Essential Car Care

While it may be quite expensive to maintain a car, there are just some problems that should never be disregarded. Delaying repairs can often lead to more problems, and bigger cost. Here are the top 5:

1. Brakes - these are the no. 1 safety item on your car. If your pads are worn down, or your hydraulic system is leaking, fix it immediately.

2. Oil - changing your motor oil can help prolong the life of your engine and transmission oil changes can save you from a costly transmission overhaul.

3. Timing belts - a failure on timing belts can ruin your engine.

4. steering - not only is a worn-out steering system a major hazard, it can also cause your tires to wear out faster.

5. water pumps - once you hear a humming sound, that is an indicator that the internal bearing is going bad, and should be replaced.

Image Source: www.importcarsfromjapan.blogspot.com
Yes Indeed. When people buy cars, one significant factor to think is safety. By that, we mean car features that can guarantee safety or at least minimize injuries during accidents and other road disasters.

MSNAutos.com reports that the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), a research and communications organization funded by auto insurers has come up with a list of safety picks for 2008 to conduct car shoppers in getting the safest vehicles possible. The safety picks were chosen from among the various car segments: small cars, minivans, SUVs and pickup trucks. The crash assessments were made in the front, rear and side of the cars and measurements were done on the intrusion into the passenger compartment, the injury on dummies, and the control of restraint systems.

Fourteen Japanese cars have completed it to the list such as Honda Accord, Subaru Legacy, Subaru Impreza, Honda Odyssey, Acura MDX, among others. Way to go, Japanese cars!

Before you get in the car and drive your way to a tourist destination for a family outing, it is important that you check the exhaust system. Better have a visual inspection to check if there are hangers that were disconnected. There are instances that the pipes are rusted-out that you need to check out. Open your eyes and determine defects so you can work on it as soon as possible. Check all the vehicle lights like the turn and brake signal lights. You have to bring a license plate lamp so that in case the police approach you, there will be no concurring troubles. Always bring updated registration and proof of insurance copies with you.

Did you know that 55% of the car accidents that causes serious injuries to the drivers and passengers are caused by poor visibility?

It is important that the glass windows are cleaned regularly. The glass is an important part of the car so we should take good care of it. Make it a habit to clean the glass inside and out every morning. The glass is what you see when you are driving and if it is full of dirt, you are not really safe. Can you drive with mud or dark paint on the glass? Of course not! Wait, Do I need to explain further?

Planning to go out-of-town with your family and friends? Better check the car fluids and tires to avoid car accidents while on a trip. Here are a few reminders to all drivers out there:

For the Fluids:

Check engine oil and coolant, differentials, transmission , brake, clutch (if hydraulic) and battery electrolyte.

Change or refill as necessary. If needed.

Keep important records.

If any of the above mentioned is very low, you may have a major leak.

Find the cause and repair before you hit the road.

For the Tires:

Check air pressure, add if needed.

Look at sidewalls for signs of dry-rot (dry and cracking rubber). If you see rot, it might be a good idea to replace the tire(s).

Does the tread come up to at least Lincoln’s head on a penny (2/32″)? If not, better replace the tire(s).

Things You’ll Need:

• Hand Soaps
• Brake Fluids
• Car Manuals

Step 1:
Find the brake master cylinder. This is usually located under the hood on the driver’s side of the car, toward the back of the engine compartment. Imagine where your brake pedal would end up if it went all the way through to the engine. The brake master cylinder is a small (about 6-by-2 inches), rectangular piece of metal with a plastic reservoir and a rubber cap on top, and small metal tubes leading from it.

Step 2:
Check your manual if you aren’t sure that you’ve found the master cylinder. The rubber cap will usually read “use only DOT 3 or 4 brake fluid from a sealed container.”

Step 3:
Note that on most newer cars the reservoir is translucent and you can see the fluid level without removing the cap. There will be a “full” line, the brake fluid should be at this line.

Step 4:
In older cars (pre-1980) the brake master cylinder reservoir may be made entirely of metal so that you must take the top off to check the fluid level. The top is held on by a metal clamp, use a screwdriver to pop off the clamp and lift the lid.

Step 5:
Add brake fluid to the “full” line. Use the correct brake fluid for your car: Check the rubber cap and your owner’s manual to find out what grade of brake fluid your car requires. Most cars use DOT (Department of Transportation) 3 or 4. If the reservoir has 2 parts, fill both halves.

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Pic Links

via Honda Cars DIY

This is a real-world scenario that causes many accidents year after year and as with many other car troubles, totally avoidable (most of the time that is, there is the 1% in the 99% reliability of your brakes that it can fail without any apparent reason).

The key is maintenance, for if there has been sufficient maintenance on the vehicle meaning all safety and vital systems are inspected on a regular basis, there should not be any problems like this. Maintenance gives owners a chance to find problems as they begin as with brakes, yoi can see fluid from the brake system on the pavement or on the wheel rims. Hoses might be cracked or for the unfortunate few, that rock or piece of steel you ran over might have severed a brake line (actually hose) and your car is bleeding vital brake fluid needed to stop safely. Enough of the sermon and back to the point,

What do you do?
First, any sign of trouble whe in a car, hit the flasher lights to tell everybody that something is wrong. Check the area in front of you if there are any vehicles in the way, if there are then you have to find spot to go to without hurting anybody else. If you are on open road like the interstate or highway, you can try pumping the brake which might give you some stopping power and use the hand brakes intermittently till you get to a full stop, ideally off the road on the shoulder. Using the handbrake is effective, but do it slowly for pulling hard can cause the rear tires to lock and spin you in many ways than one.
The point is, to keep you calm for panic causes you to loose your objectivity. Most modern cars have dual brake systems where the front driver’s side wheel and the rear pasenger’s side wheel are connected and so are the opposite two. You can brake (but you might have to push a bit harder on the pedal) even with one system down and use the handbrake to augment them. For some more important information check out the NSC fro more details
Keep safe, drive carefully and get home safe.

Source : Study Driving via Honda Cars DIY

Engine problem like overheating is a very common road mishap. Overheated engine is most of the time caused by cooling system failure. The cooling system actually prevents the engine from burning. In the absence of a coolant of even if just a part within the system did not function right, more often then not, it will result to overheating. One malfunction can come from a cracked and ruptured coolant hose. This will cause the coolant to attack the reinforcement of the hose weakening it in the process. Basically, this does not happen overnight. It takes years to develop hose failures. So that it is advisable to check the coolant hoses regularly because it is always true that prevention is better than cure.

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Restraint systems such as seatbelts, air bags and head restraints work along with the structure of the vehicle itself to protect passengers from serious crashes in an event of an accident. These restraint system keep us secure in our seats and shield us from impact during crashes when accidents occur.

• Head restraints are now required in the front seats of all passenger cars to keep your head from injuring your neck in a rear-end crash (usually whiplash-related injuries). Some head restraints are adjustable, while some are fixed.
• Seat belts are standard on all vehicles sold in America today. These secure us to to our seats during hard braking or in a crash, but seatbelts also allow mobility and of freedom of movement during normal driving.
• Airbags are a very important and very effective safety feature because it prevents us from hitting the dashboard or the steering wheel on the event of a crash.
• Side airbags are designed principally to protect your chest and keep your head from hitting interior or intruding structures.

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