It doesn’t matter if the car you’re driving is new or old, big or small. There are preventive maintenance steps every vehicle owner can take to make sure their car is as “green” or environmentally friendly as possible, according to the Car Care Council. By following a few simple preventive maintenance steps, you can help protect the environment by improving gas mileage, which in turn saves money at the pump.
Keep your car properly tuned for optimum performance- Regular tune-ups, maintenance and having clean air filters will help your car pollute less and burn less gas. Getting a tune-up can improve gas mileage by an average of 4 percent. Simply changing the car’s air filter can improve efficiency by 10 percent. Fixing a serious maintenance problem, such as a faulty oxygen sensor, can improve gas mileage by as much as 40 percent.
When do you need to schedule maintenance for your diesel engine and what is needed each time? For your convenience, we've added the preferred maintenance listing.
Fall driving can be unpredictable because of weather changes and the end of daylight saving time. We are all driving and enjoying the beautiful fall colors and need to be safe and aware on the roads this fall. Some great tips for safe fall driving include:
Watch out for leaves: Once leaves become wet, they can present slippery and dangerous driving conditions. Be sure to watch for patches of wet leaves on the road or on road lines. Dry leaves can also present a problem to your vehicle. Avoid parking your vehicle near leaf piles to prevent fires that could start from your vehicle's catalytic converter.
With gas prices high, our drivers are asking, "What can I do to improve gas mileage?" Our answer is that there are quite a few standard maintenance tips that will help you increase gas mileage and your vehicle safety.
One of the first things you should check is tire pressure. There is no one size fits all and it is a pretty easy thing to check at home and fix. On the inside of the driver’s door or door jam is a plate that indicates the correct tire pressure. Careful – there might be a different pressure for the front and rear tires. Check them at least once a month.
We’ve all heard a car or truck in our neighborhood that needs a new muffler. But there’s more to the exhaust system than just the muffler. The exhaust system has three main functions:
Care and Maintenance Tips Keep Your Car Running in Top-Notch Condition: We’ve compiled our best expert advice, surprising tricks, and car care tips to prolong the life of your automobile!
1. Be patient during the break-in period: You’ve bought your dream car and now you want to make it last at long as possible in top condition. Here are some things to remember as you pull it out of the dealer’s lot:
We all know that we should get around to changing our oil more often, yet more times than we’d like to admit, that dashboard light stays on for an extended period of time.
It is very important not to put it off for long. Changing your oil on a regular basis is the best way to maximize the life of your car, maximize horsepower and make sure all cylinders are firing.
This simple barrier of accordion-folded paper may look insignificant but it's responsible for providing clean air to your vehicle's cylinders. This is important because air is just as crucial as fuel in the combustion process that powers the engine. Air is drawn through the engine air filter, then the air intake manifold and into the cylinders. There, it mixes with fuel to create the small explosions that power your vehicle.
A dirty engine air filter can prevent the cylinders from drawing in enough air, which throws off the fuel/air mix. This can result in poor fuel economy.
