Blind Spot Safety for Burlington Driving

Blind spots may be a good thing when it comes to a spouse's annoying habits, but when driving an automobile in Burlington, they are definitely to be avoided. So, while it's not good marital advice, it's good auto advice to minimize your own blind spots and stay out of other Burlington drivers' blind spots, especially when it comes to large, heavy vehicles like trucks and buses.

First, minimize your own blind spots. Do this before you pull out of the driveway or parking space. Adjust your rearview mirror so that you see as much of the area behind you as possible. And, no, this doesn't include the passengers in the back seat. The rearview mirror isn't designed to be a baby monitor.

Next, lean to the side until your head almost touches the driver's side window. Now adjust the driver's side mirror so that it just catches the side of the vehicle. Then, lean to the middle of the car and adjust the passenger's side mirror in the same way. These adjustments will ensure you the widest possible view behind your vehicle.

Of course, you can't eliminate blind spots entirely. There is always an area behind any vehicle where the driver just can't see what's there. The bigger the vehicle, the bigger the blind spot. Toddlers are just the right size to hide in a pickup's or SUV's blind spot. The blind spot on an RV or tractor-trailer can actually hide your crossover! You should always check behind any vehicle before getting in and backing up. And if you sit in the vehicle for a few minutes before backing up, it is best to get out and check again, especially if you are pulling out of a neighborhood driveway in Burlington. No precaution is too extreme if it saves the life of a child.

Trucks may cause about 60% of the accidents involving a truck and a car, but 78% of fatalities in such accidents are with the smaller vehicle. The number of fatalities in ON, as well as the number of crashes, could be cut significantly if Burlington drivers learned to properly share ON roads with trucks.

While learning to share ON roads and freeways with trucks and other large vehicles may not seem like preventive auto maintenance, it does, in fact, go hand-in-hand with good car care. Keeping your vehicle out of the body shop can save you big bucks and prevent the stress of a major accident, along with the injuries that could come with it.

The team at Corporate Autoworks in Burlington urges you to stay safe, and stay on the road!

Corporate Autoworks
5195 Harvester Rd. Unit#1
Burlington, ON L7L 6E9
905-333-9201
http://www.corporate-autoworks.com

Battery Basics for Burlington

It's important for Burlington drivers to know battery basics. First, let's talk about which is harder on a battery – hot or cold ON weather. Most Burlington area drivers think it's cold weather because that's when we call on our batteries to have enough power to start a cold vehicle engine.

However, heat does more damage to a battery than cold. Truth is, our batteries start to die a little from day one. Keeping a full charge slows the process, which is hard with short Burlington trips because the alternator doesn't have time to fully recharge the battery from starting the engine. Burlington drivers can top off the charge with a computer controlled battery charger – say, once a month in the summer and every three months during the winter.

As far as how long a battery will last, statistics show that 70% have given up the ghost within four years. By that time, they aren't capable of taking a full charge like they used to, and your vehicle alternator has to work overtime to keep up. This causes your alternator to wear out early.

If you're pushing 4 to 5 years on your battery, see your friendly and knowledgeable Corporate Autoworks service assistant for a battery test to see if it's recommended to replace it. Not only can you avoid getting stranded with a dead battery on a ON road, but you'll save unnecessary wear and tear on your vehicle alternator.

Give us a call.

Corporate Autoworks
5195 Harvester Rd. Unit#1
Burlington, ON L7L 6E9
905-333-9201
http://www.corporate-autoworks.com

What Is a Differential and Do You Have One?

With front-wheel drive being so common these days in Burlington, ON, the differential is just taken care of during a transmission service, so most Burlington drivers don't even have to think about it. And rear-wheel drive differentials don't need to be serviced for years, so it's understandable that it's not something on the top of Burlington customers' minds. It's not uncommon for drivers to not know they have a differential let alone know that it needs service.

Call Corporate Autoworks in Burlington at 905-333-9201 for information about differential service, or stop by our Burlington, ON, auto center at 5195 Harvester Rd. Unit#1, L7L 6E9.

To better understand what a differential does, think about our local Burlington high school track. There are lanes marked off on the track. For the longer distance races, the starting lines are staggered. The starting lines for the outside lanes are ahead of the starting lines for the inside lanes. That's to compensate for the longer length of the outside lanes. Staggering the starting lines means that each runner has the same distance to run.

The differential compensates for the difference in speeds between the inside wheel and the outside wheel in a turn, because they have to travel together through slightly different distances.

It's a very important function. When you think of it, all the power to get a vehicle moving goes through the differential. Most cars in the Burlington, ON area weigh between 3,000 and 6,000 pounds (1,400 and 2,800 kg) – trucks even more. The power from the engine goes through the transmission and then through the differential to the drive wheels.

