What's your comfort zone?

As car owners, we push a few buttons or turn some knobs, and voila, we have warm air blowing on our feet or cool air chilling our face. How does all that happen? Well, it’s all thanks to the air blend box. This box lives behind the dash and conveys just the right temperature of air right where it is wanted.

Let’s break it down. First there is the blower fan that circulates the air through the heating/air conditioning system. The fan can blow at different speeds, depending on how much hot or cold air is required to be comfortable. The blend box can either deliver fresh air from outside, or recirculate air from inside the cabin. Saskatoon auto owners often choose to recirculate air when first starting the vehicle until it starts to either cool down or warm up. In recent weeks it was recommended to only recirculate air in the vehicles due to the forest fires and the high air quality health index.

The next thing the blend box does is convey airflow over the heater core to warm the air, or over the air conditioner evaporator core to chill it – it can also blend both hot and cold to get it just right. From there the blend box can direct the air out into the passenger compartment through the floor vents, the panel vents, the defroster, or a combination. All of this allows drivers to customize the climate just the way the like it.

Some vehicles have different climate control zones, like one for the driver and one for the passenger – or even more zones for the back seat. Additional blend boxes are used for this. Climate controls could be manually adjusted or computer controlled depending on your vehicle.

The blower motor and all of the little actuator motors that open and close the various blend doors can fail and need to be replaced. Most new vehicles come with a cabin air filter. This filter cleans the air before it gets into the blend box. If you neglect changing the cabin air filter, it can get clogged, smelly, and even allow mildew and other microorganisms to build up in the blend box.

At Crestview Auto Service, we can carry out a heating/air conditioning system-cleaning service that will clean and disinfect the system, restoring a fresh clean scent. If you are not getting enough hot or cold air, let us inspect your system, diagnose the cause and set things right. Also, don’t forget to replace the cabin air filter on schedule. Keep in mind; if you live and drive in dusty conditions or where there is a lot of pollen or other pollutants, you may need to replace your cabin air filter more frequently. We are here for you.

Crestview Auto Service
24 23rd St E
Saskatoon, SK S7K 0H5
306-244-6522

www.crestviewautoservice.ca

Summer And Vacations Go Hand In Hand

Start your summer vacation off on the right foot; have your vehicle properly serviced and ready for the trip ahead. Hot weather and cold weather have one thing in common, your vehicle doesn't like either one. Ever notice the vehicles sitting on the side of the highway are usually a long way from home? That’s because the shorter trips we normally take don’t get all the moving components up to temperature like a longer trip does. Even a 1 or 2 hour trip to the lake can be enough for some vehicles to succumb to the heat and pressure created from an extended drive. Belts, hoses and cooling systems take a real beating with the added heat generated which can leave you stranded for a few hours or days if you haven’t been fortunate to stop in time, ending up with a serious mechanical failure and your car undriveable. Cooling system failure can happen very fast with devastating results, this is also a major cause of engine damage; and that’s never cheap to repair. While you are driving be sure to keep an eye on the temperature gauge, if you see it rising beyond its normal position to the “hot” zone you can try turning off the air conditioning. If that doesn't help and the gauge is at or in the hot zone, pull over as soon as possible to avoid creating any additional problems from the heat.

Start your trip out the safe reliable way; have a comprehensive inspection performed to make sure you don’t have any surprises when you least expect them. Routine service inspections are intended to identify potential trouble areas that should be addressed before they become problems. This helps have a stress free holiday or even a weekend away.  

Let the Crestview team get your vehicle ready for travel. To book an appointment and read more about us visit us on line at crestviewautoservice.ca 

Saving fuel; Tips on driving and maintenance

April 10, 2012

The most important thing one can do is chose the most fuel-efficient vehicle for your everyday needs, you can achieve additional savings and reduce your vehicle’s impact on the environment by following these tips created by.


The Natural Resources Canada

Driving Tips:

-Accelerate gently: The harder you accelerate the more fuel you will use. In the city, where about half of the fuel you consume is used to accelerate your vehicle, you can save as much as 15 percent by pressing the pedal gently. Imagine an open cup of coffee on your dashboard – don’t spill it!!

-Maintain a steady speed: you will not only consume less fuel but also help enhance traffic flow, minimize emissions and enjoy safer driving conditions. Use cruise control for highway driving, where conditions permit, to maintain a steady speed and optimize your fuel savings.

-Anticipate traffic: Hard braking and rapid acceleration burns more fuel and are unsafe. Drive defensively and watch ahead for changes in traffic flow. When possible, leave plenty of space between you and the vehicle in front of you.

-Coast to decelerate: By anticipating slowdowns and removing your foot from the accelerator as early as possible, you can decrease your speed and conserve fuel. Most vehicles today have fuel-injection systems that automatically shut off the flow of fuel to the engine when you accelerator is released, so take advantage by coasting.

