So what is the most distracting food to have in the car while driving around Ankeny?
Is it:
A Hamburger;
Coffee;
A Soft Drink, or
Gummy Bears?
Well, you may be surprised to learn that all but the gummy bears are in the top ten most distracting foods when you are driving, but if you chose ‘coffee’, then give yourself an extra two points; coffee is the number one food distraction for drivers in Ankeny and around the country.
Food distractions cause 25 percent of all car accidents; over a million and a half each year!
You’ll notice that all of the top ten distracting food items are messy. Messy foods are the type of food you might spill (very distracting!), then try to clean up (a safe-driving impossibility!). If you gotta eat on the run, take five-then drive. You’ll thank yourself later for two reasons, one being that you can actually relax for just a moment in our fast-paced world, and the other is that you won’t have to worry about getting that cinnamon roll frosting out of your dashboard after that near miss.
Keep drinks in spill-proof containers, too, so you can keep your eyes on the Ankeny road without worrying about where that spill is headed.
So; taking a food break… Or filling out accident reports. We don’t have to ask you which you prefer: It’s a no brainer.
All Pro Servicenter, along with AutoNetTV, wants you to keep both eyes on the road. Please eat safely and keep your eyes on the road.
All Pro Servicenter 113 East 1st St. Ankeny, Iowa 50021 Give us a call at: 515-964-0641
A while back, the Cash for Clunkers program was all over the news. Ankeny people could trade in their old vehicle for a new one that got better fuel economy and receive a government rebate.
A lot of Ankeny motorists had so-called clunkers that they wanted to keep. They’re good commuters, grocery getters or toy haulers. They enjoy that fact that they’re paid off, or soon will be. They would gladly like to keep their sedans for 200,000 miles or more – as long as it’s economical to do so.
There are plenty of Ankeny drivers whose vehicles are running after 150,000 or 200,000 miles. We can learn from what they’re doing to keep our own sedans on the road in Iowa.
Ankeny drivers of high-mileage cars often report a common denominator of never skipping an oil change.That may sound a bit unsophisticated, but it’s really not. First off, oil is the life blood of your sedan’s engine and it needs to be clean to properly lubricate. Skipping oil changes leads to clogged oil filters and sludge that can damage your engine.
There’s another reason why the scheduled oil change is so important for Ankeny car owners. It’s simple – a All Pro Servicenter professional is going to be looking at your car. All of your fluid levels will be inspected and topped off so they won’t get so low that damage can be done. If there is a significant fluid loss, let’s use brake fluid as an example, your All Pro Servicenter technician can look for the cause of the loss and find the problem before it leads to an accident or costly repair.
Your All Pro Servicenter advisor will also visually inspect your sedan for worn belts and hoses, uneven tire wear, leaking shock absorbers and more. Problems get addressed before they lead to repairs that cost more than the car’s worth.
And your All Pro Servicenter advisor will be able to remind you of other services that the factory recommends you get done. Just think of that oil change the same way as you do about going to your Ankeny dentist for your six month cleaning and checkup. Don’t skip it.
Realistically, things are going to wear out as your sedan gets older. On the way to 200,000 miles you’ll go through several batteries, probably a couple of alternators and water pumps, a set of shocks and likely some brake rotors.
Of course, these things cost money, but they are far cheaper than new sedan payments. With proper service at All Pro Servicenter and regular inspections, you’ll keep surprise repairs to a minimum and more money in your wallet.
Different grades of gasoline have different octane ratings. Regular gasoline has the lowest octane rating and premium the highest. Most gas stations around Ankeny Iowa also carry a mid-grade that falls in between the two. The octane range for the different grades of gas varies by region due to altitude differences.
Engines require different octane ratings because of design differences. For example, turbocharged engines usually require premium gas.
There’s a sticker on your gas tank filler lid that tells you the minimum octane rating your manufacturer recommends.
For help identifying the type of gasoline your engine needs, come by our Ankeny Iowa service center: All Pro Servicenter 113 East 1st St. Ankeny, Iowa 50021 515-964-0641
Read your owner’s manual carefully to see if it’s acceptable to use lower grades. With some cars in Ankeny Iowa it is; the engine control computer can adapt. You’ll lose some performance, but won’t do damage. With other engines, using a lower grade of fuel could result in serious damage; so you don’t want to save a couple of bucks at the pump only to pay it out a hundred fold at the repair shop.
Today’s computer controlled vehicles are optimized to run well on the recommended grade of fuel. Using a higher grade than is recommended will not give you any additional performance or better fuel economy.
