Are you just getting into learning about your vehicle? Great! Here are five fluids that you need to know. (Can you tell this is the Quick And Dirty Car Fluids Blog?)

1. Oil

   1. What it does: cools your engine, lubricates moving parts, keeps moving parts clean

   2. What to do: change it regularly (dealer recommendation) and check it monthly

2. Coolant

   1. What it does: regulates your vehicle’s temperature.

   2. Where to find it: in a reservoir near the radiator.

   3. What to do: if the level is low (level is indicated on the reservoir) take your vehicle to the shop to get coolant topped up.

3. Power Steering Fluid

   1. What it does: helps you steer the vehicle

   2. Where to find it: reservoir at the base if windshield.

   3. What to do: same as above, if the level is low take your vehicle to the shop to get the fluid topped up.

4. Brake Fluid

   1. What it does: helps braking mechanisms work properly

   2. What to do: if the level is chronically low, your brakes could be wearing out.

5. Windshield Washer Fluid

   1. What it does: helps clean windshield of dust, debris, bug guts, etc.

   2. What to do: if you run out, get more at your local gas station and just refill the clearly labeled tank.

Have you all ever wondered what exactly is meant by the numbers on the pumps at the gas station? Do you also wonder why gas has to be qualified as “unleaded” on the pump? Well, we have written a great blog about both of these subjects that will hopefully answer all of your most burning questions!

First, come the numbers on the pumps. These indicate the octane level of the gasoline. The higher the octane level, the higher performance of engine it’s supposed to go into. What is octane, you may be asking now? When gasoline is refined from oil, several molecules called hydrocarbons remain in the gasoline. One of these hydrocarbons is isooctane, or just plain old octane. The other hydrocarbons have a lower ignition temperature, which means that they’ll combust under the slightest amount of heat and pressure. Octane is more resistant to that, which means it can withstand more pressure from the pistons in your engine and therefore won’t create a “knock” when it combusts.

A word of caution: don’t use higher octane gasoline in your regular engine unless your owner’s manual actively says to use higher octane gasoline! All you’ll be doing is wasting your money! But, if your manual does say to use the high-test stuff, do it. Otherwise, you’ll hurt your engine. It’s a fickle world we live in, folks.

Finally, that “unleaded” buzzword. A long time ago in a galaxy far far away (aka America in the 1920s), some scientists figured out that if gasoline had a low octane rating and made engines knock, they could just add tetraethyl lead to the gasoline and it’d kill both of those birds with one lead stone. Sure, everyone in the factories kept dying and the average American had a seriously unhealthy level of lead in their bloodstream, but it kept gas cheap! This persisted until the 1960s and was outlawed completely in the 1990s. After that, the average lead level in the blood of Americans went down by 75%. That’s a lot.

If you are a person who has a sensitive nose, you might dread the wintertime when you can’t avoid any kind of bad smells in your air system by rolling down your windows and hoping for the best. Thankfully, we have some sensitive sniffers on our team as well, and we’ve had them put together some foolproof tips for cleaning out your air vents and eliminating unsavory lingering odors in your car!

First of all, get some Q-tips, some cleaning solution, paper towels, a microfiber cleaning cloth, and a vacuum. Yeah, you’ll need all this. Oh! And some air freshener spray (i.e. Febreze). The first thing you’re going to do is vacuum out all your vents. All of them! Don’t forget the ones near the ground or the one right up against your windshield. Vacuum all your vents then just give your seats and rugs a nice vacuum as well, just for good measure. Next, get those Q-tips and cleaning solution and get into the nooks and crannies of all your air vents. Clean them out really well. Then get your paper towels and clean off all the surfaces of your car.

If the smell still lingers from your air system, drive for a little bit to a nice parking area (the driving is to warm up your engine) and then put your air on full blast. This should dry up the tubes and pipes and get rid of any mold or other nastiness that’s been hanging on. If there is STILL a smell, come talk to us at Fiore VW and have us take a look at your cabin air filter.

The final step is to give everything a final rub down with a microfiber cloth and spray some of that Febreze. Now you’ve got a nice-smelling AND dust free car! No allergies or bad stenches. Win-win!

Do you know that you should be checking your car’s oil at least once a month? Yeah, you should be. And that means knowing how to check your oil, which is also something that a lot of people don’t have experience with. We’ve put together this step-by-step guide to checking your oil that should have all your bases covered, and help you every month between oil changes when you check your oil!

• Open the hood. Prop it up so that it stays open.

• Locate the oil dipstick next to the engine. It should have a yellow handle and/or be labeled.

