Gardner Auto Repair

By David Kelly  What’s it like to produce a Super Bowl ad? I have been involved with the production of three ads and worked with several different clients and ad agency creative directors on the whole question of whether they should spend the money on the biggest TV audience of the year. The attitudes range from “We gotta go big,” to “let’s just try to have a solid ad as if it was any other time of the year,” to “I’m not paying that kind of money for a TV audience only to have my ad bashed by places like USA Today, Advertising Age, Adweek and  ... read more

Well, your problem could be caused by several things. Let's start with a likely suspect: your alternator. The alternator is like a little electrical generator. It is spun by the serpentine belt on your engine and makes electricity. This electricity is used to power the electrical systems required to run your vehicle. It also powers all of your electronic accessories like your stereo, navigation, heated seats, and air fans, as well as charging all the electronics you have plugged in. After the alternator has done all that, any electricity that's left over is used to charge your battery. You can see where we're going: if the battery isn't getting enough electricity to stay charged, the problem may have something to do with the alternator. Now it could be that the alternator is bad – they do wear out over time. There are a number of failure points within the alternator, but in practice, it costs less to simply replace the alternator than to take it apart and r ... read more

 One of the few things that can make a morning commute worse in the winter is if the heat stops working inside your car. Have you ever turned on the fan for it only to blow cold air and wondered: “Why is my car heater not working?” If yes, then you know the struggle is very real. Not only is it terribly uncomfortable driving in a cold car, but it can actually be dangerous, as you can’t defrost the windshield, either. Here are some things that could be causing your heat not to work. 1. Coolant System Your engine’s cooling system works, in part, by the coolant traveling through a heater core that heats the inside of your car. Basically, it’s a small radiator that hot coolant flows through. The fan inside your car then blows heat off of it to give the cabin heat. If your ca ... read more

  We sure can show you the problem! We have a new video inspection that sets us apart from the rest! You will see exactly what our techs see. We send the video to you via text or email, so you have a better understanding of the repairs that are needed.  Just another reason Bret's Autoworks is the place to turn for honest auto repair. 

Diesel engines are appearing in more and more vehicles around Gardner, KS, and in nearly every category from compact cars and pickup-up trucks to high-performance luxury vehicles. In much of the world, 40% or more of passenger vehicles are equipped with diesel. North American is beginning to appreciate the power and fuel economy benefits of diesel engines. Many maintenance items for diesel engines are similar to gasoline engines. One notable difference is the requirement of Diesel Exhaust Fluid or DEF. Modern clean-diesel engines burn very cleanly to reduce soot and other pollutants. A side effect is the production of nitrogen oxides which are harmful to the environment. DEF is added to the exhaust and reacts with nitrogen oxide to produce harmless water and nitrogen. Diesel vehicles have a tank to hold the DEF. A small amount of DEF is metered into the exhaust as the engine runs. When the DEF starts to run low, the DEF tank must be refilled. Because DEF is so important to environme ... read more

Today's vehicles have more electrical components and do-dads than ever before. This really strains your vehicle's electrical system, making it hard for the battery to keep up. Think about it: electric seats, seat heaters, power locks, windows, and sunroofs. And then vehicles have all the power outlets for our cell phones, computers, and DVD players. We also have navigation systems and powerful stereos. Plus there are all the engine and transmission computers, traction control, stability control, anti-lock brakes, sensors and on and on. Even the security system is running off the battery while the vehicle is turned off. And of course, summer heat in KS can take a real toll on battery life. Fortunately, battery technology has given us resilient batteries that are able to meet these strenuous requirements. But the fact is; batteries just wear out over time. Eventually, every battery gets to the point where it cannot hold ... read more

So what's the most distracting food in the car? Is it: (A) A Hamburger (B) Coffee (C) A Soft Drink (D) Twizzlers Well, all but the licorice make the top ten, but coffee's the number one food distraction. These distractions cause 25% of all car crashes, over a million and a half each year. All the top ten distracting food items are messy. Motorists might spill, then try to clean up. If you've got to eat on the run, take five, then drive. And keep drinks in spill-proof containers. So taking a food break… Or filling out accident reports. It's a no-brainer.     We want Gardner, Olathe and all drivers to keep their eyes, and their minds, on the road

Question:My Check Engine light is on and my boyfriend thinks he can get the code read and know what part to replace to fix my vehicle. I say it's not that. Who's right?     Bret's Autoworks Answer: Good news – you are! Just look at it logically: there are hundreds of things that can go wrong with your vehicle. Some are simple and some are quite complicated. Let's take a step back. Over 80% of engine functions are computer controlled. The computer receives information from dozens of sensors. When a sensor reading is out of range, a trouble code is entered in the computer and the Check Engine light is illuminated. It's a common misconception by drivers that the trouble code, there is any number of faults that would trigger the code. For example, a code indicating a misfire on cylinder three could be due to a bad spark plug, a failed coil ... read more

Today at Bret's Autoworks we're going to talk about windshield wiper blades. Now that may seem like a pretty mundane topic, but think about how important your vision is: We protect our eyes. If we need contacts or glasses, we took care of them too.   And, well, wiper blades are critical to our vision when we drive around the  Olathe and Gardner area. We really ought to think about wipers as part of an important safety system. We should think about maintaining safety – not just responding when our wiper blades fail.  How many times have you been caught off-guard by the first storm of the season with a streaky windshield you can barely see out of? Or with no washer fluid? Wiper blades live outside the vehicle, exposed to heat and sun in the summer and cold and ice in the  area winter. It's no wonder that they get dry, brittle and torn. We recommend changing wiper blades twice a year – before they're so damaged that they don't ... read more

Let's address a very important maintenance item for everyone – timing belt replacement. It's important because letting this one slide can lead to very expensive engine damage. Your timing belt choreographs the timing of your combustion process. Your pistons travel up and down in the cylinder. Intake valves open at the right time to let in air and fuel; they close at the right time to allow the fuel to burn and then the exhaust valves open at the right time to let out the exhaust. All this happens thousands of times a minute and it's your timing belt that makes sure the valves are opening and closing at precisely the right time. If the timing is off, your engine won't run. And that's the best case. The worst case is that a valve is opening at the wrong time and collides with the piston. The res ... read more