Two Tips to Keep Your Car Running Well

For most people, their vehicles are their life’s blood. That is, without it, they wouldn’t be able to go to work, get their kids to and from school or other places, or even go to get food for the table. That’s why it is essential for people to take care of their vehicles. And for the most part, people do. They go in for an oil change every 3000 miles, they get their cars inspected every year. But what do they do when something unexpected happens? Here are two key tips on what to do when something happens to your car outside of the normal maintenance cycle.

Chipped Windshields

You’re driving down the highway on your way to work or someplace fun. A tractor-trailer drives by, and you hear a sharp crack as something hits your windshield. As soon as you can, you inspect the damage, and sure enough, there’s a small chip in the glass. While it’s tempting to just ignore it, you really shouldn’t. That chip can rapidly expand into a crack, which can then lead to a host of other issues. For example, did you know that your windshield provides up to 45% of the structural integrity of your car when there’s a head-on collision? In a rollover event, that number climbs up to 60%. With a chip or crack in the windshield, that integrity plummets, leaving you and your loved ones open to much more severe injury. The windshield prevents the roof from caving in during a rollover and ensures that the airbags will deploy safely.

Not to mention, it’s much cheaper to fix it while it’s just a chip. A chip can be sealed and filled to restore the integrity of your windshield. When it turns into a crack, the windshield will have to be replaced. When you take your car to a licensed windshield repair shop – remember that this isn’t something you can just take to your regular mechanic – they can easily fix the chip. Additionally, ICBC makes sure that the chip repair is free. As a Van Isle client, you can be assured of quick reliable service that will ensure that your windshield maintains its structural integrity and keeps you safely on the road.

Check Engine Light

That dreaded check engine light sometimes comes on when we least expect it to. You don’t know why it happened. You’re up to date on the maintenance of your car, because you know how important it is. When you see that little glowing orange light, don’t put off finding out what it means. If your car was manufactured in 1996 or later, you have an onboard diagnostic port (OBD) that allows you to find out what is wrong quickly. You can get an OBD scanner that plugs into your car, or you can stop by a mechanic or an auto supply shop for help. Most are happy to plug their scanners in and give you the code that pops up.

Once you have the code, you can find out what that means very easily. There are several websites that are devoted to OBD-II codes. You simply put in your vehicle’s make and model and the year it was made, along with the code that you got. The website will then tell you specifically what is wrong with your car. For instance, if you have a 2007 Honda Accord with an OBD-II code of P0401, you will find out that there is an “EGR Insufficient Flow Detected.” Essentially, your car’s exhaust isn’t recycling properly and you probably have a clogged Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR) port. Once you know what the problem is, you can find out what needs to be done to repair it. Knowledge is power, after all.