• Pull out the dipstick and wipe it on a clean cloth or paper towel.

• Dip the stick all the way back in.

• Pull it out again and look at the oil level. If it’s in the middle of the hatched/indicated area, you’re good. More is better, less is okay, but if you’re lower than the area you need to get your oil topped up and have your system checked for leaks.

• Look at the oil quality and color. If there are a lot of particles or if the oil looks sludgy, you need to get it changed as soon as possible.

• Put the dipstick back in.

• Close your hood.

Are you the type of person who has trouble seeing when it’s dark out, but still might need to drive anyway? Have you searched for solutions to your problem endlessly with no real results? My first suggestion is to pay a visit to your optometrist and talk to them, but if you’ve already done that as well, then here are my tried-and-true solutions to your night driving problems! Of course, none of these tips will magically improve your vision, but you’ll be able to get around better and with less eye pain and strain.

First, if you did buy into “solutions” like tinted glasses, throw them away. I’m sorry. They’re just obstructing your view and making it harder for you to see.

My first tip is to look at the white line on the side of the road when there’s an oncoming vehicle with bright headlights. You’ll be able to stay in your lane while not getting a spot right in the middle of your vision from looking directly at headlights.

Next is to use your brights whenever you can. Obviously use them courteously – make sure you turn them off when you see another car coming in your direction and if you’re in an area with a lot of homes and streetlights, but otherwise, use your brights! They’ll help you see the road much better, and they’ll give you a farther view into the distance, as well as show you any oncoming hazards, like deer.

Finally, if you try these tips and still have trouble driving at night, consider shifting your schedule so that you do not have to drive after dark, or arrange for a carpool or a ride to wherever you need to go so that you don’t need to drive. Safety is the most important thing, so act with it in mind!

If you’re a Pennsylvania resident, you know by now that you need to renew your driver’s license every four years. However, that renewal process might seem complicated. Here are the steps to successfully renewing your PA driver’s license, from the PA DMV!

A Pennsylvania driver’s license is valid for four years expiring on the day after the driver’s birth date. PennDOT automatically sends an Invitation to Renew (DL60A/DL60R) to each driver three months prior to license expiration. Individuals age 65 or older have the option of renewing their license every two years, instead of standard four years.

PROCESS:  

STEP 1:  Receive an Invitation to Renew (DL60A/DL60R) or obtain Form DL-143 (PDF).

STEP 2:  Return completed application with a check or money order made payable to PennDOT in the amount indicated on the form. Cash or credit/debit cards cannot be accepted.

STEP 3:  A camera card will be mailed, and you should receive it within seven to ten working days after the form is processed.

STEP 4:  Once you receive your camera card, take it along with appropriate identification to any Photo Center to receive new digitized driver’s license. You may be asked to verify the last four digits of your social security number.           

PennDOT uses state-of-the-art facial recognition technology when an individual has their photo taken for their driver’s license/identification card renewal.

Please Note: Customer demand for photo services is greatest the first and last 2 days of each month. Customer wait times are shorter on all other days.

Acceptable forms of signature identification include:

• Pennsylvania: Driver’s License or Photo ID Card;

• Documents: Passport, Citizenship or Naturalization or Weapons Permit

• Photographic ID: Military, Bank, Employee, School or Out-of-State License; or

• Non-Photo: We may be able to serve you when providing a Voter’s Registration, Medicare Card, PA Learner’s Permit or Temporary Driver’s License or Vehicle Registration.

Remember that in order to purchase or lease a new vehicle, you need a valid driver’s license! Don’t forget to renew, and when it comes time to find a new vehicle for you and/or your family, come to Fiore VW in Altoona!

*All information regarding PA Driver’s License Renewal from http://www.dmv.pa.gov/Driver-Services/Driver-Licensing/Pages/Renewal.aspx

When someone asks if you’re thinking about the future, you probably think they mean things like your life’s path, your love life, your kids… but in this case, I just mean the winter. Are you thinking about the winter? It is, after all, coming our way sooner rather than later. How’s your garage looking? Think about that for a second. If you have a garage, you should probably also be thinking about cleaning it. If your garage is already clean then you’re ahead of the game, but if it’s not, well. Read on.

So, you’re reading on, which means that your garage is a black hole nightmare of leftover summer detritus, junk, and trash. Same, honestly. But since winter is on its way whether we like it or not, we should be working on making sure we can actually fit our cars into our garages so that we won’t have to scrape them off or even leave the indoors to get into them. I hope you feel me on this.

