Blog

The burning question when thinking about a Truck Bed Cover is why? Let us tell you why having one is more than for just its simplistic reason to cover the bed. Hard Folding Tonneau cover available at Dale Howard Auto Center in Iowa Falls Security Never worry again about your possessions stolen or damaged from the bed of the truck. Having the security of a cover keeps your mind at peace knowing that no one can see in or easily access your things. We all get busy at times and have things slip our minds. Never worry again about getting the possessions in the bed of your truck wet when running into unanticipated weather. Check out our Parts Sale page to save up to $900 on your next truck bed cover! Utilization of a Truck Bed Cover Get more out of your vehicle when you put a bed cover on. Tired of putting leaves, landscaping, hunting, farming, and other related equipment in the truck while always looking over your shoulder so it doesn't fly out? When you add a cover you can lock down and get more out of the work side of your truck. No more driving slowly to get to your destination because you're worried about losing something in the bed of the truck going down the road. Soft Bed Cover for a Ranger Save Fuel with a Truck Bed Cover According to the writers at Sawtooth, the answer is yes! According to them and their studies having a truck bed cover can save you 1.8% per tank of gas. That may not seem like a lot but when you add it up over an entire year it turns out to be significant savings. The reason behind that is with the box open, it creates a pocket of wind that pushes on the tailgate causing a drag on the truck. Covering up the pocket, allows the air to flow right off the end of the truck and minimizes the drag of the truck. Additional Information Here are additional details in regards to applying a cover from Grace Mohan at Sawtooth.

Its Safety month! We want to ensure that not only your vehicle itself is safe, but your tiny passengers inside the vehicle are safe too. We brought in a Certified Carseat Technician to demonstrate the proper way to install a carseat. The video link will be below in the blog. First Step First, you need to understand the child's age and weight? Depending on the age of the child will depend on a forward or backward facing carseat. Since this was a forward facing seat, set the proper balance of the carseat with the vehicle seat.  To measure this, there are two levels on each side of the seat to let you know the proper angle. Opening the carseat and fastening the seat belt There is a latch/lever on the front of the seat that will raise the seat. This allows the seat belt of the vehicle to be latched underneath. Once it has been lifted, slip the belt through the two slots in the back of the seat and latch the safety belt. Once the belt is latched, push the seat down and pull tight on the belt. Make sure the belt is pulled all of the way out so it ratchets up so it remains tight. Attaching the clip and Tightening the Tether Go to the back of the seat and latch the clip to the bottom of the seat and pull tight on the tether until the car seat is snug to the backrest. Once it is clipped to the back of the seat and pulled tightly, you are ready to strap your child in! Strapping in the child Start by buckling up the buckles by the child legs. Once buckled, slip the child's arms through the shoulder straps and move the chest piece to arm pit level. Once the chest piece is in position, pull the strap down by the child's legs tight so that the strap on the shoulders becomes tight. YouTube Video Carseat Installation Video

We do have tires for sale at our dealership. We take full advantage of the Low Price Tire Guarantee program provided by Ford. There are an abundant of great tires all at different prices! Make sure to contact us at 641-648-4695 and as about our Tire Program! Brands of Tires for Sale One of the most common questions asked about our tire program is what brand of tires are included? The tires included in the promotion are: Goodyear Dunlop Michelin Continental Pirelli Bridgestone Firestone Yokohama Hankook Toyo Nitto As you can see there are a wide variety of tires within this program! We offer the best brands in the tires business to give customers the best options possible with their next tire purchase! Cost of Tires for Sale? Well, that all varies depending on the vehicle that you own. But, what we can tell you is that there is a tire provided for the specifics that you need. Cost, Warranty, Time, Sizes, you name it and there is a tire for it! When you get a quote from us the price you see on the quote is for everything included! That includes, tax, mounting, disposal, etc. Rebate for Tires When you buy four select tires, get a $100 rebate by mail or earn 40,000 FordPass Rewards bonus Points (up to $200 value). On top of that you earn 10 points for every $1 spent on Ford Service! This is a great way to save you money the next time you need tires! Best Tire Brands for 2023 Our tires for sale are top notch that we offer. Check out the Top Tire Brands of 2023 and find out for yourself! If you have any questions give us a call at 641-648-4691 or email us! We want to be able to answer all of your questions as it can be overwhelming to purchase tires for your vehicle.

