We’ve all been here: You start up your vehicle in the morning and begin to back out of the driveway. Before your hand reaches the volume dial on the stereo to crank up your favorite morning radio duo, you hear a noise coming from your car. A vehicle shouldn’t make that noise, yet yours is. And it sounds bad. But is it?

“Spark plug” is a word you are likely familiar with; it’s one of those car terms that you’ve heard your whole life. You know they’re important, you know sometimes they need to be changed. But how do you know when it’s time to replace them? What do they do, and where do they go wrong? By The Book Diesel & Auto Repair in Albuquerque has the answers.

There are a few things that matter when mounting new tires on your truck or commercial vehicle. First, you want it done right. Second, you want it done fast. For both, By The Book Diesel & Auto Repair in Albuquerque, NM has you covered. We've been trained to do it right the first time and make sure you're satisfied.

No matter what type of car, truck, or SUV you drive, old or new, it probably has doors. Those doors are heavy, and they see a lot of use. Naturally, from time to time, parts wear out. If your door doesn’t function as well as it should, here’s why, courtesy of By The Book Diesel & Auto Repair in Albuquerque.

Keeping the interior of your car, truck, or SUV clean and in good shape is an important part of making your vehicle last. By The Book Diesel & Auto Repair in Albuquerque has some tips on keeping your car clean inside, and why keeping it clean matters.

If you’ve ever been in an emergency braking situation, you’re probably all too aware that the brakes are the most important safety system on your vehicle. And like many other systems in a vehicle, the brakes need regular upkeep to continue functioning properly. One way to preserve the integrity of the braking system is through brake bleeding, and while it may not be as well known as certain services like oil changes, it is a key maintenance item for a vehicle.

At By The Book Diesel & Auto Repair in Albuquerque, we know that keeping up with required maintenance schedules is the difference between a truck that lasts a few years and a truck that stays strong for decades.

At By The Book Diesel & Auto Repair in Albuquerque, NM, we know that over the past decade, depending on what type of car, truck, or SUV you drive, it may seem like oil changes have gotten more expensive, and there are more options from synthetic to standard 10w/30 oil.  What kind is best for your vehicle and is the higher price worth the cost? 

You’ve known someone at some point that has a seemingly impossible amount of keys, keychains, and other accessories hanging from their key ring. You might even be guilty of that yourself. At [BUSINESS_ NAME] in Albuquerque, NM, we’ve seen our fair share of these loaded down car keys, and also the damage it can cause. Here’s what you need to know.

At By The Book Diesel & Auto Repair in Albuquerque, NM, we’ve witnessed our fair share of burnt out and broken clutches. While clutch failure is an inevitability, there are a variety of ways to make sure yours lasts as long as possible.

It’s easier than ever to keep your fleet running smoothly for thousands of miles. If a vehicle has less than 50,000 miles on it today, chances are it still has 75 percent of its driving life ahead of it. That’s good news if you’re a company managing a fleet of vehicles. It wasn’t that long ago that hitting the 100,000-mile mark on the odometer was a major milestone. Today, vehicles are built to last. With the proper maintenance and attention, there’s no reason you shouldn’t expect to see that 50,000-mile reading on the odometer one day roll right past 200,000 and keep ongoing. Here at By The Book Diesel & Auto Repair, we're going to give you some tips on how to make that happen!

At By The Book Diesel & Auto Repair in Albuquerque, we know that the first and most important step toward keeping your car, truck, or SUV reliably on the road, is knowing how to properly care for it. Here are a few tips on how to keep your vehicle in shape.

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.

Fluid levels, tire condition, dashboard lights, and a variety of other items typically are briefly explored whenever you bring your vehicle in for maintenance here at By The Book Diesel & Auto Repair in Albuquerque, NM, where we are good at noticing things that need repair, but the fact of the matter is that only you know your car. You know when your car feels off when it's been serviced last (or that it hasn't been serviced at all,) and have at least some vague idea of what’s going on with your vehicle day to day. Here are some questions you can ask us next time you come by the shop;

Travelling can be difficult, and traveling can be fun. The difference usually comes down to how much preparation you do in advance, and how many unplanned obstacles you meet along the way. A great way to avoid setbacks, mishaps, and stressful situations is to make sure your car, truck, or SUV is ready to hit the road. Here are some important points to check before travelling, from By The Book Diesel & Auto Repair in Albuquerque, NM.

Manual transmissions require far less maintenance than automatics. However, that doesn’t mean it doesn’t need a fluid check from time to time. Here’s what you should know about checking and adding fluid to your manual transmission, from By The Book Diesel & Auto Repair in Albuquerque, NM.

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...By The Book Diesel & Auto Repair in Albuquerque has the info you need to properly jump-start your car.

If you drive a performance or luxury vehicle, you know that your precision engineered equipment demands precision tuning. At By The Book Diesel & Auto Repair in Albuquerque, NM, we specialize in high-end imports and performance vehicles and keep them up to par.

At By The Book Diesel & Auto Repair in Albuquerque, NM, our goal is to keep your car, truck, or SUV on the road. The best way to prevent a huge problem is to pay attention to the small ones and get issues taken care of before they leave you stranded. As you know, small problems can lead to big problems and if you're not careful you could miss the signs and your transmission could fail you. 

At By The Book Diesel & Auto Repair in Albuquerque, our priority is keeping your transmission shifting smooth and running strong for years to come. While proper maintenance, driving habits, and a myriad of other conditions affect the life and reliability of a transmission, there are also ways to increase the overall efficiency of your unit, even above stock performance.