Be Car Care Aware

Your Resource for Vehicle Care!

The Truth About Maintaining Your Vehicle Warranty

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You have the right to choose where your car is maintained, even under warranty.Defocused view into the auto repair shop with a tire in front

As the owner of a new car, or new to you, you certainly want to make all the right decisions about properly maintain­ing your new wheels in its early years to ensure that it serves you well throughout its life. And you certainly don’t want to do anything to compromise your vehicle’s warranty. What you may not know—most consumers don’t—is that your trusted, local Automotive Service Professional can change those
tires for your car with­out compromising its warranty. [Read more…]

Caring For Your Car in Summer

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Before hitting the road this summer, you can take several simple precautions to keep your family safe and save money at the pump. Extreme heat and long drives can be tough on cars. Cracked hoses, leaky radiators, under inflated tires and dirty filters can significantly lower your fuel efficiency, or worse, lead to a total breakdown. [Read more…]

Exhaust Smoke Color Diagnosis: Blue, Black, or White?

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Car smoke

Like a patient who exhibits certain symptoms when they’re sick, your car has ways of telling you it isn’t well. Although most of the time you need a mechanic’s tool set and know-how to fix the problem, there are a few initial diagnostic tools which come free to everyone: sight, smell, hearing and feel.

Many underlying engine problems can begin to be solved by making an exhaust smoke color diagnosis. The important thing as a driver is to pay attention to your car’s operation and notice if anything seems off. Excessive exhaust smoke means you have an engine issue on your hands, which could be as simple as changing the air filter, or as big as a crack in the engine block itself.

Before you go into panic mode, narrow down the problem according to the color of the smoke. [Read more…]

The Be Car Care Aware Program is operated by the Automotive Industries Association of Canada.