It’s important in any season to keep and maintain appropriate tire pressure. When you check tire pressure it’s best to do it in the morning when it’s cooler. Check the tires with a simple pressure gauge, checking at each valve several times for accuracy. To determine the appropriate tire pressure, you’ll find the manufacturer’s recommended guidelines on the sticker located on the inside of the driver’s side door panel.

It’s also important to drive less aggressively. It’s the season when driver’s get bold on dry roads, but it’s important to drive with diligence and care. The harder you push your vehicle the more gas it will need to consume.

Your vehicle’s AC is a primary culprit for inefficiency in the summer months. Some days, especially when it’s really hot and dry, the AC is the only thing to keep cool. But when it’s not overly hot, especially in the morning or late evening when temperatures are manageable, it’s best to instead roll down the windows when you drive at lower speeds. When you drive at high speeds, it’s best to keep the windows shut and turn on the AC, because the wind drag from open windows will reduce fuel efficiency.

Hopefully you stay safe this summer and enjoy the warmer weather. And if you ever find yourself in need of professional tow services, twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, your local tow experts at City Towing will be ready to help.

The post Summer Driving: Fuel Efficiency When It’s Hot Outside appeared first on City Towing.

All batteries will have to be replaced. Premature battery wear happens when excessive heat evaporates the fluid within the battery. The loss in fluid damages the internal structure of the battery. Premature wear is also caused by overcharging.

To keep your battery in top shape for as long as possible, it’s best to keep it as healthy as possible. For instance, make sure that your vehicle’s electrical system is charging your battery at the correct rate; a damaged or malfunctioning voltage regulator could allow too great a charge, which would likely deteriorate the battery prematurely. If you have a battery that requires a “top-off”, remember to check it regularly and to add distilled water whenever is necessary. When you do replace a battery, replace it with a battery of the same rating, or as the one originally specified (If you are unsure of the appropriate battery, check the owner’s manual). And remember to clean a dirty battery. Batteries do get dirty, and dirt can become a conductor, draining the battery power. And as corrosion accumulates on the battery’s terminals, and it will eventually, that corrosion can become an insulator, and the increased insulation will inhibit the current flow within the battery.

The problem with vehicle batteries is they can leave us stranded. Batteries are a simple component, and easily charged or replaced, but if you do ever find you need the professionals at City Towing to help you when your battery has died and left you stranded, then call today. City Towing’s experienced technicians are available and ready to help twenty-four hours a day, three-hundred and sixty-five days of the year.

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The best way to avoid an oil leak is to keep your engine’s oil changed regularly. The method of checking the oil’s color isn’t reliable, because oftentimes as soon as the engine oil is changed, the fresh, new black oil will take on the brown color associated with old, dirty oil.

The best way to maintain a healthy engine, and to keep the vehicle from leaking oil, is to keep the engine’s oil changed at the intervals recommended by the vehicle’s manufacturer.

But that doesn’t mean that a simple oil change will fix an oil leak: an oil leak is a sign of damage, and the one way to prevent the leak further is to have the damage fixed.

The severity of an oil leak will vary, but more serious leaks such as ones that sprout unexpectedly, a large puddle in a short time frame, mean severe damage, and should not be ignored.

If you do have a serious oil leak, then it’s best to get the vehicle to your mechanic as soon as you can, although driving the vehicle in the event of a serious oil leak is chancy, to put it mildly. You could end up stranded, or you could end up doing serious damage to your vehicle’s engine.

If you need assistance getting your vehicle safely from one place to another, then remember the experts at City Towing, twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, servicing the Billings area and beyond. 

The post My Car Leaks Oil When It’s Parked: What Do I Do? What Causes the Leak? appeared first on City Towing.

And all those months the blades spend seldom used, the sun and dirt/grime stuck to the wiper’s rubber deteriorates the blades to the point of being ineffective. There are symptoms and tell-tale signs when the wipers need to be replaced. Initial performance issues include spots and streaks on the glass. The blade may also squeak or sound scratchy as it goes over the glass. And, when you inspect the blade, you notice that the rubber appears dull or it is worn/torn.

