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Keep Your Car Running Smoothly With These Tips

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This post brought to you by Pep Boys and Techron. All opinions are 100% mine.

My family has taken a lot of road trips this summer because we take advantage of the vacation time to visit friends and family who live several states away. So, at the start of summer, I made sure my minivan was prepared for all the long hours on the road. As we head into the busy school and sports season, I realized it was time for me to tend to my vehicle again. Since I’m not the only mom who has to worry about getting kids to and from school and activities, I thought some of you might appreciate the reminder along with a few helpful tips.

Oil Change Appointment

Vehicles perform best with regular oil changes. Depending on the make and model of your car, oil changes are recommended every 3000-5000 miles. I’m actually a few hundred miles early but am going to schedule mine now before the back-to-school rush eats up all my free time. Most oil change facilities will also check your fluid levels, filters, and tire pressure. If the shop where you take your car doesn’t specifically state this anywhere, it doesn’t hurt to ask. Sure, you can check these things yourself but if you can get it done for free by someone who works on vehicles all day, why not?

Tire Rotation

You should get your tires rotated every other oil change, or every 7500-10000 miles.  Ideally, you should rotate your tires once every six months. Rotating the tires helps ensure that you wear down the treads evenly, leading to greater fuel efficiency, less cabin noise, and longer tire life.

Windshield Wiper Blades

Windshield wipers tend to get neglected because you don’t pay attention to them until you need them. The middle of a torrential downpour is a bad time to realize that your windshield wipers aren’t working well. We typically replace ours in early spring after winter has done a number on them and before the April showers start. Most people can get away with replacing the blades once a year, but heading into hurricane season I always like to check them to make sure they are in good shape.

Techron Fuel System Cleaner

Because my husband is in the military and is frequently gone for months at a time, he taught me years ago basic vehicle maintenance skills. Learning to rotate the tires and change the oil were fairly labor-intensive lessons, but one of the most important lessons he taught me was as simple as opening a bottle and pouring it in my fuel tank. The Techron Fuel System Cleaner is a magical (my interpretation) fluid that cleans your engine resulting in:

  • Maximum power – great for those of us who have to merge onto busy interstates full of impatient drivers
  • Lower emissions – a bonus for all of us concerned with our carbon footprint
  • Maximized fuel economy – important to anyone who has to pay for their own gas

You too, can perform your own vehicle maintenance (no one has to know how easy it was!) by stopping in at Pep Boys to pick up some Techron Fuel System Cleaner. After you’ve finished the (not so) back-breaking work of pouring it in your gas tank, you can sleep well knowing you’ve done your part to save the planet, save money, and improved your vehicle’s performance!

28 thoughts on “Keep Your Car Running Smoothly With These Tips”

  1. This is my husband’s department. I’ll have to tell or ask him about this. It’s definitely good to get your car maintained. You just never know when mishaps can happen, especially since you have a husband in the military who might not be able to help you right away.

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  2. My FIL is a MASTER at keeping a car running smoothly… I have learned quite a bit from him and my husband about that. These are great tips!!

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  3. I love Pep Boys! I used to take my car to them to them all of the time. Now we don’t live close to Pep Boys. These are all great tips!

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  4. I think it is so important to take good care of my car and to keep up with regularly scheduled maintenance appointments. I know it will make my care run smoothly in the long run.

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  5. This is soooo important! I am lucky and my hubby takes care of all of this right now. However, when we first got together (over 10 years ago) he made sure that I knew how to do it all myself. So I now know how to change my oil and all!

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  6. All good tips, and I’ll tell you what, the worst time to find out your windshield wipers need replaced is when it starts to rain!

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  7. Gone are the days I can say I remember to do my maintenance. After we had the kiddo, I barely have time to look at the tires, much less do work. Thank goodness for my Acura dealership 🙂 lol.

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  8. Hum–even I could throw some of that into my gas tank–I can not pump gas due to the fact hat my hands and arm are no longer strong enough-but I think I might be able to manage this.

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  9. I need to do most of the above! I actually went and cleaned out my car today and vacuumed it well! Now I’m looking for some spot remover for cars to clean the carpet! I’m ready to take better care of my car!

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  10. These are terrific tips! I totally agree with you on them. I learned a hard lesson recently with my car. I didn’t get the tires rotated like I was supposed to and ended up replacing all 4 tires because there was an alignment issue I wasn’t aware of. My car isn’t even 2 years old so that was a hard and expensive lesson for me.

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  11. My brother in law usually takes care of all of our car issues. But these are some great tips! Thank you! I may have to use them soon!

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  12. I usually take ours for the oil change! These are really good tips. Where I go usually rotates the tires for free as well.

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  13. Those are great tips! Proper maintenance on your car is also good for the environment. I don’t have a car, just me and my bicycle.

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  14. These are some really great tips. The only ones I do regularly are the tire rotation and the oil change. I never remember the wiper blades until it starts raining/snowing and then I realize they need to be changed. Never head of the Techron Fuel System Cleaner. There’s a Pep Boys near me I’ll have to run in there and get that. Sounds like something I’m definitely going to need.

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  15. I need to be better about getting my car checked regularly once the warranty runs out I tend not to want to pay the yearly costs.

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  16. I am like Terry. My husband does that stuff for me. Oh and he even drives me every where. I really hate to drive. I am glad your husband taught your hoe to maintain the care and thank you and him for your service to our country!

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  17. Great Tips!! Thank goodness my Hubs takes care of all the automobiles we have and all I have to do is drive them. If I didn’t have my Hubs,… I would need the Pep Boys.

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  18. Thanks for this list! I am so bad at taking my car for regular maintenance and I know they are all important, esp the regular oil changes. I try to leave it up to the hubby to remember all this but he’s always so busy with work we forget alot. :-/ Usually we don’t remember the wiper blades aren’t great until it starts raining. We go for long droughts here in south texas without rain.

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