With September approaching, it wouldn’t be unwise to say that winter is just around the corner. For vehicle owners, it’s a dreadful season, as their vehicle’s fuel efficiency takes a huge hit. As the temperature goes below 20 degrees, most vehicles, especially gasoline-powered, experience a mileage drop of nearly 12%. Several reasons contribute to fuel efficiency so disappointing — from reduced tire pressure because of cold temperatures to increased time after ignition to reach optimal engine temperature to aerodynamics, and many others. But few practices can enable vehicle owners to achieve better fuel economy in winter, and these are:

Avoid short trips

Engines take more time to reach the optimal fuel-efficient temperature in winter than summer. This means that if you drive over short distances, you will have to spend more time warming up the engine. However, you can boost fuel efficiency should you combine several trips into one trip in a day.

Minimize idle time

Many people think that idling the engine for long will help them get a better fuel economy. However, experts at JM Auto repair in San Antonio believe that driving helps the engine reach the optimal temperature faster than idling and, therefore, no more than 30 seconds should be spent idling the engine.

Check tire pressure

For the best fuel efficiency in cold temperatures, it’s best to keep tire pressure at the recommended levels. Use a gauge to check the tire pressures to ensure the required tread depth for maximum traction. Should you encounter problems with maintaining the correct tire pressure, visit a certified auto repair San Antonio to resolve the issue.

Tuning up your car for colder weather conditions and using the recommended oil can also help you increase your vehicle mileage in winter. For more information about winter car maintenance, visit JM Automotive in San Antonio or get in touch with us today.

 Every car owner knows how important it is to regularly change the oil so that their car continues to run smoothly. But if you think changing the oil and filter in a couple of months is enough for your car’s maintenance then you are mistaken; there’s a lot more to car maintenance than this.

It doesn’t matter whether you own an Audi, Ford, Honda, or Mercedes Benz, the fact remains that all cars require proper engine maintenance to run flawlessly. One way of ensuring that your car runs smoothly for years, offers better fuel economy, and doesn’t demand costly repairs in the future is regular car tune-ups. With the help of routine car tune-ups, you get to enjoy several benefits. In this blog, we’ll be taking a look at why car tune-ups are important. Let’s get started.

• With routine car tune-ups, you will be able to detect small problems and fix them right away. Often car owners neglect small issues in their vehicle until they turn into serious, big ones. Even if you go with a standard tune-up service, your spark plugs will be assessed and replaced, wires and filters will also be inspected, and so will other key systems. It is wise to have small repairs and tune-up done on your vehicle than to wait for bigger problems to surface in your car
• We may not regard tires as essential parts of our vehicle as we regard others. But the truth is it is the treads of the tires that actually grip the road and keep us safe on our road or mountain trips. Worn off treads can make the car unsafe to drive. This is why tune-up service is important as it properly inspects tires for tread depth, proper inflation, and wear patterns
• Cars break down all the time on roads. They mostly break down because their owners do not have their key systems and parts assessed by a qualified technician at fixed intervals. If you do that, parts such as pumps, air filter, battery, hoses, belts, transmission fluid level, etc. will be thoroughly checked and if any issue is noticed, needed repair will be recommended straight away
• For a great number of people, a car is a massive investment. If you belong to this group of people, then you can save yourself from big financial troubles that could arise because of expensive replacements in your vehicle through routine tune-ups. Tune-ups also improve the fuel economy of your vehicle, which help you in saving money

JM Automotive in San Antonio is a reputed auto repair center where you can bring your car for a professional car tune-up service. We’ll inspect spark plugs, coil packs, spark plug wires, distributor cap, distributor rotor, and other parts. If you’re looking for the best auto repair in San Antonio, TX, then look no further than JM Automotive.

