Grand Rapids Auto Repair

Cabin air filters are the hidden, forgotten, unloved car part. You can’t see them so you don’t really think about them. They are usually hidden in the area under your dashboard or close to your engine compartment. They clean the air inside your car. Is this an important job? I think it is. Have you ever noticed a musty, old smell inside your car? It may be that your cabin air filter needs to be checked. In the summer the air conditioning unit is on and drawing all that sneeze causing air into your car. Allergens float around inside your car like little uninvited hitch hikers. In the winter, the heat and defroster are on and they both utilize the air coming from the outside which goes through the cabin air filter. I mistakenly thought summer was the hardest time of year for your cabin air filter. I was reading an article on the importance of timely replacement of your filter and learned that winter is tough on them. Soot levels from the engine are increased as the weather co ... read more

Taking car maintenance seriously is not as exciting as it may sound (this was said with heavy sarcasm). It’s like going to the dentist; you know you have to do it, but most people drag their feet before making the appointment. Knowing you have a dental appointment causes us to do all the things we should be doing anyway. Typically, lots of flossing precedes the dentist appointment. The dental hygienist knows that you don’t floss every day. One glance in your mouth tells them you tried to make up for all those missed flossings. Car maintenance has a similar effect on people. You think back to when that pesky light on the dashboard came on and you decided to ignore it. It’s suggesting that you need maintenance, but it’s not a carved-in-stone-do-this-immediately light, right? Most of the time, the maintenance due light is letting you know that something the manufacturer recommended is due. You can look in your owner’s manual and find out what sort maintenance is due, or you ca ... read more