Let’s say you’re buying a new car and the dealership is offering free oil changes for a year or longer with the purchase of this new car. Are these oil changes really free? Of course not. The cost is added to the price of the new car. What are you really getting? You will get a free oil change at the minimum oil change interval to keep you warranty if force, usually at 5,000 to 7,500 miles. But wait! If you read the owner’s manual you will see the minimum interval is only for perfect conditions. Turn the page to find the "severe service" section and you will see severe service is the condition in which most drivers operate their cars; short trips to the grocery store or work, idling a long time at the drive-in window at the bank or the fast food restaurant, or dusty conditions (of course it’s dusty out there). So, in reality, you are getting a free oil change half as often as you need one. In my opinion, the dealership wants you to change your oil less than needed. That way you will be back in 4-5 years to ...

As the summer heats up, you rely more on your vehicle's air conditioning system for comfortable driving. But if you're not an automotive air conditioning expert, the odds are you don't know exactly how the system works. Here are the basics: A/C systems remove heat and humidity from the air to provide greater passenger comfort. When warm air is pulled into the air circulation system, it is cooled and conditioned as it flows over the evaporator fins. The cold refrigerant in the evaporator absorbs heat. This absorbed heat is then rejected through the condenser to the outside air. The compressor moves the refrigerant through the system. When the refrigerant flows through the condenser, the condenser operates much like the radiator. Heat is released through the fins of the condenser in the same manner that heat from the engine coolant leaves the radiator. The refrigerant then returns to the evaporator where it absorbs heat from inside the vehicle and then the cycle repeats itself. In addition to heat, humidity i ...

A yellow warning light on the instrument cluster comes on. Don’t panic just yet. This light is known in the industry as the MIL, which stands for Malfunction Indicator Lamp. This light could look like the profile of an engine, it could say "check engine," it could say "service engine soon," depending on the manufacturer of the vehicle. It may come on and stay on or it may come on and go out later. When the MIL comes on it is to alert you that something about the engine or one or more of its related components or systems are not functioning the way that it should. First consider whether the vehicle you are driving is acting any differently than it was before the light came on. If there is no difference in the running condition then there is probably no cause for alarm. Get off of the road at your earliest convenience and listen to the way your engine is running. Do you hear anything unusual? If you do turn off the engine and open the hood for investigation or call someone to help you. If you do not hear, sme ...