Regulations require detergents for all grades of gasoline, so your engine will have the same protection, regardless of the grade of fuel you use. If you do hear some knocking or pinging from your engine, take it seriously and get your sedan into All Pro Servicenter. It may be a sign that you need a tune-up or some other repair.
In times of high gas prices, we’re all conscious of making our fuel dollar go further as we drive around Ankeny Iowa. Be sure to use the right gas for your car. Keep your tires properly inflated and your vehicle well maintained and you will get the best fuel economy possible.
One topic that hits the news in Ankeny on a regular basis is the price of gas. The answer for some people in Ankeny is to buy a more fuel efficient vehicle. For the rest of use, we need to improve our fuel economy anyway we can.
Following recommended service intervals by coming into All Pro Servicenter is one of the best ways to keep your car running efficiently. That means better fuel economy. When you give it some thought, it only makes sense. Dirty oil or transmission fluid can’t lubricate or clean. That means more drag which reduces fuel economy.
Dirty engine air filters are another efficiency pirate. They rob your engine of enough air to effectively burn the fuel, so you need more gas to get the job done. Replacing a dirty air filter can pay for itself in fuel savings before the next oil change.
You can imagine what dirty fuel injectors can do to your sedan as you drive around Ankeny. If your owner’s manual recommends a fuel system cleaning, come into All Pro Servicenter and ask us to get it done for you.
A simple, but very effective way to save gas is to keep your tires properly inflated. Low tires can cost you up to a mile per gallon. Check your tire pressure when you gas up – or at least once a month.
Brakes really aren’t optional equipment. And taking care of them isn’t optional either.
A regular brake inspection is on every car’s maintenance schedule. An inspection will check your brake system and let you know if there are any problems. Of course, if you’re having trouble with your brakes, get your car into a Ankeny or Ankeny service center right away. And watch out for these problems:
Low or spongy brake pedal
Hard brake pedal
A brake warning light that stays on
Constantly squealing or grinding brakes
Vibrations or clunking sounds when you apply your brakes
There are two types of brakes: disc and drum. Disc brakes have a rotor that’s attached to the axle. Calipers straddle the rotor, kind of like the brakes on a bicycle. Drum brakes are more common on back wheels. Pads, called shoes, push against the inside of the drum to slow the vehicle.
There are several things that need to be serviced on the brake system. First, the brake pads and shoes wear out with use, and become too thin to really help. If the brake pads wear away completely you can damage the rotors. The calipers can grind grooves in the rotor. Then the rotor must either be resurfaced or replaced and that can be expensive. But putting it off is dangerous because your vehicle won’t stop as quickly. Sometimes rotors warp or crack and must be replaced.
Brake fluid is also important. When the brakes are applied, the pressure in the fluid activates the brake pads or shoes. Not enough fluid, not enough pressure to brake properly. Also, water builds up in the brake fluid over time, which leads to corrosion, leaks and brake damage, and with hard use, the brakes could severely fade or even fail. You should change the brake fluid when your manufacturer recommends it.
There are different grades of brake pads. There are regular, metallic and ceramic – higher grades cost more, but give better braking performance and smoother operation. It’s OK to upgrade your brake pads. But, never use a grade that’s lower than what the manufacturer recommends.
Be sure to properly maintain your brakes because it’s a lot cheaper than paying your nearest Des Moines area body shop after an accident.
The function of the fuel filter is pretty self-explanatory. It filters your fuel. The fuel filter is in the fuel line somewhere in between the fuel tank and the engine. Both gas and diesel vehicles around Ankeny Iowa use fuel filters.
For more information about your fuel filter, visit All Pro Servicenter or come by our shop located at 113 East 1st St. in Ankeny, Iowa 50021. Please call 515-964-0641 to make an appointment.
Generally speaking there’s not a lot of dirt in our Ankeny Iowa auto fuel supply, but there is enough that you want to screen it out. The problem actually gets worse the older your vehicle becomes. That’s because dirt, rust and other contaminants will settle out of the fuel and onto the bottom of the fuel tank. After your sedan is five years or older, it can actually have a fair amount of sediment built up.
That just means that the fuel filter has to work harder as your sedan ages. It’ll get clogged sooner and need to be replaced more often.
A symptom of a clogged fuel filter is that the engine sputters at highway speeds or under hard acceleration. That’s because enough fuel is getting through around town, but when you need more fuel for speed, enough just can’t get through the filter. Obviously, that could be dangerous if your car or truck can’t get enough power to get you out of harm’s way.
For just that reason, fuel filters have a bypass valve. When the filter is severely clogged, some fuel can bypass the filter all together. Of course that means that dirty, unfiltered fuel is getting through to be burned in the engine.
