Car Care Tips

Six winter car-care tips

1.) Check your tyre pressure monthly (regardless of the season!). Don’t know how? Read your car’s manual or ask your auto technician.

WHN TIP: Expert Tip – Below Freezing? NO!!!!

Do not check tire pressure if the temperature is below freezing, says the Car Coach and expert mechanic, Lauren Fix. Why? Humidity can cause the air to freeze in the valve stem in the tire which will not allow you to add any additional air. Instead the air will leak out. Have a professional check the pressure for you

2.) Tyre tread controls the grip or friction between your car and the road-without it you can slide around and easily end up in the ditch (or worse-banged into another car), says Aymee Ruiz, a spokesperson with AAA. Ask your auto technician about your tyres and evalute the tread.

WHN TIP: Snow Tyres

Consider a different set of tyres, specifically snow tires, for winter.

3.) Keep operational fluids at a full level (gas, oil, antifreeze, windshield fluid, etc.), says Lauren Fix. Why? Cold temps may cause some parts to overcompensate and work harder than usual – they’ll need the extra fluids to help maintain their usual exertion levels.

4.) Your battery needs to be fully charged for cold-weather starts.

WHN TIP: Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

If you haven’t replaced your battery in at least five years, have it checked by a professional – it may need to be changed, says Lauren Fix. In winter, a dead battery can lead to a serious situation.

5) Add winter weather items to your car’s emergency kit (snow scraper, shovel, sand, extra antifreeze, jumper cables, tow rope, etc.) – they’ll come in handy if you run into car trouble.

6) Follow your regular car maintenance schedule to keep an eye out for potential problems. Ask your auto technician about specific things to watch out for regarding your car.

Sourced via www.ktnv.com

Drop Stop introduced to promote safety during National Car Care Month

Each April, the automotive industry reminds consumers of the importance of car care and driver safety. According to the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute (VTTI), 80 percent of all crashes and 65 percent of all near-crashes involved the driver looking away from the forward roadway, such as retrieving a cell phone from the gap between the driver seat and console, just prior to (within three seconds) the onset of the event. This statistic is a grave reminder that consumers still have much more to learn and is the reason Drop Stop, LLC developed and is launching Drop Stop, a new car interior safety and convenience accessory designed to guard the gap between the seat and console and help keep drivers eyes on the road.

Two years ago, while driving along the famed Sunset Strip in Los Angeles awaiting a very important phone call, Drop Stop co-founder Marc Newburger had an entrepreneurial “eureka” moment, but not in the way he had intended. Newburger recalls, “I placed my phone on the center console to easily grab it when the call came in. However, when the phone rang, it vibrated and fell down the gap! While frantically trying in vain to jam my hand down and retrieve the phone, I took my eyes off the road and unknowingly pulled the wheel to the right. As I leaned to grab the phone, I jumped the curb, slammed on the brakes, and came within two inches of smashing into a metal pole.”

Surprised that no one had yet invented a car interior accessory that could stop phones, keys, change, food and a host of other personal articles from routinely falling down the seat/console gap, Newburger founded Drop Stop LLC with friend and fellow entrepreneur Jeffrey Simon, and created Drop Stop.

Drop Stop provides a safer, more convenient driving experience. It eliminates the distraction and potential danger that exists when personal articles slip through a vehicle’s seat/console gap, causing the common knee-jerk reaction of taking one’s eyes off the road. Drivers also save valuable time and money with Drop Stop because they no longer have to replace credit cards, licenses, make-up, earphone accessories, and other personal articles thought to be lost, stolen, or damaged.

Drop Stop is easily self-installed in seconds, by wedging the accessory between the seat and center console and aligning Drop Stop’s built in slit over and around the seatbelt catch. Made of a hypoallergenic, polyester fiberfill interior and high-grade, durable and stain resistant neoprene (wetsuit material) casing, Drop Stop is flexible, and is cleaned quickly and easily by wiping it with a damp, soapy cloth. This allows Drop Stop maintains a tight seal and slides effortlessly when the seat is adjusted back and forth.
Sourced via www.search-autoparts.com

Keeping your car happy

Cars are complicated machines that need to be cared for to keep them reliable and safe.

• Don’t ignore problems. If you can’t fix it yourself, take it to a workshop to be put right. If you get a recall notice, take the car in for free repairs.

• Service your car according to the manufacturer’s schedule.

• Don’t think your car is safe for the next year just because it has passed its MOT.

• Check your lights regularly. Try them out in your garage or parked next to a wall and you won’t have to keep on getting out to see if they’re working.

• Check your tyres at least one a month and don’t forget the spare. Keep them inflated to pressures listed in your handbook and replace them when the tread depth reaches 2mm (even though the legal limit is 1.6mm).

• Keep windscreen washer, oil, coolant, power steering, clutch and brake fluid levels topped up but not overfull. Don’t wait for warning lights to come on.

• Park on level ground to check oil levels, and make sure you do it when the engine is cold. Remove the dipstick, wipe it clean and then reinsert it to get an accurate reading.

• Replace worn wiper blades. Smearing dirt across the windscreen instead of wiping it off is a recipe for disaster.

• Adjust washer jets with a pin to make sure they spray on the windscreen and not in a huge arc over the top of the car.