Do you have a problem with blind spots in your vehicle? Do you often find yourself being surprised by vehicles seemingly coming out of nowhere? Then you might need to do some adjusting and improving of your mirrors to make sure that those blind spots are totally eliminated.

One thing you can do is buy some aftermarket stick-on convex mirrors that are small enough to fit in the outer corners of your wing mirrors. Make sure your mirrors are clean and then stick the new ones on – make sure they are in the outer corners! Ensure they have adhered all the way and you’re all set.

The other thing you can do that involves less sticking-on of things is adjust your mirrors in a very specific way:

• Adjust your rearview mirror to give you a view directly to the rear. Make it so that it best covers your rear window view. Don’t tilt it to get side views – just straight back through your window.

• Lean your head until it almost touches your driver’s side window. Adjust your left side mirror so you can just barely see the side of your car – no more.

• Lean your head to the passenger side as far as you can comfortably while still sitting up and adjust the right mirror so you can barely see the right side of your car.

• You shouldn’t be able to see the side of your car when your head is all the way upright!

Test that one out and see how you like it!

If you are like me and have trouble driving at night, then you don’t need to fear because I am here! With tips! It’s never easy to get in your vehicle and get driving when it’s dark out, especially in the weather we’ve been having, but hopefully, my tips will work for you and help make driving in the dark a little easier!

I had a conversation with a friend recently and she asked me if I used “glare reducing” glasses at night. This usually means tinted glasses that say they cut down on the brightness of the lights coming your way. I said no, because even though the glasses might help with headlight brightness, the pigment in them blocks light from reaching your eyes, and when it’s dark out you’ll need all the light you can get so that you can see the road well.

That being said, when another vehicle approaches you with those bright lights, an easy tip is to divert your eyes to the white line on the side of the road as they pass. You’ll be able to stay in your lane while avoiding getting the spots in your eyes from bright lights, which can obstruct your vision.

The last tip is to just stay in if you feel that driving at night would be unsafe. Try to find someone who can give you a ride if you need one, but if you don’t need to go anywhere then just don’t. Start reading a new book, and be glad you’re safe at home.

With the onset of winter and freezing, unnaturally cold weather that makes us wonder why we live in places where the air hurts our faces, we also encounter things from time to time that include frozen windshields in the morning and sticky icy doors on our cars. It’s easy to take care of this, but sometimes you might be tempted to scrape with something out of the ordinary, and that could cost you your car’s paint job and cause scratches on your windshield, or worse. Keep reading to find out the best ways to de-ice in a flash without causing a scratch!

First of all, invest in a good plastic scraper. These are inexpensive and can live unobtrusively in your car forever. Use this on your windshield in conjunction with your defroster and you’ll be great to go.

Second, you can make a solution for defrosting your windshield out of one part rubbing alcohol, two parts water, and a spray bottle. Mix this up, and if you go outside in the morning and see that your windshield is frosted over, spray a little of this on. Run your wipers after a minute and see the frost literally melt away!

Third, if your doors and locks are frozen, pour a little cold water on them. Hot will just freeze again and ruin your life even more, but cold water will help to unfreeze your lock and let you into your car easily.

Winter doesn’t have to be a life ruiner! You got this.

When was your last oil change? Think on that for a second, and then think on this information that we have for you on the subject of the Oil Change!

People often say that there is a specific time- or mileage-based interval that you need to strictly adhere to between oil changes. Usually, that’s 6 months or 3,000 miles. However, based on some variables, that interval is totally off:

• The age of your car

• The type of oil you use

• How many miles are on your car

• What conditions you usually drive in

• How hard you drive your car

So based on these, your oil changes might not need to be as frequent, or they might need to be more frequent. Only your dealer can really tell you, since they know exactly what your vehicle might need at every stage of its life.

You should also be checking your oil at least once a month to make sure your engine is healthy and that nothing catastrophic has happened that you didn’t know about. Other than that, make sure you get regular oil changes and remember to check your oil regularly! Stay in contact with your dealer and listen to their advice! You got this!!

Did you know that it’s really important that you check your oil at least once a month? It is! Of course, you should get your oil changed as regularly as your dealer recommends, but the oil is one surefire way to make sure that your vehicle’s engine is in good shape and not having any trouble. If you’re unfamiliar with how to check your oil, we’ve put together this easy guide on how to do it. Now go outside and check your oil right now – well, right after you finish reading!

• Open the hood and prop it up.

• Locate the oil dipstick next to the engine. It should have a yellow handle and/or be labeled.

• Pull out the dipstick and wipe it on a clean cloth or paper towel.

• Dip the stick all the way back in.

• Pull it out again and look at the oil level – if it’s in the middle of the hatched/indicated area, you’re good. More is better, less is okay, but if you’re lower than the area you need to get your oil topped up and have your system checked for leaks.

• Look at the oil quality and color. If there are a lot of particles or if the oil looks sludgy, you need to get it changed as soon as possible.

• Put the dipstick back in.

• Close your hood.

In this day and age, it seems like one of the most important things to consider when buying a new vehicle is the gas mileage. With good MPG’s, you not only save money but also the environment (especially when considering electric vehicles or hybrid vehicles). But how can you get good mileage in an older vehicle? Luckily, there are some tips and tricks that we know to help increase your MPG’s! Of course, you won’t go from getting 20 MPG to getting 70, but you know what I mean. These tips will hopefully help you see a 1-5 mile increase in your MPGs… so let us know how they work!

First of all, take your foot off the gas. Speeding is the number one reason you might be getting bad gas mileage! When driving on the highway, use cruise control as much as possible. It not only helps you maintain a safe and consistent rate of speed, but it eliminates the accidental acceleration and deceleration that can come from speeding and that make your MPGs go down.

When you’re stopped somewhere, don’t idle your vehicle. If you know you’re going to be stopping for more than a couple of minutes, turn your vehicle off. You’ll save gas and the environment.

If you’ve got a storage box or a bike rack on your roof, consider switching to something rear-mounted. The aerodynamic quality of your vehicle is what helps your mileage, and so when you decrease how much drag is affecting your vehicle you are also decreasing your fuel economy.

The final tip is to focus on driving safely. When drivers focus on the road, they are less likely to get into an accident or speed, which are both things that can make your mileage plummet. Try it out!

Holidays mean road trips, at least in my family, and that also means that I have to be ready to entertain the kids AND my husband while we’re making the four hour trip to his mom’s house. Four hours to a kid (yes, my husband is fully a child on the inside… like all men are) seems like a million years, so I have devised a failproof kit for road trips that has everything I need as a driver and everything the kids need for entertainment. I’ve added some things to it so it’s more universal, but this should serve you well for any road trip occasion this season (and, honestly, any time of year).

In The Car

• Blankets and pillows

• Music

• Folding chairs

• Reading material

• Camera

• Cash for toll roads

• GPS

• Binoculars

• Wet wipes

• Puzzle books and quiet toys for kids

• Pen, pencil, notepad

• Tissues, paper towels, toilet paper

• Small bags for garbage

Vehicle Emergency Kit

• Flashlight, roadside signal flares or reflective cones/warning signs

• First aid kit

• Booster cables, wrenches, screwdrivers (basic toolkit)

• Gallon jug of water

• Extra washer fluid, oil, transmission oil, brake fluid

• Rags, workshop towels, old blanket

• Gloves

• Spare belts (alternator, fan and air conditioner belts)

• Candle, warm clothes, heavy blanket (for winter travel)

• Duct tape and WD40

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?!??