A car is a lot like a country. There are parts that keep the lights on, parts that keep bad things out of it, parts that keep everything moving, and at the centre of it all, someone controlling the whole thing that has no idea what the other parts do. Luckily for us, there's a very easy way to find out what car parts do...unplug everything and see what stops working! (Bad idea...let's just look them up)

Alternator

Your alternator is basically the generator of your car. It produces the energy to power the electrical components of your car such as your radio and rear window defrost. Definitely a component you want to keep an eye on so you can continue jamming out to Bryan Adams.

Coolant

As its name implies, your coolant...cools. When your engine is running, it can get very hot. There are lots of pieces of machinery that are moving around and creating friction. Also, oil is flammable, so you don't want that heating up and catching on fire.

Grille

Unfortunately, this isn't the fun kind of grill that you can cook a steak on. The grille is the part of your vehicle on the very front that allows air into the engine block, further cooling it down. It also is designed in such a way that stops larger debris from entering your engine block, causing very expensive damage.

Dipstick

No, this isn't that guy at work that doesn't know how to use the printer. This is a long metal rod that's used to check the fluids in your vehicle, most commonly your oil level. This is a part of your car you want to be very familiar with.

Brake Lines

Brake pads are pushed onto the brake discs by the pressure of brake fluid. Brake fluid is moved around the vehicle to the pads by small metal tubes called brake lines. So when you have a "cut brake line" it's actually a hole in the metal tube that is leaking the fluid necessary to push the brake pads.

Carburetor

The carburetor is essentially the lungs of the vehicle. It takes in the fuel and oxygen, mixes them, and injects them into the engine for combustion. Generally, carburetors aren't as common in vehicles anymore, but if you have an older vehicle, this might still be present in your car.

Chassis

Again making a reference to the human body, the chassis (pronounced cha-see) is the skeleton of the car. It's the metal underbody structure that holds the car together, where the engine and body are mounted on.

Solenoid

No, it isn't people. A solenoid of any kind is an electrical switch that transfers power from one thing to another. In the case of a car engine, the ignition switch sends an electrical current through the solenoid which will relay a larger current to the starter motor, thus starting your car.

Conclusion

A car has thousands of parts to it, so we could be here for days going through all the bits of it. Luckily for us, we have experts that know your car inside and out. Make an appointment with our service department if there are parts of your car that you don't think are working the way you expect them to work.