Ever wondered how your vehicle’s A/C works? Here’s how in 6 steps

Imagine you have someplace to be and it’s a hot, steamy summer day. You don’t want to arrive a sweaty, wind-blown mess, so you turn on one of the marvels of modern automotive design: the air conditioner. It’s estimated that more than 99 percent of all new cars in the United States have A/C.

So how does your car or truck produce that wonderful cool air at the push of a button? Here’s an easy-to-understand explanation, courtesy of edmunds.com. We thought we’d share it with you instead of reinventing the wheel for our A/C article:

Step 1: The compressor is the power unit of the A/C system. It is powered by a drive belt connected to the engine’s crankshaft. When the A/C system is turned on, the compressor pumps out refrigerant vapor under high pressure and high heat to the condenser.

Step 2: The condenser is a device used to change the high-pressure refrigerant vapor to a liquid. It is mounted ahead of the engine’s radiator, and it looks very similar to a radiator with its parallel tubing and tiny cooling fins. If you look through the grille of a car and see what you think is a radiator, it is most likely the condenser. As the car moves, air flowing through the condenser removes heat from the refrigerant, changing it to a liquid state.

Step 3: Refrigerant moves to the receiver-drier. This is the storage tank for the liquid refrigerant. It also removes moisture from the refrigerant. Moisture in the system can freeze and then act similarly to cholesterol in the human blood stream, causing blockage.

Step 4: As the compressor continues to pressurize the system, liquid refrigerant under high pressure is circulated from the receiver-drier to the thermostatic expansion valve. The valve removes pressure from the liquid refrigerant so that it can expand and become refrigerant vapor in the evaporator.

Step 5: The evaporator is very similar to the condenser. It consists of tubes and fins and is usually mounted inside the passenger compartment. As the cold low-pressure refrigerant is released into the evaporator, it vaporizes and absorbs heat from the air in the passenger compartment. As the heat is absorbed, cool air will be available for the occupants of the vehicle. A blower fan inside the passenger compartment helps to distribute the cooler air.

Step 6: The heat-laden, low-pressure refrigerant vapor is then drawn into the compressor to start another refrigeration cycle.

Occasionally A/C systems can go on the blink. If you see any of these symptoms, bring your vehicle in for an A/C check:

•  The air conditioning won’t blow any cold air.

•  The air that is blowing is weak.

•  There is a strange odor in the system when you turn it on.

• The car stalls or idles roughly when the A/C is on.

• The windows fog up and won’t clear up.

• The top and side vents or the defroster aren’t working.

Ever seen this dashboard light? If so, your power steering has a problem

There are a number of dashboard warning lights that can pop on at any minute. Everyone knows what the oil light and battery light are for, but a lot of them require pulling out the owners’ manual. In the coming months, we are going to take a look at different lights and what they stand for to help make it a little clearer.

This light, a steering wheel and exclamation point, indicates that your vehicle’s power steering fluid levels are low or that there is a fault in the system. The steering wheel looks slightly different depending on the model of car or truck.

If the light turns on, the fluid levels need to be checked and topped up if low. If the light remains illuminated after the fluid is filled or comes back on down the road, then the vehicle needs to be inspected by a technician.

If the power steering fails, you can still drive your car or truck, but it will be significantly harder to steer.

Sing it out with these road trip music suggestions!

The sun is shining, the breeze is blowing through your car or truck, and the music is playing. Sounds like a perfect drive, doesn’t it? But the music coming out of the speakers can make or break your trip. Slow, boring songs you can’t sing to? Forget it. Road trip songs have to be fast and loud, and you absolutely must sing along as loudly as you can!

Here’s a list of the perfect road trip songs to get you where you’re going. There’s about a million more that would qualify, so let us know what you would add (or take off the list).

