Maintenance managed

Recently I got back from a 2 week trip (supervising college students rehab homes in New Orleans) and my Hyundai Sonata was dead as a door nail. Found a friendly neighbor to help jump start our car....to no avail. Faulty cables was the problem because when neighbor #2 came out later with cables, Sonata came bolting back to life. Good thing, because we needed groceries.

I really dislike anything revolving around the realm of maintenance or service of my car. I feel uneducated. So today, I did some research and am here to help you and me not feel dumb.

First of all, maintenance will always pay off in the long run. We can help you catch small problems before they come wildly expensive, I'm-going-on-a-roadtrip-tomorrow problems. Been there. Let us help.

Ok, but here are a few things that will need to be checked up.

1. Motor oil (duh). Actually when I went to college, I didn't know you were supposed to get oil changes...in a nut shell, your oil degrades overtime and can easily become contaminated with debris. Everyone needs oil changes and usually if you get one, the service center will let you know when to come back, follow their rules.

2. Air filters. I feel like the people at Jiffy Lube always tell me I need to change my filter. While the service men at Eckert Hyundai never say that...unless I do (one time in 2 years). It's just like the air filter in your home it must be replaced so that your car can breath freely and generate power in the way it was designed to do.

3. TIRES. Ask to get your tires rotated every other oil change, or so. This can save you from having to buy new tires. Which are quite the investment. And will help you from sliding around like an ice skater in the rain.

4. Brakes: you can't a price tag on stopping, trust me. So you might consider trusting the noises that come out of your car to remind you to get your brakes changed. If they erode too far, metal on metal will start scratching, which is less than pleasant.

5. Wiper Blades: The wiper blades offered for Hyundai's here at Eckert Hyundai have a sticker on them that fade with time, when the blade sticker turns red, it's time for new wipers. Not that you cant tell from the way they no longer get water off of your windshield.

the information on this article was obtained from vehiclemd.com and go.drive magazine.