How to drive during downpours

(Photo by telegraph.co.uk)

Because I suffer from brontophobia, I go to weather.com religiously. Aside from telling me when it's going to storm so I can hide from it, they also give useful tips about driving in such unfavorable conditions. Below is a video to how to drive during downpours. But if you're like me, then you just stop at gas stations or bookstores and wait until it passes over. Anyway...




Yes I know that this is Driving 101, but hey, there's someone out there who hydroplanes on the regular.

Uh oh! Toyo Tires Recalled Certain Toyo Extensa A/S Tires!!!

Toyo Tire is recalling certain Toyo Extensa A/S tires, size P225/60R16 97T, produced from September 20, 2009, through November 6, 2010. Some of these tires may have been produced with a kink in the bead area. Under certain circumstances, the kink may eventually lead to a crack in the bead area, which is near the rim. If a crack develops and is left undetected, the tire may fail, potentially causing loss of vehicle control and a crash, which could result in injury or death.

The following model tire is included in this safety recall campaign:

Type: Toyo® Extensa® A/S
Size: P225/60R16 97T
TIN (Tire Identification Number): 73A6H2N3809 through 73A6H2N4410

The recall tires were manufactured at the Toyo Tires plant in Georgia, U.S.A., and can be identified by examining the sidewall stamping for the above information, and the "Made in U.S.A." mark. If the tire was manufactured before or after this period, or has the "Made in Japan" or "Made in China" mark on the sidewall, they are NOT being recalled.

There are approximately 68,763 tires covered by this campaign.

Toyo Tire will notify owners and replace the tires free of charge. The safety recall is expected to begin on or about February 2, 2012. Owners may contact Toyo Tire at 1-800-442-8696 (6:30am to 5pm Pacific time) (9:30am to 8pm Eastern time). For more information, A dedicated page at www.toyotires.com/recall-campaign provides information on this safety recall campaign including photos to assist in identifying recalled tires and instructions on how to return recalled tires.

Top 5 Car Care Prep Tips According to Valvoline

Valvoline, one of the leaders in car care (after all, they have spend 140 years under the hood) released some nifty tips on car care as well as some things that people tend to overlook when they're working on their beloved vehicle.

If you're reading this you're likely one of those hearty few that revel in fixing things yourself. You enjoy the satisfaction in knowing that you made or fixed something. While that crooked spice rack in the kitchen may not be your finest work, it represents valuable lessons learned for the next spice rack. When it comes to working on things with engines and four wheels, it helps to know a few of these lessons going in. There is also a very real factor of danger that must be considered. Some errant coriander falling off a crooked shelf may cause a bit of a mess. A mechanical misstep in the automotive world can cause expensive damage or injury. Protecting your vehicle and yourself from harm is easy if you follow a few simple steps before starting work on an automobile. We've made plenty of the automotive equivalent of crooked spice racks over the years. Here are a couple of the things we've learned to save you from making work for yourself.

1. Label Now for the Future
One way to insure that things get put back together the same way they were before they came apart is with simple labels. Some long masking tape and a marker are good tools for marking vacuum hoses and electrical connectors. Mark each hose with a matching number, or each wire with a matching letter. A paint marker is great for daubing identifying left or right marks on larger parts. While changing the oil, a bit of tape or post-it on the steering wheel with the words "NO OIL!" scrawled on it is a good idea to prevent turning over the engine without oil and turning it into scrap metal. Tear the note off only after you've tightened the drain bolt, spun on the filter, and poured fresh oil in the engine.

2. Jack of All Weights
With 27 different kinds of airbags and side impact support built into the doors, even compact cars can easily tip the scales over 2000 pounds these days. While it would be nice to have a two-post rack like the do-it-yourself shop guys on TV, most of us are stuck with a garage full of boxes with mystery contents and only a little space. Never work under an unsupported vehicle. Original equipment emergency jacks are designed only for emergency tire changing—not for working under the vehicle. Use a quality jack and jack stands rated for the weight of your vehicle. Use a wheel chock to prevent unwanted rolling. A wheel chock does not have to be fancy—a block of wood is better than nothing. A set of drive-on ramps is great for oil changes. Never attempt to use ramps or jack up a vehicle on anything other than level, solid ground.

