What is A Service? Spotlight Automotive in Chicago, Illinois tells all of our customers about how important maintenance is. Sticking to your Mercedes-Benz recommended service schedule will help keep your car on the road longer. What you might not know is exactly what Mercedes maintenance entails. There are a few different types of services in
Maintenance Matters As you likely know, Lexus recommends a specific maintenance schedule for your car or SUV. You may wonder why following this schedule matters, especially if your vehicle never has any issues. Below are three reasons why sticking to the schedule is necessary. You’ll Avoid Costly Lexus Repair Bills If you think you don’t
Fun Facts For Infiniti Owners Spotlight Automotive in Chicago, Illinois is casting the spotlight on Infiniti with these ten fun facts! Fact 1 Infiniti is a division of the Japanese company Nissan known for luxury vehicle manufacturing. It was initially created for the American market to compete with European and American made luxury cars but
Find A Mercedes Medic Mercedes drivers know that an import specialist makes all the difference when it comes to maintaining luxury and performance. You wouldn’t talk to just anyone about your health problems, you find a skilled doctor to give a diagnosis and medication. Think about your Mercedes in the same way. Someone who knows
The Perks of Preventative Maintenance Are you the proud owner of an Audi vehicle? If so, you might be looking for a way to protect it for miles to come. The first thing you should know — you don’t have to go back to the dealership! An import specialist like Spotlight Automotive can provide high-quality
For those of us who live in highly populated urban areas, we know all too well the possibility of being robbed. In places like Chicago, you can never be too careful in trying to prevent yourself from being the next victim of a robbery. You never know when it could happen to you, so it’s
Help your car out this spring with these tips! All of us who live in Chicago know how cold it gets in the winter and it’s such a sigh of relief when spring comes and we start seeing signs of the warmer days ahead of us. Chicago is known to have cold, snowy winters and
Brrr… it’s cold out there! Winter is here and it’s time to start taking extra precautions to stay warm and safe when the weather gets cold. Did you know there are precautions you can take in case of a winter-weather emergency while you’re on the road? Read on to find out! Winter ICE (In Case
History of the DSG In 2003, Volkswagen was the first manufacturer to offer a high performance, dual-clutch, automated-manual transmission in mainstream production cars. Their brand name for this technology is direct-shift gearbox, or more commonly known as simply DSG. Instead of using a torque converter like a conventional transmission, the DSG is made up of
Are you new to the Mercedes family? Mercedes repair shops will consistently throw around the words Service A & Service B as standard maintenance practices. Ever wonder what exactly that means and what’s included? We know it can be confusing to new members of our Mercedes family so we wanted to help out and explain
Getting into a car accident is stressful. It can be hard to think clearly when all you want to do is have your car repaired. We understand the importance of getting quality collision repair efficiently. Before you settle down with just any collision repair shop, be sure to ask these 4 questions to help you
Winter is closing in on us slowly and it is that time of year. Time to get your vehicle ready to take on the severe winter that Chicago is so delightfully known for. That includes getting a tune up and packing up your emergency car kit. I will go over a few more things you
Here in Chicago, we go through some intense seasons. Our winters are full of snow, our summers are hot, and our fall brings the rain. Taking care of your tires can extend their life and keep you safe through out all seasons. Here are some important tips that are not required, but can end up
Brakes are way too important to take shortcuts in quality. You never want to lose even the slightest degree of safety by delaying or avoiding necessary service. Just because your vehicle remains operational does not mean it’s at optimal safety. “Good enough” is not acceptable for brakes. Drivers that pay attention to braking system’s condition
Not all auto repair shops are run the same way. There are those that are just look at you like you’re another ticket, and then there are those that truly care about the wellbeing of both you and your automobile. At Spotlight Automotive, we truly care. Here’s what we do to make sure we always
Not to be morbid or anything, but the manual transmission seems to be dying a very slow death. The inconvenience for the majority of drivers seems to be growing, and the advantages are starting to get smaller. However, those of us who are able to drive a manual transmission recognize all of the advantages that
It seems like when the weather starts to get cold, that’s when your car decides to stop producing heat. Or maybe your car hasn’t had heat for a while. Regardless, it can be miserable shivering in your car on your commute to work. It can also be dangerous if your defrosters are not working on your
It’s the Holiday season and that means traveling to see friends and family members. For some people, that can mean added stress due to finances, long road trips in bad weather, or just having to deal with the extended family. At Spotlight Automotive, we want to help you eliminate as much stress as we can during the holiday season. Before you take
With everything going to automated systems, it seems like good customer service is hard to come by. You can now walk into a store and not even make eye contact with any employees. Retail stores are adding more self checkouts and auto shops are adding self check-in stands. Maybe we were raised differently, but at
Most vehicles have two fuel pumps; a low pressure fuel pump and a high pressure fuel pump. The low pressure fuel pump is what siphons gas from the gas tank and sends it to the high pressure fuel pump. From there, the high pressure fuel pump pressurizes the fuel enough to spray the fuel into
