Pierre Money Mart Blog

Safety First

Spark plug wires are pretty durable. They aren’t a moving part so they don’t wear out too often. A careful inspection of your plug wires can avoid any problems.

The only thing that can really go wrong with a plug wire is a break in the insulation. The insulation (the rubber on the outside of the wire) keeps the electricity where it needs to be so it sparks on the inside of your engine, not someplace else before it gets there. If the insulation is cracked, the spark will jump off the wire, or arc, onto something metal under the hood.

An arcing plug wire can cause a weak spark or no spark at all in the cylinder with the bad wire. This makes your car run rough and can affect your gas mileage. It can also cause unburned fuel to pass into the exhaust system where it can harm your catalytic convertor. There have even been stories that involve both a fuel leak and an arcing plug wire, resulting in a fire! It can happen.

A good time to check your wires would be while you change your spark plugs. So do a quick inspection and save yourself some headache. Here’s how:

With your engine off, start at the distributor end of the plug wire and work your way toward the plug end. You’re looking for anything that is not smooth, pliable rubber. Bend the wires slightly to be sure no cracks appear. Check the boots at the distributor end of the wires to be sure they are not torn or cracked. Finally, check the wires at the spark plug end one at a time by pulling it off the plug and inspecting the end for any tears or cracks. Also look to be sure there is no burning or darkening of the end.

If you find any damage, it’s time to buy a new set. They can be as little as $20 or as much as $100+ for a set depending on your application. It’s worth the cost, though. A bad plug wire can be a little monster, it can even trigger your Check Engine Light.

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Twelve tips to help you keep your car running forever
Improvements in technology, build quality and metallurgy mean that cars are living longer and longer, even in the Rust Belt. And it’s not just Japanese cars, either — domestics and Europeans are giving reliable service up to, and well past, 150,000 miles.

With proper care and feeding, virtually any car can be kept running as long as the owner wants to keep it. Here are twelve guidelines to keeping your car alive well into six-figure territory.

* Buy a good car to begin with. Though Japanese cars are generally the most reliable, don’t dismiss American cars — their quality is improving and they are often less expensive to repair. European cars are generally the most expensive to fix. If you’re shopping, talk to owners of similar cars about their experiences.

* Follow the maintenance schedule in your owner’s manual. If your car has a “maintenance minder”, use that as a guideline for service, but be sure to double-check your owner’s manual as some items need to be replaced based on time rather than mileage. # Don’t forget the timing belt! Most cars need to have the timing belt replaced every 60,000 to 90,000 miles. It’s not cheap, but it’s far less expensive than the damage it causes if it breaks.

# Keep a repair fund. Cars do break, and there’s nothing like a $1,500 repair bill to scare an old-car owner into the new-car showroom. Remember, your car would have to generate repair bills of around $5,000 per year for at least four years in a row to even approach the cost of a new car. In place of your payment, try putting $100 or $200 per month into an interest-bearing car-repair account. That way an unexpected repair or major maintenance won’t disrupt your normal cash flow.

# Do your homework. Many cars have known problems that tend to pop up under certain circumstances or after enough mileage/time. Most makes and models have Web sites and forums devoted to them; they can be a gold mine of information. Knowing your car is prone to a given problem isn’t necessarily cause to get rid of it; it just allows you to be prepared.

# Be aware. Be on the lookout for new noises, strange smells or anything that just doesn’t feel right. If something seems amiss, talk to your mechanic or dealership. Don’t let them tell you “that’s normal” — if you’ve been driving your car long enough, you know best what normal is.

# Ask a friend to drive. Every two or three months, ask a friend to take you for a drive in your own car. Some problems appear or increase so gradually that you may not even notice them, but they’ll stick out like a sore thumb to someone less familiar. And by riding along in the passenger’s seat, you may spot something you missed while preoccupied with driving.

# Fix everything as soon as it breaks. If you’re going to keep your car as long as possible, you have to want to keep it as long as possible. Don’t ignore seemingly unimportant problems like broken trim bits, torn upholstery, or electrical glitches. Little annoyances tend to add up and can begin to erode your love affair with your old car.

