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So, my kids are not the best company in the summer. I love them, I do! But sometimes they get a little restless and then it’s a chore to figure out how to entertain them… especially because I have to work in the summertime and they’re out of school for the summer. Thankfully they’re going back to school soon, but I wanted to share one thing I had them do that both kept them busy and helped me out a little bit too. My bright idea? A car wash! Just for my car and my husband’s, but the kids were occupied and we came out of the whole thing with shiny clean cars. Sure, we bought some car shampoo, some paste wax, and had to sacrifice some rags, but the kids loved it and I knew that we were using the best supplies for the task. If you want to do this too, here are some of my tips for making sure your kids don’t leave your car worse for the wear. You should probably get some proper car shampoo. I remember my dad used to have us wash his car with dish soap, which gets the job done but isn’t exactly what you should be using as it can strip off the protective wax on the outside of your vehicle and leave it vulnerable to rust and such. We also used a big natural sponge, which was both gentle and effective for cleaning the outside of the car. It’s a good idea to use different sponges for the body of the car and the wheels and surrounding areas as well, just to be safe and make sure that none of the road grit and grease from those areas gets ground into the paint of your car. We had the kids spray the cars down first, just to get rid of anything that might have stuck, like small rocks and dust. Then the kids washed the car down with long strokes on the body (as opposed to small circles, which can make swirl marks). They got the car shampoo nice and sudsy and then scrubbed the cars down, rinsing the sponges often. We made sure they worked on one section at a time, hosing the car down after each part was done so the soap didn’t dry on the car. After the cars were clean, we dried them, put on some paste wax (we’d watched The Karate Kid a couple nights before, so the kids really loved this part - wax on, wax off!), and we were good to go. When we dried the cars, we made sure to use gentle microfiber chamois cloths, just like they do in NASCAR (a statement from my youngest) to really make them shine. This was a great way to keep the kids busy and outside for the day, and I think our cars look better than ever because we used the right stuff. So, if you want to do the same thing, I bid you good luck! And I hope you have the same results that we did. Keep Your New Kia Clean!

A Guide To Smells In Your Car From Us At King Kia, With Love Smell: Rotten Eggs You think: “There must be a dump nearby… or someone passed gas. I hope it’s the dump.” It is actually: Your catalytic converter doing something weird. Doesn’t matter what it is specifically because the catalytic converter is both important and something that no matter what’s wrong, needs to get fixed. Smell: Burning Carpet You think: “This reminds me of when Grandma’s vacuum exploded.” It is actually: not Grandma’s vacuum. It is probably your brakes needing to be checked out. Smell: Maple Syrup You think: “When was the last time we got Waffle House? Let’s go to Waffle House.” It is actually: a coolant leak. Coolant contains chemicals that smell sweet but are actually super toxic. Wait until your vehicle has cooled down and then check the fluid level in your radiator. Schedule an appointment with us if it’s low. Smell: Burned Rubber You think: “That smells like burned rubber.” It is actually: …burned rubber. It’s from slipping drive belts or loose hoses rubbing against engine parts. Check this out ASAP. Smell: Hot Oil You think: “Ugh, can someone roll down a window?” It is actually: the stinky smell of burning oil. You probably have an oil leak, and the oil is dripping onto a hot part of your engine (probably the exhaust) and sizzling to a crisp. Check under your vehicle to see if you can spot a leak. Smell: Dirty Socks You think: “Remind me again why I had kids? And then decided to put them in sports?” It is actually: okay. Well, if you do have kids in sports, then you should make sure it’s not actually dirty kid socks. If you have eliminated that option, then it’s probably mildew growing in your A/C evaporator. To fix this, just drive a mile from home and turn off the A/C and run the fan on high to dry your system out. Voilà! We’ll Smell Out Any Problem For Less!

Under your hood lies a mystical land flowing with many varieties of liquids. It is a balanced ecosystem, with everything working together in harmony to maintain the status quo and efficient nature of the machine. This is your engine, and the liquids are the various fluids that your vehicle needs to keep it going. If you’ve never been to this land, or have felt a stranger when you have visited, consider this your travel guide to Enginelandia and its bountiful rivers. Oil Your oil cools your engine, lubricates moving parts, and keeps the moving parts clean. You should change it regularly based on dealer recommendation and check it monthly! Coolant Coolant regulates your vehicle’s temperature. It is located in a reservoir near the radiator. If the level is low (level is indicated on reservoir) take vehicle to the shop to get your coolant topped up. Power Steering Fluid This helps you steer the vehicle. It’s located in a reservoir at the base of your windshield. Do the same as above, if the level is low take your vehicle to the shop to get the fluid topped up. Brake Fluid Brake fluid helps braking mechanisms work properly. If the level is chronically low, your brakes could be wearing out. Windshield Washer Fluid As you probably know, this helps clean your windshield of dust, debris, bug guts, etc. If you run out, get more at your local gas station and just refill the clearly labeled tank. Service For Less With Us

