It is very easy to become distracted while we are cruising down the road, sunroof open, and music up. We are enjoying the spring air that is finally here. But it is important to remember to keep our full attention on the road, distracted driving is impaired driving. Distractions range from cell phones to music to other passengers. Using a phone while driving is distracting and unless you are hands-free, you should not be picking up your device even if you’re at a stoplight.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), 10% of all fatal car crashes and 15% of all injury crashes were caused by distracted drivers. 99% of drivers between the ages of 15 and 19 were distracted at the time of the accident.

This is a problem for anyone who gets behind the wheel of a car, especially young teens just learning to drive. Did you know that when you are driving and trying to focus on your phone the reaction time slows by 33%? That is a huge difference when in a split second it could mean life or death.

Responding to one single text message distracts a driver for roughly five seconds, that is long enough to travel the distance of a football field if your speed is 55 mph, or over.

Sobering statistics:

• 94% of teenagers acknowledge that texting while driving is dangerous.
• 11 teenagers die every single day as a result of texting while driving.
• One out of every four car accidents in the US is caused by texting while driving.
• Cellphone use is highest amongst 16-24 year old drivers.

There has been an increase in technologies like Bluetooth, Android Auto, and Apple CarPlay to assist drivers and decrease the amount of distracted drivers that are on the road. If your vehicle is equipped with these be sure to fully connect before pulling out onto the open road and remember to leave your device alone.

If you’re dedicated to the concept of spring cleaning, then think about cleaning out the air vents and air system in your vehicle as part of your war on dust and grime this spring. Because the season is here officially, there’s no time to waste! Take a look at our tips on making sure your air smells as fresh as springtime ought to smell.

Your first task is cleaning the physical vents that are in your vehicle, the ones you see and adjust every day. You’ll need cleaning solution, white vinegar, a vacuum, and Q-tips. Give your vents a vacuum to get any loose dust out. Then you want to take a Q-tip that’s been dipped in a cleaning solution and really work it into the crevices and hard-to-reach spots. When the Q-tips you’re using come back clean, you know you’ve gotten all the grime. Then, take another Q-tip dipped in white vinegar and just go over it all again to get rid of any lingering odors. The vinegar smell doesn’t last long, and when it disappears it takes odors with it. Give the vents one last vacuum and you’re done! Make sure you’ve gotten them ALL, including the one that’s right up next to your windshield (we often forget about this one).

The next step is to take a look at your cabin air filter. Your owner’s manual should cover how to access it, and if not there’s always YouTube. The cabin air filter is your barrier against everything that’s floating through the air that you drive your car through – pollen, dust, smells, stenches – and it’s often a forgotten part of the vehicle. Take a look, and if you think it needs changing then schedule an appointment with us to have our service department take care of it!

Finally, if you still smell a little something-something in the car when you run the air, you might have mildew in your A/C evaporator. It’s easy to dry that up! Just drive about a mile away from home (that’s enough time to warm up your engine, you see) and then roll down all your windows and turn the air on full blast. Don’t use the A/C! Just regular old air will do. Keep it running for a minute or two, and that should be enough time to circulate air through the evaporator and dry up any residual moisture.

Every St. Paddy’s Day, my family participates in a fun-filled family football game. We’re a large Irish family, so St. Patrick’s Day is pretty much a second Thanksgiving for us – food, family, and as I stated above – football…

So, here’s the thing… It’s supposed to be fun, but unfortunately, my family is pretty competitive. Even a game of monopoly becomes an intense sport that takes strategy, athleticism, and skill. This past Christmas, I watched my sister drop tackle my brother because she caught him slipping himself an extra hunnit or two from the bank. It did not go well.

Since the Christmas Debacle Of 2017, bro has been throwing some serious shade at my sister. St. Patrick’s Day is literally tomorrow, and I am determined that they let bygones be bygones. So what better way to get them both in a better mood than stopping by King Volkswagen to save a crazy amount on a new car! The Sm:)e It’s Spring Event is underway, after all, in addition to their monthly specials!

My sister has been talking about downsizing from her HUGE minivan (I have 6 nieces and nephews just from her, who are now all grown up and drive their own cars) to something a bit more her size, bear in mind she is conservatively 5 feet tall on a good day. The 2018 Volkswagen Jetta 1.4T S would be right up her alley, and she can lease for only $99/mo for 36 months*! There is even the 2017 Volkswagen Tiguan Limited Premium, which she can lease for $99 for 36 months*! I couldn’t believe she can get a new car for under $100 a month.I know for a fact my brother has had his eye on the 2018 Volkswagen Atlas 2.0T S for him and his brood of children, and now he can get it for $249 a month*.

All in all, I’m expecting the whole family to be singing my praises this weekend, thus restoring peace just in time for our Reuben Dinner. After such a strenuous endeavor, I think I just might reward myself with a sweet new car too!

