The weather is warming up and that means you’ve got more time (and probably motivation) to clean out your vehicle. A great place to start, if we may say, is your air vents. There’s nothing to make your vehicle feel a little cleaner than a sweet smell blowing through the air vents! And especially if you have allergies or overheat easily or just prefer the air conditioning, you’re going to be using those vents all through the spring and summer. So, without further ado, here is our easy guide to getting your air vents clean and your entire air system smelling fresh as a daisy!

The first thing is to clean the vents themselves. All you need for this is some cleaning solution, white vinegar, a vacuum, and Q-tips. Vacuum out all the vents (including the one right up against your windshield) and then get into the cracks and crevices with a Q-tip soaked in the cleaning solution. Do a second pass with a vinegar-soaked Q-tip, and then wipe the whole thing down with a clean rag or microfiber cloth. The vinegar might smell strong to begin with, but it neutralizes odors and after the vinegar smell fades, there’s no smell left except freshness!

Your next step is checking on your cabin air filter. There should be directions on how to access it in your vehicle owner’s manual. This air filter traps all kinds of things and filters the air coming into the cabin of the vehicle (self-explanatory, I know). This means that the filter traps pollen, dust, and smells. You can find what type of air filter your vehicle needs in your owner’s manual, or you can schedule an appointment with us to have the filter changed!

The last thing is that you might have mildew in your air conditioner evaporator. This is a slim chance coming into spring, but if when you run the air you smell something similar to musty, dirty socks… well, then you might have mildew in your AC evaporator. Anyway, this is handy to know so we’ll tell you how to get rid of that. All you need to do is warm up your vehicle’s engine by driving… about a mile from home will do the trick. Then, find a place to stop safely and roll down all of your windows and run the air on full blast for a few minutes. NOT the air conditioning, just the regular old air. This should circulate air through the system at a good pace to get rid of any standing water and dry up any mildew that’s sitting in there.

With these tips, you can start on your car cleaning project by making sure your vehicle smells fresh and clean. It’s easy and very gratifying!

First off, always plan for delays on your commute when you leave your house in the morning, or when leaving work if you have plans after hours. No matter what, there’s always the chance of traffic, and being late makes everyone a little edgier. Eliminate that stress and plan for a longer trip – and surprise yourself when you’re early to wherever you’re headed!

If someone is tailgating you on the road, then don’t let them get to you. Let them get past you! As soon as it’s safe to do so, let whoever’s been riding your rear bumper like there’s no tomorrow pass your vehicle. Wave them on if they need encouragement, but don’t play games.

When it comes to manners, lay off the horn. Not only does honking at other people a lot make them upset, but it subconsciously makes you upset as well! And when you’re upset, you drive like a maniac. That’s just a fact.

If you do get worked up a little and start feeling agitated, take deep breaths and listen to soothing music or talk radio quietly to calm you down. It really works!

Always focus on being safe while you’re on the road. When you are thinking about driving safely and not paying all of your attention to your music, your passengers, or anything else that is not actively related to your operation of the vehicle, you drive more safely.

The last thing is that if you do come across someone who is road raging hard, then let them get past you as soon as you can do so safely. They are dangerous when they are angry in this manner, so just let them go be dangerous somewhere else. Don’t make eye contact, don’t gesture, just let them pass you.

Planning on taking a trip some time soon? Well, good! Whether it’s to another state or just to the grocery store, we’ve got you covered in the tunes department. Check out our favorite songs this new year (so far… there’ll be many more to come) to jam to in the car. Ask us about setting up your new Toyota to play your music and connect your smartphone safely, and then take this playlist for a drive!

Road Trip Playlist

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

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

Take On Me – a-ha

Beer For My Horses – Toby Keith and Willie Nelson

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

Are You Gonna Be My Girl – Jet

When it comes to headlights, well, there’s no room for compromise. Those things have to work perfectly all the time – and when they don’t, you’ve got a problem. Here are some common reasons your headlights might not be working the way they should, and how you can talk to the shop tech about getting them fixed.

If only one of your headlights is out, then you do need to get it fixed. This could be due to a burnt out bulb or a broken component in your headlight assembly.

If both of your headlights are out, then you’ve got a serious problem! There’s a slim possibility that it could just be that both of your headlights are burnt out, but it’s far more likely that it’s due to a broken relay or control switch – either of which need to get repaired ASAP.

If your headlights both work but just aren’t shining as brightly as you think they should be, then give them a good cleaning with some solution and a clean microfiber cloth. If they’re still dim, look closely at the surface of your headlights. If it’s yellow and scratched and chipped, then come ask us about headlight reconditioning. You might also consider asking about upgrading your headlights to HID bulbs or even LEDs.