That's a lot of work and requires very heavy duty parts. And those parts need protection. The differential fluid lubricates the gears in the differential and keeps them cool.

The fluid eventually gets dirty and worn down. Some kinds of differentials require special additives that break down over time. So vehicle manufacturers recommend intervals for replacing your differential fluid.

The professionals at Corporate Autoworks will drain the used fluid and check it out for metal bits, which could be a sign of excessive wear on the gears. Then they’ll replace the fluid and install the additives if necessary.

Your Corporate Autoworks service advisor can look up the vehicle manufacture's recommended service interval or you can check your owner's manual. Give us a call at 905-333-9201 for more information about your differential service.

Corporate Autoworks
5195 Harvester Rd. Unit#1
Burlington, ON L7L 6E9
905-333-9201
http://www.corporate-autoworks.com

Direct Fuel Injection Update from Corporate Autoworks

For those of you in Burlington, ON who pay attention to these things, you may have been hearing about the new direct injection engines and want to learn more about them. Some deliver the power of a V8 with the economy of a V6.

For example, in one family of engines the conventional V6 makes about 250 horsepower. The direct injection version of the same engine makes over 300 horsepower and gets essentially the same fuel economy. The turbocharged version makes over 350 horsepower.

So what are the differences from a conventional engine?

The core difference is in the fuel injection system. The system most vehicles use now is called a port injection system. The fuel injector squirts fuel into a port just outside the cylinder where it's then drawn into the engine with the air.

With a direct injection system, the injector squirts the fuel directly into the cylinder. The gain in power and economy come because fuel injected directly into the cylinder during the combustion cycle is burned much more efficiently.

First, the fuel is squirted in at hundreds of times more pressure, so it's atomized much better and burns cleaner and stronger. The other big advance is in electronics. Faster engine management computers can control the additional precision required to manage direct fuel injection.

Fuel injectors are precision instruments. They have to deliver a precise amount of fuel at exactly the right time. The design of the engine also dictates a particular spray pattern for the fuel. If a fuel injector is dirty or gummed up, it can't do its job as well. That means less power and worse fuel economy for your vehicle and can lead to damaged fuel injectors.

Replacing fuel injectors at Corporate Autoworks isn't cheap. Direct injection injectors are even more expensive because of the extremely high-pressure they use. Same thing for diesel fuel injectors; we're talking mortgage payment-range to replace a set of diesel injectors.

A professional fuel system cleaning from Corporate Autoworks gets out the gum and varnish in the whole system, including the fuel injectors. Keep those injectors clean and they'll last a long, long time.

Corporate Autoworks
5195 Harvester Rd. Unit#1
Burlington, ON L7L 6E9
905-333-9201
http://www.corporate-autoworks.com

Get Where You're Going with Power Steering Service in Burlington

Today we're going to talk about power steering service in Burlington. If you took an informal poll around Burlington you'd probably find that most vehicle owners have never heard of power steering service. That's not surprising. Even though power steering is standard on every vehicle, most people in Burlington aren't aware that it needs periodic service.

If you're younger than a certain age, you've probably never driven a vehicle without power steering. To get an idea of the difference; if you've ever cut a board with a hand saw, you know it's a lot of work. Using a power saw is easy-peasy by comparison.

Without power steering, your arms have to do all the work to steer the wheels, and that's hard, especially around downtown Burlington. That's why old cars had such big steering wheels: to get enough leverage to steer.

Most vehicles in Burlington have a hydraulic power steering system. The serpentine belt from the engine powers a pump. The pump pressurizes the power steering fluid. This actuates a hydraulic cylinder that provides power to help steer.

Some vehicles in Burlington use an electric pump to pressurize the fluid rather than a belt driven pump. We're also seeing vehicles with electric motors providing the power assist, not using power steering fluid at all. We'll see a lot more electric systems as more hybrids and electric vehicles hit the market.

At least for now, the vast majority of power steering systems use power steering fluid that needs to be serviced. The fluid needs to be changed for a couple of reasons. For one, it attracts moisture. Water has different hydraulic qualities than power steering fluid, and that makes a difference in steering performance. Water is also corrosive and can damage power steering components. The fluid also just gets dirty and needs to be changed. Removing the old fluid and flushing out the system gets rid of dirt and deposits. The clean, fresh fluid lubricates and provides better corrosion protection.

So ask your Burlington service advisor at Corporate Autoworks or check your owner's manual to see when power steering service is recommended. It'll extend the life of your power steering components.

Corporate Autoworks
5195 Harvester Rd. Unit#1
Burlington, ON L7L 6E9
905-333-9201
http://www.corporate-autoworks.com