General car maintenance is an important part of your car’s survival. Routine maintenance is done for many reasons. First, maintaining your car will help it hold its value over time. This is important if you are looking to resell your car in the future. The less problems your car has, the more money you can potentially get for it. Scheduled maintenance will ensure that any current or future problems will be looked at as (or before) they happen. Car maintenance includes a wide variety of topics. For the exterior, the easiest do it yourself maintenance is a car wash. A car wash will help make your car look clean, but it will also clean and protect the paint. You can add in a wax or polish to go above and beyond a car wash. Your tires are also important, and checking them is pretty simple. Making sure they are properly inflated and that they have the correct air pressure can help improve fuel economy. Your car battery is important, and you need to make sure it is still in working order. Checking the volt meter when your car is on (14 V) and off (12 V) is helpful. You can also look at the battery to see if there is any corrosion. Overall, general car maintenance is an integral part to your car’s long term health.

Black & Black Automotive Loganville automotive in Walton County automotive can make sure your vehicle is well maintained for you.

Tires

The tires are what allow your car to move. Keeping your tires properly inflated with the correct air pressure is important in maintaining your fuel economy. If your tires are not at their optimal levels, you can lose more than 5% of your fuel economy. This may not seem like a lot, but over a year or two, those miles can add up into many fill ups that could have been avoided. That could be the equivalent of hundreds of dollars over time.

Oil / Gas

You should change your oil within the guidelines from your car’s manual. In addition, you should use the correct grade of motor oil. If you choose an oil that is different than the manufacturer recommendations, you can be losing as much as 2% off of your fuel economy numbers. Another fluid that can affect your gas mileage is the gas you are putting in your tank. Your car’s manual will have the recommended octane level gas you should put in the car. For example, most turbo or top notch engines require high octane levels above 91. Using the correct gas will ensure you get the best mileage and deviating from that can be detrimental.

Air Filters

You can think of the air filters as the "lung of the car". Just like our lungs, we can’t have any clogs and need a clean pathway in order to breathe. This goes for your car as well. Having clogged air filters can drag down your car’s fuel efficiency, as well as its acceleration. This could be the one of the bigger culprits of declining fuel efficiency. By replacing them, you can gain over 10% of your fuel economy back.

Oxygen Sensor

The Oxygen sensor may be the single-handed largest drain of fuel economy if gone unchecked. The oxygen sensor measures the amount of oxygen that is in your gas. It is intended to make sure your car emits the correct amount of gases when burning the fuel. Having a damaged or faulty oxygen sensor could be dragging you down up to 40%. Definitely make sure that a mechanic checks this out for you the next time you are in the auto shop.

Engine

Proper engine maintenance is important as a whole, but can also affect the fuel economy of your car. Make sure you get your car a tune up, as well as an emissions test. Cars that do not fare well in the tests, or need a tune up bad, usually can get about 4% more fuel economy if fixed.

For auto repair, collision, body work, and other auto services in Loganville, Gwinnett County, and Walton County, Georgia, call Black and Black Automotive for affordable service today.

Remember that even if you have a new vehicle you cannot be assured that you can avoid breakdown, that’s why just common sense shows that you practice preventive vehicle maintenance in order to extend the life of your vehicle and at the same time minimize your visits to repair shops due to breakdowns. Also your vehicle must be properly maintained so that it will function properly as it should .

The following advices are the most common and vital of a variety of preventive maintenance practices, it will cut down your visits to the  repair shop and to have an almost trouble free driving experience.

Get common services like (i.e. oil change, tune-up, and lube job) done in routine intervals. If you neglect any of these crucial items, your engine will not make the most of its performance and you’ll cause excessive wear on your cars key components.

Once a month, check the engine cooling system . This involves checking the radiator fluid level, radiator hoses for cracks, and clearing away any debris from the front of the radiator, by using pressurized water. The radiator/cooling system must be functioning properly in order to keep your engine from overheating. Also, while driving, occasionally have a glance at the engine temperature gauge to check that it’s not reading within red zone.

Once a month, examine all belts for cracks and frays. If any belts look worn, have them replaced as soon as possible.

Every month, check the tire pressure, it is estimated that there is a 5% loss in tire pressure monthly. By means of tire pressure gauge measure your tires if within the recommended pressure. Manufacturer’s tire pressure rating is indicated on vehicle’s user manual for the correct pressure reading. Tires within the correct tire pressure will extend its life and can improve gas mileage.

