Snow and ice certainly provide challenges to drivers. (Don’t laugh; I know we are in Yuma but you may travel to snowy or icy conditions.) When driving on snow you need increased traction. That’s why four-wheel-drive vehicles (or front-wheel-drive vehicles) get around better—simply because of their superior traction. The photo above is from a Spring…

Thunderstorms are another danger in our part of the country, often coming hard on the heels of dust storms. The desert sand doesn’t soak up much water, so our dry washes suddenly fill with fast moving, deep water. It creates a very dangerous situation, especially when the thunderstorm occurs miles away and the wash fills…

Here in the desert southwest, sandstorms can be extremely dangerous, often sending visibility to near zero. If you are caught in a sandstorm, as visibility diminishes, so should your speed. Your safest option is to exit a freeway or busy street and find a safe place to park such as a shopping mall or other…

The one thing you want to avoid is becoming trapped behind the car in front of you. The way to avoid that is to stop far enough behind that you can still see their rear tires touching the pavement. That way, you can maneuver around it if you need to. You’ve heard of, or perhaps…

Having an accident is always an emotional situation—whether that emotion is anger, frustration, fear, sorrow, anxiety, worry or panic. Even something as minor as a fender-bender or a slow-speed parking lot accident can be enough to create emotion. Try to remain calm. When you are in an accident, remember first that insurance companies typically investigate…

You should be familiar enough with your gauges to know what “normal” is, so when the gauges are not within normal range, you will realize something is wrong. When you are driving, and begin to feel something about the function of your car that you are unsure about, or hear a new noise, cautiously move…

While to some people, changing a flat tire may sound like no big deal, to others it is a daunting task. For some of those who think it’s a piece of cake, modern vehicles may change your mind. That’s because some vehicles have the jack equipment stowed in very out of the way places and,…

Years ago, a technician might spend five minutes diagnosing a car and five hours making the repair. Today, we might spend five hours running tests and diagnosing the vehicle, and five minutes repairing or putting a component on it. The use of electronics drives this change. Vehicles today have a tremendous number of electronic systems….

In states with sweltering, hot summers, few things are more frustrating than having your air conditioning blow hot air when it is over 100˚ outside. Proper maintenance can prevent this. Your air conditioning system is a sealed system. In closed systems, the only way you lose fluid, or in this case refrigerant, is when you…