First, determine the type of wiper blade you need. The exact size and the type of wiper should be listed in your owner’s manual, but if you can find it there then check the wiper. Measure the length of the wiper. You will want to replace the old wiper with one of identical size.

Lift up the wiper arm. On the wiper, there should be a joint, made of plastic, and oftentimes there is an arrow indicating to which direction the wiper should be pulled free. Turn the wiper perpendicular to the wiper arm and detach the old wiper blade. Once the wiper blade is detached, you can clean the arm of dirt and grime and then attach the new wiper blade. The new wiper blade should have instructions on the packaging if you need assistance.

Once both wiper blades are in place, try them out. Use windshield cleaning fluid and make sure the wipers clear away the fluid effectively and efficiently.

Routine vehicle maintenance is absolutely important. It’s also important to know who to call for assistance. Remember to keep the phone number of your trusted tow professionals at City Towing in the contacts list in your phone, and remember that City Towing is ready to help twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.

The post How to Replace Your Windshield Wiper Blades appeared first on City Towing.

When you discover your buried vehicle, begin by clearing a path around the tires with a snow shovel. Clear away several feet of snow both in front of and behind the vehicle. If there is excessive snow on the ground, it’s likely you’re going to need to rock the vehicle back and forth to get the momentum to reach the driving lane. If you can, also clear out as much accumulated snow as possible beneath the vehicle. Then rock the vehicle back forth to get it clear of the snow. Light pressure on the gas pedal and switching back and forth between drive and reverse, always in control, until the vehicle has enough momentum to get unstuck. It’s tempting to want to floor the gas pedal, give it as much power as possible to unstick the car from the snow, but that extra power won’t help things, and, in some cases, could create a slick of ice on the pavement, making it more difficult to unstick. Momentum is the key.

Hopefully you don’t find yourself stuck or stranded this winter, but if you do remember that City Towing is always ready to help, twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.

The post What to Do if Your Car is Stuck in Snow appeared first on City Towing.

One of the main reasons to choose roadside assistance is safety and peace of mind. When you have insurance and roadside assistance you are virtually guaranteed to have help in the event you get into a fender bender, or you find yourself stranded on the roadside with a flat or breakdown. Imagine being able to contact roadside assistance and knowing that you are covered when your professional tow operator from City Towing arrives to either help get your vehicle back on the road or to take it somewhere where it can be repaired.

It’s also extremely important if you drive a vehicle with higher mileage. It doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t carry roadside assistance if you have a younger vehicle, but it does mean that older vehicles are more susceptible to breakdown. It’s a gamble to drive something that’s unpredictable.

And with roadside assistance it’s important to keep your vehicle in its very best shape. Remember to keep to routine maintenance schedules. Check the tire pressure routinely and keep the tires at the PSI recommended; the optimal PSI should be located either on the sticker stuck to the inner frame of the driver’s door, or in the manual.

Roadside assistance does cost extra on an insurance premium, and a month-to-month subscription does add up over the months and years; but, it’s always there the moment you need it. One of the most important considerations is to use City Towing as your tow services provider. City Towing’s first responders are ready to help you twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.

The post Reasons to Have a Roadside Assistance Membership… appeared first on City Towing.

The very first thing you should do in the event that your vehicle breaks down is call City Towing. You should have the number in your phone and remember that you can use it twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week to call for help/service. When you call City Towing, your first responder can help you get your vehicle somewhere safe. Once you have help on the way, let someone else know where you are. It’s also a good idea to call someone to come to your location and wait safely for the tow truck to arrive.

When someone has a vehicle breakdown, for whatever the reason, it’s imperative that they put on the hazard lights to alert the other motorists. At night, a vehicle pulled off on the shoulder of the road might be difficult to see, but the hazard lights help the other motorists see the vehicle and alert them to possible hazards on or around the roadway. You can also use flares, assuming you carry flares in your emergency kit, although a flare is a tool that requires caution to use, and, if you do pack flares in your emergency kit, know and understand the instructions of use before you place the flare in your emergency kit.

