Posts by dakotaridgeauto

Brrrr.  It’s cold outside.  And if your vehicle’s heater isn’t working, then it’s cold inside too.  No fun – and potentially dangerous: heat is needed to defrost your windshield.  Unlike your house that has one furnace, a vehicle’s heating system has several different components, so it takes a trained technician to figure out where the…

“Emergency Shopping” is not to be confused with a “Shopping Emergency.”  This one is encouraging you to go shopping for a few items that could help you out if you ever have an emergency in your vehicle.  They’re all things carried in emergency vehicles. This goes beyond the old standards like a first aid kit,…

Oh, thank goodness for oil filters on our vehicles.  As your engine runs, dirt gets into the oil.  Oil sludge can also start to build up.  Fortunately, motor oil contains detergents that clean the engine and gather up contaminates.  The oil circulates through the oil filter where clumps of dirt and sludge are captured.  An…

Here are 5 tips from Dakota Ridge Auto for used car buyers: 1. Ask for service records. Most owners who document regular maintenance service take care of their vehicles. 2. Inspect the vehicle thoroughly. Check for uneven tire wear, alignment, suspension issues, strange sounds and funky odors. 3. If everything checks out up to this…

Most in the Littleton area may not know much about transfer cases, but if you have a four-wheel-drive vehicle, you’ve got one. It makes sure you have power available for both the front and rear axles when driving around CO. For example, if you have a rear-wheel drive SUV, power goes to the rear wheels…

Many Littleton drivers have probably noticed a bunch of warning lights on their dash when they start their engine. They flash on to test the circuits and then go off if everything’s OK. One of the warning lights looks like a car battery. Its job is to tell you if your vehicle battery’s not charging properly.…

We know we need to take care of our cars, but it just seems hard to remember to do it.  We generally accept that many things in life require regular maintenance, but just may have not applied it to our vehicles. For example, we water and mow the lawn every week.  And weed the flower…

People need to be concerned about wheel alignment for two primary reasons: safety and money.  When your wheels are out of alignment, they can pull to one side. A moment of inattention could put you into on-coming traffic or off the road.  And a bad alignment will chew up your tires very quickly. We had…

Your serpentine belt is powered by the engine as it turns. Your alternator, air conditioning compressor and power steering pump depend on your serpentine belt to run. On some vehicles, it also runs the water pump, radiator fan, and power brakes. If your serpentine belt breaks, your battery won’t last long. If it runs your…