This dirt can then clog and damage your fuel injectors. Now injectors are not cheap to replace, so you don’t want to cause them damage just because you didn’t spend a few bucks to replace a fuel filter.
You know, in a way, the fuel filter can be the poster child for preventive maintenance. It’s a little part, it’s simple and it’s cheap to take care of. But if it’s neglected, it could lead to thousands of dollars of repair bills.
Those auto service schedules in your owner’s manual are there for a reason. If ever you don’t understand a recommended service, just ask your Ankeny service advisor at All Pro Servicenter. We’ll be happy to explain.
There are some things Des Moines consumers should know about Ankeny automotive service and repair. First and foremost, All Pro Servicenter cares about you and your family’s safety. And we really appreciate your business. All Pro Servicenter in Ankeny wants to build a trusting relationship that becomes the foundation for a mutually beneficial experience for years to come.
Building on that foundation, there are some things that would help you understand the auto service and repair business better. First, it can be really hard to fix cars. The days of shade tree mechanics are long gone. The majority of automotive systems are computerized. It takes a lot of training and very expensive equipment to diagnose and repair modern vehicles. The technicians that work for All Pro Servicenter need extensive computer training – not just how to run the diagnostic systems, but also searching for the right parts, networking with other technicians to help them with a difficult problem and pulling together a job order that makes sure that each step of the process is addressed.
The threshold for getting started as a technician gets higher all the time and there is a huge commitment to on-going training every year. This training takes time and money. It contributes to business overhead. The average Ankeny or Johnston driver may not realize the business and environmental regulations All Pro Servicenter must comply with. Of course that costs money too. Like any business, overhead is a big factor.
When you go into a Des Moines restaurant you don’t value the meal by what the food would cost at the grocery store. The restaurant has rent, wages, insurance, taxes, utilities, professional fees, equipment, supplies – you get the picture. The restaurant has to charge enough to not only pay for the ingredients, but for all these other things as well while making enough profit to remain in business. If you value the meal and are satisfied with your dining experience, you’ll come back and tell your friends.
It’s the same for All Pro Servicenter. The value of its service is not the cost of the parts they replace, but in your satisfaction with the results. If they deliver a good product at a fair price, Ankeny customers are happy to see them succeed as a Iowa automotive business.
Contact All Pro Servicenter to learn more about our extensive auto service training. You can find us at: 113 East 1st St. Ankeny, Iowa 50021 Or call us at 515-964-0641
Your Ankeny service center loves to see its customers whenever they come in, but they would much rather see them three or four times a year for routine maintenance than once a year on a tow truck. They want to work together with you to avoid breakdowns. Tell your Des Moines area friends and family to go in for their scheduled maintenance too. That lowers the service center’s marketing costs and helps keep its labor rates down. That’s good for everyone.
All Pro Servicenter appreciates this great review of automotive service from AutoNetTV.
With the recent focus in West Des Moines on improving fuel economy, we’ve been told how important it is to maintain our tire pressure.
Everyone in West Des Moines knows that tires wear out, but we all want to make them last as long as possible because they’re fairly expensive to replace. In addition to saving gas, properly inflated tires last longer. Under-inflated tires will wear out more quickly.
Some people in West Des Moines wonder if there is benefit to adding a few extra pounds of pressure when they fill up their tires. But actually, there isn’t. In fact, there are very good reasons not to over-inflate your tires. For one, the middle of the tread will wear unevenly because the full tread is not contacting the road properly. That also adversely affects your handling.
Come in and see us about tire maintenance for your Ankeny, Iowa vehicle. All Pro Servicenter 113 East 1st St. Ankeny, Iowa 50021 515-964-0641
Every vehicle in the West Des Moines area has a sticker on the driver’s side door jamb that tells you the manufacturer’s recommended tire pressure. This recommendation is an integral part of the vehicle’s suspension tuning. A lot of engineering actually goes into the recommended tire pressure, so it’s important to follow it.
What else do we need to know about tire maintenance? Tire rotation and balancing are very important. Let’s start with rotation. Because the front tires handle the brunt of turning forces, the shoulders of the front tires wear more quickly than the rear tires. We rotate the tires so that they all get to do some duty on the front and they’ll all wear evenly over their life.
For most vehicles, front tires are rotated to the rear and vice versa. Others recommend a cross rotational pattern. Some vehicles use an asymmetrical tire so those tires need to stay on either the right or left side – it’ll say which on the tire. Some high performance cars have asymmetrical tires and different sizes on the front and rear. These can’t be rotated at all. Your owner’s manual will have details for your car.
