Driving on a rainy day can be risky. The roads are all wet and slippery and this makes the car lose traction. Strong rainfall can also lessen a driver’s visibility.

To be safe, you should first check your car before driving during a rainy day. One of the things you should check is the windshield. Make sure that it is clean on the outside and in the inside. The interior of the windshield should be cleaned well especially if a smoker usually rides in the car.

The lights of your vehicle should be checked - headlights, brake lights, turn signals, and taillights. Make sure that they are all working. Also check your vehicle’s windshield wipers and see if the blades are still in good condition. When you are already on the road, turn on your headlights and the windshield wipers when the rain starts pouring.

If the rain is pouring really hard, then drive slower than your usual speed. If the weather is really bad, be on the safe side — pull over.

There are areas where children are aplenty, like schools and residential areas. When driving through these areas, it is important that we learn to drive more carefully because we would never know when a small kid would appear in front of your vehicle.

Here are some tips which you might want to keep in mind:

• When backing, check if there are children around you. These kids could be walking, running, or maybe even driving a bicycle.
• When approaching schools, slow down.
• There are places where there are no sidewalks. When driving through such areas, always be on the alert.
• There are also plenty of children near bus stops. Also drive slowly here.
• When driving through a neighborhood, it is best if you are careful. Children could be playing around and you might not notice. They could be playing hide and seek and suddenly appear from nowhere.

[Via eHow.com]

Taking a road trip with your friends or family can be exciting. However, you need to plan ahead so you would not be caught in the middle of nowhere without the right equipment in case your vehicle breaks down.

So what you do is you take out a map and note which route you are going to take. You can make use of the Internet to check which roads would bring you faster to your destination. Mapping out your route would not only help you reach your destination faster - it would also help you save on gas.

Equip your vehicle with the right tools in cases of car breakdowns. Jumper wires, tire sealer, a tire gauge, rags, a flashlight, screwdrivers, and pliers might just do the trick. But also have a map, a compass, extra fuel, a blanket, water, and food with you. Being prepared is a good thing always.

Before you head out to the open road, have your car checked. You may need to bring in your car for a total check-up two weeks before your scheduled trip so any repairs needed could be done. If there is a need to replace some parts, go ahead and do so. As they say, “Prevention is better than a pound of cure.”

Drowsy driving is just as deadly as drunk driving, the National Road Safety Foundation, Inc. disclosed. And most drivers are not really aware of this fact. Some think that drowsy driving is not a big deal.

A recent study done by the NRSFI reflected that 60% of drivers felt tired while they were out for a drive. More than 33% of the lot was brave enough to share that they even fell asleep while driving. This just goes to show that drowsy driving is dangerous and is one of the major causes of crashes.

The NRSFI sent out a list of signs that all drivers have to watch out for:

• Difficulty focusing, with frequent blinking
• Daydreaming or not remembering the last few miles driven
• Head nodding
• Repeated yawning or rubbing eyes
• Drifting out of your lane, tailgating or hitting shoulder rumble strips

If you notice yourself with at least one of these signs, it would be best that you pull over and let somebody else drive you home instead.

[Via The Auto Channel]

Statistics from the US Environmental Protection Agency show that keeping your cool can help you save on fuel. Speeding up makes your engine perform less and in the process, it makes your vehicle use up more fuel.

So what do you do to make your car use fuel efficiently?

Giving your accelerator even pressure makes your car use fuel efficiently. With that in mind, those quick starts and quick stops should be minimized - or even avoided. If your car is equipped with the cruise control, use this feature to maintain your speed.

Cleaning up your car could also help you save fuel. Unnecessary items you have in your car add to the total weight of the vehicle and that lessens the fuel efficiency of the engine. If you still have those soccer balls that your son does not even use anymore, your vehicle is not the right place to store them.

With thanksgiving just around the corner, the winter season is almost upon us. As all drivers should know, driving through winter poses risks and challenges that can be overcome with a few simple tips and pointers. Here are some important winter driving tips from Car Care Council.

Check antifreeze level to protect engine, radiator, and hoses against freezing

Carry emergency kit, heavy bag of sand in trunk; weight will lend traction on icy roads

Check battery; winter weather can cut life in half

Replace windshield wipers if cracked, torn; use specialized winter blades in severe conditions

Keep tires properly pressurized; use specialized tires in extreme climates

Maintain gas tank at least half full to prevent gas lines from freezing

Via Car Care Council

This summer, air conditioner problems are all too common, especially because our vehicle’s A/C system is working overtime just to keep the passengers cool despite the high temperatures and humidity outside. Thus, it is very important that you should know the warning signs of possible A/C malfunctions as well as basic preventive maintenance methods you can do by yourself. Here are some warning signs of a deteriorating air conditioner that you should pay attention to:

A/C is unable to cool to your desired temperature and produces warm air instead.

Water and condensation builds up on the floor of the car.

The A/C vents produce a musty odor while on operation.

Loud noises come from the engine or A/C when in use.

Overheating of the engine when the A/C is in use.

If you notice any of these warning signs, then it is highly recommended that you have your vehicle inspected. Proper maintenance and early detection of defects can save you a lot of money. Usually, your auto technician will check the coolant level, look out for leaks and tears in the hoses and check the belts in the air compressor.