Replace the air filter once a year or more often if you drive in dusty conditions. A clean air filter will keep contaminants from entering your engine. Such contaminants (e.g. dirt) will accelerate internal engine wear.

Clean the battery terminals with a wire brush, ones every two months. If your battery is not sealed, check the fluid level and if necessary, fill the cells with distilled water. The last thing you want is to not be able to start your engine due to a failed battery.

Every 50,000 miles the timing belt must be replaced. Why? Because, if the timing belt breaks while you’re driving, the valves and the piston will be thrown out of synchronization and it will cause the engine to stop running. The pistons will slam into the valves – this generally ruins an engine. Replacing timing belt is absolutely mandatory.

If your vehicle is equipped with an automatic transmission, have the transmission fluid checked every 12,000 miles. By examining the color and smell of the transmission fluid, one can find out if the transmission is operating at too high a temperature (i.e. black or brown in color and having a burnt smell be a sign of this).

Examine the brake fluid level once a month. If it is low, most likely you have a leak in one of the brake lines or the master cylinder. Add brake fluid and take your vehicle in for a brake system check up at once.

Examine the power steering fluid level once every two months. If it is low, you probably have a leak in the power steering system and therefore should have it inspected as soon as possible. A failed power steering unit could spell disaster when driving at high speeds.

If you just purchased a new vehicle, make sure you break in the engine and transmission properly. Your dealer should have provided you with a guide for properly breaking in your new vehicle. By following this guide closely, you will set the proper pattern for reduced engine/transmission wear for the rest of the vehicle’s life.

Maintain a records and receipts of all services performed. By making a conscious effort to document all services performed, you’ll force yourself to stay up on various services that need to be done.

Finally, it cannot be emphasized enough how important it is to regularly change your vehicle’s oil. If you do nothing else in the way of preventive maintenance, at least do this. If you don’t change the oil regularly you can be guaranteed your engine’s life will be shortened.

If you have any questions, comments, or concerns on preventive vehicle maintenance, call Black and Black Automotive in Loganville, Gwinnett, or Walton County today!

In this economy, people are keeping their vehicles for longer periods of time than ever before. The average age of a vehicle on the road has just gone up to 10.8 years. AutoMD.com found that 80% of car owners surveyed planned to put 50k or more miles on their current vehicle than they had on their previous one.

AutoMD.com’s data also shows that 60% of respondents own a car with over 100k miles on it. 40% of respondents now drive a car that is over 10 years old.

57% of the respondents also stated that they had postponed auto repairs and maintenance in the last twelve months. The majority (60%) reported that the economy was again to blame.

AutoMD.com is the unbiased and comprehensive free online auto repair resource made to empower Loganville, Walton and Gwinnett car owners with the best way to repair their cars. Backed by a team of automotive data experts and certified auto mechanics who are advocates for the car owner, AutoMD.com lets car owners 1. Troubleshoot vehicle problems, 2. Give an idea of what auto repairs should cost, 3. Find the right local auto repair shop at the right price for their issue.

Black and Black Automotive emphasizes how important it is to have maintenance performed by a qualified mechanic who has the experience, the right tools and the experience to safely perform the required maintenance AND have your car operate safely after maintenance is completed.

Next year, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration will decide if they should pursue new regulations governing car-to-car communication.

“We have been working on this notion for over a decade,”said David Strickland, Administrator of the NHTSA.

NHTSA has completed its pilot studies and will soon have enough information to decide whether or not to proceed to making rules mandating the technology in every vehicle. Right now though in Walton, Gwinnett and Loganville this technology is unavailable.

University of Michigan’s Transportation Research Institute in Dearborn has been an invaluable source of information, Strickland noted.

Strickland believes the connected-vehicle technology is the next major step in reducing traffic fatalities, stating that the technology can address up to 80% of crash scenarios.

2010 saw 33,000 traffic fatalities in the U.S., a 25% reduction from 2006. Collisions in Gwinnett, Walton and all of Loganville can be handled expertly by Black and Black Collision

However, Adrian Lund, president of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety believes this technology is decades away from influencing safety on our roads.

In the meantime, Black and Black Collision is here for your auto body repair needs in Walton, Gwinnett and Loganville, GA.