Maumee Auto Repair

These days many people in the Maumee area are really committed to making their cars last a long time. First thing: you've got to start with what you've got. It'd be ideal if people started with a brand new car, never missed a scheduled service item, paid attention to the severe service maintenance schedule and had regular inspections. But if you've had the vehicle for a while or bought it used, its maintenance history is what it is; and that's where you start.Go through the maintenance schedule for your vehicle and see what's been done and when. Have your Maumee service advisor at Lange`s Auto Care, Inc. do an inspection and come up with a list of stuff that needs to be done. Review the list and prioritize the work, talk about budget and make a plan to get caught up.Making a plan is so important. Suppose you go in for an oil change and learn you need your cooling system serviced, a transmission service and are coming up on a timing belt replacement in the next ... read more

Today's Lange`s Auto Care, Inc. article focuses on severe service maintenance. Many Maumee drivers are not aware of them and yet there are also very vocal advocates in OH who think that severe service schedules apply to everyone. Somewhere between a complete lack of awareness and the dire blanket statements lies a reasonable approach to severe service maintenance at Lange`s Auto Care, Inc..To back up a little, vehicle owner's manuals have schedules for preventive maintenance: things like oil changes, transmission service and so on. They say you should change your oil after a certain distanced traveled or after so many months. Maumee drivers understand this very well. What they may not know is that there are actually two service schedules: the regular schedule and the severe service schedule. The mileage and time intervals are lower on the severe service schedule.Now when you hear 'severe service,' you may think it doesn't apply to you because you ... read more

Many Maumee car owners have probably wondered: "What's the harm in putting off replacing an engine air filter? The answer is that not replacing it could cause your Mass Air Flow (MAF) sensor to fail. This expensive sensor is situated between your engine air filter and your engine. Dirty air filters are a leading cause of mass air flow sensor failure – and these babies can cost several hundred dollars to replace in Maumee.Change your vehicle air filter at Lange`s Auto Care, Inc. when it's dirty. Your vehicle engine will thank you.Give us a call. Lange`s Auto Care, Inc.825 Ford St Suite AMaumee, OH 43537419-897-9988http://www.langesauto.com    

Myths passed around our Maumee, OH community start with a grain of evidence and are then built up with a lot of imagination and very elastic logic. And the internet is a breeding ground for automotive myths. Some bloggers recall the vehicles of yesteryear and declare their modern decedents to be virtually maintenance free and that anyone who says otherwise is out to rip you off. To get the truth about auto myths you hear around the Maumee area, come over to Lange`s Auto Care, Inc.. Let's examine a couple of the more popular rants and look at the truth behind them.The first one is that the chassis no longer needs lubrication for suspension, steering and the driveline. They declare that anyone who has charged you for lubrication is a charlatan.The truth on which this myth is based is that many new vehicles come from the factory with sealed joints and cannot be greased. However, there are still some grease points on m ... read more

Recalls are pretty serious for Maumee residents and don't happen all that often. But sometimes cars have less serious problems that Maumee residents still might want to know about. For these less serious cases, the vehicle manufacturer issues what is known as a Technical Service Bulletin – or TSB. These bulletins tell Maumee service centers (including Lange`s Auto Care, Inc.) how to repair a problem that occurs frequently or is especially difficult.Your Maumee service center receives updated information through subscription plans, which are sometimes available in consumer versions too.Whatever your source, pay attention to Maumee vehicle recalls to keep you and your passengers safe. No matter how well they're made, vehicles are bound to have problems with their design or manufacturing. Think of all the moving parts. When the government thinks a problem is really serious, they require the vehicle manufacturer to issue recall notices to Maumee reside ... read more

Ask any Maumee man or woman if they've taken their vehicle in for preventive maintenance lately, and the answer may well be “no.” Surveys indicate that over 80% of vehicles on the road today are in need of some kind of repair or maintenance. Now, ask that same person why he hasn't taken his car in for care. The answer will probably be that he forgot or that he just didn't think about it. Most Maumee residents seem to have a hard time remembering about scheduled maintenance for their vehicles.Funny, because most of us in Maumee have no trouble remembering to wash our clothes, mow our lawns or brush our teeth. It isn't that we can't remember to take our vehicles for service; it's a matter of making it a priority.When it comes to our vehicles, Maumee drivers like myself, need to be a little more maintenance-minded. The fact is, we can choose to do it, or we might find ourselves being compelled to do it.For example, when we consistently forget ... read more

If you've ever heard a squealing sound under your vehicle hood, chances are it was your serpentine belt. More importantly, the belt powers the alternator. The alternator creates electricity that's used by your vehicle's electrical systems and also charges the battery. Without the alternator, the battery will go dead after a short distance.The serpentine belt may also run the pumps for both the power steering (some are electric) and power brakes (some use vacuum boost).And, on most vehicles, the serpentine belt powers the water pump. The water pump circulates coolant through the engine to keep it within optimal operating temperatures. On some Maumee vehicles, the water pump is powered by the timing belt instead of the serpentine belt.When they understand what it does, Maumee drivers realize that if it breaks, it affects a lot of systems. That's why vehicle manufacturers outline recommended replacement guidelines in the owner’s manuals. If this impo ... read more

So what is the most distracting food to have in the car while driving around Maumee?Is it: A Hamburger; Coffee; A Soft Drink, or Gummy Bears? Well, you may be surprised to learn that all but the gummy bears are in the top ten most distracting foods when you are driving. But if you chose 'coffee,' then give yourself an extra two points.  Coffee is the number one food distraction for drivers in Maumee and around the country.Food distractions cause 25 percent of all car accidents; over a million and a half each year!You'll notice that all of the top ten distracting food items are messy. Messy foods are the types of food you might spill (very distracting!), then try to clean up (a safe-driving impossibility!). If you gotta eat on the run, take five-then drive. You'll thank yourself later for two reasons: one, that you can actually relax for just a moment in our fast-paced world, and two, you won't have to worry about getting th ... read more

A while back, the Cash for Clunkers program was all over the OH news. Maumee people could trade in their old vehicle for a new one that got better gas mileage and receive a government rebate. A lot of Maumee motorists had so-called clunkers that they wanted to keep. They're good commuters, grocery getters or toy haulers. They enjoy that fact that they're paid off, or soon will be. They would gladly like to keep their vehicles for 200,000 miles (320,000 kilometers) or more – as long as it's economical to do so. There are plenty of Maumee drivers whose vehicles are running after 150,000 or 200,000 miles (240,000 or 320,000 kilometers). We can learn from what they're doing to keep our own vehicles on the road in OH.The Maumee drivers of high-mileage cars often report a common denominator of never skipping an oil change. That may sound a bit unsophisticated, but it's real ... read more

The hottest OH news story may be different every day, but there's one topic that seems to come up over and over again – the price of gas in Maumee. If you feel like most of your paycheck goes into your gas tank, this post is for you. Here are several basic things people in Maumee can do to greatly reduce their gas consumption, save money, and help the environment. You can really improve your fuel economy by how you drive – but first, here's a review of things you can do for your vehicle that'll save gas no matter how you drive.The first one for Maumee drivers is keeping tires properly inflated. That can save 2 miles per gallon/.85 km per liter. Driving on low tires is like driving through sand – your car just has to work harder. Most Maumee service centers will fill up your tires for free, so just ask Lange`s Auto Care, Inc.. Also, make a habit of checking your tire pressure whenever you fill up. Many Maumee gas stations have an air hose you can u ... read more