Spring Car Care Tips

With springtime now in full bloom, we thought we’d share a few care care tips to help keep your Mazda in top shape this spring.

The most important and most obvious starting place is performance of routine maintenance as indicated by your Mazda owner’s manual.  This includes changing the oil and flushing of other fluids among other things.

Next, replace your wiper blades and filters.  This could include your air filter, oil filter, or fuel filter among a few others that have become clogged or dirty beyond cleaning.

Also check that your tires are ready for springtime's heat and rain.  Winter and snow aren't friendly to cars, especially the tires, and can cause low tire pressure which might result in unbalanced tread wear.

Finally, make sure your engine is good to go.  This means your serpentine belt is tight and your car is starting easily and running smoothly at idle.  A few causes for these problems relate to electrical malfunctions, be it in the ignition or sensors.  Also be sure to make your A/C is functioning properly as it can effect your Mazda’s cooling abilities.

Vehcile Maintenance Mistakes

If you happen to have the extra time to perform some routine vehicle maintenance, it's a great way to save some cash and put it toward more important vehicle services.  However, a lot of us are guilty of some common, but not well known, maintenance mistakes.  Here's a few of the more common of these easy-to-make vehicle maintenance mistakes:

- Tire Inflation.  Many times, people take the reading on the tire's sidewall as the recommended air pressure.  Usually, this is the maximum recommended pressure the tire can withstand, and filling to this pressure could result in a tire blowout among other things.  People assume that higher air pressure results in better mileage, performance, etc. but it can actually lead to improperly balanced tread wear as well as a rough ride and decreased mileage.  Decreased performance and shorter tire life are ultimately the results of over-inflating.  Rotating your tires will also help with any asymmetrical tread wear.

- The "tune up."  Vehicles no longer need regular adjustment of parts, such as carburetors, ignition timing, and valve adjustments.  New vehicle computers take care of all these components themselves, leaving only spark plug replacement associated with the "tune up" moniker.

- Higher octane fuel.  It's easy to assume that higher octane fuel, because of its cost and some loose associations to certain types of vehicles, results in better performance and/or efficiency.  The truth is, the octane rating is an indication of the fuel's ability to resist fuel ignition, also called knocking.  New car technology, such as knock sensors, and OEM's have a recommendation for the proper octane fuel to be used, so it's important to follow the suggestion in order to maintain your vehicle's optimum performance.

Check out this article for more maintenance mistakes and how to correct them. If you'd rather have these services done by Parks Mazda, we'd be glad to assist you!