How long have you been enjoying the romantic glow of your check engine light while driving around Kelowna?  Hey, it’s not there to create ambiance, it’s a warning that something’s wrong. When your check engine light comes on get it checked at EUROPRO AUTOHAUS.

Many conditions that cause the check engine light to come on affect fuel economy. Some very dramatically.

Kelowna drivers should always make sure to tighten the fuel cap until it clicks. A loose fuel cap can cause a false sensor reading that’ll make the check engine light come on.

If your date’s eyes are smoldering in the reflected glow of the check engine light, try to think of all the money you'll save at the pumps by getting it fixed.

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Let’s suppose you’re going to take some friends out on the boat for some water skiing at your favorite Kelowna area lake. Of course, you get the boat ready, but what about your tow vehicle?

Think about it – heavy Kelowna traffic, hilly terrain. Maybe some dirt roads and it’s going to be pretty hot. And all the time you’ll be towing around a lot of extra kilograms. That all adds up a lot of severe strain on your transmission. It’s going to be working overtime, spending more time in lower gears. The internal transmission temperature is going to be much higher than normal.

It’s important for Kelowna drivers to have enough transmission fluid. If it runs low, the transmission will run hotter and won’t have the protection it needs to cope with the added stress of towing. Transmission fluid breaks down and gets dirty over time. Whether you have an automatic or manual transmission, you need to have it serviced on schedule to make sure it runs efficiently.

Neglect your transmission for too long, and it can fail. You really don’t want to pay for a major transmission repair.

Kelowna folks know that car batteries wear out just like any other battery and need to be replaced. There are a couple of things Kelowna drivers should know when looking for a new battery: one is cold cranking amps and the other is reserve capacity.

Let’s start with cold cranking amps. This can be thought of as the power output used to start a cold engine. The number of cold cranking amps you need depends on your vehicle and where you live. The two factors are that the colder an engine is, the more power it takes to turn the engine over to get it started. It has all that cold, sluggish oil to contend with. The other factor is that the chemical reaction in the battery that creates electrical energy is less efficient in the cold.

So the colder it gets in Kelowna, the more power is needed, but the available power also drops. So if you live where it’s cold, you need a battery with more cold cranking amps than you do where it's moderate or hot. You should always get at least as many cold cranking amps as the car maker recommends, but may want to upgrade if you live where it gets real cold.

An important note: Batteries may also list the Cranking Amps – CA – number. It is the Cold Cranking Amps – or CCA – that is the vital number here. CCA is the number to use in your comparisons of Kelowna auto batteries.

Now with all this talk of cold Kelowna temperatures, it’s vital for Kelowna drivers to note that heat is the real enemy of long battery life. In other words, the damage that’s done over the Kelowna summer months shows up with the increased demands on the battery when BC weather turns cold.

Now on to reserve capacity: It’s a measurement of the number of minutes of reserve power the battery has at a given load. The number is more important these days because of parasitic drain. Parasitic drain is the battery energy that’s used when the key is off. So, the power drawn by the security system, the remote start system, even the power the computers require to maintain their memory.

Reserves are also needed when you make very short trips around the Kelowna area. You’re not driving long enough for the vehicle battery to recover the energy it used to start the engine.

So go with the minimum recommended by your car maker and upgrade if you need more. Talk with your EUROPRO AUTOHAUS service advisor about options. If you need more from your vehicle battery, a high capacity battery may be called for. Batteries are a big ticket item, so the warranty gives piece of mind. Be sure to ask about the warranty at EUROPRO AUTOHAUS so you know what you’re getting.

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Kelowna drivers who are a quart low, don't have enough oil to lubricate their engine properly. The extra friction causes drag that reduces fuel economy.

Same goes for dirty oil. It doesn’t reduce friction properly. The result is you get to watch those numbers at your Kelowna fuel pump rolling higher and higher.

The transmission also needs the proper amount of clean fluid to do its work. When it’s in need of transmission service at EUROPRO AUTOHAUS, the transmission drags your fuel economy down.

So keep it clean and give yourself a fighting chance.

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Let's talk about your suspension - you know, the system that connects your wheels to your vehicle, controls your handling and delivers a good ride as you cruise around Kelowna BC. Your suspension is critical for proper steering, stopping and stability.

Hey, it's a rough world out there and in BC every time you hit a pothole, a bump or an object in the road, your suspension system has to absorb the impact and maintain control.

