Winter weather can wreck havoc on your vehicle in many ways. For those who park their vehicle outside overnight, a frozen door in the morning can be a real annoyance. Heed our warning, don’t ever yank or pull on the door handle to open a frozen car door. If it breaks, you will be seeing us sooner than you planned and having a winter adventure you didn’t anticipate. An easy simple trick might be to give the door a hip check to loosen the ice and then lift and pull the door from the bottom. Use the handle only to unlatch the door while doing this. If you are still frozen out, try the passenger side door. Often the other side of the car has been less expose to wind and weather. You can also use warm water (never hot) to loosen the ice or a de-icing product. If you are lucky enough to have a remote starter, you can start the car and allow the interior warming to loosen the ice. Here is the important part. Never, and tell your kids and student drivers this too, ma ... read more

Winter has finally arrived and with the recent wet, snowy and icy weather, remember to turn off the wipers when you turn off your vehicle. Taking care of this simple task could help you avoid damage to your wiper blades and the internal motor that powers them. Most ofus don’t think about how that blade manages to move across our field of vision. That’s why one of the most common and preventable repairs for any mountain car, truck or SUV is replacing the wiper blade motor. Requiring a wiper blade to clear a snowy windshield or unstick itself after a wet, icy storm puts stress on the motor which can cause it turn burn out and fail. The result may be you driving down the road with your head out the window along with an unwanted repair expense. Avoid this by always turning off your wiper blades when you stop the vehicle. If possible, pull the blades away from the windshield to preventsticking. This simple action will allow your blades to last longer and save the wip ... read more

How about a new car for Mom for mother’s day? While a new car might not be in your budget, there are some things you can do to make her car feel like new again. Here are ten “somewhat suggestive” suggestions that will help bring that tired vehicle back into the shape it was when new. Headlights get pitted and dim with all the sand and dirt on our roadways. New Halogen headlights will light up her night and maybe yours too. It’s also keeps her safe and able avoid hazards on the road. Specially ordered and installed at Quality Automotive Servicing or DIY with a headlight restoration kit available at O’Reilly’s Auto Parts. A thorough detailing of a vehicle inside can be a thoughtful gift. She tidies up the house, you can take care of the car. Be sure that deep cleaning includes the build up of crumbs between the seats, juice stains on the carpet and dog hair that sticks to the carpet. Don’t want to do it yourself? Call Mark at Crossr ... read more

What are you doing be a "green" driver? Here are some tips to consider this Earth Day to make your vehicle more environmentally friendly. Keep the engine running at peak performance. A misfiring spark plug can reduce fuel efficiency as much as 30 percent. Iif your vehicle is not running up to par, have a technician take a look and run a diagnostic test. Also, replace filters and fluids as recommended in the owner’s manual and more often if driving on dusty, dirty roads. Don’t ignore that ‘Check Engine’ light. Vehicles today have much cleaner emissions than they did 30 years ago, but a poorly running engine or faulty exhaust system will give your vehicle the green light to increasd emissions and pollution. Keep tires properly inflated and aligned. Not only will you reduce the engine’s effort and, thus, gasoline consumption, your tires will last longer too, saving you money ... read more

“Thank you Quality Automotive Servicing. We recently had our shocks and struts replaced at your Truckee location during our regular service on our GMC truck. We then loaded up the family and the trailer and drove to Monterey for Spring Break. Can’t tell you how much better our truck handled. But what really impressed me was when we hit sudden traffic in Auburn, the braking response with all that weight behind me saved us from running up on the car in front. Truly it was a lifesaver. My truck has just over 60,000 miles, but now feels like new again.” B. Lidster Whether you are driving dirt and washboard roads or strictly pavement, shocks and struts wear out over the lifetime of a vehicle. You may not even notice the change in handling characteristics as these components become less effective. By replacing worn equipment with new Bilstein shocks and struts, your vehicle will become more responsive and comfortable to drive. More importantly, as you he ... read more