• Paint it Black – Rolling Stones

• Layla – Derek and the Dominos

• Baba O’Reilly – The Who

• Dirt Road Anthem – Jason Aldean

• Gold on the Ceiling or Lonely Boy – The Black Keys

• Carry On – fun

• Thunder Road, Born To Run and The Rocker – Bruce Springsteen

• Beautiful Day – U2

• Running Down a Dream – Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

• Ramblin Man – The Allman Brothers Band

• Freeway of Love – Aretha Franklin

• Fool in the Rain – Led Zeppelin

• On the Road Again – Willie Nelson

• Born to be Wild – Steppenwolf

If you’re traveling with kids, there are a ton of options to keep them (happily) occupied, too.

• The Rockabye Baby! series features lullaby renditions of popular music, including the Beatles, Bob Marley, Foo Fighters, Metallic, Madonna, U2, Johnny Cash, Weezer and many, many more.

• Anything by Caspar Babypants. These songs are so catchy that you’ll find yourself singing them (even when you aren’t in the car).

• The Laurie Berkner Band. Laurie is featured on Nick Jr.’s “Jack’s Big Music Show,” so your kids might already know some of these songs!

• The Kidz Bop series features current popular music sung by kids (with lyrics that are appropriate for smaller fry and preteens).

Happy travels!

Headed on a road trip? Come in for a pretrip inspection

It’s May, which means Memorial Day is right around the corner. Memorial Day means cookouts and parades, and it also means the beginning of summer road trip season. After a long winter, your vehicle needs some TLC before heading out. Here are some suggestions for getting your car road worthy and ready for a long trip:

• Check out your tires. There’s three parts to this one. First, check your tire pressure. If your tire pressure is off, it will affect your safety and fuel economy, and negatively impact the life of your tires. Second, check the tire tread to make sure your tires have enough life in them. If you see any uneven wear, get them checked out before your trip. Also make sure the tread depth is appropriate. Legally, you must have 2/32 inch tread on the tires, which you can check with a penny. Place a penny into several tread grooves across the tire. If part of Lincoln’s head is always covered by the tread, you have more than 2/32 inch of tread depth remaining. But a new study shows that it’s safer to conduct the same test with a quarter instead, which provides 4/32 inch tread depth. Third, check your spare tire to make sure it has the right amount of air and is in good shape.

• Pack an emergency kit. No matter how new your car or how well you take care of it, sometimes bad stuff happens. Some of the basics you should have are a flashlight; a first-aid kit; a warning light, hazard triangle or flares; spare fuses; $20 in small bills and change; and a jack and lug wrench. This Consumer Reports article offers a full list of items you should have in your car in case of emergency.

• Check your lights and signals. Walk around the vehicle and make sure your headlights and turn signals work. Have someone help you check the brake lights, too. You don’t want to get pulled over on vacation for having non-working lights!

• Check your wiper blades. Make sure they are not cracked or rough and that they actually clean your windshield. If they are old and not doing that great a job, that can be a huge safety issue. You need to be able to see where you are going and what’s up ahead.

• Make sure you have an oil change if needed. Bring your vehicle in and we’ll also check all your fluid levels and top them off if needed, so you can scratch that job off the list!

• Get your records together. Make sure you have your license, insurance and registration (and check that they won’t expire while you are gone.) And make sure you have the number of your roadside-assistance plan handy in case you need help.

Ready to hit the road? Try these ideas for road trip fun

Now that the days are longer and there’s sunshine to spare, it’s time to think about heading out on the road for some fun. For the next several months we’ll be highlighting some road trip possibilities to jump start your trip planning! Here are a few to consider.

1. Did you know there are more than 100 wineries and 450 vineyards located throughout Illinois? There are six official wine trails that wine lovers can traverse and discover a variety of wines in just one trip. The wineries offer a variety of experiences: classes, tours, tastings, restaurants, comedy shows, music festivals and more. Pick a trail close to home or venture to the other end of the state.

If that’s not enough wine for you, you can continue the tasting into Michigan and tour the Lake Michigan Shore Wine Country, which stretches across the southwestern corner of Michigan from the Indiana-Michigan state line, north to the Kalamazoo River and east toward the city of Kalamazoo.

2. If the great outdoors is your thing, then head to Starved Rock State Park, which is located just southeast of the village of Utica along the south bank of the Illinois River. The park is known for its 18 canyons, which slice dramatically through tree-covered, sandstone bluffs for four miles. There are 13 miles of hiking trails and waterfalls, as well as fishing and boating, hunting, picnicking and hunting.