As the temperature begins to drop and ice starts to form, that’s when accidents begin to increase. We know that as much of a defensive driver as one may be, many collisions can’t be avoided. We understand that which is why we want to help Chicago drivers make their cars look brand new again. We
The Holidays are always that time of year when people keep a close eye on their finances. At Spotlight Automotive, we wanted to give your wallet a break. Now until the end of the year, first-time customers can receive 20% off their next synthetic oil change. Because we know that you will be traveling to
What is a CVT Transmission? Continuously Variable Transmissions, or gearless transmissions, works by providing a smooth acceleration without having to switch gears. It is a type of transmission that has grown in popularity in America over the past couple years because of it’s efficiency. The pulley is a metal chain or belt that rotates in between two cones. These cones move closer together
AAA projects this Thanksgiving as one of the highest volume of drivers on the road since 2007. A big reason for this is due to gas prices falling below $3 a gallon. In Chicago, it’s hard to avoid any traffic due to the volume of suburban residents and tourists driving in for the Parade. With the combination of large amounts of drivers in snowy weather
In the past, manual transmissions would allow you to get higher MPG than automatic transmissions. This may still be the case, but with new automatic technology coming out the MPG gap is shrinking between manual and automatic. Regardless of how many miles you get per gallon, manual transmissions are not as boring as automatics. Many
What is a timing belt? Depending on the type of car, you may either have a timing belt or timing chain. Both are important in rotating the crank shaft so that the cylinders in your car can move up and down. If the timing belt were to break, then the cylinders do not move which
Diesel was not as common in everyday vehicles as they are now. Many of us, myself included, had the perception that diesel engines were only for big semi trucks that pollute our environment and take up way too much room on the highway. However, Diesel engines have been growing in popularity among everyday cars, especially if you want to buy a European
Depending on how old your BMW is, a service inspection for safety and function of your car is recommended. BMW models manufactured in 2005 or earlier has a warning signals every 30,000 miles to let you know it’s time for a service inspection. These inspections are similar to the yearly physicals people should go through to make sure everything is up to par. The
The process is annoying. You are driving down the road listening to music and that’s when it happens. Your hearts sinks a little as the oil light on you dashboard glares up at you. You can almost hear that little maniacal warning signal laughing at you because it knows, it’s not time for an oil change yet. You know it may be a leak,
Throughout the history of Volkswagens, the auto company has had mixed reviews among customers here in the United States. While some people swear by all things VW, others are less apprehensive to purchase another car from VW. Regardless of your stance on VW cars, sales have dropped down around 22% in June meaning less than
What is a Water Pump? Once upon a time, water was used to cool off an engine. The water pump circulated cool water in & out of the engine to prevent overheating. Today, we use coolant to keep our engines from overheating. Even, though we switched from water to coolant, the common name for the water pump is
Most of us have a basic understanding of why a car needs an emissions test. The EPA tells us that 75% of carbon monoxide pollution in America is from motor vehicles. So in order to reduce this number, we have to periodically test our vehicles for emissions to make sure we are not completely destroying the environment. You may ask, “Why do I need
For as long as mankind has been driving, we have been trying to make our commutes smoother and easier on our bums. The horse and buggy days had leather and rubber straps to connect buggy axels to frames. These straps were used to absorb all those bumps when riding on dirt and cobblestone roads. Since then, we have changed our
You wouldn’t think paint to be so temperamental when it comes to your car. After all, it has to endure the abuse from the hot sun, ice, hail, rocks, shopping carts, parallel parking, etc. However, when it comes time to paint your car, it can be a very tedious and difficult task that even “professionals” tend to screw up. We
4WD, AWD, potato, poTAHto, it’s all the same thing, right? Well, the main function for both is to create traction, but there are differences between 4WD and AWD. As a way to advance or military, 4WD was invented so that we could drive through rough terrain in order to infiltrate Nazi territory. 4WD was the primary traction
What’s more important, your iPhone or your car? Millennials are causing a stir within the auto industry. Whether it’s post-recession economics or a permanent cultural shift, the new American dream no longer includes owning a car. In a study commissioned by Zipcar, advances in smartphone technology within our daily lives allows us to rely less
A coolant reservoir is also known as an expansion tank or recovery tank. It’s purpose is to store coolant for future use. Without it, coolant would drip uselessly to the ground, making your engine at risk of overheating. Also, you’d be spending even more money buying coolant just to keep your engine at a stable
Overtime, your car will acquire scratches. Unfortunately, it’s the name of the game when you own or lease a vehicle in Chicago. Street parking, road debris, vandalism, and natural causes can all be culprits that cause those unwanted scratches. It seems the harder you try to avoid them, the more that show up. At Spotlight
It is an ongoing debate between dealers and independent auto shops on who offers better service. Just do a quick Google search and you will find hundreds of posts on why you should avoid dealers and vise versa. It doesn’t matter if you are taking your car to the nicest, most expensive dealership or the worst back
