Summer and winter holiday’s are the perfect time for families to start traveling. Everyone loves a good road trip right? You also want to be comfortable. Especially if you have children. When my wife, kids and I are going on a road trip we pretty much pack up our entire house. With that said, I was glad that Consumer Reports made the Chevrolet Traverse one of the top 10 vehicles for family travel. Not only did the Traverse score well on the road test from Consumer Reports but it also has good seating and cargo arrangements. It’s more than comfortable to ride in, scored well in all crash tests, and has proven reliable in owner surveys.
Chevrolet Traverse LT ($39,920)
The quiet, steady-riding Traverse handles well and offers plenty of room for people and cargo. Among the larger of the “mid-sized” SUVs, the Traverse has a third-row seat that’s comfortable even for adults. Rear visibility could be better, and fuel economy of 16 mpg is mediocre at best. – Consumer Reports.
Have you made it out and test driven the new Traverse yet? If you’ve got a big family this may just be the car for you. Let your Texas Chevy Dealer take you for a test drive. I don’t think you will be disappointed by any means of the word.
Ok people I am not talking about harming cars in anyway. We most certainly do not like seeing cars harmed! I’m talking about pranks! Have you ever pranked someone by messing with their car?
If so, what did you do?
It looks like someone spent a lot of money on some post-its for this prank. I just wondered what you would do to someone’s car if you were going to prank them.
As many of you may or may not know we are somewhat of some pranksters around here at Classic Chevrolet. Hey what can we say? We like to have fun!
I know that sometimes things can happen. Tires go bald, radios short out, etc. It can be frustrating. Why does your power sunroof start acting funny? How do you fix it? What happened!?! It can be maddening. Well thanks to Online Auto Repair for the tips and hints on how to take care of this problem. Sure you can call your local Fort Worth Chevy dealer for help but some of you are do it yourselfers and there is nothing wrong with that at all!
Many malfunctions in the sunroof system fall into 2 categories that can often be related to each-other. Water leak issues and electrical problems. Sometimes wiring or switch corrosion can be caused by the water leaks.
A power sunroof can slide the roof panel open or closed. You can also tilt the roof panel up in the back to allow fresh air into the passenger compartment. When driving down the road this can also pull a vacuum and remove stale air from the interior cabin.
In most cases power sunroofs are not that much different than electrically operated power window systems found in most automobiles. Many common parts are shared such as system relays, a master control switch and the motor assembly to perform the movement.
Note that most power sunroof systems are protected by a circuit breaker instead of a fuse. This is in case the sunroof begins to bind. It protects the motor by opening the circuit breaker. Often when people have power sunroof problems they will begin to look for the fuse when there is actually none. A circuit breaker will reset automatically when it cools down.
Power sunroof common problems
Often power sunroofs are a popular option that does not get used very often. When this system sits for months or years without being used often components can develop corrosion that may hinder operation when it is finally desired.
Since a sunroof is part of the exterior surface of the vehicle a complete watertight seal is necessary. If this seal fails or the automatic drain becomes clogged with debris and water sits around the components the corrosion mentioned above will be accelerated. For this reason a very common sunroof problem is water sealing and drainage.
Diagnosing power sunroof problems is pretty straightforward. The first thing to check would be the circuit breaker. Next you would want to verify power at the motor connector. In that case you would be working from the load back towards the battery. If there is no power at the motor you can break out a wiring diagram and do some pinpoint checks at the relay and switch.
To read the full article you can see OnlineAutoRepair.com
Have you ever had issues with your power sunroof? How did you fix it?
It’s summer time in Texas. Which means it’s very very hot outside. It may even be 112 degrees as your reading this. Texas summers are brutal and it can not only do a number on your car but it can do a number on you too! Consumer Reports put together some very very good information on driving in the summer heat that I thought was pretty good for my fellow Texans. I know it gets hot in other states too so read on and learn something! We want you to be safe, cool and relaxed when you are driving to visit your Dallas Chevy dealer!
It’s hot outside, but even hotter inside a car. On a 90-degree day, the temperature inside a vehicle can quickly rise another 20 degrees in just the first 10 minutes. We all know the deadly consequences of leaving children or pets in a hot car. But in everyday driving, just getting in your car after it’s been parked in the sun for a while can be uncomfortable and has the potential to cause burns. Here are some tips on how to prepare for driving in the summer heat.
