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Friday, November 27, 2009

Do You Know the Best Car Care Tips ?

By John Harvey

Your car is a major investment which means it deserves proper maintenance and care. Many accidents on the roadways are due to lack of preventive vehicle maintenance on the part of the owner. It is easy to perform many routine checks on your car, and you do not have to be a world class mechanic to handle them yourself.

Taking this type of care and effort for your car means that you're going to make it last longer, too. You also get better gas mileage, fewer exhaust problems, and a longer tire life. If you do routine checks on your car, you're also going to be able to see small problems before they become expensive or even dangerous to you. It's imperative that you keep up on your car's maintenance so as to detect these problems and repair them; this will also help keep your car repair costs lower.

Here are some top tips to remember that will help you give your car the best care:

Basics count. Check your owner's manual and follow the recommendations for tuneups, routine maintenance, and oil changes, among other things.

Oil and oil filters need to be changed periodically. Some cars require that these be changed out every 3000 miles while some other manuals will allow longer times between these changes.

Flood levels for several different applications should be checked every week. Oil and brake fluid, power steering and transmission fluid, and radiator fluid, as well as your overflow tank, should be checked weekly. Windshield washing fluid, too, should be checked and topped off every week as needed.

Tires should be checked for proper pressure at least once a week. If your tires are under or over inflated, your car will be less fuel-efficient, and it could even be dangerous to you.

You can also inspect the amount of tread showing, the wear pattern, and also make sure there are no tacks or nails lodged in the tires that could be creating a slow leak. Take a couple of extra minutes to ascertain that the hub caps and lug nuts are securely fastened.

Perform regular tuneups for scheduled maintenance on your car. Problems with fuel injection or spark plugs can reduce gas mileage by as much as 35%. A lot of people do try to postpone tuneups, especially if the car appears to be running okay, but this is a mistake. Taking your car to a professional mechanic means that you can have your engine thoroughly inspected for any problems that may not be apparent yet.

Make sure your chassis is regularly lubricated as well. This means your car's suspension is going to remain optimal. Usually, the shop that changes your oil will also perform chassis lubrication as part of the service.

Keep an eye on your battery, especially the cables and posts. If you notice a build up of corroded material it can be cleaned off with a wire brush. Making sure that the connections are secure is an easy task and can mean the difference in a car that starts and one with a dead battery.

Change your windshield wiper blades at least once a year and inspect them monthly for cracks or other problems. Use a protective coating such as Rain-X on your windshield every 2 weeks. This increases your viewing ability on days when heavy rain is a problem.

Headlights should also be checked. Also check taillights and turn signals at the same time, once a week. Make sure there are no burned out bulbs, as this can cause you to have an accident or other problems, because they're not working.

It may seem like a lot of work to follow this checklist every week for car maintenance, but if you do it on regular basis, you'll soon notice that it becomes second nature. Becoming proactive in this manner will mean that your car stays in good repair and performs better, longer, so that it has a longer life. - 21393

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