Of course you can have your technician do every A/C related repair you need. However, there are also some tips you can do by yourself to save time and money.

Among the many control components installed in every vehicle is the window regulator. The window regulator takes charge of the window glasses. This allows both the vehicle driver and the passengers to raise or lower the windows whenever they need to or feel to. Normally, the window regulator is most accessible to the nearest person closest to the particular window. And with the new cars of today, the window winding mechanisms allow th e driver to have full control over all the windows of the vehicle.

There are two basic types of window regulators: the manual window regulator and the electric window regulator. A typical manual window regulator set up raises or lowers the window using a hand crank. The rotation of the various gears activates the mechanical plate, thus raising or lowering the window glasses. The window bar and the linkage arm function as the support of the window glass.

The electric window regulator, also coined as power or automatic window regulator, basically does the same thing, except that everything is performed automatically in a touch of a button. A small electric motor integrated with the switching components of the vehicle activates the functional gears that raises or lowers the windows.

Power windows are great… when they work. A bad power window motor or window regulator takes the fun out of driving. Motorists and passengers alike give utmost concern to comfort and convenience. Unfortunately, car window regulators sometimes give up the ghost, and you’re stuck with a car window that won’t open or close. Car window regulators and window motors can freeze up or get clogged and render your power windows useless. Worse, power window motors and window regulators are quite expensive to repair or replace.

Make sure you take good care of your ride . Proper maintenance pays off some good bucks.

The idea behind an engine is to burn gasoline to create pressure and turn the pressure into motion. A small amount of gasoline is needed during each combustion cycle in the car’s internal combustion engine. With fuel injection, the fuel is delivered as a liquid, compared to a carburetor that emulsifies the fuel (pre-mixed the fuel with air) before introducing it into the engine’s main air intake. With the electronic fuel injection system, making sure that your gas flow is not blocked is vital to getting the most mileage. For optimal use of your gasoline, you must get rid of the fuel injector deposits getting into the fuel system. Today’s modern engines are more susceptible to deposit build-up than ever before. As few as 1,500 miles, studies have shown that deposits can decrease your fuel efficiency.

A fuel injector acts as the fuel-dispensing nozzle. It is designed to accurately meter fuel into the engine in a fine spray. Along with a pump, the electronically-controlled injector injects liquid fuel directly into the engine’s air stream. When the injector is energized, an electromagnet moves a plunger that opens the valve, allowing the pressurized fuel to squirt out through a tiny nozzle. The nozzle is designed to make the finest mist possible so that the fuel can burn easily. The amount of fuel supplied to the engine is determined by the amount of time the fuel injector stays open.

Fuel injector deposits can reduce fuel flow and alter the spray pattern of gasoline to the engine. This results to loss of power, reduced fuel economy, and increased exhaust emissions. Therefore, proper maintenance should be taken into great consideration in order to clean-up the deposits that accumulate in the fuel injector. A number of gasoline additive products are formulated with different amounts of specially-designed detergents that help clean the fuel injection system. There are also a number of fuel injector cleaners available in the market that help protect engine parts from the accumulation of the harmful deposits and help keep the engine running at optimum performance. Moreover, these fuel injector detergent products unclog dirt from the fuel injectors and restore the lost power and acceleration by softening and dissolving the existing deposits – sweeping them away into the combustion chamber and harmlessly burning them with the gasoline.

The fuel filter removes contaminants including rust and corrosion from the fuel before it enters the fuel injectors. And therefore, keeping it on top condition shall definitely extend the optimal life span of your car. In order to keep the whole electric fuel injection system of your ride always at its best, make sure you change your fuel filter once every two years or every 30,000 miles (whichever comes first).

Summer is in full swing and 4th of July is only a few days away. For most Americans, this is the best time to go on a road trip. However, before you hit the highways, you better check on one very important part of your vehicle – the braking system. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports that over 2,600 deaths and 100,000 disabling injuries happen every year because of neglected vehicle maintenance. Thus, it really pays to have an auto professional or mechanic check up every part of your vehicle, especially your brakes. Here are some important reminders to help keep your brake system in top shape and always ready for a road trip.

Have your brake system checked and analyzed annually – For best performance, you should have your braking system checked by a technician, preferably one who is certified by the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence or ASE. Your technician should inspect every part of your car’s braking system such as brake lining, rotor, hoses, brake lines, brake fluid level, brake lights and others.

Change your brake fluid regularly – It is recommended that you have your brake fluid changed ever 24,000 miles or two years. Brake fluid will become contaminated over time because of the moisture that gets absorbed from the vehicle’s hydraulic system. This moisture can lead to brake malfunctions, rust, corrosion and other problems. This can lead to dangerous brake failure.

Look out for the symptoms of a bad braking system – Drivers should be aware of the signs of defects in the braking system. These include excessive squealing noise accompanied by burning smell when braking.

Other symptoms that indicate a problem in your brakes are: vehicle pulls to the left or right when braking, brake lights and warning lights come on when driving; brake pedal goes down too far or feels to hard, vibration in the brake pedal, steering wheel, or the entire vehicle when braking.