Valentine’s Day Love for your Car

Car maintenance tips for Valentine’s Day:

Your car does not want flowers, balloons, or even candy this Valentine’s Day.

It  just wants a little love in the form of tender loving care, such as an oil change and tune-up.

There’s no debating the value of preventive maintenance to keep Old Breakdown from living up to its name, and to help you drive safely on your real Valentine’s Day date,

These care care tips from the Car Care Council are loving and caring year-round, not just on Valentine’s Day:

Change the oil and filter every 3,000 miles or three months, or whatever your owner’s manual recommends.

• That will help keep your engine clean on the inside.

Check the tire pressure at least monthly, including the spare.

• Your car’s tires affect its ride, handling, traction and safety.

Schedule an annual tune-up to keep your vehicle at top performance. Think of it as the four-wheel version of the annual medical check-up you have for your own body.

• A well-tuned engine delivers the best balance of power and fuel economy and produces the lowest level of emissions.

Have the alignment checked at least annually.  Normal wear and tear and especially potholes  can take their toll on steering and suspension.

• A wheel alignment reduces tire wear, improves fuel economy and handling, and increases driving enjoyment and safety.

Inspect the windshield wipers and lights, since ipers and lights play a major role in safe driving.  Replace blades and bulbs that need to be replaced, especially wiper blades.

• Don’t wait until you are driving in a blinding rainstorm or snowstorm to find out they don’t work properly.

The best tips for winter driving in snow and ice is to accelerate and brake gently and slow down.

Drive safely.  Valentine’s Day and every day.