# Use quality replacement parts. Whether or not to use genuine manufacturer parts is open to debate, but don’t just opt for the least expensive parts you can find. Discuss options with your mechanic or parts store. If a non-wearing part is damaged, consider buying a used replacement — you’ll get manufacturer quality at a more affordable price.

# Keep it clean. Paint does more than make your car look good; it protects the materials underneath. Wash your car regularly. When water no longer beads on the paint, wax it.

# Fight rust. If you live where it snows, be sure to wash the car regularly — but only if the temperature is above freezing. (Below freezing the salt stays in solution and won’t harm the car.) Don’t park in a heated garage; melting snow allows embedded salt to attack. Make sure your car wash does not recycle their water — otherwise they’re just spraying your car with salt from other people’s vehicles.

# Drive gently. There’s no need to baby your car; in fact, a little foot-to-the-floor acceleration every once in a while is a good thing, but driving like a wannabe Michael Schumaker in his Formula 1 Ferrari isn’t good for your car (or your nerves).

# Gloat! If you enjoy the surprised looks people give you when you tell them your car has 150,000 miles on it, wait until you see their faces at 200,000. If people chide you about your old wheels, chide them about their car payments and higher insurance rates. Keeping your car as long as possible saves you hundreds of dollars per month; keeping it in good repair minimizes the environmental impact by ensuring that it runs cleanly and efficiently as possible. Feel free to gloat — you and your car have earned it!
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A break down or accident is bad any time, but worse during harsh winter weather. A few inexpensive items kept in your car during winter months can increase safety and reduce misery. Ideally, your emergency kit should fulfill four priorities: Get help, stay safe, stay warm, and stay occupied.

1. Get help
Roadside assistance: Many new cars include a roadside assistance program which will provide towing if your car breaks down. The American Automobile Association (AAA) and Canadian Automobile Association (CAA) are probably the best-known and most reliable third-party roadside assistance programs.

Mobile phone and car charger: If you don’t have a mobile phone, consider buying an inexpensive pre-paid unit to keep in your car so you can call for assistance. Make sure you have a car charger; many new cars have power outlets in the center console storage box so you can charge your phone away from the eyes of potential thieves.

OnStar: An option on many new cars, the OnStar system can get a live operator on the phone with the press of a button, and will automatically summon help if your car’s airbags deploy. OnStar relies on the vehicle electrical system, so carry a cell phone as a backup.

2. Stay safe
Emergency flares and/or hazard triangles: Winter accidents frequently result in damage to your car’s taillights, which means your hazard flashers will not work. In a snowstorm, other cars may not see a wreck until it’s too late to avoid it. Set out flares or hazard triangles to warn cars and avoid a second collision. In the event the car goes off the road in deep snow, these items can also help emergency services personnel locate you and your car.

First aid kit (compare prices): Bad weather may delay emergency workers, so it’s a good idea to carry a small, simple first aid kit in case of an accident.

Small LED flashlight: Don’t rely on the vehicle’s electrical system for light — if it’s working, you want to conserve the car’s battery as much as possible. LED flashlights use much less energy than regular incandescent flashlights, making them a great choice for your emergency kit. The Mini Maglite LED is more expensive than many small flashlights (around $18, compare prices), but it’s rugged construction makes it worth the price.

3. Stay warm
Emergency blanket: Most cars use the engine to produce heat, so if the engine conks out, so does the heater. Even if the engine is working – say, after an accident – running the engine is a safety gamble, because if the exhaust system has rust holes or damage, fatal exhaust fumes can seep into the passenger compartment. Besides, your car may not be the safest place to be in an emergency. Emergency blankets are small, light and cheap (less than $5, compare prices). Buy extras if you frequently travel with passengers.

Ski hats: Experts say that 30 to 40 percent of body heat can be lost through the head. Carry a few inexpensive beanie-style winter hats, big enough to cover the ears.

