Kia Car Care Tips
Kia drivers are an enthusiastic bunch. And why shouldn’t they—Kias offer fun driving dynamics and youthful style at a price much lower than the rest. But to increase your connection to your car or SUV and ensure that it stays pristine as long as possible, check out our exhaustive list of automobile maintenance tips and maintenance needs for owners in the Greater Toronto Area, along with our maintenance schedule.
Should you have any questions not covered below, please don’t hesitate to call our service experts.
How to Check Your Tire Pressure l Mississauga Dealer
Maintaining the correct tire pressure ensures that you get the best gas mileage, your tires last the longest, and that you have the fastest handling in emergency situations.
- Buy a tire pressure gauge from an auto parts store.
- Find out what the manufacturer’s recommended tire pressure is by locating the chart on your driver’s side doorsill or on the outside edge of the door.
- Unscrew the valve stem cap poking out of your wheel and firmly press the air gauge on the end.
- Add more air pressure from a home or gas station air compressor until you reach the recommended number in psi (pounds per square inch).
- To reduce tire pressure, push your air gauge halfway on the valve stem. You’ll hear the air escaping.
How to Check Your Tire Tread l Greater Toronto Area
Unfortunately, tires don’t last forever. In order to get the best traction in all weather conditions and have the shortest stopping distances. We recommend you get in the habit of checking your tires for wear at the beginning of every season. It only takes a second!
- Take a penny and place it in one of the grooves with the Queen’s head facing you and pointing down. If you can see the tips of the crown, it’s time to replace that tire.
- If you’ve traded in all your old pennies, you can also use a ruler (or tire wear gauge from an auto parts store) to measure your tire wear depth. If there’s only 1.6 mm (2/32-inch) of tread depth left, you need a new tire.
- And if you don’t have any tools handy, you can check the tire wear bars. These are the short, horizontal strips in between your tire grooves. If these bars are flush across the width of your tread—you guessed it—you need a new tire.
Why is Engine Oil So Important?
The closest fluid equivalent to engine oil we can make is blood. Like your blood, engine oil is literally vital to the health of your vehicle. Oil keeps your engine components from overheating, makes sure that all parts move smoothly and without premature wear, and also cleans away impurities and other pollutants from forming and causing damaging carbon build ups.
Therefore, we recommend you change your oil regularly as recommended in your vehicle owner’s manual.
How to Extend the Life of Your Kia l Ontario Drivers
Aside from the usual preventative maintenance tasks, like fluid changes and replacing worn parts, we’re going to give you list of lesser-known pointers on how you can make your car last well into the 6 digit kilometer range.
- If your vehicle’s engine uses a timing belt system, make sure you get it replaced around the 100,000 km mark. Though it may not show any visible wear unlike other engine belts, it could snap without warning if it’s not changed out on time. Check your owner’s manual for details.
- For average driving needs, it’s a good idea to rotate your tires every 10,000 km so that they wear evenly. Also make sure that your wheels get professional balanced and aligned when you buy new tires.
- If your regular commute only involves driving a short distance in stop and go city traffic, then we recommend that you take your car out on the highway so you can rev it higher and clear out any condensation built up in internal engine parts.
- Wash your car regularly and wax it at least once a year so that road salt and sand blasting from passing vehicles don’t increase your chances of rust developing. And be sure to fill any stone chips with touch up paint as soon as they appear.
- When you’re not using it, run your air conditioner for at least 5 minutes a month to keep it well lubricated. And in the summer, run your heater for at least 5 minutes a few times to guard against it sticking or seizing up.
How to Get Better Fuel Efficiency
Everybody would like to get improved gas mileage out of his or her car, truck, van, or SUV. And even the most miserly drivers can stand for some improvement. Here’s how you can save money and reduce your impact on the environment, too.
- Did you know that travelling 120 km/h compared to 100 km/h uses 20% more fuel? Just another reason why it’s better to stick to the speed limit on the freeway.
- Does your car have cruise control? Not only will it ease the strain on your right foot, it also prevents the small accelerations and decelerations that eat up fuel.
- Though it can be fun revving your manual transmission car into the upper rpms, shift to a higher gear so your tachometer sits at around 2000 rpms. This can improve fuel efficiency by up to 45%.
- Drive smoothly! Since 50% of fuel consumption happens during acceleration in city driving, get up to speed gradually and don’t tailgate other drivers.
- According to testing by Natural Resources Canada, starting your engine uses the same amount of fuel as idling your car for about 10 seconds. Therefore, when you’re stuck at a long traffic light, in the drive-thru, or waiting to pick someone up, you can save significant amounts of fuel by shutting off your engine.
- Contrary to popular belief, “warming up” your car in the winter is unnecessary. But if you like to wait inside while your car idles so that you can come out to a toasty cabin, remember that your car’s heater will warm up a lot faster once you start driving.
- When not needed for comfort or dehumidifying purposes, turning off your air conditioning can improve gas mileage by about 10%.
- Use an app like Google or Apple Maps to find out if there’s a faster or shorter way to your destination. You might be surprised how inefficient your routine course of action is!
- Though it makes you look rugged and adventurous, remove that roof-mounted ski rack, or cargo carrier when not in use. Particularly at highway speeds, those components create a large amount of aerodynamic, meaning you’ll have to use more fuel to go the same km/h.