Our dealership offers detail cleaning services. We have a separate building dedicated to cleaning not only our vehicles, but yours too! Check out the information below to find out more on what those services have to offer! Courtesy Wash Services - $30 This is our cheapest option but there is a wide variety of services. With the courtesy wash services include, Exterior wash, cleaning of all windows, vacuum, and clean the door jams. It is done by our crew who specializes in cleaning vehicles at a high level! We will make sure your vehicle looks brand new! Interior Only Services - $100 This package is meant for cleaning just the interior of your vehicle. Meaning, our crew will spend their time cleaning every nook and crack in the vehicle! This package includes, clean and shine all plastic and leather, vacuum, windows and mirrors, shampoo and extract, floor mats, and stain removal! The inside of your vehicle will be spotless in the inside and restored to brand new! This is a floor mat that was dirty and we took a photo halfway through cleaning it. We will also get stains like this out of your carpet! This is a photo of the process of putting the cleaned mats and seats back in the vehicle. Full Detail Services - $200 The Full Detail Package is our most prestigious package as you get the most value provided for your vehicle. This service includes all of the services in the first two packages plus, we will wax your vehicle too! When this package is finished it will bring the brand new look back to your vehicle! It will look the same as the day it was when it arrived at the dealership! Before After This is how we can make your tires and rims look brand new! Contact Us If you would like to schedule one of these services please give us a call at 641-648-4695 or email us!

Have you ever wondered how to change the battery in your vehicles key fob? Check out this blog and find out how EASY it is to change your key fob battery. Find a small screwdriver, a new battery, and the key fob. We have instructional videos on our YouTube channel too! We provide this service! Give us a call at 641-648-4695, we would love to help! Take apart the key fob Most keys have a detachable key hidden in plain sight. Look for the different colored portion of the fob. Pull on the release button to release the key. For example, in the picture below it is the silver part of the key that will remove from the fab. On the bottom of the key fob the silver/gray part if the fob has a removeable key. This is what t should look like when the key is removed. As you can see there is a little release button on the back side of the key fob. Pry apart the key fob The next step will be to remove the front and back plate off. The latches are tight together to insure a solid connection. This is where you will need a small screw driver, or an item small enough to get inside the fob like in the image. As you can see the fab is getting pried apart by the small screwdriver. Note: The first time the battery is changed is difficult to open the fob. Work around the fob gently inserting the screwdriver and lifting up until it comes apart. Once, it is in two pieces, a front and back, its time to change the battery! Changing the key fob battery Now that it is open, take note of how the battery looks! The battery needs to be replace with the proper side in place to ensure it will work. It is just like any other battery, it just appears different. Make sure the positive and negative are facing in the correct direction. This is what the battery should look like, or to some type of variant, depending on what year the key fob was made. Put it back together Aligning the front and back together is a crucial step because you will need to PUSH HARD!! A clicking noise happens when it is tightly together again. Test it by pushing the lock and/or unlock to make sure the fob works properly! Don't forget to put the manual key back in and it is all good to go! YouTube Channel We provide our customers and the users of YouTube with informational and instructional videos for vehicles! Make sure to go watch the videos if you need a visual reference! Make sure to subscribe to our channel to not miss out on any informational content that could help you in the future! Contact Us Feel free to reach out to us at 641-648-4691 or email us!

