Our Expert Automotive Service & Collision Repair Blog

"The future of the auto industry is electric. There's no turning back,"  President Biden said this week, making a case for investing in U.S. production of electric vehicles and the batteries that power them.

It's spring in Colorado! We see the tulips popping out of the sometimes snow-covered ground, and our thoughts turn to the impending warmer weather.

As allergy sufferers know, spring can be a tough time. In Colorado, April and May can be especially difficult as tree pollens, such as cottonwood and cedar emerge. If you are a sufferer of seasonal allergies, you are not alone; according to the Asthma and Allergy Foundations of America, over six million children and 20 million adults in the US experience seasonal allergies.

So, what do allergies have to do with your car? Turns out, a lot.

Dirty and saturated cabin air filters significantly reduce the airflow from the outside and introduce particulate matter and allergens (for example, pollen) into the cabin air stream¹. How often you need to replace your vehicle's cabin filter depends on where you live (urban vs. rural environments), the make, model, and year of your vehicle, and whether you are an allergy or asthma sufferer. For non-allergy sufferers, it is sufficient to replace a cabin air filter whenever your recommended maintenance says to do so (often, this is between 15-30K miles). However, recommended maintenance is about replacing the cabin air filter to ensure airflow is not restricted, rather than when environmental pollen exacerbates allergies. If you are an allergy sufferer, make sure to replace your cabin filter during the season where allergies are most affected. Otherwise, driving with your heat or air conditioning on is likely to exacerbate your seasonal allergies.

If you have asthma or are very sensitive to significant gaseous smells such as diesel exhaust, request an activated charcoal filter. A study published in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine found that activate charcoal air cabin filters "clearly reduced the intensity of symptoms induced by diesel exhaust."²

Schedule a check of your heating and air conditioning system today and do what you can to lessen your allergy burden this season.

When it comes to mechanical technicians, the Gold standard for our industry is a "Master Tech." A Master Tech is someone who has tested and passed eight Automotive Service Excellence (ASE) tests. An individual must have these eight ASE's active at the same time to be a Master. To be 'active,' he or she must recertify each ASE every 5 years. This maintains the ASE and thus the Master Status. The tests are incredibly rigorous, require study and preparation, and are offered very infrequently. They are proctored exams at a special facility where the test takers must surrender their cell phones and undergo extensive searches to prevent any possible cheating. The answers are known to be vague, with a lot of grey areas. There are usually anywhere from 50-60 questions, with only 60-90 minutes allotted for each test. Passing requires 90% (or only 5-6 wrong answers). On top of the testing, there is also a minimum real-world experience requirement.
Now for the impressive part: obtaining WORLD-CLASS status requires a technician to carry 22 total current ASE's (14 more than a Master!). Currently, there are 879,000 technicians in the US, of which 250,000 are ASE Certified. How many are World Class technicians? 2000…or .2% of all technicians in the world! So, to say we are proud and honored to have Tom as our World Class technician is an understatement. With 28 ASE's, he ranks inside the top 1% of all technicians in the US, essentially making him the Platinum Man of Iron Men. There is truly no one more qualified to keep your car running smoothly. Huge thanks to Tom's many years of dedication and service!

Over the last year, we have noticed a frightening trend in the auto repair industry. The number of recovered stolen vehicles, attempted thefts, auto parts theft, and vehicle break-in vandalism claims have been on a constant and steady increase. Auto-related crimes have been on the rise in the Denver Metro area for years; however, the COVID-19 pandemic has caused an alarming spike in the last 12 months. With more people working from home and vehicles sitting for longer periods of time than usual, car thieves and vandals have easy targets all over the Denver Metro area.

Many of us have had a tire light come on in our vehicles during the cold winter months. When the air contracts, it causes a drop in the pressure or pounds per square inch (PSI) of your tire, as much as 2 PSI for every -10°F. You may be tempted to fill the tire up on your own (just to get that pesky light off), but you should instead have your tires check out by your local shop to ensure rotations and inflation is done properly. 

This might be repetitive but we just want to make sure everyone is well informed about the Colorado Traction Law.

It's important to be aware of where traction laws are active as you're traveling, as this can vary from road to road. Each year the state's traction law goes into effect on a 126-mile stretch of I-70 from September 1 to May 31st. The nine-month mandatory traction law extends from Dotsero to Morrison, requiring all vehicles to carry proper winter traction throughout the season, regardless of weather. All other roads and highways are subject to traction laws during severe wintry weather.

In Colorado, it remains that the minimum tread requirement for dry roads is 4/32" (1/8"). Interestingly 1/8" doesn't even meet the classic "penny test" (which detects when your tread is less than 2/32").

Colorado is a top 10 state for a lot of things: seventh in life expectancy, eighth in health, number one for least obese, ninth in outdoor lifestyle, and according to The National Coalition for Safer Roads, seventh in running red lights. Data from the Foundation for Traffic Safety for the period 2008-2017 shows Colorado tied for fifth with Florida for fatalities per 1 million people resulting from red light running. 

Addison Auto participates in the Brakes for Breasts program for the second year. Brakes for Breasts is an organization that unites the hands of Independent Auto Repair Shops during the month of October. 

October is the best month to get your brakes replaced because you can help us put the Brakes on Breast Cancer. We will provide customers with FREE brake pads and the customer simply pays for the labor and any other parts that may be needed. We will then donate 10% of that total to research efforts to develop a Breast Cancer Vaccine.