Newport News Auto Repair

Have you ever had an experience like this in Newport News VA? You drive through the one of those automatic car washes. When you get to the end, where the dryer is blowing, your check engine light started flashing! You fear the worst, but within a block or two, the light stopped flashing, but stayed on. By the next day, the light was off. You wonder; “What was going on?” Well, it’s actually a good lesson in how the Check Engine light works. Your air intake system has a sensor that measures how much air is coming through it. When you went under the high-speed dryer, all that air was blasting past the sensor. Your engine computer was saying, there shouldn’t be that much air when the engine is just idling. Something’s wrong. Whatever’s wrong could cause some serious engine damage. Warning, warning! It flashes the check engine light, to alert you to take immediate action. It stopped flashing because once you were out from under the dryer, the ai ... read more

Lease? Or buy? It’s always a tough question for residents in the Yorktown area. But here are a few ideas that’ll make the choice more clear. Either option gives you a choice of how you might finance your car. If you buy, you’ll pay the full cost of the car, with maybe an initial down payment, then monthly payments on the balance that pays down the loan principal, and the finance charge. If you lease, you’re financing the portion of the cost of the car that’s used up during the term of the lease. When the lease is up, you return the car to your local Yorktown area dealership. You’ll pay some money upfront; fees, security deposit, first month’s payment and maybe a capital reduction. The month payments include a depreciation cost and a finance charge. So how do you decide? First, how big a down payment can you make? A lease would require a smaller down. How much monthly payment can you afford? Agai ... read more

Auto owners can increase the useful life of their car with a Lifetime Protection Program. These arrangements protect certain of a car’s critical systems, such as the engine, the transmission, brakes, power steering, differential and cooling system, paying a specified amount in case of a breakdown. Available for new cars and, under certain circumstances, for low-mileage pre-owned vehicles, Lifetime Protection Programs protect the owner’s investment in the vehicle as well as offering the piece of mind of an optimally functioning car to safely negotiate those unavoidable hazards that arise. An Arrangement With YOU In Mind A Lifetime Protection Plan is a contract, and like any other such arrangement it requires certain things in order to remain valid. For instance, owners are required to maintain their vehicles according to the recommended service schedule. In some cases, the maintenance procedures must be carried out by a specified shop. No matter who takes care of the car ... read more

Everyone in Newport News VA has blind spots – and no, I’m not talking about the fact that you really don’t sing like Jessica Simpson. I mean the areas of the road that you can’t see when you’re driving around Newport News. First let’s talk about our own blinds spots, and then we can talk about others… To begin, we can greatly reduce our blind spots by properly adjusting our mirrors to give the widest coverage possible. Make the adjustments in your sedan before you start to drive. First, adjust your rear view mirror to give the best possible view directly to the rear of your car. You don’t need it to get a better view of either side of the car, the kids in the back seat or your dazzling smile. The rear view mirror should look to the rear. Next, lean your head until it almost touches the driver’s side window. Adjust your side mirror so that you can just barely see the side of your car. B&L Automotive We’re ... read more

Here’s an interesting statistic for our friends in Newport News VA: Only thirty percent of car batteries make it to forty-eight months. And the life expectancy varies by where you live. It ranges from fifty-one months in extremely cold areas to just thirty months in extremely hot climates. Why is that? It turns out that it’s our modern cars with all their electric accessories that are to blame. Things like, GPS, DVDs, and entertainment computers are keeping car batteries from maintaining a full charge. The longer a battery goes with a low charge, the sooner it’ll die. So you must recharge your battery. This is the job of the alternator. The problem comes when the car’s demand for electricity is high and we are driving in stop and go conditions or short trips around Newport News or Williamsburg. The alternator just can’t keep up. The result is shortened battery life. So what can we do to improve our battery’s health? We need to keep th ... read more

We find that a lot of Newport News service and repair at B&L Automotive are a little tentative when they talk with their automotive advisors. They want to ask questions, but don’t want to be embarrassed or to seem pushy. Cars are very complicated and there’s more to know about them than most of us have the time to learn. Maybe it’s because cars have become so much more reliable that the average person just doesn’t need to know as much to keep their vehicle on the road. You know, your local hospital has a Patient’s Bill of Rights that they post throughout the hospital. We think our Newport News automotive service customers also have a right to ask any question they need to understand what is wrong with their car and what it will take to fix it. They need to feel free to ask the cost and benefits of recommended services. And they certainly have a right to understand the financial end of the transaction. It’s a ... read more

For many years, the tune up was the staple car of maintenance. However, modern car engines are vastly different than they were just 20 years ago. Car engines used to have many more parts that produced an arc. As the metal on these parts started to wear away, the performance of the car would start to suffer prompting the owner to take the car to their repair shop for a tune up. Most modern engines now control these processes electronically, eliminating many of the parts that were serviced during a traditional tune up. So are tune ups a thing of the past? Understanding the Term “Tune Up” The term tune up is supposed to refer to a process of adjusting and replacing engine parts that, when finished, would make the car run better. The problem is that many late model vehicles don’t have much under the hood to adjust in this respect. So while the term may be a bit of a misnomer today, the concept of needing periodic maintenance to keep your car running in t ... read more

Every car makes noise. Bumpy roads, rainy days, high traffic, a great song; these can all contribute to even noisier journeys behind the wheel. When you notice a sound that your car doesn’t normally make, don’t panic. Almost every abnormal noise seems to sound detrimental. Here are the three most common sounds your car could make, and what to do if you hear them: Knocking A knocking noise usually comes from the front of your vehicle. Take note if you hear it only when you make turns, or if it seems to be coming from the engine itself (also described as a ‘ping’). This will help diagnose whether you have a spark plug issue, cylinder deposits, or just using low quality fuel. Knocking that only sounds when you turn could mean your CV joints are worn or failing. What To Do: Failing CV joints could lead to an accident. Bring your car in to B & L Automotive soon for your safety. Engine knocking should be diagnosed quickly, however, if you’re h ... read more

There are lots of reasons why so many people love their Lexus. Besides the stylish look, a Lexus has many user friendly features and is just plain fun to drive. In today’s economic environment, buying a car that lasts is important and your Lexus can faithfully serve you for many, many miles so long as proper engine maintenance and repair is carried out on a regular basis. As you enjoy your Lexus, don’t forget this basic tip to keep your Lexus’ engine humming along. Don’t Wait Till It Breaks Much like preventative medicine helps your body to avoid major illnesses, preventative maintenance of your Lexus is essential if you want your Lexus to have the maximum life span possible. Preventative maintenance involves the regular changing of all of the fluids such as motor oil and filter, transmission liquid, differential gear oil, even power steering and brake fluids. Inspections of the cooling system should be performed to keep it funct ... read more

How to Improve Your Car’s Gas Mileage Here are some of the things you can do to ensure improved gas mileage for your car: Driving Habits Keep your car clean. Mud on the undercarriage can weigh a significant amount and slow you down. Consolidate your daily trips and errands. This will also save you the cost of restarting your engine, which uses a lot of gas. Avoid air conditioning when possible. However, when driving at higher speeds, having your windows open also creates drag. Don’t throttle the gas or brake pedal! Sudden starts or stops use more gas than gradual changes in speed. Don’t idle for too long. Turn off the engine if you anticipate a lengthy wait. Limit car warm-ups in winter. Clear out the trunk. More weight equals more drag. Avoid high speeds. We know this is almost impossible to resist but you can improve your gas mileage by up to 15 percent driving at 55 mph rather than 65 mph. Use overdrive. If your car is equipped with overdrive g ... read more