We want to remind our customers of issues that can happen with the winter season in regards to vehicles. The Winter can bring different elements into play while driving. The cold temperatures, black ice, and inclement weather are all problems that can be dangerous to drive in. Check out our 5 top recommend services for winter driving! The 5 Services There are 5 services that are the most important to us to share moving into the winter season. Tires Brakes Battery Wipers Headlights Tires It is very important to have the best tread possible going into the winter season of snow and ice. Low temperatures bring ice and snow, which means slick roads. Having bald tires is going to make for a very dangerous situations when driving. To self-check the tires, all you need is a penny. Place the penny in-between the treads on the tire with Lincoln's head pointing towards the ground. If more than 2/3rds of the Lincoln's head is showing, it is time for new tires. Each color represents the thickness of the tire. Red is really bad, yellow replace soon, and green is good. Our service department sells tires, so even if you're unsure about your tire situation after the test, we can check them out for you! Snow tires on the your vehicle will make a drastic difference for the upcoming winter driving season! Brakes Brakes are just as important no matter what season it is. In the winter they become more important. It is not just the brakes themselves but even the ABS (Automatic Braking System). How should you check to make sure the brakes on a vehicle are good? The first sign would be hearing or feeling bad brakes. Obviously, if there is an unusual sound coming from the vehicle while braking you should get it checked out. When they squeak that means there could be moisture on the pads which is harmless. If it is a constant squeak it could be a foreign object such as, rocks, twigs, and other debris. The Service Department can also help you with any potential brake problems! Batteries in Winter Driving The cold weather will put a vehicles battery to the test. As it gets colder, the battery in a car becomes less and less powerful. The battery can take a 30-60% loss of power due to the extreme freezing conditions. This is important when the temperature drops below 20 degrees. A tip for the winter time is to make sure that there is a battery charger/jump starting cables in the trunk of the vehicle! It also would be a good idea to put food and water in your vehicle in case of an emergency. Yes, that is right! We also can help you with replacing, charging, or jumping your vehicles battery! Wipers in Winter Driving Windshield wipers are important because, well, if you can't see while driving, that's a problem. Not only is it important to have properly working windshield wipers, but the winter can do a lot of damage to them too. Everyone has had a frosted over windshield, that when they turn on the wipers it sounds like rumble strips on the windshield. Over the course of months that will slowly deteriorate them, and they will need replacing. Here is when you should consider new windshield wipers. Talk with our part department to get you some new wipers for your vehicle! Headlights During Winter Driving The new LED headlights actually leave behind moisture on the lens since the heat from the lamp is warmer inside the lens then the outside chill. This could cause them to freeze over or make them foggy while driving! That goes for the older style of lightbulb. The new LED/Halogen bulbs do not get that warm, so remove any leftover precipitation to ensure that your light is not obstructed. Contact Us & More Information Give us a call at 641-648-4691 if you have any questions or email us! Find out more information from the United States Department of Transportation.

We want to make sure that you stay as safe as possible, at all times! This month we will be covering some basic car safety tips that may have slipped through the cracks over the winter. With safer vehicles means, safer roads, and your family will be safer when traveling. We are striving for our customers safety so they may reach their final destination safely! Basic Vehicle Safety The most basic form of vehicle safety is to make sure the vehicle is up to date on its services. These services include tires, oil, and brakes. Some other services that need to be checked coming into the rain and thunderstorm season is, making sure the wipers aren't streaking across the windshield. Making sure that your vision is not impaired is very important, if you can't see that is not safe! The windshield wipers is one of the parts that can be overlooked, but they are there for a reason and if they don't work right it may cause problems. Coming out of the winter months, tires can become worn or that frigid cold could have caused some problems. The tire pressure sensor could have gone bad so don't get stranded on the side of the road in the heat! The slick, sandy, covered in snow, and salted roads can be stressful on the tires too. With the rainy season, hydroplaning can happen and we want to make sure all 4 of your tires stay grounded! Schedule an appointment today to make sure that doesn't happen! Facebook Event Make sure to check out our Facebook Page this month! We will be posting a video on how to properly fasten a car seat and make sure your child is safe. This way you will get the most professional and legal safety tip when it comes to traveling with your child! The children are our future and we need to make sure that we protect them as best as we can. We will be planning to post the video on the week of June 14-18th or the following week, so make sure to be on the lookout for that. What we have planned for June We plan on touching base with the highest safety rating vehicles that we have, Free Brake inspection, Free Battery Test, How To Video, and celebrate our next generation of drivers! Each week will be a new introduction to safety, so if you have any questions please call us at 641-648-4691 for a sales rep. If you have questions in regards to a service, please call us at 641-648-4695! Interested in learning more about motor safety? Check out the NHSTA for the latest and up to date information on vehicle safety!

Why should you come to Iowa Falls to purchase your next, or have your vehicle serviced? We pride ourselves on offering top notch service just as much as the next dealer. Where we stand different is, you're more than just a number here at Dale Howard Auto Center! We want to build a long term relationship where you feel comfortable walking through our doors knowing you're in good hands. You will always be greeted from an employee with a smile and pointed in the right direction to make sure you accomplish what you came here to do! We have been building connections with our customers for the past 45 years! We promise that we will do our absolute best to make sure you leave here happy and excited! Throughout those 45 years, we have learned how to do just that, and we keep improving everyday with every customer. Let us share the Dale Howard Auto Center experience with you on your next purchase, service, or test drive! Buying or Leasing Vehicles We will make sure that you find the perfect vehicle! If you're buying new, we have all American made brand under one roof! GM (Chevy, Buick, GMC), Ford, and CDJR (Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Ram) are what we carry and if we don't have what you're looking for, we will find it for you! Just give us the specifics of what you are looking for and we will make it happen. We can dealer trade, build, or find them through auctions! Our mission here is to make sure that you have the best experience with any of your automotive needs that you have ever had! Service Department We have an award winning Service Department too! Our technicians go through continuous training along with personal certifications. We always encourage our technicians to further their education in this field to make sure we stay on top! Here are some of the expectations that our technicians will know how to fix: General Automotive Repair Preventative Car Maintenance Air Conditioning and Heater Service Cooling System and Radiator Repair Synthetic Motor Oil Replacement Oil Filter Replacement Brake Repair Engine Diagnostic Tune-Up Belts, Hoses, Fluids Air Filters Alternators Batteries Headlights Starters Transmission Services Struts All Fluid Level Checks & Corrections What to do next? Let us share our Dale Howard Auto Center experience with you and set up an appointment with us today by calling us at 641-648-4691! View our inventory here.   Schedule your next Service Appointment on our website, give us a call at 641-648-4695!

