Oil Life Monitoring Systems
(New Technology Takes Guesswork out of Oil Change Intervals)
Until recently, the question of when to change your oil was usually answered by your local garage, which had a vested interest in servicing your car every 3,000 miles. Your alternative was to crack the owner’s manual to see whether your driving habits fell into the “severe” or “normal” category. And then you’d let the listed interval be your frequency increasingly, the change-interval question is being answered by a vehicle’s oil life monitoring system, which signals the driver through the instrument panel. This alert usually arrives anywhere between 5,000 and 8,000 how does the system know when it’s time for a change? Electronic sensors throughout the drivetrain send information about engine revolutions, temperature and driving time to the car’s computer. The data is run through a mathematical algorithm that predicts when the oil will begin to degrade car jump start. The light comes on well in advance, giving the owner time to get the car life monitoring systems have been around for several decades. They were introduced in General Motors vehicles in the late 1980s and have been phased in slowly, said Matt Snider, project engineer in GM’s Fuels and Lubricants Group. “We are very confident in the accuracy of the system,” he said. The average recommendation from the system for GM vehicles is 8,500 miles, Snider said. He said that the longest oil change interval he was personally aware of was 17,000 miles in a colleague’s car. For 2010 vehicles, 14 of 35 manufacturers use oil life monitoring Evidence
The oil life monitoring system in a 2007 Honda Fit Sport owned by an editor signaled for an oil change at 5,500 miles, due to a lot of around-town driving. Later, under highway conditions, the system (which Honda calls a “maintenance minder”) came on at 7 diagnostic tools,600 miles. Clearly, the system had detected different driving conditions and adjusted we had the oil changed, we captured a sample and sent it to Blackstone Laboratories. Showing the conservative nature of the oil life sensors, the analysis showed the oil had at least 2,000 miles of life left in long-term 2008 Pontiac G8 GT driven by Edmunds went 13,000 miles before the monitoring system indicated the need for an oil change. We also sent a sample of that oil to a lab for analysis. The result: The oil could actually have safely delivered at least another 2,000 miles of service. “With an oil life system, we can use the software to tailor an oil drain interval to the behavior of a certain customer,” Snider From the Schedules
Perhaps the best thing about oil life monitoring systems is that they free car owners from the confusing exercise of slotting themselves in the normal or severe driving schedules listed in the owner’s manual. Severe conditions are described differently by various carmakers, but some “severe” conditions that they frequently cite are driving in stop-and-go traffic, towing, excessive idling and driving in the many cases, quick-oil-change outlets and dealerships’ service departments encourage frequent oil changes by claiming that every driver falls in the severe category. This begs the question: Why have a normal category at all? Oil life monitoring systems put an end to the debate by reacting to how you actually an Oil Life Monitoring System
If your car has an oil life monitoring system, read your owner’s manual to get a feel for how it’s going to communicate with you. In general, the systems are designed to be easily understood and used. Some systems will display the percentage of oil life left so you can schedule a service visit. The systems factor in plenty of extra time for the driver who procrastinates. For additional motivation, however, some systems will display a negative number to show just how overdue the oil change a technician changes the oil, he resets the monitoring system. Do-it-yourselfers can easily do the reset, too, just by using a series of commands found in the owner’s manual.

