If you’re ever in a situation where you must remove the battery from your vehicle, it’s important to know what you’re doing. It seems pretty straight forward, and it is. However, there are some important things to remember when disconnecting the battery in your car, truck, or SUV. Here are some tips on disconnecting a car battery, from Monument Street Auto Center in Baltimore, MD.

When you get in your car, truck, SUV, or minivan to drive and the A/C does not work what could be wrong? Here at Monument Street Auto Center, we have some simple answers to help you understand how your vehicle A/C system works. The first question we are asked is "Why isn't my air conditioner blowing cold air?" Let's talk about what could be happening. 

Obviously, your brakes are essential. However, it’s easy to neglect or ignore brake issues, and even miss them altogether; as long as the car, truck, or SUV still stops, many people don’t see the need to have their brakes serviced. From Monument Street Auto Center in Baltimore, here are some common brake issues, and why you should fix them.

Obviously, your brakes are essential. However, it’s easy to neglect or ignore brake issues, and even miss them altogether; as long as the truck still stops, many people don’t see the need to have their brakes serviced. From Monument Street Auto Center in Baltimore, MD, here are some common brake issues, and why you should fix them.

An engine can last anywhere from 50 to 500,000 miles depending mostly on how well you maintain it. While some engines are certainly more reliable than others, all of them depend on maintenance to fulfill their greatest potential. Monument Street Auto Center in Baltimore, MD has provided for you some of the determining factors of engine lifespan, to help you make sure your engine lasts as long as it possibly can.

Nobody knows your vehicle better than you; if you suspect it isn’t driving the way it used to, there’s a good chance you’re correct. The truth of the matter is there are countless reasons and remedies for such a broad subject, but Monument Street Auto Center in Baltimore, MD has compiled a list of a few common problems that can cause a vehicle to drive poorly.

Obviously, the dirtier your fuel system is, the bigger the improvement you will see in performance and fuel economy after a fuel system cleaning. But it is important not to wait until your system is running poorly. If you do, by the time you get a cleaning, you’ve wasted hundreds of dollars in gas or even possibly damaged your fuel injectors and catalytic converter.

If you drive a Dodge, Chevy, or Ford diesel pickup, you know the amount of hard work your truck puts in. You may also be aware that diesels run a little dirtier than your average gas burner. At Monument Street Auto Center in Baltimore, MD, our goal is to keep your Duramax, Cummins, or Powerstroke truck on the road for many miles to come. A huge part of that is keeping your oil maintained.

Your drive belts are simple but integral components to the function of your car, truck, or SUV. At Monument Street Auto Center in Baltimore, belts are one of the first things we assess when looking over a vehicle, as they alone are in charge of operating your AC, water pump, alternator, and power steering.

The interval for the tire rotation could depend on a recommendation from either the tire manufacturer or the vehicle maker. The interval is typically around 5,000 miles but could range from 3,000 to 8,000 miles. So why do tires need to be rotated and how do you know when the right time is for your vehicle?

When driving around town, your vehicle's engine needs clean air to burn the fuel – and it needs a lot. In fact, a typical vehicle needs about 216,000 gallons of air for every tank of gas. All that air passes through a filter that catches the dust and dirt. Eventually, the filter gets completely full, and because the filter can only hold so much, dirt starts getting through. At Monument Street Auto Center in Baltimore, we want to help you get the best air quality in your vehicle, but first, we want to explain the process of where this dirty air is going. 

If you drive a car, truck, or SUV that runs on gasoline, there's a good chance you’ve run it low on fuel a few times (or more than a few times,) and maybe even run out of gas completely a time or two. At Monument Street Auto Center in Baltimore, MD, we like to provide information applicable to you. Running a vehicle low on fuel is something we’re all guilty of, and most of us don’t think twice about it. But, can it be bad for your car?

At Monument Street Auto Center in Baltimore, MD, we know there’s a lot of conflict on when you should maintain certain things on your truck. We also know there are consequences to neglecting maintenance; the difference between a truck that breaks down all the time and a truck that has covered over a million miles virtually trouble-free all boils down to maintenance.

Everyone knows to get routine tire care every so often. Tire rotations, alignments, and even replacements are necessary to ensure your tires stay in competent condition and don’t pose any harm when you’re driving. At Monument Street Auto Center, it’s important to us that your tires perform well and are safe to be on the road. Routine maintenance is sometimes not enough to get the most out of your tires. Here are just a few tips and steps to extending the lifespan of your tires, so they can continue to take you wherever you need for as long as you need.

As your vehicle ages, it not only gains sentimental value but a number of maintenance measures arise as well. Vehicles from previous decades have the potential to keep their value and functionality for many years. But how can you make that possible? Here are some tips from Monument Street Auto Center to keep your older vehicle running and on the road for a long time!

If you want to avoid nasty and unexpected surprise maintenance costs, sticking to a regimented schedule of preventative maintenance is something you are going to want to get used to. The reason being is simple – frequent maintenance will keep your vehicle in good health, ensuring you get the most out of all those expensive-to-replace parts. While it might sound counterintuitive, the best way to reduce maintenance costs is to stick to a prescribed maintenance schedule.

At some point or another, it’ll happen to you. You leave your headlights on, your battery finally fails, or for some other reason, you don’t have enough juice to start your car. Don’t call a tow truck just yet, though...Monument Street Auto Center in Baltimore has the info you need to properly jump start your car.

If you own or operate any type of vehicle, you understand the importance of resale value. Some owners keep the same vehicle until it’s time for the scrap yard, but by and large it makes more sense to sell a vehicle and replace it at a certain point. From Monument Street Auto Center in Baltimore, MD, here’s how to make sure you get the most cash possible when it’s time for your vehicles to hit the auction block or when you're ready to sell it to its next owner.

If you drive a vehicle with more than a few miles on it, there’s a good chance you’ve noticed an occasional drip underneath it that leaves spots wherever you park. Identifying what is leaking from your car will help you determine whether or not it’s a cause for concern, and what to do about it.

If you own or operate a fleet or commercial truck, you know it’s hard to keep everything working perfectly all the time. You have to choose what types of maintenance to give priority to, and what can wait. However, some small problems are indicators that a bigger issue is on the way. At Monument Street Auto Center in Baltimore, MD, our goal is to keep your fleet going.