Dale Howard Auto Center Detailing Service We have have tons of service options for your vehicle, but did you know we also offer detailing service?  We have 3 different services that we provide to our customers. Those three options include different stages of cleaning that will suit your current situation. We want to make sure that if your car is shining, spotless, and looking clean! Is you schedule too busy? Try out our FREE pickup and delivery service, within 30 miles we will come pick-up and drop your vehicle off for free! Full Detail Service This is our most detailed package. This package includes interior and exterior cleaning. Those cleanings include, rinsing door jams, cleaning all windows, shine cleaner, cleaning the headliner, shampoo, vacuum, and waxing the exterior! This is a great service coming out of Winter, and another good option when the seasons change. You can have this full detailed service for $160, just give us a call at 641-648-4695! Interior Detail Only Tired of seeing dust and dirt inside your vehicle? This service is for those who are looking to shine up their vehicle on the inside. The cleaning services provided for this are clean windows, shine cleaner, clean headliner, shampoo, and a vacuum. We will make sure that your vehicle looks just the same as the first time it rolled off the lot! You can have this service scheduled for $80! Courtesy Wash This is our more basic cleaning which focuses both interior and exterior. Those detailing's include rinsing of door jams, wash/rinse exterior, clean wheel rims, vacuum, and clean windows! This is a great deal at just $30! This is a great service all year around, and seems to be a fan favorite! If you have any questions for these services make sure to give our service department a call at 641-648-4695! Contact Us! Thank you for letting us help you get there!

Often driven by an “out of sight, out of mind” mentality, most consumers don’t think about purchasing cabin air filters. That’s why educating consumers on the benefits of cabin air filters can be a shop’s best sales pitch for selling these maintenance add-ons. A recent Maintenance Matters survey found that 49% of cabin air filters are sold during the spring. Increasing pollen counts, coupled with the benefits cabin air filters provide for allergy suffers, makes for a fairly easy sell. One could argue, that winter is the more important season to replace a vehicle’s filter. There are three major reasons to replace a cabin air filter in the winter: 1. Increased Particulate Emissions As cars idle on cold winter mornings, the exhaust can pump out damaging emissions that are harmful to drivers’ respiratory systems. The most damaging component of tailpipe emissions are particulates. Vehicle emission particulates range in size from 2 microns to 10 microns in diameter, and can aggravate the lungs when inhaled. A vehicle’s tailpipe particulate emissions are higher when the engine is cold. Scientists found particulate emissions increased exponentially as the temperature decreased, according to a Kansas City Light-Duty Vehicle Emissions Study. In fact, this study found that particulate emissions doubled for every 20° F temperature drop. The one thing that can stop exhaust particulates from reaching vehicle occupants is a cabin air filter. Some cabin air filters can even stop particulates that are as small as 1 micron in diameter. 2. Defroster Performance In the winter, the benefits of a clean air filter are easy to see. Clogged cabin air filters can restrict defroster performance, making it harder to see out the windshield. If a cabin air filter is clogged, it will create a restriction that will decrease the amount of hot air the blower can deliver to the windshield. This will diminish visibility and adds time that it takes to defrost the window. 3. Summer and Fall Can Be Brutal on Cabin Air Filters Following months of battling heavy pollen, dust, leaves, bugs and other debris, winter is the perfect time to give a customer’s cabin air filter a fresh start. This debris piles up, restricting airflow through the filter and causing heating and cooling problems. With no leaves, pollen or bugs to contend with over the next few months, replacing the cabin air filter in the winter will address heating problems immediately. It will ultimately help prevent cooling problems from cropping up once spring rolls around.     Crisswell, K. (2017, November 30). 3 Reasons to Replace Cabin Air Filters in Winter Retrieved from http://www.brakeandfrontend.com/