At our garage we can provide service to small fleets of 3-10 vehicles.  We can perform annual safety inspections on your commercial vehicle or trailer up to 9 GVWR.  We can accomodate heavy duty pickups or vans with 1/2 ton,  3/4 ton, or 1 ton suspensions but cannot fit a cube van in the bays.

 Battery

At our garage, we sell industry leading Exide  batteries for all makes and models and always recommend checking the charging system and starter circuit to ensure the battery is being charged properly and the starter amperage draw is not excessive.  If your battery is weak or your battery won’t start your car or your alternator light is on or your battery light is on or your engine won’t take the gas, give us a call at 613 721 6244.  We can help you with your no start vehicle.

Alternator and Starters

We have the confidence to install and guarantee in your vehicle ; Champion, Bosch, AC Delco (GM original ), Denso (japanese imports)  or Power Build.

Winter is the harshest time of year for your car. Corrosive road salt, stones and repeat freezing and thawing can wreak havoc on your painted sheet metal surfaces and your under car floor pan, critical brake, fuel, exhaust, unibody and subframe components. To compound the matter the cold winter probably kept you from washing your car as often as you should have.

April is a good time of year to bring your car in and have the underside thoroughly flushed to remove built up salt from nooks and crannies. This alone will add 5-10 years to your vehicle’s life and increase it’s resale value. At the same time, the underside can be checked for rusted components and adequate rustproofing protection. Remember most factory non oil based rustproofing starts separating from the underlying metal sometime between year 6 and 10 necessitating blowing or scraping off the product and recoating with an oil base one. Contrary to popular belief it is not necessary to rustproof the entire vehicle underside annually. Only the dry or rusty areas on the vehicle should be rustproofed or you will end up with a build up of dirt that absorbs the oil and the underlying metal will rust. Remember once a film of oil is applied to any metal surface, oxidization is interrupted and further rusting cannot occur.  We use Krown T40 industrial formula and Rustblock when rustproofing your vehicle.

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Pre- Drive Clean Test Tips

Your vehicle can be refused from a drive clean test for the following reasons:

• a leaky exhaust
• bald tires on the live drive axle
• fluids leaking from the engine compartment
• fuel leaks
• a rusted out fuel filler neck where your gas cap seals
• a fuel cap that wont hold pressure

Here are a few items to check prior to the test:

• check coolant level in radiator with vehicle cold
• ensure engine oil is fresh 1- 2 months old under 4,000 kilometers
• visual inspection for any disconnected or leaking vacuum or vent hoses
• check pcv valve

For a nominal charge we can check these items during an oil change. Do not have a tune-up done or any other extensive repairs at a non authorized drive clean repair facility prior to the test as they are not considered part of the $ 450.00 repair cost limit if the vehicle fails the test.

Jim Dickinson Auto Tech
is a Drive Clean Repair Centre.
We also offer Drive Clean test valet service for $15.

Contact Us

Arrange an appointment online

We have been performing Ontario vehicle safety inspections since 1984 and are totally unbiased as to whether your car passes or fails. You will be provided with a Safety Standard Certificate if it passes or a list of failure items to be repaired and cost estimate if it fails.  Please note that vehicles must also pass an emission test in the Ottawa area in order to have license plates issued.

Our motorvac carbon cleaning machine will clean out your fuel injectors, improving spray pattern and efficiency giving you more power, better fuel economy, smooth idles, improve cold startup and  part throttle acceleration.  

This patented technology cleans your injector passively with a mild fuel detergent that will not attack and destroy fuel pumps like some of the more aggressive technologies.  Motorvac injector cleaning will reduce carbon buildup and compression pressure extending your engine’s life and helping reduce nox gas function which is a common drive clean failure item.  We recommend motorvac cleaning every 60,000-80,000 km but have had to perform a cleaning as low as 18,000 km when very short trips are taken all the time. (5-10 minute drives at low speeds).  If your car jerks while accelerating or your engine idles rough, give us a call at 613 7216244.  We can help!

We can diagnose and repair the following accessories and their connections wiring harnesses and relays

• Power windows
• Power door locks and trunk release
• Power Mirrors
• Windshield wipers and washers
• Rear window defogger
• Radiator fan
• Heater fan/blower motor
• Condenser fan
• Air conditioning control circuits
• Tire pressure monitoring system
• Anti-lock brake system
• Charging system and starting system wiring
• Alternators/Starters
• Fuel gauge
• Batteries
• Headlights, park and tail lights, turn signals, brake lights and reverse lights

Makes and Models we Service

With todays front wheel drive vehicles you will not notice worn components until they have excessive play due to the tendancy of front wheel drive vehicles to turn on acceleration.  You will first notice problems during braking or while traveling at high speeds but by then your vehicle is unsafe to drive.

A proper road test by a skilled technician is paramount in troubleshooting steering, suspension and tire problems.  The vehicle has to be checked while accelerating and braking, checked for memory steering, steering ease of return ability and then a steering linkeage check with the steering wheel in the exact position it is when traveling down the road.  If the wheel is turned 2-5 degrees right or left all the play in major suspension components such as ball joints will not be evident on  initial inspection.

A second check of the same linkeage must be performed with the suspension hanging in the air.  A common problem today is loose stabilizer links that can make terrible clunking noises over small bumps/cracks in the road.  Often the links are in close proximity of tire or a drive shaft boot and once they break off they can destroy a boot or blow a tire.  Once they break ( the noise goes away)  excessive body roll will be noticed during cornering then often goes unnoticed by most drivers.  Loose ball joints or tie rod ends will wear tires prematurely and left until complete failure often results in accidents as loss of steering or suspension collapse occurs suddenly.  Coil springs that hold the weight of the vehicle up can corrode and break over time.  Sharp edges protruding from coil springs in Macpherson strut assemblies can puncture tires in seconds and loss of vehicle control occurs.  We install only premium parts from industry leading manufacturers to ensure your vehicle stays safe after it is repaired.  We can adjust toe in at the front wheels but must sublet 4 wheel alignments.

Give us a call if your car sits low on one side or your car bounces on bumps or your steering wheel shakes.  We can do the repairs to your damaged suspension. We can help!