Maumee Auto Repair

When properly aligned, all of your wheels are pointed in the same direction. Your vehicle will track true and handle the way it is designed. Maumee drivers often associate our wheels being “knocked” out of alignment with an event like a major crash, hitting a pothole, curb or some other object. While these can certainly take your wheels out of alignment, the bumps and bounces of everyday Maumee driving take their toll on wheel alignment as well. Your car can lose alignment over time with just normal driving. When your wheels are out of alignment, the team of automotive professionals at Lange`s Auto Care, Inc. in Maumee can return your wheels to the factory settings. Most owners’ manuals suggest an inspection every year or two.Give us a call.Lange`s Auto Care, Inc.825 Ford St Suite AMaumee, OH 43537419-897-9988http://www.langesauto.com

Working up a sweat is a great thing to do in a gym around Maumee, but not in your vehicle. When Maumee residents' vehicle AC Systems have a problem, they'll often feel it right away. The question is, how long do you put up with it? You know, the old comfort versus cost dilemma. But a more comfortable drive around OH has a lot of benefits, and keeping the AC System well maintained can help prevent repairs.A common cause of AC failure is water and air in the system. The system does not work as well with air in it. And water can cause rust that leads to damage of the A/C components. Also refrigerant, the stuff that makes the air cold, can leak out, reducing the efficiency of the system and making it work harder to try to cool the air. That is why periodically evacuating the air conditioning system and recharging it keeps the proper amount of clean refrigerant in the system for Maumee residents, so it cools better and lasts longer.Maumee drivers should also run the air ... read more

If you're reading this article in Maumee, OH, then you probably care about your vehicle and how it runs. Even though you care, there is still that moment of dread when your professional service advisor at Lange`s Auto Care, Inc. tells you the manufacturer recommends some additional service. Your heart beats a little faster, your blood pressure rises. You worry about spending more money than you had planned. And you worry that if you say "no," you might be harming your vehicle or risking your family's safety. At the risk of sounding like your dad, you really should have done your homework. Service recommendations are in your owner's manual. But it is not like you want to keep your vehicle auto maintenance schedule on your nightstand for bedtime reading.Vehicles are complicated machines and it takes some effort for Maumee residents to keep them running well. That is why they have maintenance schedules that explain how to keep your vehicle performing efficientl ... read more

The timing belt rotates the cam shafts which open and close the valves that allow air, fuel, and exhaust to flow through the engine as it powers your car when you drive around Maumee.An old timing belt can lose a “tooth” in the belt allowing it to slip. The engine could stop or misfire. Timing belt slips – or a broken timing belt – can be disastrous on some engines. In “interference” engines, open valves can get in the way of the piston when the timing belt breaks or slips. When that happens one or more valves can be bent requiring expensive engine repairs.It is important for Maumee drivers to replace their timing belts as recommended in their owner’s manual to avoid unnecessary breakdowns. Ask the team of professionals at Lange`s Auto Care, Inc. in Maumee if it’s time for your timing belt to be replaced. Lange`s Auto Care, Inc.825 Ford St Suite AMaumee, OH 43537419-897-9988htt ... read more

When automakers first came out with cruise control, it was a real luxury item.  The older cruise controls used a mechanical vacuum system but it worked.  Well, some of the time.  Now days, cruise control is all electronic, thanks to computers.  It's reliable and a real convenience on long trips.  Cruise control is offered on most vehicles and standard on a lot of them.  Because it's electronic, when it breaks, it's usually some electronic component.  Your vehicle's cruise can be the victim of a blown fuse. Or your vehicle's speed sensor, which—not surprisingly—measures your vehicle's speed, can also stop working.  And that will cause your cruise to stop cruising.  Vehicles with cruise control also have a built-in feature that, when the brakes are applied, turns off the cruise.  With electronic cruise control, that happens thanks to the brake pedal switch, and if a problem develops in that switch, the cruise might not work. T ... read more