Oil is the lifeblood of any engine. Without it, the engine will be destroyed in seconds. That’s why we must check the oil level regularly in between oil changes, especially when using synthetics with longer oil change intervals, which could use up all the oil in some engines before the next oil change. So, what is causing your car’s engine to lose oil? The problem may be external or internal:

• External Oil Leak-Additives in engine oil today help keep the different seals and gaskets soft and pliable so they don’t shrink and get hard. However, if the oil is left in the engine longer than what it’s rated for, the seals and gaskets can shrink, become hard, and start leaking. This is commonly associated with sludge buildup. This can also cause leaking with valve covers, timing chain covers, oil pan covers, and sometimes even an oil drain plug. What’s especially at risk are things in the engine exposed to high pressure, such as oil pressure sensors, oil filters, crankshaft seals, and even head gaskets. if a positive crankcase ventilation valve fails, it can also cause major leakage issues with seals and gaskets. So if your engine’s dripping oil or you find oil stains on the pavement underneath your vehicle, it’s more than likely coming from one of those areas on your engine.

• Internal Oil Leak– The second thing that causes an engine to lose oil is internal oil consumption. This can be due to worn piston rings, which allow the oil to enter the combustion chamber and be burned. This is another reason why it’s important to regularly change or clean your air filter. A dirty air filter will cause premature wear the piston rings by allowing fine particles of dirt to enter the combustion chamber. Next are worn valve stems and worn hardened valve stem seals, which also allow the oil to enter the combustion chamber and be burned. Consuming enough oil on the inside of the engine can cause a catalytic converter to wear out prematurely. This is due to a rise in temperature from the oil being vaporized by the catalytic converter. If you’ve got blue colored smoke coming out of the tailpipe when you first start your vehicle up and before the catalytic converter warms up, then you probably have oil being consumed inside the engine.

One big caveat to remember is once the engine oil goes beyond its rated service life, it will be depleted of the additives put into the oil, which typically is six months to one year. What would happen is the oil will break down and evaporate quicker, which will also cause oil loss. You also need to remember that all engines are different and some engines just burn more oil than others due to engine design. So, the best way to avoid engine oil loss externally and internally is by simply changing your oil regularly before it gets dirty. Also, don’t leave the oil longer than its rated service life.

Is your BMW’s engine losing oil? Bring it to our facility and let our BMW repair specialist fix the problem!

Those who have been through the summers of Texas know how difficult it can be for one to drive a car without turning on the air conditioning. Known for having some of the hottest months in the nation, Texas heat can definitely take a toll on you. This makes it essential to know ways of keeping your car’s AC system working effectively throughout the sizzling summers. Below are some important things to keep in mind.

Get Your Fan Belt Assessed

You’ll benefit from getting your car’s drive belt properly assessed at our repair shop; it is critical to ascertain that it’s working properly. You must know that the proper functioning of the belt not only maintains air conditioners’ operation intact, but it also supplies power to other key constituents such as power steering pump, alternator, and water pump..

Take Care of Cleaning

Do not make the mistake of clogging your condenser by allowing debris to accumulate. It is best to ensure that both the radiator and AC condenser are not filled with all sorts of debris; keep both of them cleaned. If you do not do that, a chocked condenser limits the flow of air across the unit, which brings down the capacity of breaking down heat produced by the air conditioning system.

Timely Flushing of Radiator

Make use of good quality cleaning chemicals and flush your radiator about every 2 years. If you take care of your car’s engine cooling mechanism, you will notice that your air conditioner will continue to operate at the right temperature. An overheated engine can definitely have a bearing on the performance of your car’s air conditioning system

Know When to Turn off Your Car’s AC

You should first turn off your car’s AC and then shut off the car’s engine. This helps in two ways: first is that you reduce the intensity of being hit by heatwaves when you get out of your chilled car. Second is that you will be doing your car’s battery a world of good. How? When you turn on your car the next time, the battery is saved from working hard to turn on two things simultaneously, the air conditioning and the engine.

Follow the above-mentioned steps and your car’s air conditioning will work just fine. If you ever need any help with it, we are always here to provide you with world-class repair services. As BMW repair specialists, we are capable of tackling any type of issue with your car. Along with BMW, we also handle Audi, Mercedes, Volvo, Volkswagen, and many other top-class cars.