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As a driver, it’s no secret that you’ll eventually run into issues with your vehicle that requires service. Whether it’s big or small, it’s important to service your vehicle regularly to help minimize your chances of a breakdown! However, an issue that owners of older vehicles might run into is your battery dying. But, how can you tell if your vehicle’s battery is running on its last leg? Are your headlights dimming? Are you regularly in need of a jump-start? Is your battery more than three years old? If you’re saying yes to all of these things then it might be a good idea to get a battery test. With the winter months creeping up on us, it is especially important that you get your vehicle’s battery replaced before you find yourself broken down in the cold! Fortunately, replacing your battery is so simple that you can do it yourself! Of course, if you don’t have the time or tools to replace it yourself, don’t sweat it, just head over to our site and schedule a service appointment today! But if you love DIY, be sure to check out our how-to below! Younger Nissan’s Guide To Changing Your Battery: With your vehicle parked on a flat surface, parking brake engaged, and your vehicle’s engine turned off, pop open the hood and locate the battery. Be sure to give your vehicle enough time to cool down before working on anything under the hood (about 30 minutes). Then, detach the negative cable (black) from the battery. Loosen the nut with a wrench, twist the end of the cable with your hand and pull the cable away from the battery terminal. Repeat with the positive cable (red). Now that both cables are detached from the terminals, you want to unclamp the battery hold-down clamp from the battery. You may need to use a wrench or a socket and ratchet. Once the clamp is off, remove the battery from the holding tray. Be alert, batteries are heavy. Use a battery cleaning solution to clean the holding tray, cables, and nuts/ bolts. You want to use an anti-corrosive cleaning solution and you want to pay extra attention to any spots with corrosion. Once your parts are clean, give them enough time to completely dry before inserting the new battery. Once the parts are dry, insert the new battery and secure the battery with the hold-down clamp. Apply an anti-corrosive solution to both terminal ends. Once this is completed, attach the positive battery cable first and repeat it with the negative cable. Make sure you tighten both terminals to ensure you have a tight and secure connection. Check the security of the battery, your battery should not be able to wiggle or move once inside the holding tray. If your battery is able to move, tighten the clamp and be sure the cables are tight and secure, as well. Before closing up, try starting your vehicle to ensure that everything is working properly.

Just because it’s summer now doesn’t mean that you can take a vacation from caring for your windshield wipers. The sun’s UV rays can actually cause your wipers to deteriorate pretty quickly, so it’s important to keep an eye out for damaged blades. If you ignore them, you can experience permanent windshield damage that will cost a ton to fix. It’s always a good idea to make sure that your wipers are well-maintained all year round, so check out our list of ways to care for your wipers and then make sure you stay on top of this task! A good idea is to check your wipers and clean them off every time you get gas. Just sayin’. You should take a look at your wipers at least every time you get gas. When you’re inspecting your wiper blades, look for the following: Broken frame, which is detachment of frame arms at joints or connection points. Metal corrosion, especially at joints and claws. Visible cracks, tears, and missing pieces in the rubber squeegee’s edge. Flex the rubber squeegee back and forth to see if it is still flexible. Aged squeegees will have difficulty conforming to the shape of your windshield and create streaks. Check the squeegee wiping edge for rounded edges which can prevent the wiper blade from making strong contact with the windshield and reduces wipe quality. Tug to ensure that the wiper blade has been securely installed on the wiper arm. Check to make sure that the squeegee is secure in the wiper frame. As we (should) know, the materials that your windshield wipers are made of are not ones that will last until the end of time. There are a lot of ways that the world around you can degrade your wipers: Sun: Ultraviolet light and ozone deterioration Oil: Car waxes and exhaust hold rubber-deteriorating oil Airborne debris: Sand, mud, and dust carried in the wind Moisture: Acid rain and salt water (in moist air both near the shore and inland) Now to the signs that your wipers need a change. There are a few to look out for, and if you experience multiple items on this list at once then it’s definitely time to head over to the auto store to buy new wipers. Streaking: occurs when the rubber squeegee dries, hardens and cracks. It can also be caused by tree sap, road tar and other foreign substances collected on either the glass or the blade. Skipping: occurs when the blade develops a curvature from lack of use (e.g. left in the ‘parked position’ for an extended length of time). Wearing: occurs with extensive use and is when the rubber edges are rounded instead of squared. Splitting: caused when the sun’s ultraviolet rays penetrate the rubber squeegee, causing it to break down and separate from the frame. Bent refill vertebra and bent frames: cause inconsistent contact with the glass surface, creating streaking or skipping. If you’re wondering how to take care of your wipers throughout their life - i.e. before it’s time to replace them - here’s how you can do that! Clean your windshield every time you fill your gas tank. Gently wipe the rubber squeegee with a damp paper towel to remove any loose dirt or oil. Never use your windshield wipers to de-ice your windshield. Instead, either use an ice scraper or use your defroster to melt snow and ice. Pull your wiper blades away from the windshield during winter months to prevent ice build up on the rubber squeegee and to prevent them from sticking to the windshield. Our Service Department Has You Covered

