Car Care Tips

At Eilertson Repair, car care matters. If you live, work, or visit Worth County, IA and want to keep your vehicle working at its best, it's important to practice good maintenance habits. Caring for your car or truck with regular service appointments is a great way to extend the life of your vehicle. 

Knowing how to get the most out of your tires, achieve better gas mileage, or keep your components from failing is important. We'll help you do just that. 

Follow Our Car Care Tips

Hopefully, with these helpful tips you will be able make the most of your vehicle.  And when you do need repairs, remember to turn to us for quality workmanship and an honest price. Our mechanics are here to help you get your vehicle in, out, and back on the road again. 

Our auto repair shop in Northwood, IA, proudly serves Worth County and surrounding areas, including Albert Lea, MN, Mason City, IA, and the surrounding areas of Bancroft MN, Hayward MN, Manchester MN, Portland IA, Freeman IA, and Emery IA. 

We understand how important your vehicle is and why your car needs to be serviced by a trusted Northwood auto repair shop. So give us a call at (641) 324-1438 today to schedule your next maintenance appointment.

Car Maintenance and Care

• Change your fluids on time, every time.
• Change your oil every 3,000 miles for regular oil, 5,000 miles for synthetic oil.
• Change antifreeze fluid every 30,000 miles.
• Change brake fluid every 30,000 miles.
• Change transmission fluid every 30,000 miles.
• Schedule a maintenance check every 15, 30, 60, and 90,000 miles.
• Replace your air filter every 12 months or 12,000 miles (whichever comes first).
• Replace your fuel filter every 2 years or 24,000 miles (whichever comes first).

Tire Maintenance and Care

• Rotate your tires every 5,000 miles or every 6 months.
• Check your tire pressures approximately once a week. Low tire pressures can affect fuel economy, handling and comfort. To accurately measure your tire pressure, check tires when they are cold. Wait at least three hours after driving.
• Always make sure that your wheels are properly aligned. Badly aligned wheels will lead to dragging of the car on the road.
• Check your spare tire each month and keep it properly inflated so it¹s ready to go when you need it most.
• Use the penny trick to determine if the tread on your tires is worn too low. Take a penny and put Abraham Lincoln's head into one of the grooves of the tread. If part of his head is covered by the tread, you're ok. If you can see all of his head, it's time to replace the tire. When the tread is worn down to 1/16 of an inch, tires must be replaced.

Gas Mileage Tips

• Check and/or change your air filter every 6 months to improve fuel economy and keep your engine running smoothly.
• Don't top off. Don't bother topping off when filling your car's gas tank. Any additional gas is just going to slop around or seep out.
• Tighten up that gas cap. Gas will evaporate from your car's gas tank if it has an escape. Loose, missing or damaged gas caps cause 147 million gallons of gas to evaporate each year.
• Go for the shade. The hot summer sun that makes the inside of your car feel like a sauna also evaporates fuel from your gas tank.
• Use the right oil. You can improve your car's gas mileage by 1 percent to 2 percent by using the manufacturer's recommended grade of motor oil.

And most important of all……

• Always check for potential problems before they happen.