If your headlights work fine but dim a little bit in certain situations, such as when you are accelerating, then you might have a problem with your charging system. Ask us about it – or at least let us know at your next oil change.

When it comes to getting your oil changed, there are some standard rules you usually abide by – get your oil changed every 6 months or 3,000-5,000 miles. Well, we hate to burst your bubble, but that’s not necessarily true. The frequency of your oil changes depends on several factors, including:

• The age of your car

• The type of oil you use

• How many miles are on your car

• What conditions you usually drive in

• How hard you drive your car

The best resource to find out how often you need to get your oil changed – and that’s not the general you, we mean YOU, the person reading this right now – is your dealer. Here at Fiore Toyota, our service professionals can look at everything under your hood, talk to you about your driving habits, and determine the best time for you to get your next oil change.

Oil is incredibly important to your engine’s operation, and when you take care of your oil, you’re taking care of your engine.

Do you have blind spots when you’re driving? Not in your vision (though if you do, I’d go to an eye doctor ASAP) but in your vehicle. If you have a problem where other vehicles just appear next to you when you’re trying to shift lanes, or you know there’s someone behind you but you just can’t see them, well, then you’ve got blind spots. Here are some great ways to fix that problem fast and easily!

One way is to get a couple of stick-on convex mirrors that will fit in the outer corners of your side mirrors. Stick them on, make sure they’re attached firmly, and voilà! You’ve got a really good view of everything at the side of your vehicle.

The other way that doesn’t involve, you know, attaching something to your mirrors, is to adjust your mirrors. Here’s how:

1. 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.

2. 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.

3. 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.

4. You shouldn’t be able to see the side of your car when your head is all the way upright!

Let us know if you used these tips and how they worked for you!

One of the most important things you can do for your vehicle is check your oil at least once a month. Why, you ask? Well! Because your oil does a lot of work under your hood and checking it can help you make sure that your vehicle is running correctly. If you see something wrong in your oil, it’s pretty much a sure bet that you should be taking your vehicle to the shop pretty soon after. Don’t know how to check it? Check THIS!

• 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.

Remember to do this at least once a month and you’ll be golden between your oil changes.

Do you find that your battery keeps dying? We’ve been driving down the street lately and seeing a lot of folks with their vehicle’s nose against another, giving a neighbor a jump. While it’s a nice chance to meet a neighbor, needing a jumpstart is often inconvenient and not something that you want to start your day off with. Here are some reasons your battery might be dying prematurely on you.

You could be leaving the lights on unintentionally. This means either the headlights or an overhead light in your vehicle, which drains the battery quickly. This can be the product of either forgetfulness or a malfunction (if your lights are supposed to turn off automatically). Make sure your lights are all turned off when they are supposed to be, and if they are malfunctioning take your vehicle in to the shop to get that fixed.

Your battery could just be old. Do you remember the last time your battery was replaced? If not, it’s probably time for that puppy to go to the farm, so to speak. When your battery is too old, it won’t hold a charge.

The connections to your battery could be loose or corroded. When this happens, the charging system in your car can’t keep your battery charged while you’re driving. The solution to this is to make sure that the connections to your battery are clean and tight.

The cold could be a factor. In colder temperatures, older batteries can malfunction or die… which honestly just means that you need a new battery anyway.

Your charging system might just be broken. This could be anything from wiring to belts to parts that need replacement, so as soon as you jump your vehicle, bring it to the shop.

So, you drive a Toyota vehicle. But do you know these fun and interesting facts about the Toyota brand? Here are 10 that are especially fascinating!

1. Before producing vehicles, Toyota (then known as Toyoda) started out selling sewing machines. The company transitioned to automobile manufacturing in 1933, and the first vehicles produced premiered in 1935 – the Model A1.

2. Toyota’s name changed from the original “Toyoda” because it took eight brush strokes (a lucky number) to write in Japanese – one fewer than the original!

3. The Land Cruiser has been in production since 1951 and is the brand’s longest running series. It became the best-selling car in the USA in 1965.

4. In 1970, the Toyota Celica premiered and became Toyota’s first mass-produced sports car. Though production ended in 2006, the Celica is still a favorite car among vehicle enthusiasts.

5. The Toyota Prius, the best-selling hybrid car in the world, was released in 1997.

6. In 1999, Toyota produced its 100,000th vehicle.

7. The Toyota Corolla is the best-selling nameplate in the world, with more than 40,000,000 cars produced over 11 generations of the vehicle.

8. Looking for a powerful vehicle? In 2012, a standard configuration Toyota Tundra was used to tow a 60-ton space shuttle!

9. Toyota Motor Corporation is the second largest automotive manufacturer in the world, and is the largest in Japan. More than 5,000,000 cars are produced every year.

10. Toyota’s newest assembly line produces a completed new car every five seconds.