If you are interested in spending a few days at the park, there is a lodge with 72 luxury hotel rooms and 22 cabin rooms (and a restaurant). There’s also camping at 129 Class-A Premium campsites.

Outside the park in LaSalle County, enjoy paddlewheel boat tours, the Ottawa Mural Walking tour, several historic mansions, concerts by the Illinois Valley Symphony, a number of museums, shopping, rafting, boat trips, wine tastings and more.

3. If you’re looking for pure relaxation, try Mackinac Island, which is located in Lake Huron off the coast of Michigan between the state’s upper and lower peninsulas. No motor vehicles are allowed on the island (except for some service and emergency vehicles) so you have to take a ferry and the rely on your feet, bikes, carriages or horses to get around.

There are a variety of lodging options, including resorts, historic inns, bed-and-breakfasts and cottages. For entertainment, there’s Mackinac State Park, Fort Mackinac, horse-back riding, carriage tours, hiking, shopping, diverse dining options, nightly entertainment, festivals, Victorian architecture to admire and more.

And did we mention the fudge? Mackinac Island has had a tradition of fudge-making since shortly after the Civil War, and there are seven companies with shops all over the island. There’s even an annual Mackinac Island Fudge Festival.

Need new tires? Duxler Libertyville is the place to go

Question: When I need tires, shouldn’t I look for a place like Pep Boys, Sears, Sam’s Club that offers me the best deal? After all, tires are tires, aren’t they?

Answer: Actually, there’s a lot more to it than mounting any old tire on your car. And we have examples to prove it.

But first, consider this: Your tires are the only things on your car that contact the road. They alone—or almost alone—keep you moving down the road safely when it’s wet, snowy or icy, and they work with your brakes to ensure you stop when you need to. And in all weather conditions, they help create a smooth ride.

Because of this, your vehicle needs tires that perform well with your driving habits, on your vehicle and in your climate. That’s where a place like Duxler Libertyville stands out above the crowd of discount tire shops. Here’s an example: If you’re going to keep your car for another three years and you put 15,000 miles a year on it, we would recommend a 60,000-mile tire so the tire is still good when you sell the car or trade it in. If you buy a 45,000-mile tire, you’ll have to replace the tires before you sell or trade the car.

Another example: A lot of performance tires are also directional (they have a specific directional tread). While they perform very well, they also can get very noisy. Say we had a customer with a Lexus ES300, which is typically a very, very quiet and smooth-riding car, and the tires were performance/directional. If we test drove it, the car would sound very loud going down the road, even if the tires were only one or two years old. At Duxler Libertyville, we would not recommend that type of tire for a Lexus.

At Duxler Libertyville, our service advisors are more experienced and we get to know the clients so we can recommend tires based on your needs—not what’s on sale this month. We try to best suit your needs. You might not know much about a tire or the tire that’s currently on your car, and a mass marketer might sell you a tire that doesn’t fit your needs. We spend a lot of time asking you questions before we make a recommendation. We’re going to recommend something based on your needs, not ours.

Installation is key, too. Our ASE-Certified technicians take the time to properly install the new tires, including cleaning the rims properly, installing tire valves carefully and balancing the wheels properly. It doesn’t matter how good your tires are if they aren’t installed correctly. That attention to detail improves the performance and longevity of tires.

When you buy a set of four tires at Duxler Libertyville, we’ll take you to work, home or wherever you need to go in our shuttle, or you can get some fresh air on one of our loaner bikes.

Our goal is to give you the best auto repair advice for you and your needs – accurate, unbiased and without regard for “the sale.”

A bad idle air control valve will trigger your Check Engine light

Your car’s “Check Engine” or “Service Engine Soon” light can flash on for more than 1,400 different reasons, and in the coming months, we’re going to share with you what some of those reasons are. The light is part of your vehicle’s on-board diagnostics (OBD) system and can indicate anything from a quick fix like a loose gas cap to a major repair like a catalytic converter.