When parking, reducing the amount of sunlight coming in through the windows can minimize heat buildup inside the cabin:
Park in the shade if possible.
If you need to park in sunlight and you have a sunroof, close the shade.
Put a sunshade in the windshield and another over the rear seat window, especially if you’ll be carrying children in car seats. Folding-type shades are easy to store while driving.
If you’re parking in a secure area and there won’t be any rain, lower each window an inch or two. If you have a sunroof, you can leave it in the tilt position to provide extra ventilation.
When getting into your car, be careful not to burn yourself on hot surfaces:
Open the windows for the first few minutes to let buildup heat escape.
Bring a towel to sit on if you’re wearing shorts and have leather or vinyl seats.
Be careful when buckling up to not touch the metal part of the seatbelt as you can burn yourself.
Keep a light pair of gloves in the car if you find the steering wheel too hot to handle.
Driving in hot weather presents unique challenges for passengers and pets:
If carrying children or pets in the backseat, bring plenty of water and snacks, and plan to stop more often to tend to them.
Remember that the rear seat and cargo areas in SUVs, wagons, and minivans can be considerably warmer than the front-seat area. If you’re carrying passengers back there, and there are no backseat temperature controls, adjust the front a/c vents so they direct air to the rear.
If you’re headed to the store, bring a cooler bag to keep frozen items from melting or defrosting before you get home.
Keep in mind that high temperatures can mean power outages, which means that any gas stations that are affected could be out of service. Filling up in the morning will help you be ready for the unexpected.
For more advice on summer road travel, see our guide.
You want the perfect garage don’t you? It’s the place where you park your baby. It’s the place where you tinker with your toys. It’s your man cave!! Ladies don’t worry it can be your cave too if you love cars like I know most of you do.
Here’s the thing. You want a perfect garage? There are some things that can help you on your way. If you want to see all the tips check out Jalopnik, but I will share with you a few of my favorites. My garage is my secret getaway and it’s the place I park my Chevy. So I am proud of it.
Why You Need It: For those cold winter nights when you’ve almost got that last bolt un-siezed and you’re this close to getting the old part out, keep your feet warm with radiant tile. Heck, why stop in the garage? Get the whole house done while you’re at it!
Why You Need It: Van Sarockin suggests a lift of the hydraulic nature, but really whether it’s hydraulic or electric, having a lift in your garage is a luxury that truly makes it perfect. It’s often the one thing everyone wishes they had in the garage, but few get to the point of actually installing one.
Why You Need It: Need a tool from across the room? Forget to bring the part you needed under the car with you? No problem! With a live-in shop assistant, you can stay working under the car and send your assistant off to grab parts, turn up the stereo, and bandage your hand. Also, they’re good for delivering pizza.
Why You Need It: Snapoversteer says: “There’s something about a garage that makes it perfectly acceptable to drink a beer at 11:00 a.m.” For as long as mankind has toiled away in the garage, there has been beer there to help the process along. And that beer needs to stay cold, yet close at hand. The garage fridge is the perfect solution.
Why You Need It: For when you absolutely need to scribble something down, but don’t want to stop to find a pen and paper, these walls are covered in paint that replicates a dry erase board. Diagram out your whole build, get shopping lists together, and draw on the wall the whole time! It’s all erasable, so when you’re done with that list, get a new one going in its place!
Those were just a few of my favs. What do you have to have in your garage? What’s important to you? If you have any questions or need any help getting your garage together give your Texas Chevy dealer a call. They have some pretty good ideas!
I almost hate watching the news now. It can just tear you up. I hate learning that a parent left their child in the car in this summer heat and that child has died. It is so sad and it really makes me angry. I wish parents would realize how dangerous it is to leave your child and pets in the car for even a second in this heat. After hearing of another case of this on the news last night I thought it was important to share with you some tips on keeping your children safe in the summer. The same thing goes for winter and life in general. You should NEVER leave your kid alone in the car ever.
Summer can be a fun time of year with warm weather, school is out, and everyone heads outdoors. But it also means that parents need to be extra vigilant to keep tabs on their children and help keep them safe. The child safety group Kids and Cars have documented 100 non-traffic fatalities so far this year–35 frontovers, 32 backovers, and 18 related to heat. Sadly, we can expect more tragic accidents as injuries and deaths peak in the summer months. Just last week seven children died from heat stroke after being left in the car.