Your alternator makes electricity to start and run your engine and all of the vital electrical systems in your vehicle. That’s everything from the on-board computers to the turn signals. And of course there is the entertainment system, seat heaters, power windows and everything you plug into the power outlets. After your alternator makes enough electricity to do all that, it recharges your battery with what’s left over.When Maumee drivers constantly have a low or dead battery, the alternator is usually a prime suspect. However, the alternator is just one vital component of the starting/charging system, and a problem with any of the other components could be the actual cause.In addition to the alternator, the charging/starting system includes the battery, starter, serpentine belt system and all of the electrical cables that connect them. Your Lange`s Auto Care, Inc. service advisor has a systematic process of testing components and connections to get to the source of yo ... read more

Part of the engineering that goes into designing a vehicle is testing the components to ensure that they meet durability and safety standards. Because of this, manufacturers have a good idea as to how long the parts in your vehicle will last under normal driving conditions. For this reason, they give us guidelines to follow regarding how often to inspect the various parts and systems on our vehicles.Vehicular components are required to meet certain standards. The government mandates some of these standards. Others are set by the auto industry. Recommended car maintenance schedules are designed to help Maumee vehicle owners maintain these standards. Disregarding routine maintenance or procrastinating preventive maintenance will result in lowered performance and reduced safety for a vehicle.Maintenance schedules are designed to ensure three areas of automotive performance for Maumee drivers: protection of the vehicle itself, efficiency and safety. Protection ... read more

Your auto air conditioning system cools and conditions the air in your passenger compartment when you are driving around Maumee. It also removes moisture from the air to keep your windows from fogging up.A common A/C problem for Maumee drivers that visit Lange`s Auto Care, Inc. is contaminated refrigerant (the gas that cools the air). The inside of the A/C hoses deteriorates over time and tiny fragments of rubber clog passages. This makes the system less efficient and overworks various components.Leaks can develop at seals and gaskets and may reduce the amount of refrigerant, causing the system to work too hard to compensate. Dirty components can have the same consequences.Ask your Lange`s Auto Care, Inc. service advisor for an air conditioning system inspection to make sure everything is up to spec.Lange`s Auto Care, Inc.825 Ford St Suite AMaumee, OH 43537419-897-9988http://www.langesauto.com  

Today in the Lange`s Auto Care, Inc. auto care blog, we're going to talk to Maumee drivers about oil change intervals. It seems that as engine technology advances, oil change intervals become longer for Lange`s Auto Care, Inc. customers. For example, recently four of the world's largest vehicle manufacturer's shortened the published intervals for several of their engine models. They originally published intervals that extended out to a much as 8,000 miles (13,000 kilometers).In real world Maumee driving, the oil started to sludge up before the recommended change interval. Oil sludge is a thick jelly-like substance: quite literally petroleum jelly – like Vaseline. This goop was clogging vehicle small engine passages so the oil wouldn't flow to some parts of the engine. This resulted in engine damage. We see it too often at Lange`s Auto Care, Inc. in Maumee.The vehicle manufacturers began to offer an extended warranty to cover sludge damage. But there was a catch ... read more

The automotive professionals at Lange`s Auto Care, Inc. would like to give Maumee drivers an update on some of the things happening in automotive fluids. You know, vehicles are becoming more sophisticated every day.  Fluids such as, oil, coolant and transmission fluid are becoming more specialized at about the same pace.The Maumee do-it-yourselfer has to be pretty careful so that they do not actually harm their vehicle with the wrong type of fluid. That is why so many OH ] owners rely on the advice of their friendly and knowledgeable Lange`s Auto Care, Inc. service advisor to not only get the correct family of fluids, but to suggest the formulation that is best for their vehicle and their driving habits in the Maumee area.Let's start with engine oil. Maumee drivers who have been paying attention will have noticed a number of new oil weights on the OH scene in the last several years. Modern engines ar ... read more