Daytona Beach Auto Repair

Today in the Honest-1 Auto Care auto care blog, we're going to talk to Daytona Beach drivers about oil change intervals. It seems that as engine technology advances, oil change intervals become longer for Honest-1 Auto Care 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 Daytona Beach 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 Honest-1 Auto Care in Daytona Beach.The vehicle manufacturers began to offer an extended warranty to cover sludge damage. But there was a ... read more

Myths passed around our Daytona Beach, FL 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 Daytona Beach area, come over to Honest-1 Auto Care. 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 po ... read more

Let's talk about alternative fuel vehicles. In their quest to reduce the use of fossil fuels and harmful exhaust emissions in our FL environment, automakers will have a number of alternatives for Daytona Beach drivers very soon.For instance, Flex Fuel vehicles are already available in the Daytona Beach area. Flex Fuel vehicles can run on gasoline or on E85 fuel. E85 is a mixture of 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline. The ethanol is made from corn. The benefits to Daytona Beach drivers are in using less petroleum and reduced pollution. The drawbacks are that E85 gets lower gas mileage and when gas prices are low, E85 can be more than straight gasoline.Daytona Beach drivers should only use E85 if they have a Flex Fuel compatible engine. Flex Fuel vehicles have special seals and gaskets that can stand up to the high alcohol content of E85. Using E85 in a regular engine can lead to gas leaks and fires.Diesel engines have been a ... read more

There are a lot of new features, both optional and standard, on Daytona Beach drivers' vehicles these days. One you may not have heard of is called a cabin air filter. Simply put, its job is to keep the air in the passenger compartment of your car nice and clean.A cabin air filter is similar to the filter you use on your furnace at home in Daytona Beach. Cabin air filters can catch particles down to three microns. By comparison, a grain of sand is 200 microns. So cabin air filters are effective against dust, dirt, pollen, mold spores and most pollutants in our Daytona Beach area atmosphere. Good news if you suffer from any types of allergies, or if you live in an area in FL prone to air pollution.Cabin air filters are generally located in the engine compartment or under the dashboard. They can be tricky to access and replace, so you'll probably want to go to your friendly and knowledgeable service advisor at Honest ... read more

Like everything in the FL automotive market, there have been great strides in headlight technology in recent years. FL drivers can be safer at night because of it. Good headlights improve visibility on Daytona Beach roads, enabling you to see farther. They also improve your peripheral vision, helping you to see the sides more clearly. The more you can see, the more quickly you can react to road conditions. This is because nearly half of traffic fatalities take place at night. And as Daytona Beach resident population ages, everything that helps older eyes is welcome.Most new vehicles sold in FL come with halogen headlamps. A decade ago, halogens were exotic and expensive. Now that they are standard equipment, the price has come way down. Many luxury cars are equipped with high intensity discharge, or HID, headlamps. You have probably seen them on some Daytona Beach roads; they're very bright and have a bluish tint.From behind the wheel, there is no doubt that ... read more

Modern vehicles in and around Daytona Beach run on 12 volt electrical systems. 12 volts is enough to get the job done for Daytona Beach drivers without having so much power that there is danger of electrocution. But today's vehicles have more electrical components and do-dads than ever before. This really strains your electrical system, making it hard for the battery to keep up. Think about it: electric seats, seat heaters, power locks windows and sun roofs. And then us FL drivers have all the power outlets for our cell phones, computers and DVD players.We also have navigation systems and powerful stereos. Plus there are all the engine and transmission computers, traction control, stability control, anti-lock brakes, sensors and on and on. Even the security system is running off the battery while the car is turned off.Fortunately, battery technology has given Daytona Beach drivers resilient batteries that are able to meet these strenuous requirements. But the fact is, batteries j ... read more

People in Daytona Beach have been hearing a lot about higher oil change intervals these days. Maybe you're wondering: What are the key issues?Some new vehicle manufacturers are now recommending much higher oil change intervals than they have in the past. As much as 5,000 to 8,000 miles (8,000 km to 13,000 km) or more. This practice came under scrutiny when four of the largest new vehicle manufacturers announced that owners like those in Daytona Beach were experiencing engine damage resulting from these higher oil change intervals.The manufacturers' standard oil drain service for particular vehicles was scheduled at around 7,500 miles/12,000 km. People following these recommendations were experiencing engine damage. It turns out that oil sludge was building up. This caused small oil passages to clog and engine parts to fail.What causes oil sludge? It's a factor of time and mileage. There are hot spots in every engine that cause oil burn off that leads to ... read more

Most Daytona Beach drivers know that tires wear out and that the wear has to do with tread depth. Most of us have heard that “bald” tires are dangerous, but most of us picture a tire with no tread at all when we think of a bald tire. And when we take our vehicles in for preventive maintenance, the technician tells us they're need to be replaced long before all the tread is worn off. Just how much tire tread wear is too much? And how can you tell? Tires are and their condition is important to the safe handling of a vehicle, so it's for Daytona Beach vehicle owners to know the answers to these questions.First of all, it's important to understand that there may be a legal limit to tread wear. If your tires are worn past this limit, you have to replace them to be in compliance with FL auto safety laws. That's why measuring your tread wear is part of a vehicle safety inspection.In some jurisdictions, tread must be at least 1.6 millimeters or ... read more

Hello, welcome to Honest-1 Auto Care. Today's focus is batteries. It seems like everything in Daytona Beach runs on batteries. Of course, the batteries we're most concerned with here at Honest-1 Auto Care are those in our customer's vehicles. Just like the batteries in our smoke detectors or TV remote, they wear out and need to be replaced . This can be thought of as the power output used to start a cold vehicle engine. The number of cold cranking amps you need depends on your vehicle and where you live in FL, specifically how cold it is. (Many Daytona Beach drivers have first-hand experience trying to start their car on a cold winter morning.) The two factors are that the colder your vehicle's engine is, the more power it takes to turn the engine over to get it started. It has all that cold, sluggish oil to contend with.The other factor is that the chemical reaction in the battery that creates electrical energy is less efficient when the temperature dips ... read more

Many Daytona Beach drivers have been hearing about technological advances in power steering, specifically electric power steering. Some very high-end cars have been featuring electric power steering. Power steering fluid has the necessary hydraulic properties and the ability to lubricate the internal parts. The power steering fluid also protects vehicle components from rust and corrosion.Daytona Beach car owners should be aware that vehicle manufacturers recommend that the fluid be replaced on schedule. At Honest-1 Auto Care, the old fluid is drained and the system cleaned thoroughly. Fresh fluid is then installed.Unfortunately, many Daytona Beach drivers don't realize how important it is to service their power steering, and some may not even know that it's necessary in the first place. A neglected power steering system can develop leaks that will shorten the life of the pump.Daytona Beach d ... read more