Trouble code: P0505 IAC Malfunction

This code refers to the idle air control valve, which controls the idle speed of your engine—such as when you’re sitting at a red light. The idle air control valve is controlled by a computer, which allows a certain amount of air around the throttle plate and controls the idle speed. The powertrain control module uses the IAC valve to keep the vehicle idling at the proper speed.

Symptoms of a P0505 IAC Malfunction may include:

• Check engine light would illuminate

• The engine stalls and may not idle unless the gas pedal is depressed

• The vehicle intermittently stalls when letting off the gas pedal

• The engine may idle too high

Potential causes of a P0505 code include:

• The IAC motor connector is damaged

• One or more IAC circuits is open or shorted to ground

• One or more IAC circuits are shorted to voltage

• The IAC has failed

• The PCM has failed

Find out if these common auto facts are true or myths

There’s all kinds of automotive information out there that many of us accept as gospel. But it turns out that much of what we think we know isn’t true. Here are some of the most frequently heard automotive myths and their corresponding truths.

Watch the MythBusters drunk driving vs. talking on cell phone challenge.

1. Myth: It’s more dangerous to drive while talking on a cell phone than driving drunk.

Fact: Actually, this one is true, according to MythBusters on the Discovery Channel. Two of the MythBusters drove through a driving test course that included a brake test, a parallel parking test, a timing trial and an accident-avoidance challenge. After they both passed the control tests sober and cell phone-free, they went through the course talking on the cellphone, and again after drinking enough to have a blood alcohol content almost to the legal limit. Both failed the course while on the cell phone and while drunk. But they failed the cell phone test by a much bigger margin.

2. Myth: If you put sugar in the gas tank, it will ruin the engine.

Fact: Sugar doesn’t dissolve in gas if it’s in solid form, and if it’s in liquid form, it simply doesn’t mix. It just sits at the bottom of the gas tank. If enough is added, it might eventually clog the fuel lines or filters, but blowing out the lines with compressed air would fix the problem.

3. Myth: A potato in the exhaust pipe will stop the engine.

Fact: The exhaust pipe pushes air out, so the potato will just shoot out when the engine is turned on.

4. Myth: You can still drive a long way after the gas gauge is on empty.

Fact: This one is kind of true. You won’t be stuck on the side of the road in the next few minutes, but how long you have varies on the type of vehicle you are driving. A Ford Focus averages 39 miles after hitting “E,” and a Chevy Avalanche averages 45 miles. Check out your ride on Tank on Empty, which has a searchable database.

 5. Myth: You should let your engine warm up for a few minutes before driving.

Fact: Modern engines warm up more quickly when they’re driven. The faster that happens, the sooner they reach maximum efficiency—which means the best fuel economy and performance.

6. Myth: If you buy a new car, the warranty requires you to take it to the dealer for maintenance.

Fact: When you buy a new car, it usually comes with a bumper-to-bumper warranty, which covers components like sensors, electrical components and the air conditioning. But those warranties don’t cover regular maintenance (such as oil changes), and things like new tires. You can take your car to Duxler Libertyville or another independent mechanic for the routine work, or even do it yourself, without affecting the warranty. Your only obligation is to adhere to the maintenance schedule and to keep records proving that the maintenance has been done.

7. Myth: Driving your pickup truck with the tailgate down gives you better mileage.

Fact: The idea behind this one is that having the tailgate down lets air flow out, reducing drag. According to MythBusters, the mesh in place of the tailgate is the most fuel-efficient option, while no tailgate, the hard-cover top and the tailgate up proved to be about the same in terms of fuel efficiency.

Ignoring your timing belt can lead to big problems

Many people picture pistons or valves when thinking about the inside of an engine. Even though these parts are vital in creating power and allowing your vehicle to work, nothing is more important than your timing belt. Your timing belt is what keeps the pistons and valves moving and working in sync. By driving the camshaft, which controls your valves, and your crankshaft, which controls the pistons, your timing belt tells the valves when to open and the pistons when to rise and fall inside the cylinders.

This may seem overly technical, but it’s key to understanding why the timing belt is so important. Over time, your timing belt wears out, and if it isn’t replaced, it could break unexpectedly and cause catastrophic engine damage. By replacing your timing belt before that happens, you can save yourself a tow, at a minimum, and thousands of dollars in engine damage – worst case scenario.

