90% of our driving decisions are based on vision. Anything that impedes your vision can affect your driving safety – including a dirty windshield. In that sense, your wiper blades are an important safety system. Most St. Peter drivers will wait until their wipers have failed before they replace them. Then they find themselves in a driving situation around MN when they really need forward visibility only to discover that their wipers are worn or maybe even torn and can’t clear snow or rain from the windshield.

As an important safety system, wiper blades should be replaced BEFORE they fail. Test your wipers at least once a month. If they are not doing the job, your friendly and professional Autotronics of St. Peter service advisor can replace them for you.

Give us a call.

Autotronics of St. Peter
111 Jefferson Avenue
St. Peter, MN 56082
507.934.9290
http://autotronicsstpeter.com

Let’s talk about air quality in St. Peter. It’s a global issue, but affects us wherever we are. Many decades ago, St. Peter drivers began to become aware of how air pollution negatively affects health. But what about the air inside your vehicle?

Now, it’s only been in the last few years that cabin air filters have become common in St. Peter. You can look in your owner’s manual to see if you have one. If you do, there’ll be a recommendation for replacing it when it gets dirty. If you live in an area of MN where there’s a lot of dust, pollen or pollution, you may need to change it more often.

You can also ask your friendly and knowledgeable service advisor at Autotronics of St. Peter in St. Peter. How hard is it to change an air filter on a car? It depends on your vehicle. Some are quite accessible; others take some doing to get to them. They’re usually in the engine compartment or under the dashboard.

Because cabin air filters are so new on the scene, some people haven’t heard of them – even those who have cabin air filters in their vehicle. Autotronics of St. Peter service advisors have discovered that many St. Peter customers who complained about an unpleasant odor in their vehicle simply had a dirty cabin air filter. 

Autotronics of St. Peter
111 Jefferson Avenue
St. Peter, MN 56082
507.934.9290
http://autotronicsstpeter.com

Whether we’re trying to save money, save gas or save the environment, most of us St. Peter drivers have an interest in decreasing fuel consumption. We’ve all heard about ways to save money on gas in MN, but does it really add up to much? How much can we boost our fuel economy through preventive maintenance and more courteous driving?

The US government has a website that actually answers that question. Let’s look at some of the data and find out if any of these fuel-saving ideas are really worth the effort. We’ve all heard that a tune-up can improve gas mileage. It turns out that it can save us 4% at the pump. At $3.50 a gallon, that’s 14¢ per gallon in savings, and at $4.00 a gallon, that’s a 16¢ per gallon savings.

Other common repair items can also save you at the pump. For example, if your oxygen sensor is faulty, it’s not delivering the information to your engine’s computer that allows it to calculate the right fuel-to-air ratio. The result? The fuel doesn’t burn efficiently. Replacing that faulty sensor can save you 40% at the pump. That’s certainly a reason to improve your car care and have the automotive professionals at Autotronics of St. Peter inspect things once in a while.

A faulty oxygen sensor will activate the check engine light. So will a lot of other problems that are big fuel wasters. Finding out why your light is on and fixing the problem will also improve your fuel economy. Bring your car into Autotronics of St. Peter in St. Peter and we will take care of it for you.

What about tires? St. Peter drivers have all heard that keeping them inflated will improve our gas mileage. True? Yep. It’s a 3% savings for that one. And even small drops in tire pressure can start to add up, so a weekly tire check is in order.

Using the correct weight in motor oil is another way you can save at St. Peter area gas pumps. It adds up to a 2% savings.

What about that courteous driving? That doesn’t cost us anything and doesn’t require our St. Peter service center to implement anything. Is it worth the bother?

Again, the answer is yes. Sudden acceleration, such as charging away from stoplights, sudden stops and quick lane changes all add up in lowered fuel economy. Taking it easy when you drive on MN roads amounts to a 5% savings around town and a whopping 33% savings on the freeway. Is it worth your time to slow down? How much do you get paid?

Speeding is another way we ding ourselves at the gas pump. We’ve all heard that it’s okay to drive five miles over the speed limit, but that actually hurts our wallets. Eventually it could add up to more than a speeding ticket. An extra five miles over the speed limit ends up costing us 7% per gallon. Fifteen miles over? 23% Now there’s a reason to slow down.

Another thing St. Peter vehicle owners can do to improve that costs nothing is to toss the junk out of our trunks. In other words, clean out the car and stop hauling around non-essentials. Don’t treat your vehicle like a storage locker. Dumping one hundred pounds of extra weight adds up to a 2% savings at the pump.

So when you tell someone you were going somewhere anyway and they’re welcome to come along, that’s okay. But if someone tells you they need to come along and it’s no harm to you since you were going anyway—well, now you can tell them, “Sorry, dude, but you’re an extra fifteen cents a gallon!”

All joking aside, let’s all do ourselves a favor and fatten up our wallets by practicing good car care and better driving habits in MN.

Autotronics of St. Peter
111 Jefferson Avenue
St. Peter, MN 56082
507.934.9290
http://autotronicsstpeter.com