Posts by dakotaridgeauto

When your vehicle doesn’t start, the first thing you think of might be the battery.  That may be the culprit, but it also might be that your alternator has gone bad. An alternator sends power to your vehicle’s electrical systems and accessories like your entertainment system, charging ports, and so on.  Any extra electricity goes…

We rely on our brakes to safely slow and stop our vehicles. You’ve probably had the experience where you’ve slammed on your brakes and started to skid. When your wheels are locked up, you are just sliding over the road. And if the road is wet or slick or covered with gravel – you really…

Suspension systems should continue to operate effectively for many years and tens of thousands of miles/kilometers, holding your tires’ foot print on the road. Eventually components do wear out, but how long that takes depends a lot on how you drive. As you can imagine, if most of your driving is on smooth CO highways,…

Today at Dakota Ridge Auto we’re going to talk about windshield wiper blades. Now that may seem like a pretty mundane topic but think about how important your vision is: We protect our eyes. If we need contacts or glasses, we taken care of them too. And, well, wiper blades are critical to our vision…

Thanks for visiting the Dakota Ridge Auto, auto care blog. Today’s post lists 5 important reasons Littleton drivers should follow recommended maintenance schedules. Be Safe A well-maintained car doesn’t put you and your passengers at unnecessary risk. Think brakes, headlamps, tires. Get Better Fuel Economy Regular maintenance is an investment in optimum fuel economy. Inadequate…

Racing legend Richard Petty once said, “If you’ve got good brakes you can stay out of a lot of trouble.” If you’re hearing unusual sounds when you brake or if your brake pedal is feeling squishy or too hard, have us do a disc brake inspection for you. We’ll tell you if there’s something wrong…

Heard of synthetic motor oil but would like to learn more information?  Well, synthetic motor oil is a substitute for conventional oil. Synthetic doesn’t gel or gum-up like conventional oil and it doesn’t vaporize as easily.  It protects better in severe driving conditions like stop and go driving as well as in very hot or…

Let’s talk about your transmission. Transmissions are heavy duty pieces of equipment that are designed to last a long time for most Littleton drivers. But like any other machine, they’ll eventually wear out and need repair. So let’s focus on what you can do to push that day off as far as possible. The first…

The days when you changed your spark plugs every couple of years has ended.  Back in the day, spark plugs really did wear out that often.  A couple of things are different now.  First, spark plugs are made of better materials that last longer and they’re designed better.  The second reason that plugs used to…

Question My name is Landon.  A bought a new minivan and it started smoking out the tail pipe.  They said my head gasket went out.  What can I do to prevent this from happening again? Answer The head gasket fits between the top of the engine and the cylinder head.  Its job is to seal…