Have you ever stopped at the pump to fill up your car with gas and looked critically at the signs and thought to yourself - what do these numbers mean? What exactly is “unleaded”? Well, if you think you fit this description, thank goodness you have this blog! I am about to take you to school! But, like, gas school. Anyway, read on. So, let’s tackle the number issue. The numbers denote the octane levels of the gasoline, which differ and which are meant for different types of engines. The higher the octane, the higher performance your engine needs to be to use that type of gas. What is octane, you ask? Well, even if you didn’t ask I am about to lay down some knowledge for you. So, octane (full name: isooctane) is a hydrocarbon that’s left in the fuel from the oil gas is refined from. Typically, hydrocarbons have a tendency to spontaneously combust before they’re really supposed to. Isooctane doesn’t do that, which is why the higher the octane level the less likely your fuel is to combust before it’s supposed to. If the fuel does combust too soon, you can get a “knock” in your engine. You now might be asking yourself if your engine needs this higher octane fuel. Check your owner’s manual! If you have a regular vehicle, it can probably go without the high octane stuff. If your engine is more high performance, it might need the high octane. Always check. And if you do have a normal vehicle, using that higher octane fuel won’t magically make your engine into a race car engine. It’ll just be a waste of your money. Now on to the “leaded” vs “unleaded” conversation. The quick and dirty of it is that in the 1920s, scientists were trying to figure out how to provide fuel for the rapidly expanding car market at a low cost. Regular low cost fuel made the engines knock, but the higher octane stuff was more expensive. But some genius figured out that if tetraethyl lead was added to the fuel, the octane level would increase with barely any impact on the cost. Sure, it gave everyone lead poisoning, and it wasn’t outlawed fully until the 1990s, but eh. It’s fine. Right? Right?!?? Specials To Take Your Mind Off Of Science Stuff

So, we all have to have car insurance. It’s important - so important that you can get into trouble with the DMV if you don’t have it. But why is it important? Read on to find out! So, like I mentioned before, you pretty much need car insurance in order to stay legal to drive. If you get into an accident without insurance, you can be faced with a LOT of penalties from the law, including the bills from any damage caused. Not good! The insurance is in place to help not only you, but the other vehicles you might damage in a collision. This includes bodily injury as well as property damage. Your insurance will help pay for repairs to property - not just another person’s, but public property as well (for example, if you hit a sign or guardrail). If you don’t have insurance and can’t pay the bills, you can be sued. Insurance also comes in to help if you get into an accident caused by something like a deer, or if your car is vandalized or hit by a storm. If you want to make sure you’re not in the hole on a vehicle if something happens to it that’s outside your control, you should have insurance. Simple! You can choose your insurance policy, which affects what coverage you get. Of course, there are a lot of things to weigh in terms of what you think you need and what you can afford on your budget, but insurance companies offer things like: Gap Insurance Rental Insurance Roadside Assistance Custom Equipment OEM Endorsement Minor Violation Forgiveness Accident Forgiveness These are all pretty useful things to have in your pocket when you need them, but if you’re not sure what you need or can afford, you should talk to an insurance professional to help find the right solution for you. And if you need a car to insure in the first place, King Kia has that! We’re happy to help you find a vehicle that you love - just make sure you insure it! King Kia Gets You Behind The Wheel