4. Stay occupied
Children’s books or games: If you travel with children, keep a few emergency activities stowed away to fight boredom and keep the kids occupied while you wait for help.

Read more: Travel games to play with kids
Non-perishable snacks: Munchies help pass the time and will keep your energy and morale up while you wait for help. You don’t need to lay in supplies for a week-long stay; a couple of granola bars and/or some dried fruit or nuts in a non-glass container will suffice.

Where to carry your emergency kit
The most logical place to store your emergency kit would be the trunk — problem is if you’re in a collision that damages the rear end of the car, you may not be able to get the trunk open. Consider carrying your emergency kit in a small duffel bag and storing it in the passenger’s footwell, where it can be easily accessed by the driver (and where it won’t become a projectile in a collision). If your kit includes flares and you travel with children, store the flares in the trunk and keep a backup hazard triangle in the bag.

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Get your wheels ready for cold and snow

Winters used to be tough on cars, but today’s vehicles are designed to operate well over a wide rage of temperatures, from bitterly cold to stiflingly hot. By and large, a thorough winterization is no longer necessary — but if you live where it snows, there are a few things you can do to prepare your car for winter.

Check the coolant for the proper mix of antifreeze and water. You can have a mechanic do this or you can buy a tester at your local auto parts store.

Check the oil recommendations in your car’s owner manual. Some manufacturers recommend a different grade of oil that flows better in cold temperatures.

Check the battery, specifically the level of electrolyte. If it’s low, top it off with distilled water. (Note: Electrolyte can be nasty stuff; wear eye protection and consider having a mechanic check it for you.)

Consider buying a set of snow tires.They do a much better job than the all-weather tires fitted to most cars. If you’ve upgraded the wheels on your car, mounting the snows on the original wheels will make changing over much easier.

Replace your windshield wiper blades with snow blades.

Make sure you’ve got a snow brush and an ice scraper somewhere in the car.

If your car has air conditioning, run it at least once a month. (Hint: Running the A/C will speed up window defogging.)

Stock up on windshield washer fluid and top the washer tank off regularly. Be careful not to pour windshield washer fluid into the wrong tank!
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Five questions (and answers) about winter tires

Q: What makes snow tires different from regular tires?

A: Snow tires (also known as winter tires) have tread patterns specifically designed to dig down and bite into snow and ice, plus they are made from softer rubber compounds that retain their flexibility in cold weather, allowing the tire to better conform to the surface of the road. (Regular tires tend to get hard and brittle in cold temperatures.) As a result, winter tires keep a better grip on snowy and icy surfaces than regular all-season or summer tires. Grip is critical — not just to avoid getting stuck, but to ensure that the car can stop and steer. Life-saving safety technologies such as antilock brakes, electronic stability control and all-wheel-drive cannot do their jobs if the tires can’t maintain their grip on the road surface.

Q: My car has all-season tires. Aren’t those good enough?

Short answer: Not really, no.

Long answer: All-season (also known as all-weather) tires are designed to cope with all sorts of conditions, including dry roads and rain, but are not optimized for any one condition. They are generally made from harder materials that don’t conform to the road surface as well in low temperatures. Think of all-season tires as sneakers and snow tires as heavy-duty snow boots. It is possible to walk down a snowy, icy sidewalk wearing sneakers — but it’s a lot easier and safer to do it with proper snow boots.

Q: Can I put snow tires on just the drive wheels of my car?

A: Putting just two snow tires on your car is a bad idea. If you have a front-wheel-drive car and put snow tires on the front only, the back wheels won’t have anywhere near as much grip as the front wheels. This will make the car much more likely to spin out while braking or cornering. Likewise, if you put snow tires on the just back wheels of a rear-wheel-drive car, the wheels that do the steering won’t grip as well as those that provide the power, so the car may not respond when the steering wheel is turned — it will simply plow straight ahead. Always install snow tires as a full set of four.

Q: Can I leave my snow tires on all year?

