Automotive News & Information - Jim Van Dyke's Automotive Center

Summer’s coming, and with it, warmer temperatures, vacations, and longer trips. We don’t want to be downers, but if your car’s cooling system isn’t up to par, things could go from fun-in-the-sun to stranded-in-the-sun too quickly for anyone’s liking. Because the truth is: cooling system failure is a leading cause of vehicle breakdowns.

Don’t let it come to that. The easiest way to make sure your summer plans stay on course is to pay attention to your vehicle’s cooling system now, while the weather’s still mild. Trust us, you’ll avoid a lot of aggravation, and possibly an unnecessarily expensive vehicle repair. Here’s how to maintain your cooling system.

Our service centers offer full-service preventative maintenance and auto repair, providing comprehensive car care services for your domestic or import vehicle to keep it running at full power. For questions, contact your local service center, and our experts will help determine what needs to be done.

When it comes to your tires, size does matter. So be sure to buy the tire size recommended in your vehicle's owner's manual. Since your speedometer is hooked up to the transmission and the speedometer is calibrated for the revolution of the recommended tire size, a taller or shorter tire will affect the accuracy of your speedometer.

It's the first hot day of the summer. Uncomfortably shifting in your seat, you turn on that long-neglected AC knob, only to discover an unwelcome blast of warm air streaming out from the vents. A bad situation made worse: that's when you turn to us—your air conditioning service and repair headquarters.

Brakes are one of the most important safety features on your vehicle, so it’s crucial that you keep them well maintained and stay on top of any repairs. We have expert technicians who specialize in brake system repairs and our service center is fully equipped with the best diagnostic and maintenance tools. Below are a list of services and repairs that we provide for brakes. So whether you’re having an issue with your brakes or just want to keep up with the maintenance trust an automotive repair business with properly trained expert automotive repair technicians.

First, Simply Drive Safely
Aggressive driving (speeding, rapid acceleration and braking) wastes gas. It can lower your gas mileage by 33 percent at highway speeds and by 5 percent around town. Sensible driving is also safer for you and others, so you may save more than gas money. Fuel Economy Benefit: 5–33% which equivalent in gasoline savings to $0.18–$1.19/gallon

It doesn’t matter if the car you’re driving is new or old, big or small. There are preventive maintenance steps every vehicle owner can take to make sure their car is as “green” or environmentally friendly as possible, according to the Car Care Council. By following a few simple preventive maintenance steps, you can help protect the environment by improving gas mileage, which in turn saves money at the pump.

Keep your car properly tuned for optimum performance- Regular tune-ups, maintenance and having clean air filters will help your car pollute less and burn less gas. Getting a tune-up can improve gas mileage by an average of 4 percent. Simply changing the car’s air filter can improve efficiency by 10 percent. Fixing a serious maintenance problem, such as a faulty oxygen sensor, can improve gas mileage by as much as 40 percent.

When do you need to schedule maintenance for your diesel engine and what is needed each time? For your convenience, we've added the preferred maintenance listing.