It seems like one of the biggest car debates we hear about is existence of ABS brakes. Do we need them? Do we not need them? History Originally designed in 1929 for airplanes needing to land in extreme weather conditions (snow, ice, rain, etc.). It wasn’t until the early 70s when automakers began adding ABS
We thought maybe mother nature forgot about us with the mild summer we had this year. Despite all the rain, maybe she is taking it easy on us this year now that she knows Lou Malnati’s delivers nationwide. Our local meteorologists, however, have crunched the numbers and performed their ceremonial weather dance. It appears our
High performance cars require high performance parts. We had the above Mercedes-AMG come into our shop to replace the factory brakes with high-performance brakes (and rotors). These brakes certainly make a high-performance vehicle look high-performance-y, but is there an advantage to having them? Does it make sense for all owners of high-performance vehicles to use
Audi vehicles are exceptional luxury machines. According to Audi, the vehicles are known for inspiring innovative solutions, revolutionary engineering and progressive design. “Vorsprung durch Technik” or, “Progress through Technology” is the companies ethos that they say, “sets the company apart on the racetrack and the open road”. It also means, you are going to be
Mechanics and our fathers have been telling us for years about the importance of changing the oil in our car. We know that cars need oil to make things lubricated and work properly so that we don’t get stranded on the side of the road. Sometimes we will wait a while after or completely forget
Believe it or not, cars need a lot of liquid in order to function. Whether it is oil, coolant, or gas, your car needs help keeping all of that liquid from leaking out; this is where gaskets come into play. We all know that engines are made up of many, many different parts. These parts
If you park your car on the street for more than an hour on a hot summer day in Chicago, you’ll quickly find how important A/C is. That refreshing cold air flushing out the evil forces of city heat being trapped inside your car can feel like a gift from the Gods. Now that summer
It’s early in the morning. You wake up to the same routine of hitting the snooze button 2-3 times to prolong dealing with the consequences of running late. You quickly get the kids ready, lunches packed, lights are off; keys, wallet, phone…check! You all pile into the car and fasten your seat belts. Your car
Most European vehicles contain high-performance engines which produce a lot of heat. The heat is caused by friction from pistons in the engine moving constantly at a fast pace. To help reduce the amount of friction, we add synthetic oil to the engine to work as a lubrication. There is a lot of debate regarding
Chicago is rough on our cars with construction, street parking, random street debris, and hail as common problems drivers have to deal with in the second city. No matter how much we try and protect our car, it still manages to get bumped, dented, or scratched. Now that the fall season is upon us and
How Do Transmissions Work? Maximizing the efficiency of your engine by achieving low fuel consumption is your transmission’s main prerogative. Your transmission knows when to shift at the precise time to reduce the RPMs (revolutions per minute). Lower RPMs are what helps increase your MPG (miles per gallon). I’ll try and use less car speak
There seems to be a lot of misconceptions online regarding the purpose of struts and shocks. The discussion forums we tend to see have many inexperienced people trying to explain how shocks and struts do the same thing. While there are some similarities between the two, it is incorrect to say that they do the
Whether you recently moved to Chicago or have lived your whole life here, you know how bumpy the roads can be. With hard winters and never ending construction tearing up the city streets, driving in Chicago can feel like auditioning for a Vin Diesel movie. To help alleviate some of the rough bumping and swerving
BMWs are known for a smooth performance. They have great torque, emit low emissions, and known for good fuel performance. A major reason why BMWs are known for these features is partially due to the VANOS system. The system works to regulate your engine’s fuel intake and exhaust system. Because the VANOS system works with
Are you planning on taking a Labor Day trip with the family this weekend? You are not the only one. According to AAA, nearly 35 million people will be sharing the road with you. That’s the highest volume of roadtrippers since 2008. So before you clock out of work early and pack your car with
Sometimes, it’s the little things that can cause major issues. What Does the Coolant Temperature Sensor Do? The Coolant Temperature Sensor is about the size of a baby pacifier yet it is the main component in making sure your engine doesn’t overheat. It’s important job is to measure the temperature of your engine coolant and
Mercedes are known for being a superior car in comfort, style, and performance. However, like all cars, there are common problems that may occur the more miles you put on your Mercedes. A common Mercedes problem we see in our shop comes from a bad Crank Position Sensor. We will tell you all about this
For most of last week, Chicagoans heard the shrieking sounds of Blue Angels speed overhead as they practiced for the Chicago Air & Water show. People travel from all over to sit and watch Jets swirl, turn, and maneuver, over North Avenue beach. As a pilot, you have to be fully aware of everything that
The best way to avoid being stranded on the side of the road, waiting for a tow truck for hours on end is to regularly maintain and check your vehicle for any leaks, noises, or alerts. However, if you do encounter a car breakdown, knowing the cause of the breakdown can help you find a
A car is a significant investment. Taking proper care of it will save you from quite a few headaches and will save you tons of money. Follow these key tips to avoid breakdowns and keep your car running smoothly. 1) Change the oil every three months or every 3,000 miles. This is one of the
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