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Your car is an important tool for your family. It helps you get to work, takes your children to school, and helps you with chores. It’s one of 276 million vehicles registered in the United States. Due to this, your vehicle requires the best care possible to keep going. This is why regular maintenance is essential. With it, your care continues to last far beyond its return on investment. To help you keep your car going, here are some auto repair tips & tricks your family should know.

Rotate Your Tires

As you go about your daily routines the tread on your tires wears down. This is normally due to regular use. In some cases, it happens because your tires are misaligned. In turn, the tread on one side of it is lighter than the other. This is fixed by rotating the tires. One way this is done is by switching them between the driver and passenger side of the car so the tread evens out. Another way is to move the front tires to the back to minimize the pressure on them.

Maintain Your Tire Pressure

Maintaining the proper tire pressure is just as important as rotation. It isn’t simply to abide by the manufacturer’s guidelines. Properly pressured tires keep your drive smooth and stabilize your fuel efficiency. When your tires don’t have the proper pounds per square inch (psi) of air they don’t adhere to the road’s surface. If the psi is too low you run the risk of damaging your tires and suspension. If the psi is too high then you have a greater chance of losing control of your car at high speeds. You don’t want either of these to happen, especially when driving with family members.

Replace Your Air Filters

Your air filters play an important role in your car. The one located near the engine prevents particles from reducing the drivetrain’s performance. On the other hand, the air filter inside the vehicle maintains a breathable environment.  Things change when both of these are dirty. For instance, the air becomes musty and a film develops on the windshield when the interior filter has run its course. Like you would do for your air conditioner unit at home, you want to replace the air filters in your vehicle. This is either done on your own or through auto repair in Elgin IL or your particular locale. Find a great company that has the skilled staff to help you out.

Regularly Wash Your Car

Your vehicle’s exterior takes a beating. The dirt and dust of regular driving accumulate on its surface. During the winter, the chemicals used to melt snow build on the surface. This has the potential of damaging the clear coat that protects your car’s paint job. If not cleaned, your car loses its luster. Hence, you want to regularly wash your vehicle. Either do this on your own or through a car wash. If you do the latter, look for a gentle wash system. This minimizes scratches and other damage caused by the spinning brushes.

Replace Your Vehicle’s Fluids

Neglecting your vehicle’s fluids, like your oil and coolant, costs you in the end. First, your car’s performance starts to degrade, including your fuel efficiency. Second, particulates start to collect in the fluid repository and get into the engine and other components. Topping off these necessary fluids is the first step. Flushing your systems out and completely replacing things like your oil and coolant removes the damaging components. As a result, there’s less risk to your hoses and other delivery methods.

Clean Cloudy Headlights

Over time your headlights develop a film over them due to the environment. While not dangerous, it does diminish their illumination properties. Though it seems easy to clean, not even a car wash helps remove this whitish covering. There are kits available that come with a solution to remove this film and minimize further development. It’s a far better solution than replacing them.

Conclusion

In the end, don’t take these auto repair tips & tricks for granted. Your family should know all of these and commit to regular maintenance of your vehicle. After all, it gets you to many places throughout the day. By taking care of everything you’ll have a healthy car that continues to grow with your family.