-Avoid high speeds: The faster a vehicle travels above 80 km/h the more fuel it consumes. For example, vehicle needs 20 percent more fuel to go 120 km/h than to go 80 km/h. slow down for safer and more fuel –efficient driving.

-Don’t idle unnecessarily: If you’re going to be stopped for more than 60 seconds – when parked –turn the engine off.

-Use air conditioning sparingly: Due to the extra load on the engine, air conditioning can increase your vehicle’s fuel consumption by 20 percent. Roll down your windows when city driving, or use the vehicle’s flow-through ventilation on the highway.

-Lighten your load: Roof and bicycle racks decrease your vehicle’s aerodynamics and heavy items in your trunk add weight, causing your vehicle to burn more fuel. Take only what you need.

-Make one long trip instead of several short ones: Separate trips of less the 5 km do not allow a cold engine to reach its peak operating temperature, resulting in increased fuel consumption and emissions, Combine trips into one outing to save time, fuel and money.

-Leave your vehicle at home: Walk, bike, carpool or take public transit whenever possible.


RJ PICK UP SERVICE
241A Main Street North
Uxbridge, Ontario, L9P 1C3
Phone 905-852-4238
Email: EMAIL US TIRECRAFT!!   We're driving towards a cure with every car we serviceshow your support and go pink!!

Auto Air Conditioning Repair Basics: Common Symptoms & Problems

by Marjorie, Cars for Keeps Social Media Manager

A broken air conditioner in your automobile gets put at the bottom of the "to-do" list all winter long. As we move into another warm, humid Michigan summer, however, suddenly having a car air conditioner that works - and works WELL - is of the utmost importance. Who wants to arrive at a meeting, the mall, or a friend's house sweating and flushed by stale, hot car air?

Having an auto air conditioner that "kind of" works may get YOU by, but faulty air conditioners can cause bigger damage to your car down the road if left unattended. An air conditioner running low on coolant, on dirty coolant on faulty electrical wiring can end up ruining the entire air conditioning compressor. Car air conditioners are connected to the rest of the vehicle's electrical system, meaning a surge or problem with the air conditioner can cause problems with the rest of the car, causing poor idling, fuel inefficiencies or drained batteries.

Generallly, auto air conditioners are fast, easy and inexpensive to fix. Most car air conditioning problems are coolant-related, and may often be as simple as getting a coolant flush, refill or fixed leak.

With that said, your car's air conditioners is not one of those devices most technicians recommend fixing at home, unless you're a qualified mechanic. Most do-it-yourself instructions for fixing broken auto air conditioners contain scary phrases, like "it is illegal to release freon gas into the atmoshere" and "be sure to wear proper hand and eye protection". Plus, there are many different things that could be wrong with the car's air conditioning system.

Here are a few of the problems most commonly found in auto air conditioners:

1) Coolant and/or Refrigerant Leaks. This generally applies to older, less computerized vehicles. Refrigerant can run out on its own over the course of time, or leaks may have developed in the car's AC compressor or one of its hoses. If your vehicle has never had a coolant flush or refill and it's pushing 150,000 miles or more, it's probably time.

2) Noisy AC Compressor. Noises that occur when your car's AC is turned on can come from minor engine noises or hoses, but they could also be symptoms of problems with the compressor. If the problem is the AC compressor, it will likely have to be replaced.

3) Fluctuating Temperatures. When a car's AC blows out air with sporadic temperatures, it's often likely that moisture is building up in one of the hoses or assemblies, causing ice to accumulate and clog. Removing ice from a car's air conditioning assembly is a short and easy procedure.

4) Faulty Car Electrical System. A weak car battery can cause your auto air conditioner to function weakly or not at all. Car batteries need to have enough voltage to trigger the AC compressor, and while it may be strong enough to run the rest of your car, it may still be too weak to run your car's air conditioning.

5) Bacteria Buildup. Funky smells emanating from your car's air conditioning vents are likely caused by a bacteria buildup in the evaporator. Good auto mechanics (like Cars for Keeps!) will have the proper tools to flush the evaporator out quickly and without much cost.

So what are some basic ways to tell if any of these are a problem for your car's air conditioning unit? Here's a basic checklist of symptoms which indicate something is wrong with your auto AC:

- If the AC system doesn't produce cold air (duh)
- If the fan or blower doesn't work
- If the fan, blower or AC is noisy when turned on
- If one of the dashboard controls malfunctions
- If the vent, car heater or defroster are having problems working correctly
- If the air conditioning smells funky
- If the car has a tendency to overhead
- If the air filter or dryer have never been replaced, or if the AC has never been serviced before

If one of these symptoms applies to your car's air conditioning system, it's probably time to have it inspected by a mechanic. Caught early, most auto air conditioning problems are fairly easy and inexpensive to fix.

Stay cool!