A: You can, but it’s not a good idea. Snow tires tend to be noisier, plus the softer compounds from which they are made means they will wear out faster, especially in warm weather. Wear is critical, because winter tires rely on their deep tread to dig into snow and ice. As soon as the snow is gone for good, remove your snow tires and reinstall your regular tires. The good news: Since you’re savvy enough to use snow tires, you don’t need to stick with the all-season tires that came with your car for the rest of the year — you can choose a “summer” tire that will provide better handling, better traction in the rain, or a smoother, quieter ride.

Q: Unmounting one set of tires and mounting another at the beginning and end of winter is a pain. Is there an easier way?

A: Yes! Buy an extra set of wheels from a salvage yard and use those for your snow tires. The wheels don’t have to be the exact same design, so long as they are the same diameter and have the same bolt pattern as your car’s original wheels. If you’ve purchased aftermarket wheels, keep the stock wheels and use those for your snow tires. That way, when it comes time to change from summer tires to snow tires, all you have to do is have the wheels changed — a quick and inexpensive job.

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Checking tires is quick and easy – and vital to safety

Tires are one of the most important — and oft-overlooked — components of our cars. Automakers can spend all the time and money they want on engineering a car for handling are comfort, but in the end, the tires are the only thing that attach our car to the road. A problem with a tire affects ride comfort, handling and safety. Here are some simple tire safety tips to help keep you and your car’s occupants safe.

Check your tire pressure regularly. Tires tend to lose air over time. Buy a digital tire gauge and check your tires once a month and before a long trip. Proper inflation pressures can be found in your owner’s manual or on a sticker on the car (usually on the driver’s doorjamb or fuel-filler lid — see photo.) Remember to check tire pressure only after the car has been sitting for several hour in order to ensure that the tires are cold — the friction of driving heats the tires and increases pressure, which can hide an under-inflated tire.

Address under-inflated tires immediately. An under-inflated tire has more rolling resistance which increases fuel consumption.It also creates more heat, which can lead to tire failure.

Don’t forget the spare. Getting a flat tire and discovering that your spare is flat too is a miserable experience. Inspect your spare as you would your other tires. If you have a compact spare, the inflation pressure will usually be written on the tire. If your car comes with a compressor and/or flat repair kit in lieu of a spare, check their operation regularly.

Check for tread depth. Check tread depth by placing the edge of a penny upside-down into the grooves of the tire’s tread. (Photo here.) If you can see all of Lincoln’s head, it’s time for a new set of tires. Never buy a single tire — it’s best to replace all four tires at once, but at the very least they should be bought as axle pairs (both fronts or both rears). Rotating your tires every 5,000 to 7,000 miles will help ensure that all four tires wear at the same rate.

Check for even wear. When you check tread depth, check both the inside and outside edge of the tires. Uneven tire wear is usually a sign that your car is out of alignment. Proper alignment optimizes handling and helps prevent premature tire wear.

Look for tire damage. When you check pressure, inspect the sides of the tires for nicks, bulges, cracks and cuts. Such damage often cannot be repaired and will require replacement of the tire.

Stay balanced. If your car develops a shimmy (a back-and-forth vibration, usually felt through the steering wheel) at a certain speed, it’s possible that one of your tires has lost its balance weight. Having your tires re-balanced is a fairly inexpensive procedure.

Buy the right tire for the job. Most cars come with all-season tires, the tire equivalent of a jack-of-all-trades. If you live in the rust belt, consider a set of dedicated snow tires for the winter; they do wonders for safety. If you live where it’s always warm and dry, “summer” performance tires can vastly improve your car’s handling.

And most importantly:

Never hesitate to replace a worn or damaged tire. Tires are not cheap, but they are vital to the safety of you and your car’s occupants. Remember, the tires are the only thing that connect your car to the road. Advanced safety features such as antilock brakes and electronic stability control can’t do their life-saving jobs without four good tires. Take care of your tires — because whether you know it or not, you’re counting on them to take care of you.

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