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!

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.

What’s worse than biting into an apple and finding a worm? POTHOLES. The bane of the driver’s existence and sometimes a totally unavoidable evil… especially in the winter. Water gets into preexisting cracks in the pavement, and when it freezes, it expands. This destabilizes the pavement and creates a weakness that quickly becomes a pothole. So, what do you do?

The first thing is to drive slowly and approach potholes that you can see with caution. If you can drive around them, do so! To avoid unseen potholes, avoid driving through puddles (especially localized puddles because they are probably in a pothole and you have no idea how deep that pothole is) of all sizes.

If you can’t avoid a pothole, slow down and drive over it slowly. That’s all there is to it! But if you miss the pothole and it’s too late to slow down, be careful that your vehicle was not damaged as you drove over it. If you think that your vehicle was damaged, then pull over when it’s safe to do so and do a quick exterior check. This is when it’s super useful to know what your car is supposed to look like, so you should try to get familiar with that!

If you can’t see exterior damage (i.e. to your tires, bumpers, etc.) then get back in and start off slowly. If your vehicle pulls to one side or another, your alignment is likely off. That’s something that you can’t fix on your own, so bring it into the shop.

Finally, report any potholes you see to the local DOT. The more information they have about potholes, the quicker they get filled and the quicker the roads are made safe again. Great job, you!

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!

1. 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.

2. 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.

3. 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.

4. 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.

5. 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.

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?

Looking for just the right tunes to have on reserve in case you need something to jam to on your drive? Check out our perfect road trip playlist for any occasion!

Wouldn’t It Be Nice – The Beach Boys

Send Me On My Way – Rusted Root

Summer Of ‘69 – Bryan Adams

Take Me Home, Country Roads – John Denver

Africa – Toto

Purple Rain – Prince

Take On Me – a-ha

Beer For My Horses – Toby Keith and Willie Nelson

Hot Blooded – Foreigner

My Sharona – The Knack

Bennie And The Jets – Elton John

You Make My Dreams – Daryl Hall & John Oates

Please Mr. Postman – The Marvelettes

Down Under – Men At Work

All Along The Watchtower – Jimi Hendrix

Are You Gonna Be My Girl – Jet

Shut Up And Dance – Walk The Moon

All Right Now – Free

Sharp Dressed Man – ZZ Top

Slow Ride – Foghat

Roadhouse Blues – The Doors

China Grove – The Doobie Brothers

Runnin’ Down A Dream – Tom Petty

I’ve Been Everywhere – Johnny Cash

All Day And All Of The Night – The Kinks

Ramblin’ Man – The Allman Brothers Band

Born To Run – Bruce Springsteen

Fortunate Son – Creedence Clearwater Revival

Shiny Happy People – R.E.M.

10 Things I Love About My New 2018 Nissan Rogue Sport

1. Not only is this a great vehicle for the day-to-day, but I can take the whole family along on a great adventure that might take us on the road less traveled. My Rogue can do anything!

2. My husband is super tall – but he can still fit into my Rogue! The headroom is super generous, which is great for not only his height but his neck as well!

3. The technology in this vehicle feels so advanced, but it’s not distracting at all. Sometimes that console screen can be really in-your-face, but in my new Rogue it feels like it’s supposed to be there, and if I’m not actively looking at it, I can forget it’s there!

4. On that note, the technology is really intuitive and easy to use. I’m never confused about how the navigation works, or how to hook up my phone to be able to talk to people over the Bluetooth.

5. The seat warmers!! Need I say more, especially in this weather??

6. The cupholders will fit even the largest water bottle, which is really convenient when I have to take the kids to sports practice.

7. With the fold-down seats, I can haul a lot when I need to. One time I took my mom antiquing, and she fell in love with this table. Thankfully I was driving my Rogue, because otherwise I don’t know how we would have gotten the darn thing home!

8. With the safety technologies (like the Intelligent Mobility), I don’t have to worry about safety as much as before, because I know that my Rogue has got my back. It also makes me feel like I am in Top Gun or something, with the radar and whatnot. It’s very cool.

9. The ride is so smooth that sometimes I forget I am on a road instead of a beautiful cloud. Braking is smooth, turning is smooth, even going over bumps is smooth. I don’t know how they did this but I am not going to complain!

10. I look really cool. It’s shallow but I look awesome in my Rogue and I do not care who knows it!!

Did you ever take Driver’s Ed? I am sure that you did, once upon a time, so you must remember the term “Defensive Driving” from that time. If you’re like me though, you forgot everything about defensive driving the minute you actually got your license and then moved on with your life. But! I am here to tell you that defensive driving is actually something super useful that you should keep in mind when you are on the road. Here are our favorite defensive driving tips:

• Pay attention

• Expect the unexpected

• Maintain a safe speed

• Don’t tailgate

• Anticipate the moves of other drivers

• Be conscientious about the weather and road conditions

• Don’t be distracted

• Respect other drivers on the road

That’s all! Next time you’re driving, try some of these tips out. You will feel safer and more in control in no time!

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