Well, winter’s long gone by now and so we’re out of the danger zone of your battery dying on you - batteries hate the cold! However, it’s still very important to know how to change your vehicle’s battery. Just because summer is so close doesn’t mean that your battery is just going to keep on truckin’, especially if it’s at the end of its natural life. So, take a look at our guide to changing your battery, and then give us a call if you want to know what to do with that old battery brick! We can also provide recommendations on replacement batteries that’ll work best with your vehicle. Something that you should know about your car’s battery is that the power that’s housed inside of it is an absolutely finite resource. One day, your battery will die. Of course, if you take good care of it and drive carefully, that day should be several years after you buy the battery, but eventually, it will perish and you’ll be powerless (get it) to stop it. That’s why you should know now how to change your battery so that in the event that you need to do so, you can. First of all, the location of your battery is going to be in your owner’s manual. If you drive anything other than a regular old gasoline vehicle (i.e. a hybrid) you should 100% be checking your owner’s manual for instructions on how to change the battery. When you’ve located the battery, make sure you know which post is the positive one and which is the negative, and which color the cables are that are attached to them. The positive post will probably have a red plastic cover, a red cable, and a plus sign (+) stamped on the battery next to the positive post. If the cables are not color coded, put some tape on them and label the cables. With a wrench, loosen the nut or bolt that keeps the negative terminal and cable attached to the battery. Remove them from the battery, and then move on to the positive terminal. ALWAYS DO NEGATIVE FIRST! Check your battery to see if it is being held down by clamps or tie-downs or similar and remove them if they are there. Set all of your loose parts aside where they will not be misplaced while you switch out the battery. Now, lift out the battery without jostling it or tipping it. It is heavy, so be careful! Next, it’s time to install the new battery! Place it in the same spot the old battery was in and make sure it is oriented the same exact way the old one was. Take the plastic caps off of the battery posts, and if there are anti-corrosion washers included then slide those on. A good idea is to smear a thin layer of Vaseline onto the posts before attaching the terminals to the battery to prevent corrosion and make sure your vehicle is always getting as much power as it needs. Attach the terminals back on, positive first, and fasten it back down with the clamps/tie-downs that you removed before. Give the battery a little wiggle and make sure it doesn’t move. If it does, tighten the clamps holding it down. And you’re done! Great job! Make sure you recycle your old battery - a quick Google search will let you know the best place to do that. Check Out Our Battery Replacement Page!

How much of your spring cleaning have you gotten done so far? I know that I am definitely not as far along as I want to be, especially given that I’ll start cleaning and then get bored of it or just start watching Netflix about ten minutes in and then give up for the rest of the day. Anyway, if you have a garage, it’s important that you clean it out, especially in preparation for the summer. If it was messy all winter, then you, of course, had to brave the snow, but who wants to brave the heat and then wait for the car to cool down, when you could have had it in the garage in the first place? Check out our guide to cleaning out your garage and then get to work. You got this. The very first thing you want to do is to take EVERYTHING out of your garage. Literally everything. Car, junk, trash, stuff you need… get it all outside into the driveway or onto your lawn and leave your garage totally empty. Then you should start to sort everything you’ve just taken out into two piles, one for things that you want to keep and one for things that you’ve been meaning to throw away or just forgot about. Throw those things away right now. Dispose of chemicals like paint safely, but just get it out of there forever. With your garage empty, you should sweep and vacuum the floor and dust the corners. If it’s a nice day, you could even hose down the floor! If you’re feeling super adventurous, consider applying an epoxy garage floor kit. It’s a lot of work and a lot of waiting, but it’s worth it if you’re looking for a really serious makeover. With the space clean, it’s time to take a critical look at your current storage solutions. If you don’t have shelves or wall storage, consider getting some! It’s a great space-saving hack to store things vertically. You can even store bikes on wall racks, which saves a TON of space. Finally, get everything back into your garage, organizing as you go. You’ll probably spot some things that you thought you wanted to keep but are really junk that you can just go ahead and throw away. You don’t need that in your life. When everything’s back in place (or has found a new home), park your car back inside! Fit A Versa Note Into Your Life!