Top 3 Kid-Friendly Kia Models When you have a family, you might have a different list of priorities when it comes to your car. I know that our family did. Children want and need space to spread out (for our sanity and theirs), storage areas for snacks and toys, and entertainment... a lot of entertainment. Parents want a vehicle that is safe and has features that make life a little easier. Honestly, parenting is hard enough. Parenting while in a small space in motion is on another level entirely. King Kia knows what is on your family car check list and they are here to deliver all of these things and more to make your driving experience excellent! 1. The Spacious Sorento If the phrase “Mom, he’s hitting me” means anything at all to you the Kia Sorento may well be the answer to your travel problems. The Sorento seats up to seven passengers, so as a crossover it’s large enough to compete with minivans in terms of capacity. The entertainment system also offers voice command options which make traveling easier, particularly when the kids have decided that they no longer want to watch Doc McStuffins and wish to move on to Jake and the Neverland Pirates. Arguing with a 3-year-old that “Mommy doesn’t have enough hands to do that right now” isn’t super productive so voice command is a life saver. An available roof rack provides extra space for cargo on extended road trips. Integrated safety features such as traction control, airbags, and blind spot warnings protect families from accidents. Dual-zone automatic climate control and rear air conditioning knobs are very important words particularly when you have more than one kid. No one can ever agree on a temperature so being able to customize the temperature a bit is helpful! Little ones love the sun shades for the second-row seats and the cup holders and other small storage areas throughout the cabin. With stain-resistant cloth seats, I don’t have to worry about letting my toddler have her juice in the car. 2. Saving with the Sedona Where are all of my budget-conscious families at? The Sedona is a minivan that offers every member of the family a smooth ride without gouging your bank account. With the SXL model, passengers in the second row get lounge seats that recline, that’s some fancy stuff!. The second-row middle seat has slide-and-stow capability, so when you have fewer people and need more storage you can make those adjustments quick and easy. The front console has a bunch of little storage areas for all of your kids’ random things. At any given time I can reach into the center console and find a ring pop, 3 Polly Pockets, a Hot Wheels car, and 27 elastic bands courtesy of my kiddos. As per usual, safety is an important part of the Sedona’s design with options like a rearview camera and parking sensors. The UVO emergency communications system alerts first responders for you if you’re involved in an accident. The Sedona earned the highest rating for protecting passengers in government crash tests, which I find endlessly comforting. 3. Happy Kids In A Kia Soul With its boxy shape, the 2017 Kia Soul is so roomy my kids can’t even play the “Mom, he’s hitting me game”. It’s absolute bliss. This design is ideal for small children because the thresholds are low enough that most kiddos don’t have to step up to get in or jump down to exit. Choose one of the higher trim levels and you get Kia’s signature entertainment system which makes the long road trips WAY easier. If I have to play Eye Spy one more time I may rip my own eyes out, so having the kids quietly watching a movie is pretty nice. Keyless entry and ignition will save you time when you know you grabbed your keys but aren’t positive if they’re in the diaper bag or in one of the kid’s backpacks. You will eventually need to find those keys, but you can do that later. Parenting is hard, fam. Let’s not pretend that’s easy, because it’s not and really it’s ok if you don’t have it all together, or even figured out. That’s why Kia is here, to make it a little bit easier for you and your family! Stop by King Kia today to make your life easier today! Find The Kia For Your Family Today

Driving isn’t my forte. I can’t drive well, I just can’t. I speed when I shouldn’t, I go too slow when I can’t, and I can never figure out which to do when stuck in a rain storm. I know you do too, everyone does at some point. You always hear of people that can’t drive in the rain or in the snow, well that’s me. I cry whenever the weather doesn’t cooperate. I remember this one time while driving, it just started down pouring. I mean the sky opened up and down came everything-everything. I remember that I could not see a single thing. I pulled over hoping that the rain would stop and I could get home somehow. As I’m pulled over, I realized that most people have their flashing hazards on. I always thought that you put those on for accidents or when you’re stopping for an emergency. I kept wondering if I should call the police or something but I realized that more than five cars going the same direction as me had these lights on. Now, I’m not by any means a pro driver, I clearly stated I stink at driving so I have no idea why they would have them on. The rain seemed to have calmed down a tad, so I thought it was clear to start driving again. I still saw those hazards being used. When I got home the first thing I did was research. Why in the world do people use hazards in rain storms? Hazards are known to be used when you are warning the people behind you that you will be going extra slow. Though hazards can be an emergency, it also indicates to the people behind you that they can pass you if they want because you will be taking your time to get where you need to be. Without your hazards, you could cause a big accident because having them on says that you are going extra slow so when people think you are going one-speed limit instead you are going slower, you might be in their way and they can’t stop that quick. Be sure to have your hazards on when you are going extra slow and need to warn the people around you, but mostly those behind you. Our Hazards work perfectly!

Do You Hear Me? You ever hear your neighbors drive by with their music so loud, you don’t know how they enjoy that sound? Or those who drive around town playing their favorite tunes but because they turn the volume too high, the sound just aches? Jeez is that what I sound like? I love listening to my music crazy loud when it’s a good song, I’m sure we all do. I love to feel the beat whenever I drive. I start to hear that static sound and I lower it partially, but in reality, it is still very much loud. I never noticed how bad it would be for my car or my stereo. I just thought it sounded bad, but what’s the harm? Remember when everyone would say that listening to music through your headphones extremely loud would make you deaf in the future? They were NOT kidding! Listening to music so loud blows out your eardrums and over the years, they wear out. Imagine this, you’re at your lake house and your dock has been rubbing against this boulder for months, even years, the rock and the dock would deteriorate over time. Your car speakers work the same way! The louder the music is, the more the speakers wear out until they blow! Try not having music to listen to on your road trips! Couldn’t imagine right? That would be one long, quiet, and unrealistic car ride. Taking care of your speakers is essential. Just make sure you do not blast your music. When plugging your AUX cord in, make sure that the volume from your phone or device is turned lower than your car volume. If both devices are too loud, you will hear that static sound, almost like a signal lost sound. When your device is turned louder than your car speakers, you still hear a little bit of that static. When speakers are blown, it is incredibly difficult to “fix” the speakers, therefore the only option is to buy new speakers, which aren’t cheap. Save that green for hearing your favorite artists in concert, not in your blown speaker in your car. The incentives are calling you