Aaaaah, nothing like a breath of fresh air but what about the air inside your car?????  Hi Cayenne here and today we will bark about what kind of air quality is inside your car.  So take a deep breath and watch my video first!

Air quality has certainly become a hot issue in our modern world. We install air filters on our ventilation systems and in our vacuum cleaners. There's a filter that cleans the air going into our vehicle's engine — so why not one for the air in the passenger compartment?

Foreign and domestic vehicle manufacturers haven't been ignoring the issue. Cabin air filters are becoming a standard feature on newer vehicles. These filters can clean particles out of the air down to three microns, which accounts for pollen, dust and most pollutants. Los Altos residents who suffer from allergies or have a respiratory disorder should be a lot more comfortable. And even if you don't have a medical need for the filter, the cleaner air in your car just might help you breathe better, figuratively as well as literally.

Cabin air filters are still fairly new in the Los Altos area, so you'll have to check your vehicle owner's manual to see if you have one. If you do, your routine car care will have to include changing the filter as part of your preventive maintenance. The owner's manual will give recommendations on how often the filter has to be changed, but if the air where you live in CA is particularly dirty or if you're prone to hay fever, you may want to change it more often.

Your friendly service advisor at Allied Auto Works can also offer suggestions on how often to change your cabin air filter in your Los Altos area. They're the ones who actually see the dirty filters, after all.

There is no standardized location for cabin air filters. Los Altos residents can usually find them in the vehicle engine compartment or under the dashboard, but they might be somewhere else. So the ease of changing the filter will depend on its location. Some are readily accessible, but others make you wonder how they got installed in the first place. Bring your car into Allied Auto Works and we will locate your cabin air filter for you.

However, if you have a newer vehicle, it's good auto advice to find out if it has a cabin air filter. If it does, you should change the filter regularly. A sure sign that a filter needs to be changed is that the interior of your vehicle will start to smell bad. That smell is exactly how some Los Altos drivers discovered that they had cabin air filters in the first place!

Cabin air filters are just one more way we have to stay safe, stay healthy and stay on the road in CA.

Now you can relax and exhale,

Cayenne

Allied Auto Works
2073 Grant Road
Los Altos, CA 94024
650.968.7227
http://www.alliedautoworks.com

Duke here and do you like to shop for shoes in Los Altos?  When buying a running shoe, is quality important?  Does durability matter as long as the shoes look fabulous?  Would you rather have one pair of long-lasting shoes or two pairs of lower quality shoes at the same price?    Tires work the same way, there are quality tires and then cheap tires.    We will bark about this subject today.  Watch my informative video first!

Is the warranty important when buying tires?

Los Altos drivers should also think about the safety aspect of tires. The tires do a lot of work – they carry the weight of the vehicle and you and your passengers. You want to be sure they hold the road and provide good traction on CA freeways and surface streets. If you carry heavy loads or tow a trailer on CA highways, the tires need a high load rating.

Ask your friendly and knowledgeable Los Altos tire professional at Allied Auto Works. I think it's important that Los Altos residents understand the effect of price on a tire's quality, performance and durability. When I was a kid, my dad would say, “Pay twice as much and buy half as many.”

The same principle applies to tires. The major tire brands that you're familiar with in Los Altos are known as Tier 1 tires. These tires are high quality and well-engineered. Comparable vehicle Tier 1 tires are usually priced similarly.

Stepping down, you come to private label tires. Some large CA tire store chains carry tires with their own brand. It's important to know that most private label tires are built by the same Tier 1 companies that you are familiar with – so you are pretty safe in choosing them. To be sure, you can ask your Allied Auto Works tire professional which manufacturer makes their private brand.

The lowest priced tires on the market in Los Altos are Tier 3 tires which are usually imported from China or South America. Since you get what you pay for, you can't expect a Tier 3 tire to deliver the same performance and durability as the others.

What's the difference in the tires with high mileage warranties? It's the rubber compounds and the amount of tread material. As you might expect, you'll pay more for the longer-lasting tire.

Your tires are the only parts of your vehicle that touch the road. You're only as safe as your tires are well built. Buy value – not price.

Duke

Allied Auto Works
2073 Grant Road
Los Altos, CA 94024
650.968.7227
http://www.alliedautoworks.com

Happy Winter, Cayenne here and this week we are going to address proper fluids for your vehicle.    It's easy for us, water is our main fluid but our car has lots of fluids it needs to make sure it is running at its best.  So I will guide through this.  Let's get barkin!

