Servicing your car is one of the essential steps to keep it running in a better condition. Once you buy a car, keeping it in a good shape is only achieved by timely service. To find the best type of car service providers is a task in itself as the market is flooded with them claiming to be the best out of the rest. Both authorized service center and independent workshops services cover your basic maintenance but then choosing one can be tricky.
Category: Maintaining a Hyundai
How To Maintain Your Car Engine
Let’s relate the car engine to the stomach, sounds familiar? Yes indeed, the car’s engine works quite similar as a human’s stomach. You feed your stomach with food so that you don’t starve and remain active. The same way the car engine needs oil so that it can run smoothly and doesn’t bother you while driving. It is a vital and important unit of the car which many of us don’t bother to look at and ignore it. The engine needs to be maintained properly and needs to be analyzed frequently to keep it running. To avoid any vulnerable situations, it is important to regularly check your engine.
Some handy hacks to remove scratches from your car
Scratches are unavoidable especially in India. It is really frustrating when your new car gets scratched and you start feeling helpless. Majority of times the scratches on the car exterior are because of some people trying to play with the car, especially when the car is parked in a public place.
Once you leave the car for an hour or so, it would never be in the same condition. Also, people should never park their cars under a tree. This would increase the number of scratches on their car top and sides as the small twigs and branches of the tree which fall from height cause damage to the car. It might not be noticeable but if you look at the sight properly, you would find numerous scratches on the sides and top as the corners of the twigs are sharp and rub of the car paint at times.
Here are some tips on how you could remove scratches from your car:
Remove scratch with a toothpaste
Ever wondered how a scratch could be removed with toothpaste? Well this works the best if the scratches are not deep and haven’t entered the layer of paint. Toothpaste sands down the uneven surface on your car sheen and fills in the gap. In case there is irrelevant paint on the exterior, the toothpaste was act as an abrasive to help expel that as well.
Selecting the right paste is also an integral part as every toothpaste won’t work properly. Whitening toothpaste works because of its rougher, grittier texture. Though you might not feel a difference in your brushing routine, it makes a significant difference when used on your car’s paint. Whitening toothpaste contains small, barely discernible abrasives, ones that similar to the abrasives found in car polish. As you gently rub the toothpaste against your car, the abrasive action removes tiny layers of film and clear coat, polishing away those ugly marks and leaving a glistening mirror shine.
Remove car scratches with a clear coat
Minor scratches, ones with low shine can always be removed with the clear coat compound easily. This helps in bringing back the car in good shape and it would also act as an abrasive which would in turn remove the minor scratches from the exterior.
Get the car exterior rubbed
Getting the car exterior rubbed where the minor scratches are clearly visible can easily take out these scratches and give the car a new look again. This is a way to get rid of the scratches on the car but it will cost you more and might not be done efficiently if you are not aware of the best place.
If you are not confident on these hacks, please do not try these at home. Trust the experts and get proper guidance at the service center. That’s the best way to deal with such situations.
Got a scratch you can’t get rid of?
How to prepare your car for a long road trip
The first and foremost thing before you start a long road trip is to check on your car thoroughly. We become very casual when it comes to keeping an eye on the car. Ask yourself- Will this be a good idea for a long road trip or should we just make some other arrangements. A road trip could only be fun if your car supports you on the way otherwise it could be the worst situation one could ever be in. So once you have planned a long trip by road, you should get your car serviced and thorough inspection should be done before you leave for your destination.
Here are some tips on how your road trip could be a success:
Get your tires inflated with Nitrogen air
Nitrogen air should always be the preference if you are traveling by road. Nitrogen not only helps in a smooth drive but also keeps the tire cool. It also helps to increase the life and you could travel freely. But make sure you’re tires are inflated to the correct mark as per your car’s requirement.
Check the AC during summers
If you have planned your road trip in summers, check on the AC. The temperatures are soaring outside the car and there are times when the AC cannot bear the heat and starts to trip. This is usually the case with smaller cars as compared to the SUV’s but one should always keep a check on their car AC irrespective of what you own. In case you feel the car AC is not working properly, get it checked. There might be a leakage or maybe it needs refilling.
Check the engine and counterparts
Always be careful while you check the engine and its counterparts. This is the basic you could do but many of us fail to do it properly. The engine oil, the oil filter, the air filter, coolant, the brake oil etc. are all important as they would make your travel seamless if in good condition. Getting your car serviced doesn’t only mean getting an inspection done but also if any of them needs to be replaced, you should have it done immediately without ignoring or delaying. These are some basics which would help an individual not only while traveling but also when you are on the road commuting to office or anywhere else.
Get your headlamps and tail lamps checked
Never ignore your car lights whether it be the front or tail lights. Even if one of them is not working, get it replaced immediately. This helps the other commuter to easily recognize the car. In most cases, accidents occur because people either forget to get their lights replaced or do not switch on their lights.
Always remember, road trips could always be fun if you be a little cautious and drive safely with your car in good condition.
Want to get your car prepared for a road trip?
Schedule your Hyundai car servicing at Capital Hyundai.
Do it Yourself Petrol Engine Maintenance
Petrol engines are generally easy to maintain when compared with diesel engines. They are lighter, easy to drive and go about their job rather silently. The petrol engines are even cheaper as compared to a diesel engine. Once you have decided to buy a vehicle, you would find that the difference between a diesel variant and a petrol variant is approximately a lakh of rupees. Keeping your engine in a good shape would always give you utmost satisfaction.
Here are some tips on how you could spend a little money on the basics to avoid more costly repairs later on:
Do it Yourself Inspection
It’s basic, but give your car a once-over periodically so you catch anything that looks out of the ordinary. Make sure all your lights are working. Check the air pressure in your tires every month or so (and buy a cheap tire air pressure gauge and keep it in the glove compartment). Doing so is good for your tires gets you better mileage and saves you money in gas if you discover that the pressure is off. Listen for any strange sounds, inside and out. Make sure your tires have enough tread.
Check the fluids
Even if you don’t ever learn how to change your antifreeze, power steering, coolant or even your wiper fluid (although seriously, don’t let someone charge you to change wiper fluid), you should learn how to check those fluid levels. In some cases, you can see the tank level directly, but most have gauges you can pull out to check current levels against a notch that indicates optimal levels. Even if your owner’s manual doesn’t have much to say about checking your transmission fluid or antifreeze, don’t be afraid to open the hood and see if you can find it. If you’re running low, add more (if you can) or get it changed.
Most importantly, never ignore a leak.
Check the oil and get it replaced/changed regularly
There are generally indicators in the car for a check, so if you experience that one of the indicators is blinking or is showing up repeatedly, be a little cautious and immediately check the gauge for any leakage. There might be instances when the level of oil in the car is low and this could be the reason also that the indicators are showing up. Get the oil refilled in case the engine needs more oil or in case the brake oil is low, fill it up to the desired level.
Do not follow the 5000 km rule every time, there are synthetic oils which last 10,000 kms too. So the recommendation would be to use the higher quality oil in case your car runs daily. This would, in turn, save you from paying more.
Replace your oil and air filter
Reading the owner’s manual would give you a better idea of how to change the air and oil filter. In case you still feel that more guidance is required, take a step forward and then visit a mechanic.
At Capital Hyundai, we make sure that your engine remains in the best of its health, even years and thousands of kilometers after. Contact us to book your engine’s service today.