Doug McAllister of Douglas Automotive in Barrington writes a weekly Under the Hood column.
Doug McAllister
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New refrigerant better for the environmentJun 23, 2019 7:05 am - By Doug McAllister Q. I own a 2014 Jeep I took in to have the air conditioning recharged. I was blown away by how much it is going to cost to have this service done. I w...
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Cars and lasting impact of extreme coldFeb 02, 2019 5:05 am - By Doug McAllister You heard over and over again about the polar vortex this week, about the record cold and how dangerous it was. If you used your car during those subz...
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Exhaust smell inside car remains a mysteryNov 25, 2018 5:05 am - By Doug McAllister Q. We have a 2009 Cadillac DTS we bought in 2012 when it had 50,000 miles on it. My wife loves a big sedan as we're all 6-footers and have three grand...
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Moisture causes damage to electronicsOct 28, 2018 6:05 am - By Doug McAllister Q. I have a 2015 Buick Enclave with 52,000 miles. The left front headlight flashes on and off sporadically. The light flashes on and off whether we ha...
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Share all the details with your technicianOct 21, 2018 6:05 am - By Doug McAllister Sometimes we find that people will hold back some information when they bring their car in to get something fixed. There can be many reasons for this....
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Light bulb repair may have saved engineAug 12, 2018 6:05 am - By Doug McAllister What do a light bulb and saving an engine have in common? Well, the two can be related. Let me explain. Typically when we service a car we always prov...
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Wet carpeting can mean plugged drain tubeJun 16, 2018 6:05 am - By Doug McAllister We have seen a few cars come in the shop lately with water on the front passenger-side floor. It is actually not uncommon to see this in the beginning...
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Alignment check may be in orderApr 28, 2018 6:05 am - By Doug McAllister If you haven't noticed yet, it's pothole season and, boy, are our roads in rough shape. If you feel like you need to wear a mouth guard while driving ...
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Tire cupping can cause vibrationApr 07, 2018 6:05 am - By Doug McAllister Recently we had a client come back to the shop complaining of a droning sound and vibration feel after rotating their tires. It had been a while since...
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Pesky noise indicates potential problemFeb 24, 2018 5:05 am - By Doug McAllister Why worry about that pesky little noise you hear while driving your sweet ride? After all, you don't hear it when you dial the radio up a little bit. ...
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