There’s a little bit of the thrill-seeker in all of us… some people like roller coasters, some people like bungee jumping, some people like shark diving… and some people like driving their cars when the fuel gauge is pointing directly to that “E.” If you fall into the latter category, we encourage you to find a new hobby because running out of gas, and running on no gas, is really dangerous and bad for your vehicle.

Your fuel gauge is not always accurate. There are some vehicles with electronic readouts that give you an estimate on how many miles you have left in the tank, but even that’s not fully accurate. After you hit empty (or “0 miles until empty”) you could have half a mile or fifty miles left in the tank. You don’t know until you physically run out of fuel. Which is bad! If you’re interested in this, there are plenty of YouTube videos of people testing this out. Just watch them do it and save your own vehicle!

Another thing is that your fuel pump uses gasoline as a coolant, and when there’s no gas to pull in, it uses air instead. Air creates much more friction, and therefore heat, than gas – a perfect recipe for your fuel pump to burn out quickly. This is an expensive repair. A tank of gas is much cheaper.

Finally, every fuel tank has a certain amount of sediment that collects at the bottom. You can’t do anything about it besides just let it be, but when you’re very low on fuel, the fuel-to-sediment ratio gets smaller and smaller and your fuel pump will start pulling in that sediment-filled gas, sending the gunk through your fuel lines and fuel injectors and clogging up the works with great efficiency. If this happens enough, you’ll need a full fuel system flush. We’ll throw this out there again – a tank of gas is much less expensive than that.

The first thing is to have a garage, which hopefully you’ve got if you’re reading this blog. The next thing is to take EVERYTHING out of that garage. Literally everything. Car, junk, trash, stuff you need… get it all outside into the driveway or onto your lawn and leave your garage totally empty.

Now, sort everything you’ve just taken out into two piles, one for things that you want to keep and one for things that you’ve been meaning to throw away/forgot about/are just trash. Throw those things away right now. Dispose of chemicals like paint safely, but just get it out of there.

With your garage empty, you should give it a nice sweep and vacuum. Really get into the corners and make it sparkle… or get it as close to sparkling as possible. It is a garage, after all. If it’s a nice day, you could even hose down the floor! If you’re feeling super adventurous, consider applying an epoxy garage floor kit. It’s a lot of work and a lot of waiting, but it’s worth it if you’re looking for a full makeover.

With the space clean, it’s time to assess your storage solutions. If you don’t have shelves or wall storage, consider getting some! It’s a great space-saving hack to store things vertically. You can even store bikes on wall racks, which saves a TON of space.

Finally, get everything back into your garage, organizing as you go. You’ll probably spot some things that you thought you wanted to keep but are really junk that you can just go ahead and throw away. You don’t need that in your life. When everything’s back in place (or has found a new home), park your car back inside!

I live out in the boondocks, and I like it that way. What I’m not super fond of is when people race through the back roads by my house like they’re trying out for NASCAR. The roads aren’t super busy, so for them, it seems to be the perfect place to drive a little recklessly. The trouble here is that even though I’m out in the boonies, there are still a fair number of children out here that live on this road and others near here. And if nothing else, these kids racing around could get hurt themselves! So, in response, a few of us in the neighborhood have decided to get a group together to talk to town hall to see if there was a way to get people to slow down.

Our local government decided that speed humps (not speed bumps) were the best option for our town. If you don’t know what a speed hump is it’s basically the appropriate traffic calming device for residential streets. Modern humps are made from recycled rubber and sold as individual segments for a “custom fit.” For our street, this has worked so far.

If you find that your streets are plagued by speed demons, these are the steps to follow to make your roads a bit safer:

• Step #1: Talk to Your Neighbors

• Step #2: Research Your City’s Procedure

• Step #3: Hold A Meeting and Determine Plan of Action

• Step #4: Contact Local Officials

• Step #5: Define the Problem

• Step #6: Determine if a Speed Hump is the Right Solution

• Step #7: Present Your Case

• Step #8: Follow Up

You are able to make a difference in your town and communities. All it takes is the wherewithal to go and do it. Knowing how your local governments work, and especially who your elected officials are that can make these things happen. So get together with your neighbors, come up with a plan and make your town a safe place for your kids, and your neighbors’ kids to live.

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.

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!

