We’re a long way from having to use a hand-crank, but I swear some people still would rather poke their heads out the driver’s window than change wiper blades that have gone south. The time to figure all this out is NOT when it’s raining, or snowing, or sleeting, people.

It is easy as pie to change those blades. Here’s how you do it.

Step 1 – Remove the old blades. First pull the wiper arm away from the car (you don’t want to risk scratching the windshield with the metal arm).  While holding the arm steady, depress the small tab on the underside of the blade. Some require the use of screwdriver to accomplish this. With the tab depressed slide the old blade off the arm by pulling the center of the blade toward the bottom of the arm. Once the blade is off, rest the arm in the down position so it doesn’t spring back and scratch up the glass.

Step 2 – Lining it all up. Okay, this can be a little confusing the first time you try it, but if you just go step by step it will all fall into place. First, raise the wiper arm off the windshield. Then look at the side of the wiper where it attaches to the arm. There’s a little clip right there. One side is curved the other is flat. Spin that clip so the curved side is pointing toward the rubber blade. Got it? Now turn the entire contraption upside down. Now line it up. The curved hook of the wiper arm will now match the curved clip in the middle of the blade assembly.

Step 3 – Click it into place.  Now, you can see where this is going. Slide the blade assembly over the wiper arm with the wiper arm between the sides of the blade assembly with the open end of the hook facing the clip. Move the hook over the rounded clip and pull up snugly until you hear it click into place.  Lay the arm back down against the windshield and repeat on the other side.

Once you get the hang of spinning that rounded clip and lining it all up, this will be second nature and you won’t ever have to drive with your head out the window in a storm.

See you soon.

Invariably you are going to find yourself driving on snowy, icy roads. It is part of the deal living in the Midwest. The best advice I can give you about driving in snow is to not do it. There are a million variables in dry conditions that have to be managed in order to be safe. You end it off the charts when you add snow and ice. But like I said, you’re gonna wind up on the road in a winter storm at some point so, here’s what you have to keep in mind so you make it home safe and give the other drivers around you a shot at making it home safe, too.

1. Get off the gas. This is no time for having a heavy right foot. Decrease your speed and leave more room to stop than usual. At least three times more.
2. Don’t slam on the brakes. You need a gentle touch to avoid skidding. This is why you leave the extra space between you and the car in front of you.
3. Use low gears to keep traction, especially on hills.
4. Don’t use cruise control.
5. Bridges, overpasses and rarely used roads freeze first – even at temperatures above freezing.
6. Don’t assume you can handle everything. No one can. Even four-wheel and front-wheel drive cars can slide away from you. Ice can be stronger than your 2,000 pound car.

Let’s say you do all that and you still find your self gliding around like you’re Disney on Ice. Here’s what you do if your rear wheels skid:

1. Take your foot off the accelerator. Don’t hit the brakes, just take your foot off       the accelerator.
2. Steer in the direction you want your front wheels to go. If your rear wheels are sliding left, steer left. If they’re sliding right, steer right.
3. If they start sliding the other way as you recover, ease the steering wheel in that direction. Nothing sharp or fast, just ease it in.
4. If you have standard brakes, pump them gently.
5. If you have anti-lock brakes (ABS), don’t pump them. Apply steady pressure. Trust me, you’ll feel it pulse.

If you find yourself tooling along and your front wheels start sliding on you this is what you do:

1. Take your foot off the gas and shift to neutral, but don’t try and steer immediately.
2. As the wheels skid sideways, they will slow your car down and traction will return. As it does, steer in the direction you want to go. Then shift back in to Drive, or release the clutch, and keep moving.

Driving on snow and ice isn’t any fun. But the only way to get good at this is to practice. The next time it snows, find an empty parking lot and get a feel for how your car responds. This isn’t an excuse to do donuts like you did back in high school. No, this is about giving yourself every advantage when that moment comes and you have to regain control off your vehicle and the snow and ice have other thoughts.

Drive safe.

Now we’ve all seen cars nose to nose and the thick cables of the jumpers hanging between them, and most of you have probably jumped a few cars in your time, but there is only one way to jump-start a car – the safe way – and I’m going to tell you how to do it.

It seems that winter bring out a case of the jumps. Weak batteries are made weaker by the extreme cold and there just seems to be more cause for learning how to do this right. So here we go.

Step 1 – Turn off everything in the dead car. Everything. No radio, no blinkers, no fan, no nothing. Do the same for the live car, and make sure the cars are not touching.

