Auto Repair Tips from Bill's Quality Auto Care

Here are a few helpful car care tips

• Help your windshield wipers:  Many times we replace our windshield wipers because they are leaving streaks when we use them.  However, one quick action could make them last many months longer.  The problem is that the blade of the windshield wiper collects dirt and inhibits a smooth wiper-to-window surface.  The solution is to take a alcohol swab or an old cloth with rubbing alcohol and smooth out that wiper blade by rubbing it back and forth a few times until it feels smooth.
• Check your tire pressure:  Properly inflated tires are very important for many reasons:
  •  Saves you from premature tire replacement: Improperly inflated tires wear out your tires quickly.
  • Proper tire pressure gives you better gas mileage.  This is the most common issue that reduces the mileage of a car.  Think about how much harder you have to work when you ride a bicycle with low tires, then think of what your car is doing.
  •  It makes your car safer.  When your tires are properly inflated, maximum tread is touching the road.  This helps in sudden stops and maneuvering to avoid an accident.  Those benefits can save you $1,000s
• When travelling to cold areas windshield wiper antifreeze:  Since we live in Southern California, we don't experience this problem so we forget about it.  When you are expecting to travel to an area where it freezes, such as on a ski trip, it's important to add antifreeze windshield wiper fluid.  Normally, around here we only use detergent wiper fluid. 
• Never top-off your gas:  It's bad for your car and for the environment when you keep pumping after the first shut off at the gas pump.  The problem is the raw gasoline can contaminate into the vapor system of your car.  When this happens it can cause destruction of components in your vapor system, which can cause a significant repair.  Additionally, it releases gas fumes into the air which cancels the benefits of the pump's anti-pollution devices.  So, when you hear the click at the pump, put the nozzle back into the pump.