The automotive professionals at Allied Auto Works would like to give Los Altos drivers an update on some of the things happening in automotive fluids. You know, vehicles are becoming more sophisticated every day.  Fluids such as oil, coolant and transmission fluid are becoming more specialized at about the same pace.

The Los Altos do-it-yourselfer has to be pretty careful so that they do not actually harm their vehicle with the wrong type of fluid. That is why so many CA ] owners rely on the advice of their friendly and knowledgeable Allied Auto Works service advisor to not only get the correct family of fluids, but to suggest the formulation that is best for their vehicle and their driving habits in the Los Altos area.

Let's start with engine oil. Los Altos drivers who have been paying attention will have noticed a number of new oil weights on the CA scene in the last several years. Modern engines are built to much tighter tolerances and have very complicated valve trains. The oil must be thin enough to lubricate complicated parts when the engine is cold. The weight of an oil is expressed in terms like 20-W-50 or 5-W-30. The vehicle manufacturers recommend the weight of oil for each vehicle they make. The recommendation is based on engine design. Your Los Altos service center will know what weight your vehicle manufacturer recommends - and it's important to follow those recommendations. Your service advisor at Allied Auto Works can also offer suggestions for special formulations and can tell you all about conventional and synthetic oils.

Antifreeze, or engine coolant, is another area that has become more complicated. For a long time, vehicle manufacturers only recommended a couple of different types of coolant. Now, several different formulations are needed because of the high-tech materials that vehicle manufacturers are using to build the cooling system. Using the wrong type of coolant in your vehicle can actually void your warranty, so it's important to get that right.

Transmission fluid is becoming specialized for Los Altos vehicles as well. New transmission designs have particular requirements that require specific formulations. Recently, new, somewhat confusing, standards for brake fluid have also been released.

Not too long ago, there was a good chance that all of the vehicles at your house would use many of the same fluids. However, as automotive technology advances, the array of basic automotive fluids CA drivers need will grow. And, some of the formulations will cost a little more for Los Altos drivers. Fortunately, Allied Auto Works will continue to update their training to keep pace with technology so that you'll get the right fluids your vehicle needs. It's all part of the commitment we make to your driving peace of mind.

Till next week with Duke, this is your favorite coonhound,

Cayenne

 Allied Auto Works
2073 Grant Road
Los Altos, CA 94024
650.968.7227
http://www.alliedautoworks.com

Hey Duke here and don't  you get annoyed when someone can't make a decision, they go back and forth.  Wishy-Washy I call it.  Well, the other thing you do not want to be Wishy-Washy is your car's windshield washer fluid.  So today, I am going to bark straight to the point so no Wishy-Washy advice here.   Let's get barkin'!

Perhaps you've found yourself driving when something all of a sudden splashes on your windshield, obstructing your view. You know that sinking feeling when you try to turn on the windshield washers and no fluid comes out. Now you're blinded even more. What can you do?

The best thing is to make sure your windshield washer fluid is always topped off and ready for these situations. You probably figure you'll grab a bottle of that blue stuff you see in the store. But is that really the right choice?

One thing you know ISN'T the right choice is plain water. It can freeze when temperatures drop. Plus, when it's close to the freezing mark outside, spraying water on your windshield can freeze, turning it literally into frosted glass and blinding you suddenly. Water freezing in your vehicle's washer lines can also damage them.

There are different types of windshield washer fluid made for different climates. Many have alcohol to prevent them from freezing; their label will usually tell you at what temperature they'll start to freeze.

Some washer fluids will have detergents in them so they can cut through contaminants and dirt. Still, other washer fluids have a chemical in them to prevent streaking.

Also, keep in mind some washer fluids are made to be put in your fluid reservoir as is; others are made to be diluted.

No matter what washer fluid you pick, make sure you have plenty of it in your vehicle. Our pros at Allied Auto Works can top off your levels with the right kind of fluid. That's also a good reminder to have your windshield washer system working properly. Your technician can check not only the washers but the wiper blades and motor to make sure all are in top condition. The worst time you can discover it is usually when you need it most.

Well, I hope you liked my straight forward advice today, straight from  your favorite hound's mouth,

Duke

Allied Auto Works
2073 Grant Road
Los Altos, CA 94024
650.968.7227
http://www.alliedautoworks.com