Step 2 – Check the dead battery for cracks and leaks. If you see it STOP! DON’T DO ANOTHER THING! That puppy will explode if you send the juice from the live car through it. Put the cables down and get a ride to a store and buy a new battery. Period.

Step 3 – Assuming there are no cracks, take a look at the Positive and Negative terminal posts on the dead battery. Are they covered in corrosion? If so, clean it away, and if you have the tools, undo the wires connecting to the posts and clean that, too, and then re-attach. Remember, Positive is usually red or orange, and Negative is usually black. Always double-check.

Now here is the most important step. There is only ONE WAY to do this. Do it any other way and you risk the battery exploding. It happens to people who are in a rush. Don’t let it happen to you.

Step 4 – Connecting the jumper cables safely is your only job. Here’s how you do it:

First: Connect one Positive clamp to the Positive post on dead battery.

Second: Connect the other Positive clamp to the Positive post on the good battery.

Third: Connect a Negative clamp to the negative post on the good battery.

Fourth: Connect the other Negative clamp to a solid, shiny, non-painted metal part of the engine. A painted, dirty or oily nut will not work. Avoid putting the clamp on the battery itself. There will be a spark when you connect the ground and complete the circuit.

Step 5 – From here on out there are two possibilities for you. 1) Once the circuit is made simply run the live car for a few minutes to re-charge the dead battery. Then turn the live car off. Take the cables off in the reverse order you put them on, and then start the dead car. Often times this will be enough to get the dead car started. If it doesn’t go back to Step 1 and complete each step again and then 2) after a few minutes of the live car running, turn over the dead car with cables attached. Once the engine catches disconnect the cables in the reverse order you put them on and let the once dead car run for a few minutes.

Step 6 – Turn the once dead car off. You heard me turn it off. You want to find out right now, if your battery is holding a charge, so turn it off and try and start it again. If it starts, great. If it don’t, then you’re going to need more help than a jump.

Step 7 – Have someone follow you home to make sure there are no further breakdowns and as soon as you can bring your car into a shop you trust (like QUALITY TIRE SERVICE in Spring Grove, IL) and have a technician give it the once over.

Well, that’s the lesson for today. Hopefully, you won’t need it, but if you do you’ll know how to do it safely. And if you have any questions always check your Owner’s Manual.

Be safe.

If you’re one of those people who trade in their cars every few years you probably think everything is covered by warranty and you’ve got nothing to do but fill it with gas and go. And you’d be right, for a while.

Here’s the thing, there are no warranties that will cover you if you let the oil get too low and the engine seizes, won’t cover you if you let sludge build up in the engine. Beyond all that, if you drive it hard and don’t do the basics (see Part 2) you’ll get less money on trade-in.

Think of it this way, you’ve got a ton of money committed to the car (even if you never pay off) and that money represents your hard work and sacrifice, now, if you had a pile of money on your coffee table that was equal to the cost of your car, would you open all the windows and turn the fan on and hope none flew out the window?

Well, even with new cars, especially with new cars because your investment is so high, you have to do the little things to protect that investment. So, remember:

•  Oil change

•  Tire rotation

•  Wash it! (Bird droppings eat away at your finish)

•  Listen to your car! New cars should be free of wobbles, hiccups and burps.

Oh, and remember this, too: you DON’T HAVE to take your car to the dealer for warranty work. My crew at QUALITY TIRE SERVICE can handle it all, and we do warranty work, too.

Drive safe. Drive well. Drive by and see us soon.

Ok, you are one of those folks who wants their car to run as long as possible at the lowest possible cost. I know, I know that’s everybody, but humor me. If you want your vehicle to continue to serve you and your needs there are some things you have to do to serve it:

•  Change you oil and filter every 3,000 to 5,000 miles.

•  Check your fluid levels whenever you tank up.

•  Wash and wax your car – you’d be amazed at the damage done to cars from dirt, salt and grime.

•  Align and balance your car every 12,000 miles or so.

•  Rotate the tires (including the matching spare) every 6,000 miles or so.

•  Tune it up to keep your MPG as high as she goes.

•  Pay Attention to how she drives and act when something first pops up – not when it falls apart.

Now, that’s seven things for you to keep in mind to keep your car on the road at the lowest cost – it ain’t perfect, but it goes a long way to achieving your goal. Some of you reading this will say, John, all that is common sense. Well, answer this question, how common is common sense? Not very, we all need to be reminded once in while about those everyday things we need to stay on top of – like switching out your light bulbs to those twisty fluorescent ones.