3. Circuit Breaker
Disconnecting the battery negative post not only prevents any accidental electrical shorts, it also disables the vehicle ignition system to prevent accidental starts. The first step is to turn the ignition key to the off position and remove it. This will prevent accidental power ups when the battery is reconnected. Even something as ordinary as an electric radiator fan can cause a nasty finger or hand injury if it starts unexpectedly. After disconnecting the battery place a thick rag across the top of the two battery posts. Keep wrenches or watches away from the battery to prevent arcing power. Warning: Radio and other vehicle settings may be lost. Check your owner's manual to find details on battery disconnect.

4. Mirror, Mirror
This tip is similar to the labeling idea. Always leave one side assembled while working on the other. This is especially handy when working on the brakes. The orientation and arrangement of the various clips, spacers, springs, and shims that comprise a brake assembly are surprisingly easy to forget. A phone call, football game on TV, or other interruption can accelerate this memory assembly loss. While it's tempting to blow everything apart into a million pieces with the 150-piece pneumatic power tool set you just picked up on sale, leave one side for reference is an idea that always works.

5. Wear Protection
The same folks that spend countless dollars and hours shining and protecting their cars often skimp when it comes to protecting themselves. The words "wear protective goggles or gloves" are not just written for legal reasons. Battery acid is corrosive. Automotive potions, such as engine oil and brake fluid, do a stellar job of helping gnashing aluminum and steel survive, yet can be detrimental to the human body. Fumes from canned solvents, such as brake cleaner or spray paint, can cause both short and long-term physical damage. Fortunately, protective goggles, masks, and gloves are relatively inexpensive and readily available. Putting them on and using them is the real trick

For more info about Valvoline, check out Valvoline's Official Site

Interesting Customization: A Baby Stroller sitting on 28s

While looking around on the web, I came across an interesting customization. If only you could see the blank stare on my face... Last weekend was the Dub Car Show in Chicago, and a baby stroller made it's way onto the floor. My number one question is... how safe is this?

Note to self: Must travel to Chicago for a car show next year.

Uh Oh! Audi recalls A6, S6, RS6 Over Potential Fuel Tank Issues

Straight from the press release from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Volkswagen is recalling certain Audi A6 (2001-2004), Audi S6 (2002-2003), and Audi RS6 (2003) vehicles equipped with 4.2L engines and manufactured from June 19th 2001 to June 8th 2004. The aging of the plastic material in the fuel tank rollover valve combined with bending stress from the aluminum ventilation line to the rollover valve nipple may lead to cracking of the nipple. If this happens, a fuel leak may result.

If you don't know what a fuel leak may result to, I'll tell you. A fuel leak in the presence of an ignition source could lead to a vehicle fire.

Dealers will reinforce the nipple on the rollover valve to prevent leakage or repair the cracking at the nipple. The recall is expected to begin during June 2011. Owners may contact Audi at 1-800-822-2834.

Uh Oh! Honda Recalls Over 800,000 Vehicles Due to Airbags

Since 2008, Honda has recalled hundreds of thousands of 2001-2003 Honda and Acura models for airbag issues, and now the Japanese automaker is re-recalling those vehicles. Honda is inspecting 833,000 vehicles for airbags that deploy with too much pressure, which could lead to metal fragments passing through the airbag cushion material. This defect has resulted in 12 injuries and one death since 2010.

The recall covers vehicles that have already been serviced, as Honda is searching for 2,430 defective airbag inflator parts that were used during the original repair. Since Honda cannot determine which vehicles received the defective part, the Japanese automaker is re-recalling all 833,000 vehicles.

Among the 833,000 vehicles affected by the recalls are the 2001-2002 Accord and Civic, the 2002 Odyssey and 2002-2003 CR-V. Acura models affected are certain selected 2002 and 2003 Acura 3.2 TL and 2003 Acura 3.2 CL vehicles.

This latest news means that Honda has recalled over 1.6 million vehicles for this issue since 2008.

In addition to contacting customers by mail, in late May, owners of these vehicles will be able to determine if their vehicles require repair by going on-line or calling. Honda owners can go to www.recalls.honda.com or call (800) 999-1009 and select option 4; Acura owners can go to www.recalls.acura.com or call (800) 382-2238 and select option 4.

Photo: ConsumerAutoGuide.com

Uh Oh! Toyota Recalls 51,000 Tundras

Toyota just announced today that that they're voluntarily recalling 51,000 2011 Toyota Tundras to safely inspect the rear drive shaft. The rear drive shaft in an estimated 0.05 percent of the vehicles may include a component (slip yoke) that could break due to improper casting during the foundry process.

