Emergency Tips

As the ravages of winter subside and temperatures rise, there is probably a pothole out there with your name on it, cautions the Car Care Council. Record cold temperatures, snow and rainfall in many parts of the country have created the perfect storm for the motorists' dreaded “perils of potholes period.”

Drivers know immediately when they hit a pothole. The heart-stopping, teeth-jarring noise is hard to mistake. However, it’s not always immediately clear if hitting the pothole caused damage to the vehicle, and to what extent.

Higher prices at the gas pump are a fact of life today. Some commuters share rides to manage the costs; others take public transportation. But if you are like countless other consumers, you depend on your personal vehicle to get you from Point A to Point B. So the experts at the nonprofit National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence (ASE) have assembled some easy-to-follow tips from on how to conserve fuel and make sure your car or truck gets optimal miles per gallon.

Back in the good ol’ days, automotive air filters were simple to find; they sat right on top of the engine in a round metal container. All you had to do was unscrew a wing nut, lift off the lid, and lift out the round air filter element. A quick wipe of the debris out of the bottom of the housing, and you could drop in the new filter, replace the lid and wing nut, and be on your way.

Picture yourself driving 500 miles at more than 200 miles an hour, under the most stressful conditions, never knowing what you might have to avoid in the next fraction of a second. That goes with the territory in the NASCAR racing circuit.

Compare this to your own driving. How much time would you need to deal with a road emergency? At 60 miles an hour, that’s 66 feet per second, you’ve already gone about 60 feet since you began reading this sentence.

You’ve just purchased a new vehicle and already a dashboard warning light is on, but this is one you might not have seen before. There’s a good chance it’s the new warning light tied to the Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS), which as of 2008, is standard on all new cars and light trucks, according to the Car Care Council.

If you’re good to your car, it will be good to you.

That’s a commonly used phrase in the automotive industry so why is there still an estimated $60 billion in unperformed maintenance on an annual basis?

Are we really performing the necessary routine maintenance our vehicles need to travel the long haul?

Curious, we called on a few consumers known for being hard on their vehicles: ones who don’t pay attention to how much their engines rev and typically don’t even have a lick of tread on their tires!

Who did we call on?

Crew members of NASCAR!

The Car Care Council has launched a digital version of its popular Car Care Guide that can be easily accessed through the council’s Web site at www.carcare.org.

Walking in a winter wonderland is a beautiful sight but safely driving through the glistening snow can rattle your nerves if you and your car aren’t prepared for winter. The Car Care Council suggests motorists have their vehicles winterized before harsh weather arrives and especially before embarking on road trips for the holidays. According to the council, the following steps will help get your vehicle ready for winter: