Your gas mileage mostly depends on what kind of car you drive; engine displacement and vehicle weight are the largest determining factors on gas mileage, and there’s not much you can do to change either of those. That doesn’t mean attempting to improve your fuel economy is a completely hopeless endeavor, however. With these tips from Stuart Rolfe Muffler & Auto Service in Midlotian, VA, you might be surprised how much your fuel mileage can be improved.

At Stuart Rolfe Muffler & Auto Service in Midlotian, VA, 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 Stuart Rolfe Muffler & Auto Service, we're going to give you some tips on how to make that happen!

At Stuart Rolfe Muffler & Auto Service in Midlotian, 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.

A good technician will give your car a quick inspection whenever you have maintenance performed. Fluid levels, tire condition, dashboard lights, and a variety of other items typically are briefly explored whenever you bring your vehicle in for maintenance. At Stuart Rolfe Muffler & Auto Service in Midlotian, we're 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 its 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;

There have been a lot of technological advancements, and breakthroughs in efficiency to make modern cars, trucks, and SUVs so much more fuel-efficient than their counterparts. While engine design certainly plays a huge role, automatic transmissions have come a long way as well, contributing greatly to the gas mileage of your vehicle. From Stuart Rolfe Muffler & Auto Service in Midlotian, VA, here are some ways transmissions have changed to meet the demands of fuel efficiency.

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 Stuart Rolfe Muffler & Auto Service in Midlotian, VA.

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...Stuart Rolfe Muffler & Auto Service in Midlotian has the info you need to properly jump-start your car.

In the realm of performance engines, valve adjustments are an essential part of keeping your car running its best. When you add customization to the mix, valve timing becomes even more critical, and it’s important the technician adjusting them really knows their stuff. At Stuart Rolfe Muffler & Auto Service in Midlotian, VA, we’ve got you covered.

At Stuart Rolfe Muffler & Auto Service in Midlotian, VA, we know that transmissions are witchcraft to most people. More often than not, if major damage has occurred, it’s a lot more time and cost effective to just replace the entire unit and get a fresh start. Here’s what to look out for, from Stuart Rolfe Muffler & Auto Service in Midlotian, VA.

Gauges are your first, and often only, line of defense in catching a major problem before it’s too late. At Stuart Rolfe Muffler & Auto Service in Midlotian, we know that sometimes a faulty gauge is overlooked when the truck is still running fine and there’s a busy day ahead. However, gauges are extremely important, and are typically easy to repair.

At Stuart Rolfe Muffler & Auto Service in Midlotian, we know you’re busy. We also know that while there are certain issues with your car, truck, or SUV you can ignore for a while, some of them shouldn’t wait. While serious issues are often obvious, sometimes they aren’t - ball joints are one such case.

It’s a busy morning, you’ve finally gotten everyone where they need to be and you’re just pulling into the parking lot at work when your dash light starts glaring at you. Your check engine light shines bright, but you have no idea why. Whether you can tell a difference in the way your car, truck, or SUV is running, your car is trying to tell you something. At Stuart Rolfe Muffler & Auto Service in Midlotian, VA, we can help!

It’s a busy morning, you’ve finally gotten everyone where they need to be and you’re just pulling into the parking lot at work when your dash light starts glaring at you. Your check engine light shines bright, but you have no idea why. Whether you can tell a difference in the way your car, truck, or SUV is running, your car is trying to tell you something. At Stuart Rolfe Muffler & Auto Service in Midlotian, VA, we can help!

On modern vehicles, the PCV system (Positive Crankcase Ventilation System) is essential to ensuring your car or truck is ready to go when you are and remains a long-lasting, reliable vehicle. It’s much more than just emissions control - your PCV system serves multiple purposes and is quite interesting! How does it work, and what are those purposes?  Here at Stuart Rolfe Muffler & Auto Service in Midlotian, VA, we have those answers for you!

At Stuart Rolfe Muffler & Auto Service in Midlotian, VA, we recommend always making it a priority to change your oil on time. Here’s a look into why it’s so important, and what happens if you don’t keep up with oil changes.

Sludge - If oil stays in an engine too long, sludge begins to build up anywhere oil can go. The oil absorbs tiny debris and contaminants, kind of like a liquid sponge - once it’s at capacity, that oil begins to stick, clog, and build up throughout the engine. Small veins that carry oil to components like actuators, turbos, and bearings will become blocked, starving critical components of oil and causing component or engine failure.

At Stuart Rolfe Muffler & Auto Service in Midlotian, our goal is to keep your car, truck, or SUV shifting and riding as smoothly as it did the day it rolled off the lot. A big part of that is the mounting hardware that keeps the moving parts in your drivetrain running smooth.

Sometimes your car, truck, or SUV stops performing quite like it used to. At Stuart Rolfe Muffler & Auto Service in Midlotian, we can fix that. A simple but common issue on vehicles equipped with a manual transmission is shifter bushing issues. Your shifter has a bushing on the end of it, where it connects to the actual transmission. Its purpose is to provide tight, smooth shifting.