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
  1. Your oil cools your engine, lubricates moving parts, and keeps the moving parts clean.
  2. You should change it regularly based on dealer recommendation and check it monthly!
• Coolant
  1. Coolant regulates your vehicle’s temperature.
  2. It is located in a reservoir near the radiator.
  3. If the level is low (level is indicated on reservoir) take vehicle to the shop to get your coolant topped up.
• Power Steering Fluid
  1. This helps you steer the vehicle.
  2. It’s located in a reservoir at the base of your windshield.
  3. Do the same as above, if the level is low take your vehicle to the shop to get the fluid topped up.
• Brake Fluid
  1. Brake fluid helps braking mechanisms work properly.
  2. If the level is chronically low, your brakes could be wearing out.
• Windshield Washer Fluid
  1. As you probably know, this helps clean your windshield of dust, debris, bug guts, etc.
  2. If you run out, get more at your local gas station and just refill the clearly labeled tank.

One of the most important things you should be doing for your vehicle, besides of course filling up the tank and making sure everything is in good working order, is checking on your tires once a week or so. Yeah, seriously. All you need is a pair of eyes, a penny, and a tire pressure gauge. Check it out.

To check your tire pressure, you’ll need the gauge. If you don’t own one already, you can buy one inexpensively at pretty much any auto parts store. In order to check your pressure, all you need to do is take off the cap from the valve stem, fit the gauge on, and it’ll tell you what your pressure is.

How do you know what the pressure should be? There will be a sticker on the inside of your driver’s door jamb, or the information will be in your owner’s manual or on the tires themselves. It’s easy information to find, and you should remember it if you can.

You should also be checking the tread of your tires! This is what the penny is for. Stick the penny into the tread with Lincoln’s head pointing to the center of your tire. If you can see the top of his head, you know it’s time to get new tires.

Your tires should last you for at least five years, but their life can be shortened by some important, and avoidable, factors:

• Low tire pressure

• Overinflated tires

• Aggressive driving

• Improper alignment

Make sure your tires are always inflated, and have your tires checked and rotated at every oil change. Ask about your alignment at every service and have your vehicle aligned whenever you’re at the shop (if you need it, that is). Taking care of your tires is taking care of your vehicle!

Your battery is one of the most important components of your vehicle in that without it, your vehicle just wouldn’t work. If your battery’s died on you at all, especially in this cold weather, there could be a problem. Take a look at our list of why your battery might be failing you.

Your battery could just be old. If you don’t remember the last time you replaced your battery then it’s probably time to do that. Older batteries can’t hold a charge the way they should.

If the connections to your battery are loose or corroded, they won’t work the way they should with your vehicle’s charging system. Look at those connections and clean them off if they’re dirty and make sure they’re good and tight.

The charging system itself could also just be either malfunctioning or broken in some way. When you’re under your hood, look at the wiring, belts, and other components of the charging system to make sure everything’s in good order. When you jumpstart your vehicle, bring it right to the shop so we can take a look.

The last thing, and a common culprit of dead batteries, is that you could be accidentally leaving lights on or other electrical components could be draining that battery. Make sure any phone charging cables are unplugged when you get out of your vehicle and that your headlights, dome light, map lights, and even your trunk light are off. This is a silent drainer of your battery and if you pay extra attention to your lights, you might just solve your problem.

When we’re on the road, one of the constants that we almost always see is someone else who is experiencing road rage. Thankfully, there are a lot of great tactics that not only minimize the danger to you from a road raging driver, but that also help keep you calm so you don’t catch the bug. Check them out!

If you’re being tailgated, at the first opportunity you have, let them pass you safely. If they need encouragement, wave them along. Only move over for them if it is safe to do so.

When you leave for work in the morning or leave work for home, always plan for delays on your trip. You never know what kind of a morning other drivers are having, and it’s better to be early than late and angry!

Be safe on the road. Really focus on driving safely! If you are concentrating on the road and only the road, then you’re much more likely to drive responsibly. So put down the phone, don’t fiddle with the music… focus on the road!

If you are prone to road rage, try having soothing background music or even quiet talk radio playing in the car. This can actually make a difference in your calmness level!

Don’t rely on your horn. If you have a tendency to honk at everyone, consider… not doing that. It not only makes other drivers angry, but can make you angry as well.

Finally, if you’re doing fine but you encounter someone else who is very clearly road raging, let them get past you and don’t give them any trouble. They can go be angry elsewhere – don’t let them jeopardize your safety!