Import Car Auto Engine Components
Top 10 Changes To Stop/Start Vehicles

A vehicle with a stop/start system is coming to your bays or might already be there. These systems can improve fuel economy by 5-12% depending on the driving habits of the customer. For your shop, it is essential to understand what is different on these vehicles and how it might change your diagnostic approach.

Inspecting Serpentine Drive Belts

A serpentine belt can look good to the naked eye. But, to the ear, odometer and measuring tools, it could be another story. When you are looking at the belt and the pulleys on which it rides, it is critical to use all of your senses.

Volkswagen HVAC Logic: How Automatic Temperature Control Keeps Customers Comfortable

Volkswagen HVAC systems have come a long way in the past 15 years. While the basics of heating and cooling may be the same, the controllers and sensors have improved dramatically. No longer does a driver have to worry about dealing with fogged-up windows or bad smells driving behind a semi-truck.

PCV Systems: Deep Breathing Exercises

The positive crankcase ventilation (PCV) valve is a little component that can cause big problems if it isn’t working. Neither your customer’s engine nor your job profitability will flourish if you don’t properly diagnose PCV leaks.

Secondary Air Injection Tips

Secondary air injection was added to vehicles in the late 1960s to combat air pollution after it was discovered that tailpipe emissions were causing smog in major cities like Los Angeles. The first systems were called “smog” systems, and the extra supply of air came from a belt-driven pump that was tagged with the name “smog pump.”

Fuel System Diagnostics Is All In The Fuel Trim Numbers

With lean-burn operating strategies being built into many of today’s gasoline direct-injection and gasoline compression ignition engines, it’s important to build a foundational knowledge of how fuel trims work in the real world.

EVAP Diagnostics

To understand how any EVAP system in a Honda or other vehicle works, you have to know how the EPA tests for evaporative emissions. The EPA tests these systems by putting a car in a sealed chamber. The vehicle is “hot soaked” to simulate the car being run, parked and allowed to cool. Sensitive sensors in the chamber detect the presence of fuel vapor.

Detecting Hose Problems Before They Explode

The majority of hoses on a vehicle will fail from the inside out. The minority of hoses will fail due to external damage that can be caused by bad motor mounts or being too close to hot components. Most of these failures take tens of thousands of miles and many heat cycles to occur.

The Battery Electric Revolution

The term “electric vehicles” (EVs) has now evolved to “battery electric vehicles” (BEVs) to differentiate battery-powered electric from fuel cell-powered electric vehicles. Why BEVs? First, and from a manufacturer’s point of view, BEVS meet all federal and state vehicle emissions requirements without continually modifying complex engine designs, catalytic exhaust systems and engine management software.

Servicing R1234yf: Are You Ready?

R-1234yf, tabbed the replacement for R-134a, has been in service now for a few years on certain models of vehicles from FCA and GM to several European models. R-1234yf is installed on an estimated 35 million vehicles worldwide.

What Techs Will Have To Worry About With GF-6 Oils

Technicians and shops that perform oil changes in the future will need to pay extra close attention to what they’re putting in the vehicle. While we’re waiting for API’s newest GF-6 oil standard to be approved, we are discovering just what future oil service may look like for shops.

Technology Update: Artificial Intelligence

What is Artificial Intelligence? Simply put, it is the development of computer systems able to perform tasks that normally require human intelligence, such as visual perception, speech recognition and decision-making.