Red Rock Automotive

05/11/2026

02/02/2026

Due to treacherous road conditions, we will be closed Monday, February 2nd. Stay off the roads and stay safe.

12/01/2025

Battery

Batteries are a huge part of modern life. I mean, how many battery chargers do you have?

Of course, our purpose here is to talk about your car battery. When people come into our service center and need a new battery, they’re not that happy about having to spend the money. But the fact is that 70% of batteries don’t make it for 4 years.

There are some things that you can do to extend the life of your battery. First, keep it clean. If you see it getting dirty or greasy, let us know and we can clean it off. A dirty battery runs hotter and that shortens its life. If your battery terminals are corroded, let us look at that too. We can clean them, and if the corrosion has gotten into the battery cables, we can replace them.

Also running your battery way down is bad for it. Things like running the headlights or watching a DVD player with the car turned off can deeply deplete your battery. The typical battery can only take about 10 of those deep cycle depletions before it gives up the ghost.

Because we often take short trips around town with lots of stops for errands, our batteries can end up not getting fully recharged just by driving around. That also shortens battery life. You can hook up a good quality automatic battery charger at home from time to time. We recommend charging once a month during hot months and every three months during cold months.

Now when it’s finally time to get a new battery, we can help you find the right replacement. We’ll always make sure to meet your manufacturer’s recommendations. Now if you have special needs – like live in a very cold climate or run a lot of electrical accessories, we can look at an upgrade that’ll give you the power you need.

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11/11/2025

Red Rock Automotive and the Maintenance Mindset

We know we need to take care of our cars, but it just seems hard to remember to do it. We generally accept that many things in life require regular maintenance, but just may have not applied it to our vehicles.

For example, we water and mow the lawn every week. And w**d the flower beds and rake the leaves. We go to the dentist twice a year, take our clothes to the dry cleaner. Flu shots. Taking the kids for a checkup before school starts.

So, people really are maintenance minded. They just have to learn to apply that mindset to cars. I mean, if you never brush your teeth or go to the dentist, you’ll become painfully aware of your neglect when you get a big cavity. Once the damage is done, we learn our lesson and start to take better care of things.

Unfortunately, people too often learn the hard automotive lesson when they have to bring their vehicle to their auto center on a tow truck. So many times, a little routine maintenance would have prevented a breakdown.

Here’s something that will help: The key to good vehicle maintenance starts with the oil change. Think about it – when you go in for a full-service oil change, your tech will check all your fluids. If one of them is low, he can look for the reason why. If your serpentine belt is worn, he’ll see it and let you know. Corroded battery cable – they’ve got you covered. All of this takes a trained and experienced eye – more than you find at a quick l**e center. And they’ll check to see if your manufacturer has recommended any services at your current mileage.

So, when you come in for an oil change, you get a visual inspection and a reminder for recommended services so you can avoid a total failure. And remember that your service advisor can help you work out a maintenance and repair plan, prioritizing and scheduling the work to make sure you and your family are safe, and avoid expensive breakdowns.

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11/03/2025

The Red Rock Automotive Guide to Proper Fluids

If you’ve walked through the automotive fluids section of an auto parts store, you’ll know how overwhelming the sheer number of products available can be. How do you know what’s right for your vehicle?

As you know, these fluids all serve a function in making your car run. Your vehicle manufacturer has specified a particular type of fluid for every system from the motor, to the cooling system, brake fluid and so on. When you realize that not every variation is applicable to your vehicle, the task becomes more manageable.

First let’s talk about why there are so many varieties. Starting with motor oil, we see that manufacturers match the properties of a particular weight or type of oil with the design needs of the engine. For example, engines with sophisticated valve trains often require a thinner weight of oil.

Some vehicles come from the factory filled with synthetic oil and the recommendation to use it for life. The safe bet is to always use what the factory recommends. The recommendation is what‘s been proven to work in function and durability tests. The recommended oil is also a factor in determining oil change interval schedules.

A good quality oil has more additives that are engineered to clean and protect the engine. They cost a bit more but are worth the extra protection. If you buy budget oil, you might want to consider shortening your oil change interval.

Sometimes fluids are developed specifically to meet the needs of a particular family of engines. An example would be coolant. Because of the different materials used to build the cooling system, the coolant must be formulated to protect those parts, which vary from manufacturer to manufacturer, from corrosion. We’ve seen special coolant for General Motors, Volkswagen, Chrysler and others.

The same is true of transmission fluid and brake fluid in recent years.

The good news is that your service center has databases that tell them the recommended fluids for your vehicle. This takes all the guess work out. If you have some special needs, like a higher mileage engine or want enhanced performance, ask your service advisor for upgrades or additives that’ll meet your needs while being consistent with the manufacturer’s recommendations.

Of course, your full-service oil change will top off your fluids. But it’s a good idea to have some of everything at home in case you need to top something off yourself or to take on a trip. Ask your service advisor or check your owner’s manual for fluid specifications.

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