North Kansas City Auto Repair

When we shop for shoes, most of us know that we can get two pairs of cheap shoes or one good pair for about the same price. And since the two cheap pairs wear out in about the same time as the good pair, there really is no difference in cost. If you like having a closet full of shoes to match your moods and outfits, then cheap shoes can be what you want. But if you spend a lot of time on your feet, you probably know that cheap shoes can come with an added cost of sore feet and other foot ailments. When you add in the benefits of comfort and protection, the more expensive shoes are actually the better value. Buying tires at Northtown Auto Clinic in North Kansas City is a lot like buying shoes, except that North Kansas City drivers’ vehicles don’t have changeable apparel and don’t need a closet full of tires to match. Vehicles spend a lot of time on their tires—all the time, in fact—so they need tires that can stand up to t ... read more

The team at Northtown Auto Clinic in North Kansas City and Missouri car owners are all talking fuel efficiency right now. Better gas mileage. Fewer emissions. North Kansas City motorists want to save the environment and their pocketbooks. And we all know—or should know—that preventive maintenance will help maximize MPG. But is there something more North Kansas City auto owners can do? After all, some of us North Kansas City folks can’t cut back on our driving, and others would like to do more to economize. Weight is one major enemy of fuel economy. The more you lug around in your vehicle, the more fuel you have to burn to get from North Kansas City to We service the Northland area. And that means buying more gas in North Kansas City and producing more emissions. Of course, your SUV’s weight isn’t negotiable. And you can’t do much about the weight of your passengers ... read more

Road trip, anyone? Nothing spoils a great vacation for us North Kansas City drivers then ending up stranded on the side of the road or spending a week in a rundown motel while our vehicle sits in the shop. Long days on the road can bring out the worst in your vehicle, so before you leave, prepare it for the journey by getting a diagnostic examination at Northtown Auto Clinic in North Kansas City. After all, you wouldn’t travel without clean socks, why ask your vehicle to travel with a load of detrimental dirty oil? The first step in a trip inspection at Northtown Auto Clinic is to look at your travel plans. What kinds of roads will you be driving on? Will you be in the Missouri backcountry or on the freeway? Will you be crossing mountains? Off-roading? What will the weather be like? How many miles away from North Kansas City will you be traveling? How much are you hauling? Will you be towing a trailer or lugging a rooftop carrier? Will you encounter dust, mud, sno ... read more

When North Kansas City auto owners think about preventive maintenance, what usually comes to mind is oil, fluids and brakes. We don’t generally think about our shocks or struts, but these important auto parts keep our tires on the road. North Kansas City car owners don’t think about shocks as often as oil changes because shocks and struts last a long time and wear out slowly. They don’t need to be checked as often as our brake pads or air filters. By the time your shocks have fifty thousand miles on them, their performance will have noticeable degraded. If you want to restore the handling and ride designed for your SUV, examine replacing your shocks and struts. Of course, if you drive off-road around North Kansas City, carry heavy loads, tow a trailer, or put in a lot of mileage on poor driving surfaces, your shocks or struts will wear out more quickly. You’ll need to replace them more often or upgrade to better shocks ... read more

Knowing how their engine works can help North Kansas City drivers make informed decisions about car care and prevent expensive repairs to their vehicles. This is especially true when it comes to timing belts. An engine’s power is generated in the cylinders. Inside the cylinder is a piston that moves up and down while the engine is running. Power is generated in a cycle that includes four strokes of the piston. First, the piston drops and a valve at the top of the cylinder opens to let in fuel and air. The piston then rises, which compresses the fuel and air. At this point, the spark plug fires, igniting the fuel and pushing the piston down. This downstroke transfers energy to the engine, which provides the power it needs to run. The piston rises again, and a valve opens to release the exhaust. All of this movement is orchestrated by a timing belt. The timing belt is so named because it keeps the pistons and valves operating in synch wi ... read more

When it comes to preventive maintenance and car care, most North Kansas City motorists know how essential it is to check their brakes. But brakes are more than just brake pads and shoes. There are a lot of components in the brake system, and they all need to be in good working order. The pads and shoes are known as the friction materials in the brake system. They push together, providing friction, which stops the vehicle. It’s no wonder they have to be checked regularly for wear, and that brake pads and shoes need to be replaced periodically. Brake pads/shoes gradually wear out, but that doesn’t mean your braking gradually becomes less effective. The pads are engineered so that they maintain good braking until they wear too thin to provide adequate friction. At this point, they need to be replaced. But your braking system also has mechanical parts. These pistons and springs can also gradually wear out or g ... read more

Remember snow tires? They were basically just regular tires with big, knobby lugs to get them through deep snow. They were loud and rode hard, and North Kansas City drivers couldn’t wait to get them off the car. Then along came television advertisements for “all-season” radials. Missouri motorists ran out and bought some and we thought we were done with snow tires forever. Tires have come a long way since then. Modern winter tires sold in the Kansas City area are much better designed for the wide range of dangerous conditions that come with Missouri winter weather. They are made with a rubber compound that helps them stay flexible in cold weather. Regular tires become hard and stiff at North Kansas City temperatures below 45°F, which reduces their traction. That’s a critical concern in winter, especially with snowy or wet North Kansas City conditions. But it also means that North Kansas City auto owners are better off with winter tires in cold weather even when it ... read more

Safe Missouri travel starts with preventive maintenance and good car care at Northtown Auto Clinic. But there are other things North Kansas City car owners can do to prepare for emergencies on the road. Here’s some auto advice that can help you plan for emergencies, and just may save your life — or someone else’s. First, North Kansas City auto owners should consider keeping an auto emergency kit in their car. The kit should contain items that will allow you to deal with common emergencies on the road. Some essential items you should carry in your SUV include jumper cables (or a booster box), flares, a flashlight and some basic hand tools. Other useful items include gloves, two quarts of oil, some antifreeze, water and everything you need to change a tire. You might also consider a can of tire inflator, which is a great temporary fix for mino ... read more

Your SUV’s exhaust system is more than just a tailpipe and a muffler. In fact, it is one of the most complex systems on your SUV. Maintaining it is good Northtown Auto Clinic auto advice for North Kansas City motorists, but it’s also good health advice and good environmental advice. The exhaust system includes your emissions system. Because this system may affect your health and the health of our Kansas City area environment, it is subject to strict government regulations. Satisfying these regulations demands some high-tech, computer-controlled equipment, which means that the emissions system is a lot more sophisticated than it was thirty years ago. Most vehicle manufacturers recommend that you have your SUV exhaust and emissions systems checked by a qualified technician at regular intervals. The exhaust system starts with the ... read more

A vehicle’s suspension system is tough. It can last for years and tens of thousands of miles for North Kansas City drivers. But it can be damaged quickly by hitting a pothole, curb or rock, and it can wear more quickly if you frequently drive off-road or on bumpy roads. A workhorse vehicle — one that hauls heavy loads — is also going to be hard on its suspension system. Because the useful life of your suspension system contains these elements of unpredictability, it is important for North Kansas City auto owners to have them inspected periodically. Worn, broken and missing parts can be identified during a diagnostic examination. An ineffective suspension system will lessen the driver’s control over a vehicle, so when it is damaged it frequently leads to the worst kind of vehicular damage — dangerous and costly accidents. The suspension system is composed of springs and shock absorbers (or shocks). Springs suspend the weight of the vehicle above its axle ... read more