Toyota is aware of one drive shaft slip yoke failure in a customer-owned vehicle. There are no reports of accidents or injuries associated with this condition. No other Lexus or Toyota vehicles are involved in this recall.

Owners of the involved vehicles will receive a letter advising them of this recall by first class mail starting in May 2011.

Toyota dealers will be instructed to perform an inspection to identify a specific "production lot" number located on the rear drive shaft. Based upon the inspection results, in a limited number of cases, the rear drive shaft may need to be replaced.

The inspection is estimated to take ten minutes. If the rear drive shaft needs to be replaced, the repair will take more time depending on the dealer workload. The inspection and / or replacement will be performed at no cost to the vehicle owner.

Detailed information and answers to questions are available to customers at
www.toyota.com/recall and the Toyota Customer Experience Center at 1-800-331-4331.

Photo: Toyotatundra.info

Uh Oh! Nissan Recalls Almost 200,000 Pathfinders and Infiniti QX4s

A few months ago, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced an investigation into corrosion problems in older Nissan SUVs. There were 35 cases reported of excessive rusting, with 18 of those cases leading to steering issues.

(2000 Nissan Pathfinder)

This recall currently affects those with the 1997- 2003 Infiniti QX4 and the 1996-2004 Nissan Pathfinder in which the SUV was originally sold or currently registered in the following states:
Connecticut, Delaware, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Massachusetts, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington DC, West Virginia, and Wisconsin. As you can see, these are all states that have heavy concentrations of road salt that's used.

(1999 Infiniti QX4)

A mixture of water and salt could enter an assembly location hole in the upper strut housing, causing water to collect at the mating surface of the strut housing panel and the inner hood ledge assembly. Over time, this water and salt combo could result in corrosion of the strut tower housing in the vehicles affected above.

What happens if you don't get it checked out?

I'm glad you asked. The strut housing could crack and pull away from the inner hood ledge assembly. This may lead to grinding noises, increased steering effort, and possibly the steering column to break, resulting in the loss of steering control, which basically equals a car accident.

If you're not sure if this affects you, do yourself a favor and call Nissan at 1-800-647-7261.

Uh Oh! Nissan Leaf Owners Having Trouble Starting Their Cars...

Reuters reports that Nissan admits some owners in the U.S. and Japan are having difficulty starting up their Nissan Leaf. Company spokesperson Toshitake Inoshita tells Reuters that the problem has been traced back to the air conditioning system, but the exact root of the problem is still unknown.

Since a failure to start isn't a safety issue, Nissan likely won't issue a recall, but Inoshita adds "when we know the exact cause, we will decide whether to issue a service bulletin, or take other steps."

There are currently only 452 Leaf EVs that have been sold in the U.S., so the fact that these issues are already being seen and reported on means the problem could be fairly significant. Still, the automaker has sold a more significant 3,300+ units in Japan, so it's possible that the majority of complaints are from Nissan's home market. Either way, the news isn't exactly good for Nissan, which is hoping that consumers see its first modern mass-market EV as a halo car.

I hope the Juke doesn't have these problems.

Cadillac is looking out for their owners....

John Capp, director for Global Active Safety at Cadillac, says future Cadillac technologies could include in-vehicle Doppler radar to spot obstructions or traffic jams ahead. Looking even further out, Capp sees autonomous vehicles that can communicate with each other, traffic signals and buildings, pointing to a world where cars may actually drive themselves.

"We see things moving toward a point in the future where perhaps vehicles won't crash," said Capp. "We work on developing advanced safety technologies for Cadillac that alert drivers to potential dangers around them."



Cadillac is already evolving its technology to come closer to the vision of a crash-proof car. Capp and his team of engineers, inventors and futurists have developed life-saving active safety technologies that are already in place on the 2010 Cadillac STS Platinum, including:

Lane departure warning – a camera-based lane detection system that warns the driver when he or she leaves their lane without signaling. The camera, mounted near the inside rearview mirror, identifies traffic lane markings and provides audible alerts.

Blind spot alert – twin radar beacons that detect an object in a vehicle's blind zone and provide a visual warning in the outside side mirror.

Adaptive cruise control – sensors detect objects in a vehicle's path and slow the vehicle down to avoid a collision.

"We're evolving those technologies to develop the capability where vehicles will be able to avoid crashes,” Capp said.

Let's watch, shall we...



Either way, if they need a test city to host this in, might I suggest Atlanta, to help these people who can not drive. That way it'll cut down on the Atlanta traffic that originates in Cobb and Gwinnett Counties.