Here are some tips that everyone can do to help prevent such tragedies.
Never leave a kid alone in a car. In the summer, there are significant risks, with the interior temperature rising quickly, and children being particularly vulnerable to temperature changes. Beyond temperature, there are security concerns and risk that a child could disengage a parking brake or otherwise move the vehicle.
Check your car before you leave, especially if you have a change in your normal routine. To avoid accidentally leaving a child in the car, some people use a stuffed animal in the front seat as a reminder that a child is in the rear. You can also put an essential item like your purse or briefcase in the back seat, so you know you have to open the back door.
Before you pull in or out of a driveway, check all around to make sure no children are in the way and proceed slowly, with music off. A backup camera can help if you have a large vehicle.
Lock up your car. To avoid children playing in the car when it is unattended, keep it locked with the windows up when you are not using it.
Look around. If you are in a parking lot, casually look around to see if any children are left in their vehicles. If so, take action and call 911 immediately.
Do you know what spark plugs are used for? Do you know how important they are? Well they are a very important part of your new or used car or truck. They must be properly working for your vehicle to be working.
A spark plug is an electrical device that fits into the cylinder head of some internal combustion engines and ignites compressed fuels such as aerosol gasoline, ethanol, and liquefied petroleum gas by means of an electric spark. – Wikipedia
Ok… So why are these funny looking things so important?
In a gasoline engine the importance of good sparkplugscannot be denied. The electrical arc between the electrode and the ground strap is like a miniature bolt of lightning that ignites the air fuel mixture and in turn generates the power that drives the wheels.
These miniature lightning bolts are commonly called sparkplug firing by most mechanics. If the sparkplug doesn’t fire, the engine doesn’t start. When diagnosing a no start condition some mechanics will say the reason the engine won’t start is because there is no fire.
It is the ignition system that produces the electrical energy that fires the plug. Spark also must be maintained long enough to allow complete combustion of the air fuel mixture in the cylinder. The ignition system then has to deliver this electrical energy to each sparkplug at the right time. – Online Auto Repair
Can you now understand why it is so important to have good spark plugs? Bad spark plugs = car can’t/may not start. When you come to visit your Fort Worth chevy dealer for a tune-up make sure you ask if they will be replacing the spark plugs. Feel free to ask me any questions.
So how many of you out there use water to clean your windshield instead of windshield washer fluid? Did you know that using water could potentially make you sick? I came across this article from Consumer Reports and I thought I needed to share it with my readers. You should use windshield washer fluid instead of water regardless if it makes you sick or not. It will clean your windshield better and when you get your regularly scheduled oil change at your Dallas Chevy dealer they will fill it up for free.
The AFP (Agence France-Presse) reports that using only water in your car’s windshield washer reservoir could increase your chances for contracting Legionnaires’ disease.
The report, coming from a recent Health Protection Agency (HPA) study, stated that motorists could increase their chances of getting the disease by around 20 percent if additional washer fluid isn’t added to the mix.
The researchers for the study interviewed 75 patients in England and Wales who had recovered from community-acquired Legionnaires’ disease between July 2008 and March 2009, comparing them to a group of matched people who had not experienced any similar infection. Willing participants were questioned on their driving habits, possible Legionella sources in vehicles, and known risk factors.
The bacteria that cause Legionnaires’ disease usually grow in the water or ventilation systems of large public buildings. When inhaled, the bacteria can cause pneumonia.
The AFP reports that this is the first time a link has been made between the disease and windshield washer fluid, and it goes on to say that “adding screen wash could mitigate the transmission of Legionella bacteria to drivers and passengers.” An HPA spokesperson commented that “further studies are now needed to determine whether the use of screen wash in wiper fluid could play a role in preventing this disease.” The HPA is exploring ways of taking this study forward with other organizations participating. The study found two exposures associated with vehicle use where there was an increased risk of Legionnaires’ disease: driving through industrial areas and driving or being a passenger in a vehicle without windshield wash in its wiper fluid. These associations had not been previously identified.
The abstract stated that “Not adding screenwash to windscreen wiper fluid is a previously unidentified risk factor and appears to be strongly associated with community acquired sporadic cases of Legionnaires’ disease.”
The HPA carried out the study after finding that cases of the potentially fatal disease were five times more prevalent among professional drivers in England and Wales than expected.
