Vehicle Tips & FAQs

Monthly Archives: January 2020

More on Maintenance Pt. 2

This post is a 3-part series on automotive maintenance. We shared an article from Car Bibles this past month about automotive maintenance and 20 essential components for it. That article can be found here. Let's go through a couple of the points that Car Bibles makes: 1. "Inspect your vehicle on a regular basis" I can't think of a more important piece of advice. The newer the car is, the more sensors and gizmos it has to keep track of important wear items. But nothing is a substitute for a pair of human eyes. You should have your car inspected often enough to be on first name basis with the mechanics. That doesn't mean you have to spend money every time, but you need to know how things are going with your car. 2. "Learn the meaning of different warning light indicators" There's danger with this piece of advice. You should understand what sy ... read more

More on Maintenance Pt. 3

This post is a 3-part series on automotive maintenance. We shared an article from Car Bibles this past month about automotive maintenance and 20 essential components for it. That article can be found here. Continuing on: 5. "Check fluid levels" This needs to be done monthly if your car has more than 60K miles on it. As many as you can check: engine oil, transmission fluid, coolant/antifreeze, brake fluid, power steering fluid, clutch fluid, and washer fluid. Be safe and don't check the coolant after the engine has been running. Be careful not to contaminate the fluids when checking them. Even if your car is in good condition, don't expect warning bells when a leak starts or the engine starts to consume a little oil. It's actually normal for many engines to consume oil from the factory. 6. "Replace spark plugs" You should know how often the m ... read more

More on Maintenance Pt. 1

This post is a 3-part series on automotive maintenance. We shared an article from Car Bibles this past month about automotive maintenance and 20 essential components for it. That article can be found here. We see daily examples of good maintenance and occasionally some vehicles that lack the regular maintenance needed to stay in good shape. There is one universal truth that I believe in when it comes to auto repair: you can't decide to be economical with a repair if you aren't regularly proactive with your maintenance. Let me give you an example. If you do a lot of city driving, your brakes will wear out faster than someone who does mainly highway driving. Being proactive with your brakes means having a technician check them during every oil change. You should plan to replace them every 30-60K miles. A good time to replace them is when there ... read more