The primary job of the serpentine belt is to provide critical traction to spin the accessories. As the belt wears it loses some of its grip and the accessories may not spin at prime speeds. For examp...

Just as our bodies need clean air to function properly, your vehicle engine needs clean air to operate efficiently. Let's go egghead for a minute. For every gallon of gas we burn driving o...

Urbana consumers are demanding. We want a safe, reliable vehicle that handles well and is comfortable to ride in. Oh, and we want good fuel economy, too. We also want vehicle repairs that are che...

The hottest Illinois news story may be different every day, but there's one topic that seems to come up over and over again – the price of gas in Urbana. If you feel like most of your paycheck...

Sometimes we hear people in Urbana say, "What's up with all this maintenance stuff? Modern cars just don't break down." While it is true that today's vehicles are extremely reliable, they ...

Today's PDR article focuses on severe service maintenance. Many Urbana drivers are not aware of them and yet there are also very vocal advocates in Illinois who think that severe service schedules a...

We live such busy lives nowadays: work, social events, running the kids all over Urbana. Some days it's all we can do to keep track of everywhere we need to be. That's why you've gotta be organized....

Urbana area residents may remember when the U.S. government's “Cash for Clunkers” program made a splash on the news scene. People were offered incentives to trade in old vehicles for new, ...

Have you checked out the price of new vehicles at Urbana car dealers? Ouch! Add financing and insurance and a new ride may not seem so attractive. A lot of Urbana, Illinois, folks are hoping to make...

Recalls are pretty serious for Urbana residents and don't happen all that often. But sometimes cars have less serious problems that Urbana residents still might want to know about. For these less seri...

If you've ever heard a squealing sound under your vehicle hood, chances are it was your serpentine belt. More importantly, the belt powers the alternator. The alternator creates electricity that's u...

Ask any Urbana man or woman if they've taken their vehicle in for preventive maintenance lately, and the answer may well be “no.” Surveys indicate that over 80% of vehicles on the road tod...

Most Urbana folks occasionally have days when they've got a bunch of errands to run. Yesterday was my day off and I needed to fill the gas tank, pick up some groceries at my Urbana market, swing by ...

Illinois service centers have a menu board that lists the services they provide. Some Urbana drivers may not be familiar with all of the items on the board so here is a quick description of some of ...

Because 90% of our driving decisions are based on visual information, unobscured vision is paramount. Which brings us to the topic of today's PDR article: wiper blades. While this isn't the ...

Many Urbana car owners have probably wondered: "What's the harm in putting off replacing an engine air filter? The answer is that not replacing it could cause your Mass Air Flow (MAF)...

{{ image('http://autonettv.com/media/thumbs/SerpentineBelt_0909_SusanJoel_SN_s.jpg') }} All Urbana service advisors know that without the alternator, the battery will go dead in a few miles. The se...

You've likely heard how important oil is to your vehicle's engine. Did you know that there's one part that's responsible for holding that oil so you can use it every day? It's called the oil pan, and ...

When it comes to their vehicles, some Urbana residents don't have a maintenance mindset. They know they need to take care of their cars, but it just seems really hard to get them to rememb...

Recently, Nissan introduced the latest version of its Leaf, the company's electric car. It has many new features, including something called e-Pedal. It allows the driver to let up on the accelerator ...