Automotive Industry News & Information - CME Smog & Auto Repair

In life, you learn that more expensive doesn’t always mean better. When it comes to transmission fluid, does it matter? Are name brand fluids better than the cheapest option? CME Smog & Auto Repair in Vacaville, CA has the answers.

At CME Smog & Auto Repair in Vacaville, we’re not only here to fix your car when something goes wrong...we’re here to help you understand your car, truck, or SUV a little better, too. Here are some tips concerning your thermostat - how it works, what to watch out for, and what to do about it when one fails.

Judging by the number of near-rear-endings we witness on our morning commutes, the typical attitude toward brake maintenance appears to be, “Brakes: Don’t let them stop you!” This puzzles us because monitoring your braking system’s health is one of the most straightforward aspects of car ownership. You do have to know what to look for, though, or rather, what to listen and feel for. So let us, uh, break it down for you. Here are the top three signs that your brakes need fixing.

If there’s one thing we know at CME Smog & Auto Repair in Vacaville, CA, it's the importance of a transmission. While engines get a lot of the spotlight in conversations about vehicles, we know that the transmission is the unsung hero of your automobile. We want you to know just how important it is, too.

Trucks aren’t like cars...your average personal vehicle usually holds about 5 quarts of oil, and you are supposed to change it every 3-5k miles. However, the same logic doesn’t apply to large trucks. At CME Smog & Auto Repair in Vacaville, we know how important proper oil changes and diagnostics are to keep your truck on the road, for hundreds of thousands of miles. Here’s what you need to know:

Are you leaking oil? Our technicians atCME Smog & Auto Repair in Vacaville, CA can help. Oil leaks not only mess up your driveway but also make a mess under the hood and cost big when it comes to related repairs and maintenance. They can also cause serious inconvenient issues and are when best-taken care of immediately.

At CME Smog & Auto Repair in Vacaville, we know that some of the most elusive issues with any car, truck, or SUV are often caused by the simplest of malfunctions. While you might consider a gas cap fairly innocuous, it can actually malfunction too, prompting a check engine light on your dashboard.

Prevention is better than cure. You've probably heard that said plenty of times. The phrase is most often used to talk about health and medicine, but it is just as valid to apply it to vehicles. It's great if your problem can be sorted without much trouble, but even better not to have a problem in the first place. This is especially true when it comes to your vehicle's transmission, as this can be one of the more specialized parts to repair. Not all transmission problems require an extensive overhaul, but they will all cause at least some trouble and inconvenience. Avoiding transmission problems is clearly preferable to even the problems that are quickest and cheapest repair. This is why it is important to ensure you take good care of your transmission. This will help prevent problems and keep it working smoothly. Ideally, it will mean that it doesn't develop any faults at all. Even if it does eventually go wrong, however, it is entirely possible that good care will mean the fault is less serious and easier to repair than it would have been otherwise. Here's some insight on how to prevent problems from our team here at CME Smog & Auto Repair.