Hopefully these tips help keep you safe if you ever find yourself stranded. Remember to put City Towing’s number in your phone, and remember that you can call your professional first responders anytime if you need a tow.

The post Nighttime Breakdown appeared first on City Towing.

First and foremost, it’s important to plan for the worst. No, that doesn’t mean you have to be nervous about your trip, worrying about everything, but it does mean that you should always be prepared. Have an emergency kit packed. You should also always have your City Towing professional’s phone number programmed into your phone and stored in the glovebox on a piece of paper. Make sure that your tool kit, specifically your jack, spare, etc., are in good working order. If you have never before changed a tire, or if you don’t know where these tools are hidden within your vehicle’s interior or exterior, then get to know how tools are stored and how they work before you need them.

It’s also important to keep your vehicle cleaned and maintained. If you’re due for an oil change or a tire rotation then make sure to get it done before you leave. It’s also a good idea to check the oil and tire pressure to ensure that everything is in good working order.

Plan your route. If you’re a person who prefers paper maps or atlases, then go through the route several times, taking note of the landmarks and distances. If you’re someone who prefers E-Maps and other technologies, then program everything before your leave.

Hopefully you never have an emergency on the road, but if you prepare then hopefully no emergency will completely ruin your trip. Remember that your towing professionals at City Towing are ready to help twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.

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Once upon a time everyone drove vehicles with carburetors. A carburetor benefited from a prolonged idle because it took it time to supply to the vehicle the correct mixture of fuel. An engine could fail if the carburetor failed to do its job correctly.

Modern vehicles use electric fuel injectors. These injectors are monitored by the vehicle’s computer. Sensors detect the ambient temperature and adjust the mixture of the fuel to account for the cold weather. Which means that all the time you spend at idle, hoping to warm the engine of your vehicle, is both time wasted and unnecessary wear and tear on your vehicle’s engine (Your vehicle’s engine is still working at idle) and the extra time burning fuel does put a strain on the environment.

It doesn’t take fifteen-to-twenty minutes to warm the vehicle’s interior and to defrost the windshield. A few minutes to get the processes working, and you should be ready to drive; a short time running your vehicle down the road and it will likely warm to the point that the interior is toasty comfortable.

Minimizing idling time will also help to better manage your vehicle’s fuel efficiency. And when it comes to wintertime driving efficiencies, it’s a good idea to always have the correct air pressure in your tires (If you are unsure what the optimal PSI is for your vehicle’s tires, check the sticker on the inside of the door panel or the owner’s manual.

The post Wintertime Vehicle Tips appeared first on City Towing.

There are a few things, however, every vehicle owner can do to make sure that your vehicle is up and running in top shape; however, if you do every find yourself unexpectedly in need of your tow professional professionals at City Towing, twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, you’ll know who to call

Regular vehicle maintenance is crucial to long term vehicle health. Oil changes are the most common and likely the most regular service your vehicle will need throughout its life. If you choose to delay an oil change, especially by more than a few hundred miles, you’re running the risk of something catastrophic happening to the engine; it could even begin a premature trend of wear that deteriorates the engine and its components. The engine’s oil lubricates and cleans. And over time the oil within the engine gets dirty, and dirty oil loses its ability to perform; engine components wear and break down without proper lubrication.

Engine components such as an engine gasket or seal can wear out and cause a leakage of oil. A common cause of a damaged gasket or seal is dirty, corroded oil. When is the best time to get an oil change to prevent premature wear and tear, and costly garage bills? Your oil change technician likely placed a sticker on the windshield level with the visor. That sticker isn’t a suggestion; try to get your vehicle’s oil changed within a few hundred miles on either side of that date/mileage.

Hopefully you don’t find a puddle of oil beneath your vehicle, and hopefully you don’t find yourself stranded somewhere and in need of tow services. But if you do find yourself in need of a tow, let it be a reassuring thought that the tow professionals at City Towing are ready to help.

The post Engine Oil is Puddled Beneath My Vehicle…Now What? appeared first on City Towing.