Severe Weather Driving

First, in unfavorable conditions, don't have drivers on the road unless absolutely necessary. The best way to avoid an accident is to not be on the roads in the first place. If driving is unavoidable, encourage drivers to:

• Slow down and plan ahead
• Increase following distance
• Pay attention
• Make sure lights and wipers work properly
• Get enough rest
• Drive defensively

Extra cautious driving in poor weather can help you and your family get to and from destinations safely!

Auto-Braking

Not all auto-braking systems are the same. AAA has reported that there are significant differences between the auto-braking systems made by the car companies. Some of these systems are designed to prevent crashes, while others only try to reduce the severity of the crashes. The crash-prevention systems brake up to twice as fast as the crash-reduction systems. Buyer beware: Like the misnomer "Auto Pilot", "Auto-Braking" systems may not be what their name implies.

Increase Demand on Your Car Battery

As vehicles become more and more technically sophisticated, the need for supplying power to support these new and enhanced systems increases. The electrical demand in today's vehicles is constantly increasing. Not only are more devices, sensors, accessories and on-board computers used while driving but also new technologies such as Start/Stop and navigation systems demand significantly higher demands from the battery. It is crucial to make sure that a battery you are about to purchase is robust enough to cope with high demand of today's vehicles.

What is the impact of carbon buildup on drivability and performance?

One of the more common symptoms is a lack of power, especially when driving at higher speeds. Other symptoms could include cold stalling and cold-start difficulties, including rough running. In some cases, carbon buildup may cause one or more cylinder misfire codes (P030X) that will result in fuel inefficiency and poor performance. There is also a possibility of a failed NOX emission test and/or excessive ping on acceleration.

Diagnosing a Belt-related Noise

A real simple trick for diagnosing a belt-related chirping or squealing noise is to squirt small amount of water onto the serpentine belt. If the noise goes away, it was being caused by either a belt-slippage or belt-tracking problem.

Car care tip in winter

Tires naturally leak about 2 PSI of air monthly and each 10-degree temperature drop causes another 2-3 PSI loss. Be a safe driver by checking your tire pressure at least once a month!

Fill Tires with Nitrogen or Regular Air?

Have you noticed green caps on the tire valve stems on some of the cars lately? Green cap mean it is filled with nitrogen instead of air. It is true that pure nitrogen doesn't leak out as quickly as regular air because a nitrogen molecule is larger than an oxygen molecule. And, for this reason, tires stay fully inflated longer.

The catch is that topping off the nitrogen typically costs about $5 to $10 per tire and the initial charge for filling them can be much higher.

One thing to consider, though, is that  only about 93 to 95 percent of what is inside a tire is nitrogen and the rest is air even when it is filled with nitrogen, whereas ordinary air consists of 78 percent nitrogen. The difference is not that significant! And, regular, compressed air is a lot cheaper and still free in some places.