As you can imagine, your suspension has a lot of joints and pivot points that allow your wheels to move up and down over bumps and to turn as you steer. These parts include ball joints, tie rod ends, the pitman, idler arms and the control arm bushing. They simply wear out over time. 

When a joint or other part is worn the suspension parts don't fit together as tightly as they should. Handling and steering has a loose feel and you may hear strange noises. Your tires will wear unevenly because they're bouncing down the Kelowna BC road a little off kilter.

A loose joint has the effect of stressing other suspension components so they wear out faster than they should. Sometimes a suspension part can be bent from hitting a rock or curb or by slamming into a big pothole.

When your Kelowna BC service advisor at EUROPRO AUTOHAUS inspects your vehicle, he'll look for signs of suspension problems: things like uneven tire wear, excessive play in suspension components and other visible damage. He can replace the worn or damaged parts and restore safe handling.

It's a great idea to take care of these problems right away before they become more expensive to repair. And nobody in Kelowna likes to see a tire that should last for several years get worn out in a matter of months because of a bad suspension part.

Let EUROPRO AUTOHAUS in Kelowna help you keep your vehicle operating safely. And saving some money on repairs and tire replacement is a good thing too.

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Kelowna drivers know that their alternator generates electricity to run the engine, all of the electrical systems, and to recharge the battery. Your serpentine belt spins the alternator to create the electricity.

Until recently, the alternator was always spinning while the engine was functioning. Now some alternators come with overrunning pulleys. There are two types of overrunning pulley systems , we won’t make a distinction here, but will simply refer to them as “overrunning style”.

Your serpentine belt winds over and around pulleys attached to the engine accessories, including the alternator. Overrunning style alternator pulleys are able to disconnect from the alternator allowing it to “coast” when the engine is decelerating. This allows the alternator to be at rest some of the time, which, of course, means the alternator will last longer.

Overrunning style alternator pulleys provide additional vibration isolation for smoother engine performance, increased fuel economy and longer belt life. They reduce overall wear of all of the engine accessories.

If overrunning style pulley replacement is necessary, the alternator will be checked. If the alternator is still good, only the pulley needs to be replaced, saving a good amount of money.

This type of alternator is quickly becoming standard equipment on new cars in Kelowna. The vital benefits of increased fuel economy and reduced wear to the overall accessory drive system are significant.

Your EUROPRO AUTOHAUS service advisor can help you with all of your starting and charging troubles. The skilled technicians at EUROPRO AUTOHAUS can inspect, diagnose and correct alternator, battery, and starting systems.

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Let’s pretend you have three doughnuts right in front of you for our discussion of upsizing wheels and tires. Hey, don’t eat them now – you’re going to need them later.

Many Kelowna drivers want to accessorize their car and make it theirs. One of the easiest ways to get a custom look is to get some custom wheels. There are thousands of wheel designs out there to get you the look you want. And for many, that look includes bigger wheels. 

So let’s talk about what to consider when you want to upsize your wheels. It’s not exactly a do it yourself project, so you need to know a thing or two before you get started. The most important term to know is rolling diameter. The rolling diameter is simply the overall height of your tire. Unless you want to modify your suspension, you’ll want to keep your rolling diameter the same when you upsize your wheels.

Let’s think about those three golden doughnuts in front of you. They’re all about the same size. So if we pretend they’re tires, they would have the same rolling diameter. The doughnut hole is the size of the wheel. Now pretend we’ve made the hole bigger on some. That’s like having a bigger wheel – but the rolling diameter is the same.

It’s important to keep the rolling diameter the same for several reasons. First of all, if the tire is bigger, it might not fit in the wheel well. Next the speedometer, odometer and anti-lock brake system are all calibrated for the factory rolling diameter. In order for your anti-lock brakes to work properly, the rolling diameter must stay within 3% of the factory recommendation. If you ignore that, you run the risk that your anti-lock brakes won’t work properly. Some vehicles today have electronically controlled suspension that will be negatively affected by changing the rolling diameter.

Let’s think about the doughnuts again. You see, as the size of the wheel gets bigger, the sidewall gets shorter. The tire holds less air, so the sidewalls are made stiffer to compensate. Low profile tires from top manufacturers use special compounds that give the sidewall the strength it needs without compromising ride quality. As you increase your wheel size, you’ll typically get a slightly wider tire. This means that you have a larger contact patch. The contact patch is part of the tire that contacts the road. Because there’s more rubber on the road, the vehicle will handle better. And braking distances will be shorter. A lot of Kelowna drivers with trucks or SUV’s love the extra control.