For a good number of the American population, allergies in the spring and summer are a real issue. Sneezing, watery eyes, runny nose, itchiness EVERYWHERE… those are just part and parcel of being allergic to the outside. Luckily, we’ve got solutions for you when it comes to ridding your vehicle of allergens, because it’s always nice to be able to get away from the troubles of the world and just go for a drive… without having to sneeze every thirty seconds. First of all, vacuum your car often. Take a few minutes every weekend to just go over the vents, the floormats, and the seats. Pollen and dust can really settle into soft surfaces, so try to get rid of it as quickly as you can. Just one vacuum can make a noticeable difference, not only in the allergy department but in the cleanliness department as well! Keep a bottle of allergen-reducing spray in the car. Febreze makes a great one that works quite well and keeps any pollen and dust that get into your car at bay between vacuums. It also has the added bonus of keeping your vehicle smelling great! Take a minute and have a look at your cabin air filter. Chances are that it hasn’t been changed in a while, and when it gets full of junk your allergies can start to suffer. Your owner’s manual will be able to tell you how to find it, and if you need help changing it just give us a call and we’ll take care of it for you! Finally, there are some allergens that will absolutely sneak in through the cracks. Keep tissues handy, and remember to take your allergy meds. But if you follow our advice, you should be able to be sneeze-free all spring and summer! New Specials Are Here!

Washing your car is a fantastic spring activity not only for you but for the whole family! What better sight is there than the kids out in the driveway, giving your car a good wash? Well, we’ve got some great tips for washing your car properly. Check them out! Your first step should be to park in the shade (no direct sunlight) and then rinse your car off thoroughly. The first few washes of the spring should also include a deep rinse of the undercarriage, just to make sure all the salt from the winter is gone. Next, get your specially formulated car soap or shampoo (NEVER use dish soap) and a clean microfiber cloth or mitt and wash your vehicle a panel at a time in long, straight strokes. Never wash in a circular motion, and make sure to rinse off your mitt/cloth often! Let the soap sit on your vehicle for a minute while you focus on the wheels. Using a dedicated wheel brush, get between the spokes and in the little crevices you might have missed ordinarily. A lot of dirt can hide in there, so get rid of it! Now you should give your car a good rinse with a medium pressure blast from the hose. Don’t let it air-dry, either. Dry every panel with a clean, dry microfiber cloth. Letting water dry on your car leaves spots, rings, and deposits that are tough to get rid of. The last step, should you choose (and you should), is to apply a protectant spray or wax after you’re done drying off your vehicle to maintain the nice work you’ve done and protect your vehicle from dirt, debris, and other road gunk. Our New Specials Sparkle Like Clean Diamonds

Do you have blind spots in your vehicle? It’s common - and easy to remedy! One way to get rid of those blind spots is to stick convex mirrors on to your wing mirrors in the outer corners. You can find these small mirrors at your local auto parts store. Make sure your mirrors are clean first! Note: you should not do this to a leased vehicle. If you’re hesitant about using an adhesive solution, you can also adjust your mirrors in a way that eliminates holes in your vision. Here’s how: Adjust your rearview mirror to give you a view directly to the rear. Make it so that it best covers your rear window view. Don’t tilt it to get side views - just straight back through your window. Lean your head until it almost touches your driver’s side window. Adjust your left side mirror so you can just barely see the side of your car - no more. Lean your head to the passenger side as far as you can comfortably while still sitting up and adjust the right mirror so you can barely see the right side of your car. You shouldn’t be able to see the side of your car when your head is all the way upright! This is an easy way to make sure you’ve got the full range of vision that you need to stay safe in your vehicle. The final way is to find an aftermarket clip-on rearview mirror that has convex edges and a larger field of view that will allow you to be able to see more of what’s behind you. Ask us for recommendations! Learn About Intelligent Safety Shield!

