6 car care myths and mistakes

In many cases, the car advice your dad gave you no longer applies to the modern era.

Myth: Coolant lasts forever (or not at all)
Myth: Coolant lasts forever (or not at all)
Some drivers never bother about changing their coolant. Others are probably changing it too often.

You should change your coolant about every four years, Ibbotson advises. Coolant chemicals last longer than they used to, and newer engines aren't going to be damaged by leaving it in long.

When you do change your coolant, Ibbotson advises using a premixed formulation rather than adding tap water, which contains minerals that can cause trouble.

If your coolant says it should be mixed, use distilled water and don't use less water than recommended, says Sinclair. Coolants are designed to work best with a certain amount of water, and not using enough will make them less effective, not more.

If you live in an extremely hot or cold climate, your should give your coolant more frequent attention, said Sinclair. Still, it's something you should be doing on a regular schedule, at most once a year, not just when the weather changes.


Winterizing

Pressure

Warm-up

Coolant

Tread

Oil
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Most stock quote data provided by BATS. Market indices are shown in real time, except for the DJIA, which is delayed by two minutes. All times are ET. Disclaimer. Morningstar: © 2018 Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Factset: FactSet Research Systems Inc. 2018. All rights reserved. Chicago Mercantile Association: Certain market data is the property of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved. Dow Jones: The Dow Jones branded indices are proprietary to and are calculated, distributed and marketed by DJI Opco, a subsidiary of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC and have been licensed for use to S&P Opco, LLC and CNN. Standard & Poor's and S&P are registered trademarks of Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC and Dow Jones is a registered trademark of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC. All content of the Dow Jones branded indices © S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC 2018 and/or its affiliates.