The carmakers have recommended maintenance schedules for everything from oil changes to brake fluid flushes. Timing belts are no different. Many need to be replaced at 90,000 or 105,000 miles. If you’re not sure, check your owner’s manual or ask us. We’re here to help. Unfortunately, timing belts don’t really show warning signs before they break. They simply break, which means you’ll be sitting at the side of the road waiting for a tow truck.

And here’s where a broken timing belt can cost you a lot more than a tow: Your engine is either an interference or free-running / free-wheeling design. In free-running or free-wheeling engines, the engineers purposely build in enough clearance between the internal parts to prevent damage if the timing belt fails.

But in an interference engine—which are in about 70% of cars on the road—there is no internal clearance between the pistons and the valves. If the timing belt breaks, there’s nothing to keep the valves and pistons moving at the required time intervals.  The valves will freely open and close and the pistons will move up and down in the cylinders until they run out of momentum—or until they collide.

When the valves open at the same time the pistons are at the top of the cylinder, your engine can suffer anything from bent valves to a broken piston. Often, the full extent of the damage isn’t even known until your technician disassembles the top part of the engine, removing the valve cover(s) and sometimes the cylinder head.

Can you hear the dollar signs adding up as you read this? Even though replacing the timing belt at the specified mileage typically costs several hundred dollars, it pales in comparison to the expense and inconvenience of a broken timing belt. Do yourself a favor and plan ahead for this maintenance requirement. And if you have questions or need to buy some time, talk to us. We’re here to help!

Note: Even though the majority of vehicles today use a timing belt that is usually made of high temperature resistant rubber, some engines still use a timing chain. Unlike belts that can wear and crack, a timing chain is a lot stronger. Typically, these don’t need to be replaced.

Save money with these car buying and ownership tips

There are a number of ways to save money, such as not eating out as often and planning “staycations” instead of pricey vacations. But we often overlook a big one: what’s sitting in our driveway or garage. Not only is there the monthly payment for that car, truck, van or motorcycle, there’s also depreciation, fuel, insurance, financing, maintenance and repair.

Here are some ways that you can keep a few more bucks in your pocket.

BUYING

• Shop around for a vehicle. Prices and deals can vary at different dealers, so do your research.

• Negotiate the price of the vehicle you want. Not comfortable negotiating? Remember that the dealer or seller is there to make money. Your job is to save money. Every amount you save now will affect your payments for the next several years.

• Shop around for financing. A bank or credit union might be able to offer better terms than the dealer.

• Get what you need at the dealer and buy extras, such as sound systems and roof racks, on your own. Dealers often add large markups to these types of items.

• Be realistic about what you can afford and the type of vehicle you really need.

• Buy a preowned vehicle. Duxler Libertyville is available to inspect it before you sign on the dotted line to make sure the vehicle is in good shape.

INSURING

• Opt for a higher deductible, which results in a lower monthly payment.

• Ask your agent about discounts for good grades and having certain safety features. Insurers also offer discounts if you have multiple policies with them, such as homeowners’ or renters.’

• Evaluation your driving habits. If you retire and drive less, for example, that might mean lower rates.

DRIVING

• Plan your route and combine your errands to save fuel and time.

• Car pool.

• Don’t use a higher grade of gas unless your car specifically requires it. Your owner’s manual may “recommend” a higher grade. This isn’t the same. Only shell out for premium if the manual says the car must have it.

• Shop around for cheap gas. There are a number of apps and websites that can help.

MAINTAINING

• Keep a close eye on your tire pressure. When properly inflated, tires last longer and you’ll get better gas mileage.

• Follow the maintenance schedule outlined in your owner’s manual.

• Check your fluids and make sure to get your oil changed when it’s needed.

• Check your battery, or have us test it for you. If it dies while you’re out and about, you’re going to have to pay for tow truck in addition to the cost of the new battery.

• Replace the air filter. A clean air filter can improve gas mileage, acceleration and engine life while lowering emissions.