What Every Driver Should Know about the ABS on Their Vehicle

ABS warning light symbol that will appear on the car dashboard

We Chicagoans do love our cars, don’t we? Especially in the slush-fest that describes a typical Chicago winter. Staying warm and dry inside our cars when those howling winds and swirling snows hit is a sheer delight. Driving in these conditions, however, is another story. Everyone has at least one hair-raising tale that involves ice,…

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Tips on Winterizing Your Car for the Cold Chicago Weather

winterize car at Hong Kong Auto Service for road trips

Winter in the Chicago area can be a brutal experience. If you aren’t prepared for extreme temperatures, bone-chilling winds and levels of frozen precipitation that could drown a bass, then don’t try and reside in Illinois. By the same token, the vehicles of those who live in this geographic torture zones are subject to some…

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Top picks: Your favorite car repair articles from last year

Throughout the year, we like to bring you articles about how to save time, money and headaches by taking care of your car. We want to give you the information you need to make the right auto repair decisions for you. And every January, we like to do a roundup of our clients favorite articles—in…

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6-point checklist to get your car ready for spring!  

The winter season is finally behind us! However, the harsh cold and wintry mix from “Old Man Winter” may have caused long-term effects on your car. Frigid temperatures, potholes, road salt and more can to do a number on your vehicle. Some of the casualties caused by wintry conditions are wheels knocked out of alignment or damaged shocks, struts and other suspension-system parts.

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Three reasons you may be cheating yourself with a quick oil change

Are quick oil change stations like drugstore reading glasses? We think so and here’s why: 1. Cheaters are a quick solution to an immediate need, reading things close-up when your vision is blurry. Nothing more. An oil change at an oil change station is a quick solution to the immediate need to keep your car’s…

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Consumers prefer independent auto shops to their new car dealers

Consumers prefer independent auto repair shops like Hong Kong Auto Service over new car dealers, according to an annual survey from Consumer Reports. In the annual survey, conducted by the Consumer Reports National Research Center, independent auto shops outscored dealership service departments for overall satisfaction, price, quality, courteousness of the staff, and work being completed when…

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Painfully obvious, 'helpful' tips from today's car owner's manuals

Have you ever joked about some consumer warnings that seem blatantly obvious? We’re thinking of the very cautious, “Don’t use the hairdryer in the bathtub,” or the lesser known, “Do not put any person into this washer.” It seems carmakers have jumped on the bandwagon and are dumbing down their vehicle owner’s manuals. “If the…

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