*All specials expire on 4/2/2018 see specials page for full details.

Spring is the season of new beginnings, and that includes your vehicle! There’s a list of services that you should be doing for your vehicle at the beginning of the season, and it’s all important – the winter is always hard on a vehicle, especially with snow and salt and rough conditions. Here are our recommendations for services you should be doing for your vehicle before spring really gets underway, and remember that you can always call us here at King VW for advice and help!

Start with your tires, even if you drive on all season tires. If you drive on all season radials, this is the time to rotate them. By rotating tires seasonally, you extend the life of all four tires.

Windshield wiper blades also take a beating during winter weather. Colder temperatures are hard on rubber compounds, and slush from the road isn’t helpful in the least. This slush often carries with it corrosive salt used to melt road ice, which can do a number on your blades. Early spring is a good time to you’re running low after winter.

Next, clean your vehicle’s undercarriage. There’s no magic solution to getting rid of the corrosive salt build-up but the best tool is a high-pressure sprayer. Pay special attention to the area around the front and rear bumpers. Once you’ve thoroughly sprayed the underbody, check for signs of rust and take the necessary steps to stop any small rust spots from eating away at your vehicle. We’ve all seen those pillars of snow that form around bumpers and wheel wells. That’s the most likely place for road salt to begin the erosion process. While you’re at it, you might as well wash the whole car. Winter is not really the time to spend afternoons hosing off your vehicle and chances are it’s been a while since the last time you’ve washed your car.

Examine your brakes. Like wipers, brakes take on a bigger role during wintertime and should be checked to ensure that they’re still in good shape. Listen for brake noises such as grinding, chatter, or squeals. Even if your brakes aren’t making any distinctive noises, it’s still a good idea for you or your mechanic to determine the amount of wear on the pads or drums. We often become accustomed to the feel of worn brakes, without realizing that we’ve become used to decreased stopping power.

Check all automotive fluids and top them off as necessary. Winter driving conditions require your engine to work harder and condensation can cause moisture buildup in the engine that creates wear. If your car is due for scheduled maintenance, have the oil changes and be sure to use the proper formulation and viscosity recommended by the vehicle manufacturer.

Go over the interior of your vehicle. This includes taking out and washing floor liners. Vacuum and clean the carpets, and make sure they are dry before you put the liners back in. A nice, clean interior is one of the best parts of driving after all!

Source: https://exchange.aaa.com/car-care/repair-maintenance/seasonal-car-maintenance/#.WpXIAZPwZTY

After the winter we’ve had, there are bound to be potholes lurking around every corner. This week, we’re dedicating our blog to those sneaky creatures of despair and what you as a driver can do to stay safe when you encounter one (or ten).

So, potholes are formed from water getting into cracks in the pavement and then freezing. When water freezes, it expands, which pushes the pavement apart and weakens it. When vehicles drive over these weak spots, the pavement crumbles under the pressure. Annnnddd then a pothole forms, here and ready to ruin countless lives.

How to avoid potholes? Avoid puddles on the road. Unless you can see that it’s just a thin layer of water, try to drive around the puddles. Water is great at hiding potholes’ sizes and depths until you hit them and learn the truth.

If you do hit a pothole, well. Try to approach the situation slowly if you know driving through the pothole is inevitable. If you hit a deep pothole, or hit any pothole at a speed, or a combination of the both, make sure that your vehicle is okay afterward by pulling over when it’s safe to do so and inspecting the exterior of your vehicle and tires for damage. The pothole could have blown a tire or thrown off your alignment, both things that need to get fixed ASAP.

After you encounter a pothole? Call your local DOT or DPW and let them know about it. It doesn’t matter if someone else has already reported the pothole. More reports are more motivation to get the situation fixed!

Even if you and I are totally different in literally every way, we might still have one similarity: topping off the gas tank when it’s time to fill up. A lot of people do it! It’s okay to admit it! I just like seeing that round dollar amount on the pump. But I found out recently that it’s actually pretty bad for your engine to do this. Here’s why.

First of all, you can totally burn out your engine in so many ways. The most important is that you can overwhelm your vehicle’s evaporative system. We all learned in science class once upon a time that heat makes pressure, and when your gasoline heats up from your driving, it expands from the heat and creates that pressure. So, when you overfill your tank, there’s nowhere for that pressure to go and it ends up in your evaporative system. This is not its intended purpose, so if you do this a lot then you can totally kill that system.

The other thing is that you’re honestly just wasting money. Pumps these days can sense if there’s excess gas, i.e. if it starts backing up into the filler pipe, and it just takes that gas and sends it right back into the station’s tank. So, the dollars and cents will start adding up but you won’t actually be getting the gas you pay for.

Basically, don’t top off. That’s just a bad habit. We’ll break it together, now that we have so much in common!