QUICK AND DIRTY GUIDE TIME. You should be checking your oil at least once a month. The best practice is to check it every time you get gas. This is because your oil is a powerful diagnostic tool! It will tell you that your engine is doing well… or if there’s a problem that needs to be addressed. It takes only a hot second to check your oil, so it’s not an inconvenience. You’ll also seem like a total expert when people see you doing it, and when you can talk to your service techs about your engine. Trust us. Check your oil. Here is how to do it. Open the hood. Prop it so it stays open. Locate the oil dipstick next to the engine. It should have a yellow handle and/or be labeled. Pull out the dipstick and wipe it on a clean cloth or paper towel. Dip the stick all the way back in. Pull it out again and look at the oil level. If it’s in the middle of the hatched/indicated area, you’re good. More is better, less is okay, but if you’re lower than the area you need to get your oil topped up and have your system checked for leaks. Look at the oil quality and color. If there are a lot of particles or if the oil looks sludgy, you need to get it changed as soon as possible. Put the dipstick back in. Close your hood. Congratulations, friend. You’ve done it. We’re really proud of you. We’ll Change Your Oil Fast Too

When it comes to road trips, it’s often hard to keep everyone in your vehicle entertained for the whole ride. Enter: games! We all know some, but we’ve put together a list of games to play in the car that everyone can join in - even the driver! License Plates - keep a list of all 50 states and cross off the states that you’ve seen license plates for. Try to spot as many as possible! Depending on where you’re going, you can also include the provinces of Canada. Punchbuggy - whenever you see a Beetle, punch someone (lightly). This is fun for adults, but don’t do it around kids because you don’t want to set a bad example. Eye Spy - this one is good for kids. Describe something you see with one adjective, and then everyone else has to guess what it is. 20 Questions - one person thinks of a thing and everyone else in the car has a collective 20 questions that they can ask to try and guess it. License Plate Acronyms - try and think of the most amusing words that various license plates could be acronyms for. Example: license plate BIN152. The BIN could stand for something like Bears Immediately Near. Fit Everyone In A New Nissan!

When you are in the market for a brand new car, the number one thing that you absolutely have to do is take test drives. Not one test drive, maybe not even two. The more the better - because the test drive is the best way to know if a vehicle you might have fallen in love with from a photo is actually the right vehicle for you. Unfortunately, it’s hard to remember any questions you should be asking yourself about the car when you’re driving it, because hey, new car! It’s fun and exciting and makes it hard to remember stuff. Our suggestion to remedy this? Bring a friend and bring this list of questions to ask. Your friend can ask you the questions and you can be free to drive the car and enjoy it. The first thing you should think about is the interior of the vehicle. Is it comfortable? Can you see out of all the windows/do you have the visibility you want and need? Now you’ve started up the car and begun the drive, how is the ride? Is it comfortable? Does it drive the way you expected? Remember that different cars feel different on the road, but you should have a vehicle that at least meets your expectations and desires. When you accelerate, are you getting the results you want? Can you get up to speed quickly, or does it feel like the vehicle struggles to get going? Only test acceleration where it’s safe to do so! After you’ve gotten going, you’ll be using the brakes. Test the brakes in a lot of different situations. Fast braking, slow braking, braking on hills… you get the idea. You need to be able to trust these brakes! When you’re going around corners and turning, think about the handling of the vehicle. Does it feel solid, or does it feel like it’s going to tip over? Don’t drive recklessly, but practice some U-turns where it’s safe to do so, and test the vehicle on a winding road. Now that you’ve read these questions, you’re ready to schedule your test drive! What are you waiting for? Schedule Your Test Drive Online

Do you ever get into your vehicle, turn on your lights, and find out that your headlights just aren’t what they used to be? It could be that one doesn’t turn on, or both don’t turn on, or that they’re just a little dim, or that they get dimmer sometimes and brighten up other times. In any situation, none of these are good and all should get looked at by your dealer so that your lights will be back in business ASAP. Check out what could be going on below! When one headlight doesn’t work - Usually caused by a burned out bulb. High-intensity discharge (HID) headlights can also die because of other components. When neither of the headlights work - Bulbs usually don’t burn out together, but it’s still important to rule that out by checking for power, but it was probably caused by a bad component like a fuse, relay, or module, or even by bad wiring. When your high beam headlights don’t work or your low beams don’t work - If just one bulb won’t work in either high beam mode or low beam mode, it could be a busted bulb. Most headlight failures that are limited to just high or low beams are related to a relay or the high beam control switch. When your headlights work but seem dim - If your headlights always seem dim, the problem could be foggy lenses or worn out bulbs. If they get dimmer and brighter intermittently, it could be a problem in your charging system. Give your headlights a wash with some cleaning solution to make sure they’re not just dirty. Information from https://www.lifewire.com/fix-non-working-headlights-4137021 Let Us Help You, Too