Miracle Body and Paint’s Ultimate Car Care Guide (PART 2)

Miracle Body and Paint in San Antonio Texas is back to bring you more auto maintenance advice, tricks and tips to help prolong the life of your beloved car.

Choose a reputable gas station

Ask your gas station if the gas you are buying is filtered at the pump and if they have an outstanding policy of regularly changing the pump filters. If they don’t know the answer, better find another station. A few stations do not have pump filters which will inadvertently give you dirty gasoline. Other stations on the other hand improperly mix alcohol and fuel. Worse case is when they water down their product.

Avoid filling up if there is a tanker

If there is a gasoline tanker at your local gas station, just come back another day or go to a different gas station. The turbulence at the underground tanks as they are being filled stirs up sediment. These sediments can clog fuel filters and fuel injectors which will cause poor performance that leads to needing repair.

Be patient when you’re stuck

If you find yourself stuck in mud or snow, avoid making the situation worse by damaging component. Attempting to free your vehicle by gentle rocking is acceptable, but if you are really stuck, better stop your attempt. Putting your vehicle in forward and reverse manner repeatedly and spinning your tires in high speed will generate a lot of heat. This can damage the transmissions, clutches and differentials. In fact, it may even be more practical to call a tow truck rather than paying for the damage your efforts might cause. Make sure to have sand, gravel or any other traction aid in your trunk.

Remove excessive keychains

A heavy-loaded car key in the ignition can wear out the tumblers which can lead to ignition switch failure. Choose a lightweight key chain enough to allow you to differentiate it from other keys. Better yet, drive with only the ignition key in your ignition. A warning sign that your switch is about to fail is when the key “sticks” when you try to turn it on.