You do have to watch out that the contact patch isn’t so big that the tires rub in turns or over bumps. What we’re talking about here is fitment. Your EUROPRO AUTOHAUS service advisor can help you get this right. He’ll install your new wheels, add spacers if needed to make sure your brakes fit inside your new wheels, and get you rolling. 

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Today's EUROPRO AUTOHAUS post focuses on brakes. Braking is slowing or stopping a vehicle. The mechanical aspects of the brakes themselves are just one issue. There’s also the power brake system and brake fluid. And then there are the tires, which are critical to the effectiveness of the brakes.

Let’s step back. A car or truck rolls brand new off the showroom floor. It has brand new brakes with brand new brake pads. The brake lines and the power assist are filled with fresh fluid and are completely clean inside. And the tires are brand new, with full tread.

Naturally, braking power is at its peak performance.

Now the kilometers driven between destinations start to add up. At this point, Kelowna drivers tend to focus on the brake pads. In the automotive industry, the pads, and shoes on drum brakes, are called the friction material. That’s because they provide the friction used to stop the vehicle. The pads are designed to be effective throughout their useful life and it’s not until they are worn so thin as to be out of spec that they lose stopping effectiveness.

The mechanical parts of the brakes have pistons and springs that get quite a workout while stopping the vehicle. Over many kilometers, these wear and get gummed up. They start to lose effectiveness gradually and could even fail. That’s why a regular brake inspection is important. At EUROPRO AUTOHAUS in Kelowna, your service advisor can test the operation of the brakes and see if any parts need cleaning or replacing.

That leads us to brake fluid service at EUROPRO AUTOHAUS. Some of the critical additives in the fluid that lubricate and clean the fluid system are depleted over time. That and moisture building up in the system deteriorate the performance of the brake fluid. Flushing the brake system cleans out deposits, water and dirt. Then the system is filled up with fresh fluid.

The tires are what connect the vehicle to the road. The stopping force is ultimately dependent on the traction provided by the tires. The better they grip the road, the quicker you’ll stop.

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A lot of Kelowna drivers want custom wheels. When you do this yourself (over the internet . . .) you could run into trouble if you’re not careful. Sometimes they just don’t fit right: The tires rub in turns or over bumps. Consulting your EUROPRO AUTOHAUS tire professional can ensure you get the right fit. First he’ll ask you a series of questions about your driving needs and what you want in your new wheels.

Now, not every wheel can go on every vehicle. Care must be taken so that tires and wheels are not too large or that the wheel is centered too far towards the outside or the inside. If you don’t want to make any modifications to your car, you would need to focus on a wheel and tire combination that would fit. With trucks, some Kelowna folks like much bigger tires so they need a suspension lift.

Also, most Kelowna drivers don’t realize that you need to keep the rolling diameter of your new tires – that’s, the overall height of the tire – very close to what came from the factory in order for your anti-lock brakes and stability control systems to work properly.

The computers that control these systems are calibrated to a certain size tire. When you go bigger or smaller, the computer doesn’t know what changes you made so it can’t tell how fast you’re going. This, of course, means it sends commands to the brakes and traction control that are based on the wrong sensor information.

If you go with a different rolling diameter, your vehicle control computer can be reprogrammed for the new tire size.

Either way, there are hundreds of wheel and tire choices to choose from in BC. You can pick the style of wheel you want and then talk with your EUROPRO AUTOHAUS tire professional about how big the wheel should be and select the right tire to meet your style, performance, ride and handling needs, and the best way to do all this is to have your EUROPRO AUTOHAUS tire specialist see your vehicle in person so mistakes are not made. 

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Quality surveys report fewer problems with new Kelowna cars than ever before. So does that mean that modern vehicles have become maintenance free in BC?

Back when cars spent more time in repair shops, Kelowna drivers were more mindful of routine auto service. Now, it’s much easier to put it off.

Take tune-ups for example. In the days of mechanical ignition systems, an engine needed to be tuned-up every couple of years. If your vehicle engine was out of tune, you knew it. It ran poorly and got bad fuel economy.

Now, the ignition system is electronic and controlled by the engine management computer. Spark plugs rarely get fouled and will last for as much as a 160,000 kilometers. So tune-ups used to force you in to your auto repair shop for service and while you were there you just took care of whatever else was on the list.

So, what’s the benefit to Kelowna drivers of keeping up with factory scheduled maintenance? Well, your vehicle will perform better and return better fuel economy. Those benefits pay for the service as you go along.

The big plus is that major repairs and the associated breakdowns are prevented. And these aren’t just repairs that are a long ways off. Modern engines are far more sophisticated and have many parts that are in critical need of proper lubrication. Missing just one oil change can allow oil sludge to start forming. Sludge clogs small engine passages, robbing parts of the lubrication they need - an expensive failure could easily occur within two or three years.

Taking care of the little things now at EUROPRO AUTOHAUS prevents big problems later. No driver wants to be stranded by a breakdown in the area. Your vehicle still needs to be taken care of, it’s just that some of those points of care have changed with automotive advancements. The need for proper maintenance did not go away.

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Your vehicle isn’t the only aspect of Kelowna life with recommended intervals: you have dental cleanings, physical exams, laundry, mowing the lawn and paying the bills.

What would happen if you didn’t follow these intervals? Well, you’d get more cavities. You might miss health issues that benefit from early detection and treatment. And you’d wear dirty clothes, be embarrassed by your overgrown lawn and have your utilities shut off.

Men and women realize there are some things in life that we have to take care of regularly. If we don’t, there are negative consequences. For Kelowna drivers who want to be more proactive with their car care, here are some simple ways to remember what has a maintenance interval.

First: Fluids. If it’s liquid, it’s got a replacement schedule. Oil, transmission fluid, coolant, power steering fluid, brake fluid, differential fluid, etc. We can take care of all of these for you at EUROPRO AUTOHAUS in Kelowna.

Then think Tires. They need air, rotation, balancing, and alignment. And while you’re thinking tires, think brakes and shock absorbers.

And what makes your vehicle go? Air and Fuel. Air filter replacement, fuel filters and EUROPRO AUTOHAUS fuel system cleaning. Of course there are more items, but if you remember to take your vehicle in for these things, your EUROPRO AUTOHAUS service advisor will help you with the rest.

And if Kelowna drivers don’t follow recommended service intervals? Your fuel economy will decrease, your vehicle doesn’t perform as well, your safety is compromised and you’ll spend more cash in the long run. Reason enough for me to follow recommended service intervals. 

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Owner’s manuals have schedules for preventive maintenance. Kelowna drivers can check on things like oil changes, transmission service and so on. They say you should change your oil every so many kilometers or after so many months. Kelowna drivers understand this very well. What they may not know is that there are actually two service schedules: the regular schedule and the severe service schedule. The kilometer and time intervals are lower on the severe service schedule.

Now when you hear “severe service”, you may think it doesn’t apply to you because you don’t feel your driving conditions are severe or extreme – it’s just normal everyday driving. So let’s list some of the conditions that manufacturers classify as severe so that Kelowna drivers can make the judgment on their own driving.

• Most trips are less than six kilometers.
• Most trips are less than 16 kilometers and outside Kelowna temperatures are below freezing
• You drive in very hot weather in BC
• Driving at low speed most of the time around the Kelowna area (under 88 kph)
• Stop and go driving
• Operating your vehicle in dusty, polluted or muddy Kelowna conditions
• You tow a trailer, regularly carry heavy loads or carry a car-top carrier

Most of us Kelowna drivers operate under severe driving conditions at least some of the time. How do we know which car maintenance schedule to follow?

Carefully think about your driving conditions and decide if you should do your preventive maintenance closer to the severe service recommendation or the regular recommendation. Of course, your EUROPRO AUTOHAUS service advisor can help you with your decision. 

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Every vehicle comes with a battery that meets the manufacturer’s specifications. This battery does a good job for the conditions under which typical buyers of that particular vehicle are expected to drive. When it’s time to replace a battery, you should always select one that at least meets the manufacturer’s requirements. Keep in mind that some of us Kelowna drivers drive in different ways and under different conditions. These differing factors may require a battery with more than standard capabilities.

For example, if you use your vehicle to make deliveries throughout the day (and that includes delivering kids to everywhere they need to be), you’ll be starting your vehicle many times a day. A starting event uses a lot of electricity and all the short trips don’t allow enough driving time for the alternator to keep the battery at a high level of charge. That is obviously harder on your battery than say, a seven-kilometer commute to and from work. You may benefit from a battery with a higher reserve capacity.

As you can imagine, it takes more energy to start a cold engine before the oil warms up and thins out a bit. If you live where it’s very cold part of the year, a battery with a higher cold cranking amps (CCA) rating could help make sure you can start your vehicle every morning.

