just that Colorado people hate getting caught with an unexpected expense. On the plus side, though, changing a dirty air filter at Lighthouse Automotive can often save enough on gas to pay for itself before your next oil change in Colorado Springs. Think about a dirty furnace filter in your Colorado Springs 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 Colorado Springs roads. You ... read more

People near Colorado Springs, Colorado, often ask Lighthouse Automotive how often they should have a particular service done. It's a great thing to ask. You can look at your owner's manual or have your Colorado Springs, Colorado, service advisor at Lighthouse Automotive look up your vehicle in a service database. What you find is often a surprise to people – there are actually two service schedules.One is the regular schedule and the other is the severe service schedule. Service intervals are shorter on the severe service schedule. When asked, most folks in Colorado Springs will say that their driving is normal and that the 'regular' schedule probably applies to them. 'Severe service' sounds pretty extreme – 'I don't drive like that.'Well, here is what the manufacturers say constitutes severe driving conditions; you can draw your own conclusions. Most of your trips are less than four miles (six and a half kilometers). Most of your trips are less than ten m ... read more