Hanover Park Auto Repair

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 IL 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 Hanover Park car owners couldn't afford new cars very often, so they had to make them last as long as they could. It's a good thing that cars are more reliable these days for Hanover Park car owners. They just don't break down as often. And the good news for us IL penny pinchers is that a modern car 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 Hanover Park car owners making sure we follow the car maker's recommended maintenance schedules. Every time you go a couple thousand extra miles between oil changes you have created an opportunity for sludge to be formed and clog ... read more

If you're gonna drive around the Elk Grove Village area, you've got to be able to see! So having a good pair of windshield wipers is extremely important. We've all experienced the frustration and fear of not being able to see clearly during a storm, or when our windshield is just dirty. It seems like your wiper blades are always at their worst when you need them the most. But windshield wipers are like most other vehicle parts– they require regular attention in order to work their best. You really ought to replace your wiper blades twice a year; in the spring and the fall. If it's going to be a particularly harsh winter in Hanover Park, you may even want to get special winter blades in the fall. Winter blades are designed to resist freezing. Speaking of winter and freezing conditions, if your car has been sitting for a long time and the windshield becomes frozen, don't use your wipers to clear off s ... read more

Blind spots may be a good thing when it comes to a spouse's annoying habits, but when driving an automobile in Hanover Park, they are definitely to be avoided. So, while it's not good marital advice, it's good auto advice to minimize your own blind spots and stay out of other Elk Grove Village motorists' blind spots, especially when it comes to large, heavy vehicles like trucks and buses. First, minimize your own blind spots. Do this before you pull out of the driveway or parking space. Adjust your rearview mirror so that you see as much of the area behind you as possible. And, no, this doesn't include the passengers in the back seat. The rearview mirror isn't designed to be a baby monitor. Next, lean to the side until your head almost touches the driver's side window. Now adjust the driver's side mirror so that it just catches the side of the pickup. Then, lean to the middle of the car and adjust the passenger's side mirror ... read more

Hanover Park motorists' cars have to operate in a wide range of IL temperatures which requires our engine coolant to be able to perform ‘no matter what'. Think for a moment about the environment where the coolant does its thing. Very hot, high pressure, corrosive… And all the while, it has to protect the components of the cooling system from corrosion. These components are made from steel and aluminum, plastics and rubber. The coolant has to be formulated to protect against corrosion for all of these different materials. That's why auto manufacturers recommend different types of anti-freeze for our Hanover Park, IL vehicles. There are several different ‘families' of anti-freeze available to us here in Hanover Park, IL. Your owners' manual will tell you what kind you should use. Of course, the automotive professionals at Kamphaus AutoCare and Emission will know the right kind for your car. It's important to stay on top of this because coolant system fa ... read more

Okay. You went to your local Hanover Park car wash and while your pickup was under the dryer, the check engine light started flashing. Panic! What did you just do? Something is seriously wrong with the pickup! You head for the nearest Hanover Park service station, but on the way, the check engine light stops flashing, and just glows red. Hmm. Maybe things aren't as bad as they seem. You decide to wait until payday to take your pickup in to get serviced. In the meantime, the check engine light goes off. What? You decide the light must be faulty, or that when it comes on it doesn't mean anything, or that it's just in your pickup as some sort of scam to get you to pay for unnecessary pricey repairs. You're glad you didn't take your car to the Hanover Park repair shop and resolve to ignore that engine light in the future. Whoa! Let's look at what really happened. Your pickup was under an air dryer. Your air intake sensor measured too much air running through the eng ... read more

Hello Hanover Park drivers! Let's talk about alignment. One of the most important parts of preventive maintenance for your vehicle is keeping the wheels in alignment. Poor alignment causes your tires to wear unevenly, which can significantly reduce their lifespan. This means you will have to replace them more often, which can be costly in Hanover Park. It can even damage your suspension system, which is a steep repair. But even more importantly, uneven tread wear can lead to blowouts on the road, a dangerous and potentially deadly safety risk for Hanover Park car owners and their passengers. It may not take an accident or bad driving habits to “knock” your tires out of alignment. Tires can go out of alignment with just everyday IL driving. Hanover Park road hazards, pot holes, uneven or gravel roads, even the bumps and bounces of normal Elk Grove Village interstates and surface streets can gradually put your pickup tires out ... read more

Have you noticed an increase in price when you get a flat fixed in Hanover Park or your tires rotated? It might be the result of your TPMS, or Tire Pressure Monitoring System. The federal government began requiring a TPMS system on 2008 model year passenger vehicles and light trucks. Some 2006 and 2007 models may have them as well. The system has a warning light that is mounted on the dashboard that will go on if one of the tires becomes severely under inflated. Why the new requirement? Because underinflated tires are the number one cause of tire failure. Tire blowouts cause harmful and sometimes fatal accidents. Underinflated tires also need longer stopping distance and can skid, both of which also present dangers on IL roads. Many flat tires can also be prevented by proper tire inflation, and though this may seem an economic consideration, Hanover Park auto owners who have changed a flat on the side of the road recognize that this has s ... read more

Hello Hanover Park drivers, let's talk about batteries. Car batteries are just like any rechargeable battery. They will eventually wear out and die. If you are shopping for a new battery in Hanover Park, here's some auto advice to help you. There are two measurements to consider when purchasing a new battery: cold cranking amps and reserve capacity. The power required to start a cold engine is measured in cold cranking amps. The number you need is determined by what kind of vehicle you drive and where you live. In general, higher-cylinder engines require more cold cranking amps than lower-cylinder engines. In other words, an eight-cylinder engine needs more cold cranking amps than a six-cylinder one. Also, diesel engines require more cold cranking amps than gasoline engines. The Elk Grove Village weather also determines the number of cold cranking amps you need. The colder the pi ... read more

High gas prices in Hanover Park increase the cost of living for IL motorists.You've probably budgeted a certain amount for vehicle related expenses. Increased fuel costs now consume a larger portion of our incomes, causing some Hanover Park vehicle owners to skimp in other areas – like scheduled maintenance. According to IL news reports and automotive industry studies, this is becoming increasingly more common. In fact, nine out of ten personal vehicles on the road have at least one maintenance or repair item that hasn't been done. Some of these items pose serious safety risks. Others are just more likely to make it more expensive to drive. In this area, we can take a lesson from professional Hanover Park vehicle owners. I'm talking about fleet owners and operators. You know, Hanover Park folks like the trucking companies and delivery services. Because their livelihood depends on it, they have gotten scheduled ma ... read more

Like everything on the Elk Grove Village automotive market, there have been great strides in headlight technology in recent years. IL auto owners can be safer at night because of it. Good headlights improve visibility on Elk Grove Village freeways, enabling you to see farther. They also improve your peripheral vision, helping you to see the sides more clearly. The more you can see, the quicker you can react to road conditions. This is essential because nearly half of traffic fatalities take place at night. And as Hanover Park's population ages, everything that helps older eyes is welcome. Most new pickups sold in Elk Grove Village come with halogen headlamps. A decade ago, halogens were exotic and expensive. Now that they are standard equipment, the price has come way down. Many luxury cars are equipped with high intensity discharge, or HID, headlamps. You have probably seen them on Hanover Park interstates, they're very bright and have a bluish tint. From ... read more