Rocklin and Sacramento Auto Repair

When your vehicle breaks down in the Sacramento, California, area, or just needs some routine service, it can make you a little nervous. Because your vehicle's so important to your life, you need to be back on the road as soon as possible — with the problem fixed right the first time.We've been checking into some of the training our Sacramento, California, technicians receive, and we're very impressed. It's amazing how much knowledge and skill goes into diagnosing and repairing a modern vehicle. So it's not like when your uncle worked on his hot rod over the weekend.Today there are four-cylinder engines around Sacramento that make more power than the V-8's in luxury cars did 20 years ago. A new V-6 Toyota Camry could beat Sonny Crocket's Ferrari in a race to 60 mph/97 kph.Our engines are more and more powerful. And they're so reliable. This is all due to engineering. But the benefits come to Sacramento drivers at the price of simplicity. Modern cars are so mu ... read more

  Today at Made In America Made In Japan we want to talk with you about a very important safety issue. This automotive safety warning is coming from a very unusual source: fire fighting experts. You've probably heard of E-85 gasoline being offered in the Sacramento area. Some newer vehicle models are specifically built to run on E-85 – the rest are not. Does your vehicle use E-85 gasoline? Bring it down to Made In America Made In Japan at 1200 I St in Sacramento, California 95814, to find out, or give us a call to make an appointment by calling 916-442-3287. E-85 gasoline has been developed to fight air pollution and reduce oil consumption. E-85 fuel is a mix of 85% ethanol, a grain-base alcohol, and 15% gasoline. So-called Flex-Fuel vehicles are designed to use either normal gasoline or E-85 gas. The result is lower exhaust emissions to our local Sacramento community.All gas en ... read more

Today we want to talk about a system in our vehicles – the cooling system. It's one of those things that Sacramento auto owners don't give much thought to until it fails and then they're stranded by the side of a road in California.Cooling systems fail more often than any other mechanical system – usually because of neglect. Don't you hate it when something breaks and you could have done something to prevent it?The good news is that if Sacramento drivers take care of their cooling systems, they can keep working for the life of their car.Here at Made In America Made In Japan in Sacramento, we emphasize preventive maintenance services like replacing your coolant according to the factory schedule. But the various parts that make up the cooling system need attention too. The major components of the cooling system are the water pump, freeze plugs, the thermostat, radiator, cooling fans, the heater core, the pressure cap, the over ... read more

All Sacramento service advisors know that without the alternator, the battery will go dead in a few miles. The serpentine belt may also run the pumps for both the power steering and power brakes. And on many vehicles, the serpentine belt powers the water pump. The water pump circulates coolant through the engine to keep it within normal operating temperatures. (On some vehicles, the water pump is powered by the timing belt instead of the serpentine belt.) So you can see the serpentine belt does a lot of work. And it if breaks, it affects a lot of systems. That's why your vehicle manufacturer and your service advisor at Made In America Made In Japan have recommended that it be changed every so often so that it doesn't fail.Your friendly and knowledgeable Made In America Made In Japan service advisor can perform a visual inspection of the belt to see if it has any cracks that signal the belt could fail ... read more

Bad air quality while you're driving around Sacramento is nothing to sneeze at. But seriously, more and more vehicles these days come equipped with a cabin air filter. Since they're fairly new on the scene, a lot of folks don't know about them yet.These filters clean the air in the passenger compartment, or cabin, of your car or truck. They do the same job as the furnace filter you have at home. They can filter out particles as small as three microns. By contrast, a grain of sand is about 200 microns.So your cabin air filter can clean out dust, pollution, pollen and spores to keep the air in your car nice and clean. And just like your furnace filter, they need to be replaced when they get dirty. Check your owner's manual or ask your service advisor at Made In America Made In Japan, but they typically need to be replaced at around 12,000 to 15,000 miles (19,000-24,000 kilometers).The filter is usually either under the hood or under the dashboard. Some are a little tricky to g ... read more

We live in a disposable society. Everything from elaborate packaging to our clothing. Even cell phones are disposable. When replacement is cheaper than repair, the term "built to last" goes by the wayside. An exception is our vehicles. They're still a very big investment and Sacramento drivers want to make them last as long as possible.  We also want to make keeping them running as cheap as possible. When talking vehicles, it's all about preventive maintenance. There is an old saying that says, "A stitch in time saves nine," and that is really true when it comes to taking care of your vehicle. A great example is coolant service in Sacramento.Your coolant not only protects your engine from overheating and freezing, it must also protect cooling system components from corrosion. Over time, coolant becomes corrosive and actually starts to damage your radiator and other parts. That's why you need to have your cooling system serviced on a regular schedule.The same is true for your ... read more

A while back, the Cash for Clunkers program was all over the news. Sacramento people could trade in their old vehicle for a new one that got better fuel economy and receive a government rebate. A lot of Sacramento motorists had so-called clunkers that they wanted to keep. They’re good commuters, grocery getters or toy haulers. They enjoy that fact that they’re paid off, or soon will be. They would gladly like to keep their sedans for 200,000 miles or more – as long as it’s economical to do so. There are plenty of Sacramento drivers whose vehicles are running after 150,000 or 200,000 miles. We can learn from what they’re doing to keep our own sedans on the road in California. Sacramento drivers of high-mileage cars often report a common denominator of never skipping an oil change. ... read more

We've all seen people do crazy things while driving to or from Sacramento. A guy shaving in the rear-view mirror, a woman applying makeup, people talking on their phones, texting or drinking from an enormous coffee mug. All of these are an accident waiting to happen. The truth is everyone in Sacramento California is distracted when we drive. Traffic, road construction and other things outside the car are beyond our control. But the distractions inside our car are things we can often control. Here's some things that'll give you more control in your car, and help keep your attention on the roads around Sacramento California. Drivers who are 16 to 20 years old tend to be more distracted by the radio, CD or MP3 player. Drivers who are 20 to 29 are more distracted by passengers in the car, including small children. And those over age 65 tend to be more distracted by objects or events that are outside of the vehicle. Other factors like fatigue, stress and lack of sleep make it harder to p ... read more

  All Sacramento drivers have blind spots – and no, I'm not talking about the fact that you really don't sing like Adele. I mean the areas of the road that you can't see when you're driving around Sacramento.First let's talk about our own blinds spots, and then we can talk about others...To begin, we can greatly reduce blind spots by properly adjusting our mirrors to give the widest coverage possible. Make the adjustments in your vehicle before you start to drive.First, Sacramento drivers should adjust their rear view mirrors to give the best possible view directly to the rear of their vehicle. Sacramento folks don't need it to get a better view of either side of the car, the kids in the back seat or their dazzling smile. It's pretty obvious, the rear view mirror should reflect the rear.Next, lean your head until it almost touches the driver's side window. Adjust your side mirror so that you can just barely see the side of your car. Now, lean your head to the middl ... read more

Your wheel bearings may be something to which you've never given a thought while driving around Sacramento, California. Wheel bearings are what enable your wheels to spin freely. Since they bear the entire weight of the vehicle, they have to be tough. Wheel bearings can last well over 60,000 miles or 100,000 kilometers. They do wear out though and must eventually be replaced.You might hear a groaning sound from your wheels. The sound might disappear at some speeds and reappear at others. Your Sacramento, California, service technician at Made In America Made In Japan can quickly tell if your bearings are bad by raising the vehicle and wiggling the wheel. When you grasp the top and bottom of the tire, it shouldn't move along the vertical axis.Many vehicles these days have wheel bearing assemblies that cannot be serviced at Made In America Made In Japan. When the bearings go bad, we simply replace the entire wheel bearing assembly.For those vehicles ... read more