More next time, and keep it safe, and if  you ever find yourself in Spring Grove, stop by QUALITY TIRE SERVICE, and we’ll have a cup of coffee.

Now, I’m not saying that the folks who pamper their car get the best return on their investment in terms of actual performance. Far from it. For those folks the ROI has more to do with how they feel about themselves than how well the car performs.

So, I ask you, what is the meaning of your car?

•  Point A to Point B and take care of it when something is wrong?

•  Keep it running at the lowest possible cost for the longest possible time?

•  Keep it looking and running great for twenty years?

•  Trade it in every few years and always drive a new car?

•  It’s your “baby” and nothing is too good for it?

No one answer is better than the other, because we all have different priorities and financial constraints. The one thing that does ring true though is your car means something to you and that something affects how you maintain it.

Over the next few posts I’ll run down some of things you need to keep in mind depending on how you answered the question.

So, think about it for a minute, and check back to see what works for you. Until then, drive safe and if something goes kablouie in the meantime just give me a call at QUALITY TIRE SERVICE in Spring Grove, IL and we’ll get you rolling again.

Set aside the politics of it, what is so crushing about the whole debacle is the number of jobs that have been lost and how those losses trickle down into every community in this country. Not only did the assembly line workers take it on the chin, but so did parts manufacturers, dealerships and the folks employed at those dealerships. All because Detroit was asleep at the wheel while the world passed it by in innovation and forward thinking.

I’ll get off my soapbox here because all of that mess has a very real impact on the car you are driving today.

Let’s say you’ve got a car still under warranty and your dealership has closed. What do you do? You can drive to the next nearest dealer, or you can take it to an independent shop like ours. Don’t let anybody kid you – just check with your local shop to see if they can do warranty work. We do, so if you aren’t in our neighborhood, check around where you live for the nearest and best shop you can find.

But beyond the warranty work issue lies the biggest one facing anybody on the road today: parts. This gutting of the American auto industry has turned the spigot off parts-wise. A lot of parts suppliers went under after not getting paid by the Big Three and that has hurt us all. Time was I could get any part I needed, worse case scenario, within 48 -72 hours. Now I’ve got customers waiting two weeks for certain, uncommon parts.

The turmoil in Michigan was about more than new cars. Jobs, parts, local economies and the ability to keep your car on the road were also affected.

Since I am now a shareholder in GM, I think I’ll take a road trip to the Motor City with my guys here at QUALITY TIRE SERVICE and sit those boys and girls down and show ‘em how its done.

If most folks thought that, then most folks would be wrong.

One of my favorite things about this business is how almost no one knows how smart mechanics are, how much training and certification they go through just to be able to bend a wrench on your behalf.  Remember, career guys like me have seen cars change from sticking a screwdriver in a carburetor to get the gas/air mix going again to the series of computers that run your car today. What applied 20 years ago, heck, 5 years ago, is out the door today.

Except running a repair shop like QUALITY TIRE SERVICE, we see 30 year old cars to last year’s model and we have to know how to fix ‘em all. Like I said, you have to have a fire in your belly about fixing things to handle not just the physical demands of the job, but have the ability to hold all of that experience in your head and call on it when the need arises.

That sort of glazed over, distant stare I mentioned just a minute ago, that’s the surest sign I know that one of my guys is on the trail to solving some seemingly impossible problem with a customer’s car. When I see that look I know their mind is running through all the possibilities, checking the likelihood of each one, accessing their experience, zeroing in on the solution.

It ain’t perfect, but I tell you what, I’ve seen more satisfied customers after I’ve seen that look than Carter’s has pills. It just pleases me no end that some of the smartest people I know are covered from head to toe in dirt and oil.

Sure, there have been lots of changes to the way our cars today operate, but what hasn’t changed is the need for everyone driving a car to have a good mechanic they can rely on to figure out what’s wrong and then fix it right – the first time. Now, no one is perfect, but we’ve been in business over 50 years and that tells you something about how we go abut our work.

I’m told that given all I’ve seen, all I’ve done, all the stories I know about cars and the people who drive them, I should put some of that down to paper – except no one hardly uses paper any more. It’s all on-line now. What used to be called a journal or a diary is now called a blog. And you know what, I love it.

This is a chance for me to talk to my customers when they’re not at the shop, a chance to pass along a bit of what I know to help you keep your car safely on the road. And it’s kind of like the old pickle barrel at a general store – I’ll swap some stories here and hope to hear from you as well.

Check back often, or better still, sign up to receive these posts in your email. Either way I hope I can be of some service to you and your car.

All the best.