Heat is the real enemy for Kelowna drivers. Did you know that summer months and hotter climates can literally take a year or more off the expected life of your battery? So, depending on where you live, purchasing a battery with a longer warranty period may help you manage your replacement costs.

In short, our battery needs vary depending on how we use our vehicles and the climate in which we live. Talk with your EUROPRO AUTOHAUS Service Advisor about what battery is right for you. We can test your battery to verify its capacity and life expectancy so you can be prepared for the months ahead.
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Batteries are a huge part of modern life. I mean, how many battery chargers do you have?

Of course, our purpose here is to talk about your car battery. When people come into EUROPRO AUTOHAUS and need a new battery, they're really not that happy about having to spend the money. But the fact is that 70 percent of batteries don't make it for 4 years.

There are some things that you can do to extend the life of your battery. First, keep it clean. If you see it getting dirty or greasy, let us know and we can clean it off. A dirty battery runs hotter and that shortens its life. If your battery terminals are corroded, let us take a look at that too. We can clean them, and if the corrosion has gotten into the battery cables, we can replace them.

Also running your battery way down is bad for it. Things like, running the headlights or watching a DVD player with the car turned off can deeply deplete your battery. The typical battery can only take about 10 of those deep cycle depletions before it gives up.

Because we often take short trips around Kelowna with lots of stops for errands, our batteries can end up not getting fully recharged just by driving around. That also shortens battery life. You can hook up a good quality automatic battery charger at home from time to time. We recommend charging once a month during hot months and every three months during cold months.

Now when it's finally time to get a new battery, EUROPRO AUTOHAUS can help you find the right replacement. We will always make sure to meet your manufacturer's recommendations. Now if you have special needs like, live in a very cold climate or run a lot of electrical accessories, we can look at an upgrade that'll give you the power you need.

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Myths start with a grain of evidence and are then built up and circulated around the Kelowna area with a lot of imagination and very elastic logic. And the internet is a breeding ground for automotive myths. Some car bloggers in BC recall the vehicles of yesteryear and declare their modern decedents to be virtually maintenance free and that anyone who says otherwise is out to rip you off.

Let’s examine a couple of the more popular rants going around Kelowna and look at the truth behind them. The first one is that the chassis no longer needs lubrication for suspension, steering and the driveline. They declare that any Kelowna service center who has charged you for lubrication is a charlatan. The truth on which the myth is based, is that most vehicles come from the factory with sealed joints and cannot be greased. However, there are still some grease points on some cars. A grease fitting may have been installed in conjunction with a repair. And most trucks and truck based SUVs still require chassis lubrication. This is because they are more heavy duty and proper greasing is still required to keep them going. Talk to us at EUROPRO AUTOHAUS in Kelowna.

Another common rant is that modern cars don’t need tune-ups. Do cars need tune-ups? That depends on your definition of a tune-up, which has changed as technology has progressed. Before engine control computers, electronic ignition and fuel injection, a tune up meant replacing mechanical parts that wore out. You’d manually adjust fuel, air mix and timing. When these adjustments were off, spark plugs would foul and need to be replaced.

This definition just doesn’t apply to modern vehicles. Kelowna auto service centers generally consider a tune-up to be the major service visit, recommended by your car maker, every 30,000 miles or so.

Of course, you can’t lubricate a sealed joint. Of course, you can’t adjust a carburetor if your car doesn’t have one. You don’t need to change spark plugs every year if your car maker says they can go 30,000 miles. What are these car bloggers getting so worked up about?

The danger with these modern-day myths, is that they prevent Kelowna drivers from taking care of the vital routine preventive car maintenance that car makers DO recommend. Listen to this partial list of things you still need to do to take care of your car. How many of them are really any different today than they were 20 or 30 years ago?

Oil change, cooling system service, transmission service, tire balancing, tire rotation, wheel alignment, suspension service, power steering service, proper tire inflation, brake service, differential service, battery maintenance, engine air filer, PCV valve, breather element, fuel filter, belts, hoses, timing belt, windshield wipers . . .

You get the picture. Your car or truck is still a machine that needs to be maintained. And, hey, your service advisors have always adapted to keep pace with automotive technology. Next time you come across an angry voice about your car care, talk to your EUROPRO AUTOHAUS service advisor, or do some research of your own.

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EUROPRO AUTOHAUS
1755B Harvey Ave
Kelowna, BC V1Y 6G4
250-870-8339