Kenvil & Lake Hopatcong Auto Repair

If you feel like you’ve been burned by an auto repair shop in the past, you’re in good company.  Some surveys suggest that as many as 3 out of 4 people feel like they have been overcharged for auto repairs or worry about being overcharged for services they may not even need.  As with most things in life, knowledge is power, so the more you know the less likely you are to be targeted for overcharging.  Here’s a helpful guide to answer the question: how do you know if an auto shop is legit? Signs That an Auto Shop is Legit Honest, forthright auto shop owners and technicians tend to exhibit similar actions, accolades, and business practices. They include: Ethical Auto Repair Shops Will Provide Written Estimates Shops need time to properly inspect your car in order to provide a written estimate so steer clear of shops that resist quoting you an estimate. Trustworthy Shops Will Have the Receipts to Prove Dedication to Their Craft Trustworthy auto repai ... read more

Here we have a 2013 Nissan NV2500 V8 that has suffered what we call “catastrophic failure”. Upon inspection, our tech Jay found that multiple connecting rods blew a hole clear through the oil pan sending shrapnel and oil all over the road, and cracking a couple of the pistons. The connecting rod links the crankshaft and the piston together, and takes the abuse of every single explosion the combustion chamber brings. These rods push the crankshaft and cause it to spin, which spins everything else in the motor as well. Now, this is not a normal issue that we run into every day, but unfortunately, we have seen it many times in the past. This kind of failure happens due to a lack of lubrication. Without proper lubrication, there is more friction which causes things to wear faster or fail. A couple of reasons why you might run into lubrication problems could be from old oil that has lost its viscosity, water in the oil, a bad oil pump, clogged oil ports, oil burning, or not eno ... read more

Do you ever find yourself having to fill up your tires with air every once and a while? You think you may have a leak, so you take it somewhere to have it checked out and what do you know, you are told that your tire is fine. But how could that be? It was obviously low and losing pressure somewhere.  Most people are unaware that tires are almost constantly losing pressure. The compound and structure that make up a tire is actually filled with tons of microscopic pores, similar to your skin. This causes the air to leak out of the tire at an extremely slow rate, even if you don’t have any puncture in the rubber. One way to battle this slow leak is with Nitrogen. Nitrogen molecules are bigger than Oxygen molecules, so they have more trouble leaking through the tiny pores.  Another benefit of using Nitrogen is that temperature does not affect it like it affects regular air.. If you live in an area where there are drastic temperature changes, you may notice that your tires ... read more

GMC Acadia, Crank But No Start.  Here we have a GMC Acadia with a crank but no start condition. No matter how long you try to crank the engine, the most you may get is a sputter if you're lucky. After running a few diagnostic tests, our technician Jay was able to prove that the SUV has spark and fuel, which leaves only one thing left to test for, compression. After compression testing the cylinders and also adding compressed air into the spark plug holes, (also known as a cylinder leak down test) he was able to confirm that the engine does not have good compression and is also leaking air into the intake and exhaust manifolds. Digging a little deeper proves the engine is out of time, this is a very common issue with these engines as the timing chain stretches and the guides wear down past the point the tensioner can keep the engine in time. Timing in an engine simply put is the synchronization of the top half of the engine (camsh ... read more

Heidi joined our team in 2020 as our Marketing Manager and Creative Director. “What doesn’t Heidi do with us?” is a way easier question to answer. She works with the team building rapport between us and our clients, managing the marketing and social media, is the editor of the Magic Hour monthly newsletter, coordinating our special events, video production and all our photography. At the birth of Magic Lube and Rubber, Heidi put to use her passion for design and decor to help the vision of MLR come to life, and we all love her for her creation! She comes with a background in sales, automotive marketing, advertising, and photography.  With Heidi’s arrival the Magic Hour newsletter began!  A Jersey Girl through and through, Heidi is a native resident of Sussex County, She got her degree in photography from the Art Institute of Ft. Lauderdale. Previously, she owned and operated Images by Heidi and spent many years as a sales and marketing executive for ... read more