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Coolant Flush in Brampton Is Considered As Preventive Maintenance
The coolant is an anti-corrosive liquid that circulates throughout the engine through valves and absorbs the extra heat vcx plus. This keeps the temperatures under the hood in check and far away from the maximum breaking point. An engine too hot can stall without warning and blow gaskets all around. The coolant flush at Brampton workshops is done with the utmost care and precision. This is to ensure the car is always topped up with extra and new coolant once the car has used the old lot.
An important part of car diagnostics in Brampton is the radiator check. It isn’t a part that goes kaput very often,however when it does,the car isn’t good enough to move an inch. Without proper care of the radiator,the car can overheat even in the chilling winter months. Under the hood the pistons and spark plugs create a lot of heat and along with friction from the other parts,it’s too hot. Every engine has a maximum temperature to work in and as soon as it hits that – a stalled engine. The powerful engines have strong or multiple radiators. The Bugatti Veyron has 10 radiators in total,only befitting for the fastest car in the world.
Car oil changes in Brampton is a part of regular servicing job. The oils in the car that matter the most are the coolant,the brake fluid and the engine oil. The coolant cools as the name suggests. The brake fluid makes sure the car stops when the pedals are pushed. The temperature of brake fluid in the car is very important because if it forms vapors,that results in brake fail. The engine oil in a car,also called motor oil,is very crucial to the long life and proper running of the car. It coats every moving part to reduce friction and improve responsiveness. Brampton oil change workshops always feature loads of types of oils and even brands.
Some cars demand high quality oil which comes at a higher price while some make do with the ordinary ones. People generally never crib about the engine oil because they know how important it is autel maxisys mini ms905. Brampton auto oil change centers also organize free for all camps for car owners across town to teach them the mechanics of the engine and oil. These camps feature a free oil top up and auto emission check. Small expenses made by the owner on regular checkups scheduled every month can save the owner a lot of money in the future. This is a fact,not many people realize. Most of them say that the small checkups and services normal add up to be a lot. The fact to notice here is that these regular and timely servicing jobs eventually save the car from getting into bad shape at any time and the car is always smooth and responsive. The best examples are the NASCAR and F1 racing pit crew mechanics,they know it all and they always agree with regular maintenance.

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LIES, DAMN LIES, AND TYRE PRESSURE GAUGES
Whilst on the subject of checking your tyres, you really ought to check the pressures once every couple of weeks too. Doing this does rather rely on you having, or having access to a working, accurate tyre pressure gauge. If you’ve got one of those free pencil-type gauges that car dealerships give away free, then I’ll pop your bubble right now and tell you it’s worth nothing. Same goes for the ones you find on a garage forecourt. Sure they’ll fill the tyre with air, but they can be up to 20% out either way. Don’t trust them. Only recently – since about 2003 – have I been able to trust digital gauges. Before that they were just junk – I had one which told me that the air in my garage was at 18psi with nothing attached to the valve. That’s improved now and current-generation digital gauges are a lot more reliable. One thing to remember with digital gauges is to give them enough time to sample the pressure. If you pop it on and off, the reading will be low. Hold it on the valve cap for a few seconds and watch the display (if you can).
Generally speaking you should only trust a decent, branded pressure gauge that you can buy for a small outlay – $30 maybe – and keep it in your glove box autel maxidiag elite md703. The best types are the ones housed in a brass casing with a radial display on the front and a pressure relief valve. I keep one in the car all the time and it’s interesting to see how badly out the other cheaper or free ones are. My local garage forecourt has an in-line pressure gauge which over-reads by about 1.5psi. This means that if you rely on their gauge, your tyres are all 1.5psi short of their recommended inflation pressure. That’s pretty bad. My local garage in England used to have one that under-read by nearly 6 psi Autel maxidas DS708, meaning everyone’s tyres were rock-hard because they were 6psi over-inflated. I’ve yet to find one that matches my little calibrated gauge.
One reader pointed something else out to me. Realistically even a cheap pressure gauge is OK provided it is consistent. This is easy to check by taking three to five readings of the same tyre and confirming they are all the same, then confirming it reads (consistently) more for higher pressure and less for lower pressure.
One last note : if you’re a motorcyclist, don’t carry your pressure gauge in your pocket – if you come off, it will tear great chunks of flesh out of you as you careen down the road….
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The Evolution of Diagnostic Equipment of BMW Service
Not just has BMW electrical architecture transformed during the last decade Autel MaxiSys MS908, but so has got the equipment to service them. The gear has transformed, this connects have transformed as well as the complexity of setup and employ.

Early tools

In the 1990’s, the audience Tester One (GT1) was introduced. There have been a couple of versions, like DIS Plus (stationary setup), nevertheless the GT1 is easily the most common and it is what’s going to be recommended here. The GT1 is really a portable device which contained a chargeable battery. It features a touch screen display for simple use. It contained software for Figuring out as well as had software known as Ienc (Technical Information Display) the Service & Repair Information. Early versions of Diagnostics also contained software known as Coding, Programming & Individualization (CIP). So in the same tool, you can Identify the issue, lookup how you can switch the component after which carry out the needed initializations for that new part. Two connects were utilised: EDIC (yellow interface) and also the Operations (orange interface). Later versions from the Operations were known as OPPS, given that they transported additional diagnostics for that Byteflite system plus they were also yellow, but larger compared to EDIC. Authentic GT1s take prescription the portable touch screen unit. You will find many “cloned” models available, modified to operate on the PC. Either genuine or cloned, this connects work exactly the same and fasten with an Ethernet port.

