Automotive News & Information - CME Smog & Auto Repair

Part of maintaining your vehicle is keeping its safety devices in good working order, especially when there are kids in the car. Seat belts, window locks, and airbag sensors work together to keep children safe in an automobile. Though safety components are generally very reliable, they do occasionally fail. CME Smog & Auto Repair in Vacaville is here when they do; here are some things to watch out for.

a car with lines and details over it like a computer screen

Your Vehicle Identification Number, or VIN, is essentially your car’s fingerprint. In its entirety, it is specific only to your car. Each car has its own unique VIN number and can be decoded to provide manufacturing and identification information on any vehicle on the road. Date of manufacture, manufacturer, vehicle type, where it was made, and options such as engine and transmission type, whether a car is a two or four-door, and a multitude of other specifications can be gleaned from a VIN number. Essentially, a VIN number will tell you exactly what a car is and where it came from, without even having to see the car.

Transmissions are one of the more mysterious and unknown aspects of automotive engineering, to most people. In the modern world, this is more true than ever, making technicians with expertise in transmission maintenance and repair more of a necessity than a convenience. At CME Smog & Auto Repair in Vacaville, our technicians have the skill, knowledge, and equipment necessary to diagnose and repair any sort of transmission issue you may be experiencing with your Dodge, Chevrolet, or Ford diesel pickup.

There’s a lot of information on buying used cars out there, but at CME Smog & Auto Repair in Vacaville, we don’t think it’s possible to go into a purchase armed with too much information. The condition of the transmission in a used car is perhaps the most essential aspect of a pre-owned car purchase - this article explains why, and how to make sure your prospective buy is everything you want it to be.

Judging by the number of near-rear-endings we witness on our morning commutes, the typical attitude toward brake maintenance appears to be, “Brakes: Don’t let them stop you!” This puzzles us because monitoring your braking system’s health is one of the most straightforward aspects of car ownership. You do have to know what to look for, though, or rather, what to listen and feel for. So let us, uh, break it down for you. Here are the top three signs that your brakes need fixing.

At CME Smog & Auto Repair in Vacaville, CA, we understand how frustrating it is when your vehicle makes mysterious noises that it shouldn’t be making. Here’s a rundown on suspension bushings, to help you figure out what that sound is you keep hearing.

A car that brakes well and brakes correctly are just as important as acceleration, handling, or any other aspect of a vehicle’s drivability. A car with brake issues has the potential to be a far more enjoyable ride when fixed. Your brakes have a lot to do with how your car drives. Brakes are a frequently neglected item on a lot of people’s checklists, and many drivers on the road have subpar brakes and don’t even know it.

Transmission problems aren’t always as dramatic as they seem. Often, a huge inconvenience is caused by a simple problem, if you only know what to look for. At CME Smog & Auto Repair in Vacaville, we know what to look for, and would like to pass some of that knowledge on to you. Here, we investigate an easy fix that causes a lot of people problems; a faulty neutral safety switch.