How often should you rotate your tires? Your owner’s manual will have a recommendation. Your service advisor at All Pro Servicenter can do a visual inspection to let you know if it looks like it should be done. The interval is typically around 5,000 miles.
You know, some people don’t think new tires need to be balanced. What they aren’t taking into account is the wheel. Between the wheel and the tire – even a new tire – there’s enough variation to require balancing.
When you add the valve stem and tire pressure monitoring sensors required on new cars, balancing is definitely in order. When a tire’s out of balance, it’s actually hopping down the road. You’ll feel the vibration through the steering wheel if a front tire’s out of balance and through your seat if it’s a rear tire.
Proper wheel balance promotes tire life and increases safety. Historically, lead weights have been attached to the wheel to bring it into balance. Lead gives some environmental concern, so steel weights are starting to be substituted.
Also, always use the same size tire on an axle. Different size tires on the front or on the back can lead to some real handling problems. And tire manufacturers recommend that when you get two new tires, they be installed on the rear because that’s where you need the most traction to avoid spinning-out.
With high fuel prices in Ankeny Iowa comes lots of gas saving advice. Some of it, like what you hear on AutoNetTV, is really great. Some is myth. And some is just designed to prey on Ankeny Iowa people desperate to save some money on gas.
When you get one of those e-mails that’s going around telling you how to save gas, try to think it through.
Does it really make sense? Does it defy the laws of physics?
Do some research on the internet or ask your Ankeny Iowa service advisor at All Pro Servicenter.
There aren’t any magic pills you can drop in your gas tank and the government hasn’t suppressed a device you can clamp on your fuel line to make your car run on air. Not even in Ankeny!
So next time you get one of those e-mails, check it out with an automotive professional. You’ll get more bang for your buck with an oil change or an engine air filter replacement.
We’re All Pro Servicenter, give us a call at 515-964-0641 for good honest advice about your car.
Your vehicle manufacturer publishes two auto maintenance schedules. The regular schedule and the severe service schedule. It’d be wrong for us to tell you that everyone in Des Moines always needs to follow the severe service schedule – but its wishful thinking to say that the regular schedule is always good enough for your sedan.
Contact All Pro Servicenter to learn more about Severe Service Requirements for your sedan You can find us at: 113 East 1st St. Ankeny, Iowa 50021 Or call us at 515-964-0641
At All Pro Servicenter we’ll give you the definitions and explain the issues, and you can be the judge. Most manufactures list the following as severe conditions:
Most of your trips are less than four miles.
Most of your trips are less than 10 miles and outside temperatures are below freezing.
The engine is at low speed most of the time – not on the highway.
You operate your vehicle in dusty areas.
You regularly tow a trailer or carry heavy loads.
Driving in very hot or very cold weather.
So think about your typical week. Do you live a block from a Iowa freeway on-ramp and enjoy a non-stop commute to work in Johnston or West Des Moines? Or are you like the rest of us where 90% of our trips are on the severe service list?
The answer may be different at different times of the year and for the different drivers in your family. Think of the two service schedules as bookends. Let’s suppose your owner’s manual says the severe service oil change recommendation is 3,000 miles and the standard recommendation is 5,000 miles. You know that you need to change the oil somewhere between 3,000 and 5,000 miles. Look at your driving patterns and Ankeny road conditions and honestly evaluate which end of the spectrum you’re closer to.
If you have a job in a neighboring town such as Ankeny or Johnston and most of your commute is freeway miles, you may choose the regular service schedule for your car. On the other hand, if you live within a few miles of work and only get on the highway a handful of times every month, something closer to the severe service schedule is more appropriate.
Now why is this so important? Moisture builds up in the engine oil from normal condensation. Short trips around Des Moines or driving when it’s really cold means that the engine doesn’t heat up enough for the moisture to evaporate. The water in the oil leads to oil sludge that gums up your engine and doesn’t let the oil protect it as well. That’s why you need to change your oil more frequently – to get the sludge out before it causes problems.
Towing, heavy loads and very hot Iowa summer weather means that your engine and transmission will operate at higher temperatures and with more stress. The fluids will break down more quickly. Additives that clean and prevent corrosion will be depleted sooner. Dusty conditions, which may extend also to areas with high air pollution, mean that fluids will get dirty faster and that filters will plug up and won’t work right.
All of these things can lead to premature wear and repairs down the road. They’ll also hurt your fuel economy. If you want some personalized advice, talk with your honest All Pro Servicenter service advisor. We can help you restore your vehicle to good working order and help you know the best schedule to follow. If you’re not sure, err on the side of protection.
Watch our informative AutoNetTV auto video tips at the top of this post.