Between 400 and 550 cases of Legionnaires ’ disease have been reported in England and Wales in the last two years, with around one third of those infected as a result of travel to another country.
So next time your windshield wiper fluid needs to be topped off, use a washer detergent, not just plain water. It may cut down the risk of disease and certainly will keep the windshield cleaner.
This is probably the silliest thing I might have ever seen. I hope that you guys are smart enough to not ever think that this is ok or safe! You need and must have a reliable trailer to load your jet ski on! Thanks AutoBlog for sharing this hilarity!
We’ve all seen people doing really dumb things. You know, the kind of act of stupidity where you’d try to stop them from harming themselves or their possessions if it weren’t so riveting to watch. Hell, we’ve made some pretty heinous misjudgments in our time, but we’ve never attempted to load a jet ski into the back of a Ford Econoline while said van was partially underwater. That just doesn’t sound like a good idea.
While driving a jet ski into a cargo van doesn’t make any sense to us, we know of at least one YouTube all-star who thinks otherwise. Well, he probably thought otherwise until the van’s rear wheels began having trouble maintaining traction while submerged under water. Hit the jump to watch Darwin’s theory in motion. Luckily, it appears that nobody was hurt during this epic fail.
Now people we may not sell trailers but you can at least make sure you have a safe hitch at your Dallas Chevy dealer! Be safe out there and enjoy the video.
Eating in your car. I can’t say that I have never done that. I think at some point everyone eats in their car at least once. This is very true for commuters who travel long distances to work and home and almost have to eat in their cars. I came across this blog about how eating in your car could make you sick and of course I had to stop and read it. I am a firm believer that you should try to keep your new car or truck clean at all times. Mostly because it just looks good….but now it’s also because it can keep you healthy.
Check out the story from AutoBlog. After you are finished reading this and decide you need to have your car cleaned and detailed make sure you call your local Fort Worth Chevy dealer for help. We don’t want you getting sick either!
Ever eat in your car? If so, we’re thinking there is a good chance there is currently at least one french fry stuck between the driver seat and the center arm rest. That’s pretty bad, but a study by researchers from British auto accessories retailer Halfords shows that there probably are a lot more disgusting things in your ride than some fried potatoes or a few chunks of shredded lettuce. Scientists swabbed the door handles, steering wheel, shift knob, radio and seats and found bacteria ranging from Staphylococcus to Bacillus Cereus. Those names just sound unhealthy, and in reality they are the germs that cause food poisoning, impetigo severe nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. Those nasty germs enter your car through the soil you walk on, the pets you travel with, the passengers you transport and the very hands you use to eat all that food.
That’s really bad news if you eat in your car regularly, and the study by Halfords shows that 70 percent of people do just that. Further, half of those study admitted to leaving food behind in the car, giving those bacteria the sustenance they need to help ruin your week. And don’t think that since this is summertime that the sun will bake your interior to the point where the germs die off. Quite the contrary, the nasty little microbes multiply faster as your vehicle heats up, bolstering the little buggers for the impending fight against your immune system.
To protect yourself from these germs, the best defense is to keep your hands clean and leave the eating for a clean kitchen table. But if you must eat while driving, scientists feel that car owners should clean their vehicles as often as one would wipe down that kitchen table. We’re not the type to shy away from every germ nature has to offer, but something as serious-sounding as Staphylococcus makes us want to make with the disinfecting wipes in short order.
What do you guys think? Kind of makes you want to never eat in your car again right?
Hi, I'm Hagen Durant, General Manager of Classic Chevrolet in Grapevine, TX - I am a huge car and truck enthusiast and love talking cars. I'm a cyclist, health nut, father, husband, geek, and drummer. I look forward to giving you great information about cars and trucks, driving tips, maintenance and so much more.
If you have any questions or would like to make suggestions feel free to email them to me at: hagen@classicchevytexas.com
Summer and winter holiday’s are the perfect time for families to start traveling. Everyone loves a good road trip right? You also want to be comfortable. Especially if you have children. When my wife, kids and I are going on a road trip we pretty much pack up our entire house. With that said, I was glad that Consumer Reports made the Chevrolet Traverse one of the top 10 vehicles for family travel. Not only did the Traverse score well on the road test from Consumer Reports but it also has good seating and cargo arrangements. It’s more than comfortable to ride in, scored well in all crash tests, and has proven reliable in owner surveys.
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