Later versions from the GT1 software removed CIP, and moved it to some separate computer (for storage), but nonetheless accessible in the GT1. This new software was known as Progman (short for Program Manager). This new software contained all the CIP functions and added additional features like multiple vehicle programming and dual funnel programming for every vehicle (DIAGBUS and many bus concurrently) in dash cd dvd player.

Third Generation equipment

Go forward to around 2008 once the Third Generation (3rd generation) of apparatus was launched: ISIS. The items in ISIS are extremely large, that devoted servers are installed in the car dealership. A web-based version can be obtained towards the aftermarket for a small fee, known as OSS. It may be available at BMW’s tech website. With the development of ISIS comes a brand new interface, known as ICOM. Previous connects (EDIC & Operations) will not use ISIS. ISIS includes a couple of parts, because it completely changed GT1 & Progman. The primary a part of ISIS that’s utilized in the store is known as “ISTA”, which may be further divided into two parts: ISTA/D for Figuring out automobiles and ISTA/P for Coding, Programming & Individualization.

Comparison

GT1s are available nearly anywhere, including eBay for inexpensive. BMW recognized the tool was easily cloned and offered worldwide. Many amounts of security happen to be put in the development of ISIS to avoid this, both in resident server internet-based-version. This causes it to be more difficult for non-dealer shops to operate around the more recent cars. You might believe that because the GT1 was stopped in ’09, you can just carry on using that for many more years before the more recent system grew to become more available, however, BMW remained a measure ahead! Each time a vehicle is designed using the new ISTA/P, it upgrades the program beyond the amount of what Program can recognize. Which means, when a vehicle continues to be up-to-date with ISTA/P, you can’t ever use Progman onto it again, rendering the “cloned” versions useless with that particular vehicle. Also, whenever a new module is installed, the program that’s pre-placed on that module can also be more recent than Program can recognize, which could steer clear of the entire programming process, forcing the vehicle to become designed by ISTA/P.

What exactly does which means that for that BMW owner? Consequently from the more recent systems, many BMW proprietors can no more repair the cars themselves. Many aftermarket shops will also be delivering the cars to shops consequently. However, not every aftermarket shops have fallen behind. You will find a choose couple of BMW niche shops that remain on surface of manufacturer technology, to ensure that no vehicle is averted! When searching for a location to service your BMW, make certain they are able to do every aspect of repair, including Diagnostics and CIP!

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8 Things You Need To Know About Back-Up Cameras
How They Work and What’s Coming Next
Published: 05/19/2014 – by Michelle V. Rafter, Contributor

2014 GMC Acadia Rearview Camera Display
The 2014 GMC Acadia comes with a standard rear-vision camera that shows what’s in back of the vehicle on a high-definition screen. | May 19, 2014 | General Motors Corporation

On the evening of October 19, 2002, pediatrician Greg Gulbransen walked out his front door to move the family’s sport-utility vehicle into the driveway. Unbeknownst to him, his 2-year-old son Cameron followed. Gulbransen was backing up when he felt a small bump, discovering only after it was too late that he’d accidentally run over and killed the boy.

Back-up accidents involving a small child inadvertently hurt or killed by a family member driving away from home happen all too frequently. Driving safety advocate Janette Fennell even has a name for them: the bye-bye syndrome.
Installing a back-up camera on an existing car isn’t difficult. Some require only a screwdriver, while others require a drill to mount the camera into a rear bumper cover. Some aftermarket camera makers post videos on their Web sites to help DIYers with step-by-step set up instructions auto diagnostic scanner tool, and many auto parts retailers do installations.

6. Grime, weather and time of day can affect how a camera functions.
Whether they’re factory installed or aftermarket equipment, rearview cameras don’t need much more maintenance than a periodic wipe-down to clear away accumulated grime from the camera lens. In heavy rain or snow, auto company representatives and aftermarket camera sellers suggest checking before you drive off to make sure the lens isn’t obscured.

