Summer Car Care Tips

This is an important time of year to keep your car clean and to have routine maintenance done. Summer is a very busy time for everyone and a busy time for your car. Excessive heat can be a drain on many of the components of your car. If you are planning a vacation where you will be driving your car, don’t wait until the last minute to have your service facility check the car for your trip. Summer is the busiest time for repair facilities as well and the heat that takes a toll on your car, can also take a toll on the technicians that work on your car. Remember, proper car care and maintenance can prevent a breakdown.

Summer Car Care tips:

1. If you have not visited your service facility in the last six months, it is time for a visit. Ask for a safety check. A well maintained car also gets better gas mileage.
   
   
2. Have the oil changed. Regular oil changes can double the life of your car.
   
   
3. Check your tires. Summer heat can affect the performance of your tires. Ask your service facility to let you know how much tread life you have left on the tires. An extremely worn tire can make stopping difficult. Check the tire pressures so that you get the best wear for your tires and better gas mileage.
   
   
4. Don’t run the needle down to empty. You put yourself in a risky situation that you may run out of gas while driving. Imagine getting stuck on the beltway, because you run out of gas. You could do additional damage to the fuel system which could be very costly.
   
   
5. Don’t wait to have that noise checked. You drive the car everyday, if you hear a strange noise, get it checked. Small problems can turn into really big expensive problems quickly.
   
   
6. Come to a complete stop. When you are backing out of a parking spot and put your car in drive while it is still rolling, you are doing damage to the transmission. Make sure the car is stopped before changing gears.
   
   
7. Have your air conditioning system checked. A marginally operating air conditioning system is likely to fail during hot summer months.
   
   
8. A dirty, streaky or smeared windshield can be a hazard. Replace worn wiper blades and replenish windshield washer solvent.
   
   
9. April showers bring May flowers, but what do May flowers bring: Pollen! The pollen that is covering your car is also being circulated through your vents. Have the air filter and all other filters check or replaced.
   
   
10. The greatest number of breakdowns occur during summer travel is due to overheating. Check the level and condition of your coolant. Remember to never remove the radiator cap until the engine is thoroughly cooled.

Last but not least, give your car a good cleaning. Clean out all the trash on the floor and in the pockets, vacuum the interior and then wash it. It just feels so good driving around in a clean car, doesn’t it? And have a great summer!

Your Alternator Does Not Charge Your Battery

At least not in the way you might think. It's a common misconception amongst drivers that if their battery is flat, a good long drive will charge it up. After all the alternator generates power, right? Well yes, and no. Have you ever seen or driven a car where, as you sped up, the lights got brighter? That's because the battery was dead and all the electrical power was coming from the alternator. The faster the engine spins, the more power the alternator provides, and the brighter the headlights become.

In a properly functioning car, the 12V electrical system is mostly reliant on the battery itself. The alternator provides a 'topping off' charge to help maintain the battery, but can't really be relied on to charge it. Why? Because when your car is running, it consumes quite a bit of electrical power between all the onboard computers, wiring harnesses, instrumentation, headlights, radios, electric windows, high- and low-tension circuits etc.

The alternator in most cars is typically sized to match the demands of a running car. In other words, when the engine is on and the car is running, the alternator compensates for the electrical load and typically doesn't offer much more. Sure there might be some surplus power produced at speed, but to fully charge a nearly dead 12V battery would take a 2000 mile drive at 80mph or more with everything electrical turned off. A quick 10 minutes down the motorway isn't doing anything for you.

That's why you should invest in a battery charger if you ever find yourself with a low battery. Use the grid's power supply to charge your car's battery instead of trying to overload your alternator. Chargers come in many sizes from 0.75 to 1.5 amps for slow 'trickle' charging, all the way up to 200 amp quick chargers (although you'll need a dedicated electrical supply for something that beefy). Optimate, Battery Tender and Black & Decker all do reasonable chargers in the $20 to $60 range, available from most local car parts stores or online mega vendors, and using them is pretty easy.

They'll typically come with a variety of connectors - clamps, ring connectors and accessory plugs. The accessory plug might seem like the ideal choice but many modern cars don't have live 12v accessory sockets when the ignition is off, plus you're trying to charge a hefty car battery through tiny cables so I just wouldn't recommend that. Ring connectors are good if you need to charge the battery time and time again because you can wire one end of the charging cable permanently to the battery.

The most useful connectors are going to be the crocodile clips. Simple to use - connect the red one to the positive battery terminal and the black on to the somewhere on the chassis or engine, plug the charger in and leave it alone. A decent modern charger will be able to charge in three or four different modes - bulk charge, top-off and maintenance are the most common three. It should choose which mode to use based on the condition of the battery, and there'll be a light or indicator on the charger to tell you what's going on.
Two final points : some cars, notably high end Audis and VWs, have their 12v battery in the trunk or under the driver's seat. Typically they'll have charging posts under the hood somewhere for easy access - Audi put theirs under a plastic flap at the back of the engine bay, in the middle. Flip it open and there's a "+" post in there. For the negative terminal, just clamp the clip to any part of the chassis or engine where there's bare metal.

And secondly : if you have to keep charging the battery, it means either your alternator is about to give up, or more likely, the battery itself is about to give up. Expect 3 to 4 year's life out of a normal 12v car battery, irrespective of what the manufacturer or guarantee tells you. 5 years is out of the ordinary. 6 years is extreme. If you live anywhere with wild temperature swings, expect 2 to 3 years before you need a replacement.

Finding "The One" (parking space, that is)

Come fall, the 2014 Chevrolet SS Sedan will do most of the work for you.  In the meantime, check out these parking apps.

It's impossible to live life uninterrupted when you're circling the block for the 17th time looking for a place to park.  Chevrolet is here to help you out.  The 2014 SS Sedan will practically park itself.  Using Park Assist technology, the car will assess spaces to make sure you have enough room to get in and out, take over the steering wheel once you've found The One; and guide you into the vacant spot.  Parallel, perpendicular -- it makes no difference.  The catch?  The car won't be available for purchase until fall.

So while we count down the days until the park-assist sedan arrives, here are the best apps to help you find a spot -- and recall where it is -- when you don't have time to spare.

Parking Mate allows you to set a meter timer with a single swipe.  Your phone will alert you when your time is about to run out, which is excellent, because the only person who enjoys racing against a clock is Nicolas Cage.  Parking mate also helps you abide by street-sweeping rules and other restrictions by showing you the safest places to park and notifying you when you need to move your vehicle.

The Parker app tells you not only where the closest spot is in real-time, but also how much it costs to park there -- whether you're looking for a garage, a lot or a metered parking spot on the street.  Parker will ensure that you make an informed decision rather than committing to the first spot that jumps out at you.

If you're a minimalist, go the simple route and use Google Maps to remember where you parked.  The "drop pin" feature marks where it is so there's no confusion when you're ready to drive to your next destination.

Highly rated by iPhone uses, Parkbud goes the extra mile by helping you with everything from finding a spot to monitoring meter times.  It costs two dollars, but it comes with an affordable perk: It allows you to pay for parking with a couple of taps of your cell phone.  No more running to the car in the middle of a lunch date to avoid parking tickets!  Just use your phone to fill 'er up remotely.

The Walk Me to My Car app not only walks you back to your car, it also makes your phone vibrate when you're getting close, so you don't have to worry about walking up to a stranger's car and embarrassing yourself in the crowded parking lot.  The Walk Me to My Car app also includes a parking timer.