Car Maintenance Tips for Springtime
Narrator: It’s springtime. Time for some family road trips and time for an oil change as well. Most of us don’t do oil changes at home anymore, but now is probably the best time to visit your mechanic and have a multi-point inspection.
Robert Sinclair Jr.: When you take a vehicle to a certified repair shop they’re going to do a whole bunch of items, but at Triple A, we get calls for top two items: Flat tires and dead batteries. So make sure the dealer checks for that. Make sure they are checking the tires, make sure they are properly inflated; don’t have any damage to them. And check the suspension components while they are at it and check the battery to make sure it doesn’t have any corrosion on it that will keep the car from starting.
Narrator: Getting your car inspected and your oil changed won’t guarantee you will get better mileage, but it doesn’t hurt and it might catch problems further on down the road.
James Bell: One thing that will help that fuel efficiency is cleaning out your trunk. Excess weight equals bad fuel efficiency. A big heavy bag of salt like this, winter’s gone. You don’t need it here anymore.
Narrator: Fuel efficiency is a big topic. It’s on everybody’s mind right now.
James Bell: So, the easiest way to address that is how you drive. When you come to a stoplight de-accelerate in a mellow way. When you go to take off again, don’t bury the pedal, just take off smooth. And also when you are highway speed cruising along, every ten miles you are going over the posted speed limit, your fuel efficiency drops by a big percentage. We are now going to talk to Julie Henning from www.roadtripsforfamilies.com for some helpful hints for our family’s road trip. Julie help us survive. What should we do?
Julie Henning: Never underestimate toilet paper. Toilet paper can be used for runny noses, the obvious intended use and for wiping up spills.
Narrator: So remember, before heading out on the road, get that oil checked, get that multi-point inspection done, and hey, bring along some toilet paper; it could make all the difference.
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