1. Drive gently. Adjusting your driving style to minimize wear and tear on your ride can give you a few more years of happy motoring. Avoid quick starts and stops. Aggressive driving can lower gas mileage by 33 percent on the highway and 5 percent in the city. Observe the speed limit, gas mileage decreases rapidly above 60 mph. 2. Keep up with fluid changes. Checking on your vehicle's fluids is paramount to its longevity. While some fluids like brake fluid, clutch fluid and coolant may not require attention as often as oil or transmission fluid, they're just as important. Mark one day on your calendar each month to make sure all of your fluids are topped off. It's quick, easy and can save you some serious repair dollars down the line. Bringing in your vehicle to change oil regularly and gain another mile per gallon. 3. Clean the exterior and interior. Excess dirt and grime can act like sand paper, creating unnecessary abrasion that can wear down upholstery and carpeting. We carry great floor mats if your vehicle didn't come with them to help protect your vehicle's interior. It's also good to detail your Volvo twice a year, and doing so will protect it's clear coat and save from fading over time. Ask us about our vehicle detail packages! 4. Check on your tires and wheels. The simplest way to check tire tread depth is with a penny. Insert the penny into the grooves of the tread. If you are able to see all of Lincoln's head, the tire needs replacement. Keep tires properly inflated and improve gas mileage by 3 percent. 5. Schedule vehicle inspections twice a year. Regardless of how well you think you know your vehicle, a Certified Volvo Technician can spot things ahead of time that you might miss. Taking the time to schedule a check up with our service department twice a year may seem obsessive, but preventative maintenance at the hands of a qualified professional is cheap insurance. 6. Address minor problems early. It's easy to hear a strange noise in your vehicle and hope that it will go away. Unfortunately, there aren't any cars out there that can heal themselves, at least not yet. Don't put off minor maintenance or easy repair work. Doing so can lead to larger problems and larger repair bills in the end. 7. Be aware of new sounds and vibrations. No matter how embarrassing it may be to stand in front of a perfect stranger and make funny noises, it is worth it. Effectively relaying what you've experienced in your vehicle to our service advisors is an essential tool to keeping it on the road. The more your service advisor at the dealership knows about the problem, the more likely they are to fix it right the first time and for less labor costs. Be sure to tell the advisor as much as you can about the problem, including details like speed, what direction you are turning, the temperature outside and the time of day. It may sound strange, but all of those details can help your mechanic assess the situation and set it right without expensive exploratory work.

Volvo of Tucson Winter Driving Tips

Volvo of Tucson wants you to be assured that your vehicle to remains safe on the road for you and your family. With the arrival of Fall and Winter driving conditions the National Car Care Council offers the following tips to drivers to prepare their vehicle for the coming months. As the weather begins to turn cold make sure to inspect the following items on your vehicle:

• The battery cables and terminals should be inspected for any corrosion.
• Check that the anti-freeze, oil, brake fluid, power steering fluid, automatic transmission fluid, and windshield washer fluid are all at their optimal levels.
• Look to see that all the belts and hoses are free of cracks and defects.
• Inspect the condition of the Air Filters.
• Inspect the condition of the windshield wipers, make sure there is no streaking and they are properly clearing the windshield of precipitation.
• Check that all the exterior lights and turn signals are working properly.
• Use the penny test to inspect the tread on your tires:

First insert a penny into the tread on your tires with Lincoln's head down. If you can see the top of Lincoln's head the tread is likely worn and the tire may need to be replaced. If the tread seems to be wearing unevenly between tires this could indicate that your tires are under-inflated, or unbalanced, or that your wheels are misaligned.

Making sure that the tread on your tires is not worn becomes increasingly important in the winter months. Stopping on wet roads can take up to four times longer than on dry roads and worn tread can increase this time even more.

If you find a problem during the inspection of your vehicle, or you have any questions or concerns schedule an appointment with Volvo of Tucson today. We'll be happy to make sure that your vehicle is ready for any adverse driving conditions. Don't wait for winter to arrive, call or schedule your appointment online today!