First thing you should do is haul everything out of your garage and onto your driveway or lawn or other flat open area. Sweep or vacuum or wash your garage floor. Separate what you like and want to keep from the actual junk, and then throw the junk away (or if it’s paint or similar, dispose of it safely). Take this opportunity to assess your storage. Maybe invest in some shelves if you don’t have any. Then, get everything back in there. Hopefully you’ve weeded out a lot of it.

You should be able to fit your car in! And that’s really all you need to do to be able to take advantage of your garage the way it was intended to be used. Seriously.  

Defensive driving is something we typically learn about in Driver’s Ed and then never actually think about ever again. However, we should really be thinking about it more, because it not only helps you as a driver but it really does keep you safe on the road. Here’s what defensive driving entails:

• Paying attention

• Expecting the unexpected

• Maintaining a safe speed

• Not tailgating

• Anticipating the moves of other drivers

• Being conscientious about the weather and road conditions

• Not being distracted

• Respecting other drivers on the road

With these tools, you should be able to drive defensively, and therefore more safely. Remember that your primary goal as a driver is getting to where you’re going safely. That doesn’t include speeding or driving like a crazy person! Always pay attention, and always make sure you’re obeying the rules of the road.

When we stop through the gas station, we pretty much always see that there are three types of gas: regular, midgrade, and premium. However, a lot of us still have the concept of “unleaded” gas in our vocabulary as a choice when in reality all gas is unleaded. So, what’s the difference between these types of gas and why do we still use the term “unleaded” – and where did it come from?

First, the difference between the different types of gas is the octane level of each type. At the risk of getting too science-y, I will speak as plainly as possible. Basically, everything is made of molecules, right? In gasoline, there are certain molecules called hydrocarbons, which are from the oil that is used to produce the gas. One type of hydrocarbon that’s in gas is isooctane (aka just plain old “octane”). Regular old hydrocarbons are pretty good at just exploding whenever they feel like it, presumably, but isooctane is resistant to that spontaneous combustion. The more isooctane in the gas, the higher the octane rating. The higher the octane rating, the less chance your engine will “knock,” which is a result of the gas exploding too soon. See where I am going with this?

Your next question might be, “does my car need this higher octane gas?” The answer to that is, well, it depends. Do you have a super aggressive engine under the hood? Does your owner’s manual say to fill up with premium gas? If not, you’re fine with the regular stuff. If you put higher octane fuel into your vehicle when it doesn’t need it, you’re basically just wasting money.

And finally, a quick history on “leaded” versus “unleaded” gasoline. Before they got into the whole natural octane thing, car makers didn’t know how to minimize the knock in their vehicles’ engines. That is, they didn’t know until someone remembered that tetraethyl lead could boost the octane ratings while keeping the cost of gas down – AND it got rid of the “knock.” Sure, it was poisonous and sure, it led to a lot of deaths due to lead poisoning between the 1920s and the 1990s, when leaded gas was banned – but hey! Cheap gas!

Nowadays, lead is banned from being in gas and pumps still have to say specifically that the gas is unleaded, and now you know why!

If you’re like me, you love your dog like a child and want to take him everywhere. Yeah, so? I LOVE HIM. HE’S MY SON!!! Anyway, when I say “everywhere.” I mean it. That means bringing my dog with me in the car, which seems like a difficult thing to some people. But, since my dog and I are seasoned travelers, I thought I’d take this chance to share some of our tips with you for traveling with your best friend, who is specifically your dog and not a human best friend.

First, make sure your friend is healthy. This means regular vet visits to make sure you’re not traveling with a sick dog, because traveling with anyone who’s sick – human or not – is never fun for anyone.

Keep water on hand, either distilled or from your tap at home. Basically, keep water that’s familiar to your dog on hand for the ride. Our pets’ digestive systems are pretty fragile and they need to drink a lot of water, so the best way to keep them happy and healthy is to give them familiar water to drink.

If your dog is going to travel in a crate, make sure the crate is big enough for your dog to stand up, sit down, turn around, and lie down in. Make sure there’s enough room in your vehicle for a crate of the right size.

If you’re going to let your dog roam free in the car, make sure that they are used to it first (introduce your dog to your car while you’re at home, let your dog walk around inside the car, and make sure they’re familiar with the space) and then make sure your dog is properly secured. Get a seatbelt collar or harness tie-down, and make sure the windows aren’t open enough for the dog to stick their head out of. Flying bugs, debris, and other road dust can actually cause damage to your dog’s eyes and ears, so it’s better to err on the side of safety.

When you’re on the road, stop for potty breaks often and let your dog do their business, drink a little water (no food on the road!) and get some exercise, and there’s your recipe for a happy travelin’ pup!