Tag Archives: cars

Auto Owners – Have Your Battery Checked For Winter Driving

Auto Owners - Have Your Battery Checked For Winter Driving

Auto Owners - Have Your Battery Checked For Winter Driving

It May Be Time To Replace That Car Battery

  Whir, whir , whir.  Will your car, truck or SUV start come the coldest days of January?  Few motorists and auto owners give their auto battery much thought.  Yet come the dead of winter and the long wait for the motor league wrecker tow truck for a boost may give you pause to think that perhaps next time I will replace that battery earlier, and perhaps with a larger amperage model.  And you don’t have to be up north in the Canadian arctic with a blinding wintertime blizzard to come to this conclusion.

It’s only a question of time and miles before its time to replace your battery even it’s a very high quality unit that came new with the vehicle.  Some mechanics and fleet operators will advise you to replace auto batteries like clockwork regardless of miles and km every 3 or 4 years.  Eventually all batteries run out of chemicals, the plate deposits become too extensive, the plates vibrate and break apart.

This often comes as a direct result of improperly tightened hold-down clamps. Yet another wise reason to have your battery replaced and installed properly either by a good mechanic or the service department at your local auto dealership.  Another common means by which lead acid auto batteries fail is that cells themselves begin to leak causing the current (and battery) to short circuit.

When it comes time to replace your vehicle’s battery – either because its necessary or you deem it’s a good and wise idea overall it is both essential and imperative that the unit be replaced with one of the same size and rating.  Bargains you get from your neighbor or uncle that don’t fit properly or of inadequate amperage are just plain false economy and shortly will cost you more in inconvenience , time lost and two than you saved instead of getting a proper replacement battery in the first place.

How do you determine what is correct?  It’s a good guide that the size of any battery is determined by its outside dimensions of the casing itself.  Charts are available wherever batteries are sold , or repaired to help you decide and determine which size , and what price is correct for your car and will fit into your automotive repair and maintenance budget overall.

Again an automobile’s battery is both a component of any car, truck, van or SUV that we both depend on and as well take for granted.  Take a few moments out before this winter’s cold snap really hits to either check your battery for its condition or the charge it can hold.  Alternatively if this is beyond your skill set or time available take your vehicle to a professional mechanic, battery shop or the service center of your local auto dealership.

George Garry

Winter driving in Winnipeg is terribly demanding on any car or truck.  Autowest Winnipeg  Service Center has a complete new modern service center with trained staff and shop charges much lower  than the majors in the province of Manitoba  In the Surrey BC Eagle Ridge GM Auto service center – expert auto mechanic , car & truck diagnostic expert staff on hand – most up to date modern engine diagnostic equipment with factory trained professionals

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Is Your Car Safe?

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Is Your Car Safe?

Nobody wants to be in a car crash, but that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t think about car safety. Driving a car that is well-made and has lots of safety features will ensure that, should the worst happen, you have a chance of getting out of a bad situation relatively unscathed. Think of it as an insurance policy.

The safety organisation Euro NCAP tested 29 of the most popular cars, and released the results earlier this year. The crash tests performed by Euro NCAP produced some interesting, but comforting, results. Of the 29 cars that they tested, more than half qualified for the organisations five star safety rating.  In 2009, almost all of the cars that Euro NCAP tested managed to qualify for the five star rating, but the reduction in qualifiers is not down to cars being more poorly made. The NCAP have increased the standard required for a five star rating, so the top cars are incredibly well designed.

The safest cars, according to the crash tests, were:

  • BMW 5 Series
  • Alfa Romeo Giulietta
  • Honda CR-Z
  • Kia Sportage
  • Toyota Verso

Even the cars that came in lower in the rankings, such as the Citroen Nemo, far exceeded the EEC crash standards.

Keeping Your Car Safe

The one thing that you can take away from the NCAP results is that, off the lot, most cars are pretty safe. However, once they’ve been in the hands of their owners for a while that can change. You need to take care of your car to keep it safe. So, don’t doge that Land Rover service.

Yes, you’ve probably heard your friends complain about how much a Volvo service costs, or give horror stories about how their Land Rover service fee was massive, but it looked like the mechanic barely did anything. Don’t fall into the trap of assuming that a service is just a quick nose around the car. How would you feel if someone said that your job was nothing? The mechanics that service cars know what they’re looking for, and they do a lot more than just put a stamp and a signature in a book for you.

On a day-to-day basis, you should make sure that your tyres are in good condition, your fuel tank is topped up, your fluid levels are sufficient, all of the lights are working, and your brakes are OK. Try to get into the habit of walking around your car checking out all of the important bits at least once every few days. If you spot a problem, fix it immediately.

If you live in an area where winters are snowy or icy, invest in a set of winter tyres, and change over to them as soon as the weather starts to turn bad. The initial outlay for the tyres might be expensive, but you should be able to get a couple of years use out of them, if you have space to store them in your garage. From an accident prevention perspective, they’re well worth the investment.

This article was written by Crispin Jones on behalf of Main Dealer Discount, who can provide drivers with information on Volvo service costs and access to a discounted Land Rover service.

As Crispin has just had his first child, he is very concerned with car safety.

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