September 29, 2010: Join Autos's Facebook group Follow Autos on Twitter By Jim Kerr Wheel alignments are one of those forgotten vehicle maintenance items. In the past, drivers usually had an alignment done when new tires were installed. This was a good idea, but with tires lasting for years on some vehicles, alignments need to be performed more frequently than just when tires are changed. I often... Read Article

September 15, 2010: Join Autos's Facebook group Follow Autos on Twitter By Jim Kerr It’s approaching that time of year when most motorhomes, motorcycles, collector cars and even lawn mowers are put away for the winter. You can simply park them and hope things will work fine in the spring, or you can spend a few minutes preparing them to help prevent expensive repairs next year. Start with a... Read Article

August 11, 2010: Join Autos's Facebook group Follow Autos on Twitter By Jim Kerr The materials and finishes used inside today’s automotive engines makes them more dependable than ever, but recently I have had several inquiries about a variety of vehicles that are using oil. The only thing they all have in common is that they are higher mileage engines. Let’s see why they may be consuming m... Read Article

June 30, 2010: Join Autos's Facebook group Follow Autos on Twitter By Jim Kerr Vehicles are complex devices composed of thousands of parts that have to work together. As a technician, I get to see vehicles when things don’t work properly. In many situations, the cost of repairs could have been minimized by the driver paying attention to the vehicle and taking it in for service work sooner... Read Article

June 9, 2010: Join Autos's Facebook group Follow Autos on Twitter By Jim Kerr With the longer service intervals and better reliability of newer vehicles, it is easy to forget that our cars and trucks still need regular maintenance. Perhaps we don’t need a tune-up every spring and fall any more, but getting a wheel alignment done on your vehicle should be part of your annual maintenance sc... Read Article

June 2, 2010: Join Autos's Facebook group Follow Autos on Twitter By Jim Kerr The summer travel season has just started, with the May long weekend a time when many people take their first trip to the lake or camping. From what I saw on the road this past weekend, it was also about to be the first time for several travellers to become familiar with a repair shop. The biggest problem I saw on... Read Article

December 23, 2009: Join Autos's Facebook group Follow Autos on Twitter By Jim Kerr With school holiday breaks and Christmas family reunions, highways are going to be busy around the holiday season. It’s also the time of year when cold weather and slippery roads make driving a challenge. In addition, vehicles seem to develop more problems as temperatures drop. This may be only a misconception, ... Read Article

September 16, 2009: Join Autos's Facebook group Follow Autos on Twitter By Jim Kerr The autobody paint instructor at our local college in Saskatoon works with new and experienced painters every day, teaching them how to prep the surface, spray on sealers and produce a glossy finish. The most difficult part of painting, however, has to be matching the colour from one panel to another. This can be ... Read Article

September 9, 2009: Join Autos's Facebook group Follow Autos on Twitter By Jim Kerr A reader sent me a note lamenting that his 2003 compact car with a 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine was getting only 14 litres per 100 kilometres (20 mpg). He compared this to an older carbureted 1971 Rover that used to get 7.0 litres per 100 km (40 mpg). He was ready to convert his compact car over to a carburetor ... Read Article

August 19, 2009: Join Autos's Facebook group Follow Autos on Twitter By Jim Kerr To the untrained eye, suspension designs vary little from car to car. Some use struts to hold the wheels upright, while others use control arms to do the same task. Springs may be spring steel coils, flat leaf springs or long torsion bars, but again they all have to do the same task: hold the car off the ground. ... Read Article

August 12, 2009: Join Autos's Facebook group Follow Autos on Twitter By Jim Kerr How much can your vehicle tow? Looks and vehicle size alone are no judge of towing capacity, and neither is engine size or power. Fortunately, the auto manufacturers provide maximum towing capacity information either in the owner’s manual or on placards on the vehicle. Sometimes the information is given in t... Read Article