Colorado Springs Auto Repair

Have you checked out the price of new vehicles at Colorado Springs car dealers? Ouch! Add financing and insurance and a new ride may not seem so attractive. A lot of Colorado Springs, Colorado, 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 Colorado Springs drivers.The old adage: 'a stitch in time saves nine' is really true for Colorado Springs 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 Colorado Springs drivers have their cooling system service taken care of right on schedule at Lighthouse Automotive.Ditto for your power steering system, brake fluid, air conditioning system, differential and transmission. Of course, oil changes should be ... read more

If you've ever heard a squealing sound under your vehicle hood, chances are it was your serpentine belt. More importantly, the belt powers the alternator. The alternator creates electricity that's used by your vehicle's electrical systems and also charges the battery. Without the alternator, the battery will go dead after a short distance.The serpentine belt may also run the pumps for both the power steering (some are electric) and power brakes (some use vacuum boost).And, on most vehicles, the serpentine belt powers the water pump. The water pump circulates coolant through the engine to keep it within optimal operating temperatures. On some Colorado Springs vehicles, the water pump is powered by the timing belt instead of the serpentine belt.When they understand what it does, Colorado Springs drivers realize that if it breaks, it affects a lot of systems. That's why vehicle manufacturers outline recommended replacement guidelines in the owner’s m ... read more

We live in such a disposable society. It's amazing all the stuff we throw away. New stuff comes out so fast, we just toss the old and move on. In the old days, Colorado folks were real sticklers about taking care of their things. If something got lost or ruined by neglect, tough - they had to do without. Most Colorado Springs drivers couldn't afford new vehicles very often, so they had to make them last as long as they could.It's a good thing that vehicles are more reliable these days. They just don't break down as often. And the good news for us Colorado penny pinchers is that a modern vehicle can easily go 200,000 miles/320,000 km with proper care. The engineering and the manufacturing quality is tremendous. The missing ingredient is us Colorado Springs vehicle owners making sure we follow the vehicle manufacturer's recommended maintenance schedules.Every time you go a little farther between recommended oil changes, you have created an opportunity for sludge ... read more

If you've ever been driving around Colorado Springs and had a headlamp go out, you've probably just wanted to replace the bad bulb. If your car uses halogen headlamps, they dim over time. So if you just put in one, they won't have the same brightness, which can be distracting and will affect your field of vision.To have your headlights inspected, visit us at Lighthouse Automotive. We're at 2499 East Platte Ave in Colorado Springs, Colorado 80909. Or give us a call at 719.634.0005.Experts at Lighthouse Automotive recommend replacing your halogen headlamps every year. It's easy to remember if you do it when Daylight Saving Time changes in the fall. That way you'll have bright headlamps for those long Colorado winter nights.There are other types of headlamps in addition to halogen. There are the old standard bulbs that have been around for decades. These are OK, but you can usually upgrade to halogen. They cost a little more but you can't believe the diff ... read more

If you're reading this article in Colorado Springs, Colorado, then you probably care about your vehicle and how it runs. Even though you care, there is still that moment of dread when your professional service advisor at Lighthouse Automotive tells you the manufacturer recommends some additional service. Your heart beats a little faster, your blood pressure rises. You worry about spending more money than you had planned. And you worry that if you say "no," you might be harming your vehicle or risking your family's safety. At the risk of sounding like your dad, you really should have done your homework. Service recommendations are in your owner's manual. But it is not like you want to keep your vehicle auto maintenance schedule on your nightstand for bedtime reading.Vehicles are complicated machines and it takes some effort for Colorado Springs residents to keep them running well. That is why they have maintenance schedules that explain how to keep your vehic ... read more

These days many people in the Colorado Springs area are really committed to making their cars last a long time. First thing: you've got to start with what you've got. It'd be ideal if people started with a brand new car, never missed a scheduled service item, paid attention to the severe service maintenance schedule and had regular inspections. But if you've had the vehicle for a while or bought it used, its maintenance history is what it is; and that's where you start.Go through the maintenance schedule for your vehicle and see what's been done and when. Have your Colorado Springs service advisor at Lighthouse Automotive do an inspection and come up with a list of stuff that needs to be done. Review the list and prioritize the work, talk about budget and make a plan to get caught up.Making a plan is so important. Suppose you go in for an oil change and learn you need your cooling system serviced, a transmission service and are coming up on a timing belt replacem ... read more

When it comes to their vehicles, some Colorado Springsresidents don't have amaintenance mindset. They know they need to take care of their cars, but it just seems really hard to get them to remember to do it. Colorado Springs drivers generally accept that many things in life require regular maintenance but just may not have applied it to their vehicles.Here's something that will help: The key to good vehicle maintenance starts with the oil change. Think about it – when you go in for a full-service oil change, your friendly and knowledgeable Lighthouse Automotive service advisor will check all your fluids. If one of them is low, he can look for the reason. If your serpentine belt is cracked, he'll see it and let you know. Corroded battery cable – they've got you covered. And at Lighthouse Automotive, we check to see i ... read more

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

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

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