Petro "Pete" Chang is a graduate of Wyotech and specialized in automotive and light-duty diesel. He has over 13 years of experience in the automotive field. He brings with him first-hand knowledge of the inner workings of the auto repair industry and has played a key part in the business aspects. There isn't too much Pete doesn't know about how to get things done around the shop and he is enthusiastic about each challenge that is put in front of him.   Not only is he experienced with vehicles, but he is also very in tune with customer relations and cares for both the client and their vehicles, always setting the bar at the highest level.    We are excited to have Pete and his many talents on our team and we know that our clients will benefit from his passion for everything automotive.    Pete is an avid outdoorsman. On his time off, he enjoys being out in the woods, bow hunting, out on the water with his rod and reel, o ... read more

2017 Ford Fusion with multiple different electronic issues, from lights and dashboard not working, radio acting weird, and many little random glitches that don't add up. Our technician was able to diagnose the issue and deemed it to be CAN bus-related. These issues are normally very difficult to diagnose or even impossible for some without proper training and experience.     These days, all modern vehicles, from conventional combustion-powered cars to the latest EVs, feature a Controller Area Network (CAN) bus. It's the electronic communication system that lets everything  be able to talk to each other including the engine, transmission, body control, and even brakes. It works the same way a computer communicates with its own parts, with 0's and 1's. Literally, multiple pulses or pauses  of electricity (0110101001) just like Morse code. Computers are ab ... read more

There are so many resources out there today that can send you in multiple directions. One thing that we know for certain is that word of mouth and referrals have always been our most valued resource. When we are looking for a reliable and trustworthy source, we look to friends and family first, then yes, we might Google, but we always want the recommendation of someone we know and trust to guide us to the right person or business. We are always appreciative of referrals from our clients, it makes us proud to know that we’re doing the right thing for our customers, so much so that they are willing to recommend us. That’s just the highest level of compliment that we can receive. We here at Automotive Magic and Magic Lube and Rubber are very focused on referrals. Shawn is the president of the Roxbury, BNI (Business Network International) group, and a critical part of it for over a decade. He knows that the referrals and recommendations of people that have found connections ... read more

Did you know that your vehicle is not a crock pot? Yes, of course you did! Your vehicle is not a set-it-and-forget-it kind of thing. This blog's topic for the Automotive Magic and Magic Lube and Rubber is the importance of routine oil changes. When you talk to anyone at Automotive Magic and Magic Lube and Rubber, we will unequivocally preach the good word of routine oil changes! “Why do we want routine oil changes?”, you may be asking. “They are just trying to get more money from me, it’s a racket in the auto industry,” you may be thinking. This couldn’t be farther from the truth.  When you change oil at the recommended intervals, with oil that meets or exceeds the manufacturer's specifications, you will extend the life of the engine and increase its efficiency. Right after an oil change is the closest you will get to the brand-new, right-off-the-lot feel of driving. Your engine has full power as the oil lubricates all the moving parts ... read more

Our technicians work tirelessly behind the scenes every day and they certainly have their work cut out for them. Some days are more challenging and exciting than others, but they are always rewarding.  June's Repair of the month: Our super talented technician, Jay worked on this '08 Chevy Silverado 5.3 liter and the outcome was pretty spectacular. Here is a little overview. This '08 Chevy Silverado with 200k miles on it. The Client's complaint was that the check engine light was on and the vehicle was running rough at idle.   After a full health inspection, and code scan Jay was able to read that the PCM (powertrain control module) Had a Code   p0301-Cylinder 1 misfire only at idle. After swapping cylinder one and cylinder two spark plugs and swapping cylinder 1 and cylinder 3 spark plug wires, the misfire stayed in cylinder 1. He then swapped cylinder 1 coil and cylinder 3 coil, the misfire still stayed in cyl ... read more