Some automakers have come up with clever ways to keep rearview cameras clean. Select 2014 Nissan Altima, 2014 Nissan Rogue and 2014 Nissan Murano models have a built-in rearview camera cleaning system that sprays water from a small tank to clean the lens, and then squirts a puff of air to dry it.

Even though back-up cameras can help prevent accidents, automakers and retailers warn drivers not to rely on them completely. Drivers should continue checking side and rearview mirrors, and look over their shoulder to see what’s in back of them. “There are certainly sometimes conditions where performance of the system might be not as optimal as in other conditions. That’s one reason we’ve had our systems focused on being an aid,” says Tony Baehner, Nissan’s chief spokesman on back-up camera technology. “If visibility is limited and it’s dark and you can’t see, a camera of any system is going to be sensitive to some of those.”

Manufacturers also instruct auto dealers to give anyone buying a new or used car with a back-up camera system a walkthrough of the system before they drive off the lot so they understand how it works.

7. Back-up cameras may prevent accidents, but they might not lead to lower insurance rates.
NHTSA and IIHS may be convinced that rearview systems save lives, but auto insurers could take decades to adjust rates for customers who use them, and one insurance industry representative says even if rates drop, the decrease could be tiny.

For insurers to give discounts, insurance actuaries would have to compare data from sufficiently large pools of vehicles with and without the systems to determine whether the cameras make a difference. That won’t happen any time soon, since NHTSA predicts it will be 2054 before all . cars on the road have back-up systems, says Loretta Worters, vice president of the Insurance Information Institute, an industry trade group.

In addition, once all . vehicles have rearview systems, the equipment is expected to save a relatively small number of lives – fewer than 70 a year – compared with tens of thousands of people killed in traffic accidents. As a result, any rate decrease could amount to “well under $1 per policy,” Worters says.

But, she says, “there may be fewer accidents because people back into less stuff, which could justify a discount on bodily injury, property damage and collision.”

Instead, technologies such as collision avoidance systems and telematics show more promise for providing trackable data that could lead to lower insurance rates, she says.

At least one insurer sees things a little differently. According to State Farm spokesman SevagSarkissian autel maxicheck pro, back-up cameras could lead to lower car insurance rates if makes and models that have them wind up in fewer accidents. State Farm doesn’t provide discounts for specific vehicle safety equipment, but does collect claims information for specific makes and models, Sarkissian says. “To the extent a specific type of vehicle safety technology that is standard on a particular make and model of vehicle is effective in reducing the frequency and severity of crashes, it will be reflected in our claims data,” he says. As a result, particular makes and models may have lower insurance premiums, he says.

8. Back-up cameras are helpful for more than avoiding accidents. Wait until you see the camera technology that’s coming next.
Though intended to serve as safety devices, back-up cameras also can be used to help drivers do a better job of backing into a parking spot or hitching a trailer.

Nissan offers an around-view monitoring system on certain 2014 Pathfinder, Quest, Rogue and Versa Note models that comprises four cameras mounted on the license plate holder, front grille and side mirrors. The setup is designed to be a parking aid and has become a big selling point, according to Nissan. Customers “are typically wowed by the feature,” says Baehner, the Nissan manager. “Most of our research shows they are highly desired features.” Once you have them, they want them, he says.

Ford’s highly touted all-aluminum 2015 F-150 truck will also feature four cameras – on the front grille, rear bumper and side mirrors – for better maneuverability, with images transmitted to an 8-inch touchscreen in-dash display.

Tesla is experimenting with replacing sideview mirrors with cameras to improve vehicles’ aerodynamics and fuel efficiency. The company and the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers have filed petitions with NHTSA seeking permission to use cameras in place of sideview mirrors, which are required under . auto safety laws. Volkswagen recently got an exemption from European auto safety rules to road test 200 XL1 concept cars that have cameras instead of sideview mirrors. The goal: to see how sideview cameras work, and whether drivers like them, says Zorn, the company’s safety affairs general manager.

To find a dealership that knows how to treat shoppers right, please visit ‘s Dealer Ratings and Reviews.

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