If you’re looking for a great weekend project to do in your vehicle, try getting organized! Organizing your vehicle is not only easy, but the final product is incredibly satisfying and useful. Summer is the season for road trips, and it’s always great to make sure your vehicle is in order before traveling so that you can ensure everyone is comfortable and has space for their stuff. Take a look at our tips for organizing your vehicle and give them a try before your next long drive!

1. Lots of passengers but not enough places to store essentials? Stick small suction cup shower caddies to the window to store things like water bottles, toys, wipes, and anything else that you don’t want getting stuck under your seat.
2. Make sure you have a trash can in the vehicle. It can be as simple as a plastic bag or as hardcore as a specifically-designed car trash can, but you should make sure that you have a solution for debris and junk.
3. Always have a fully-stocked emergency kit in the vehicle. This is just basic!
4. Don’t have a place for change? Use an empty gum container or pill bottle. Perfect for tolls!
5. Silicone muffin cups at the bottoms of cupholders make it REALLY easy to clean those suckers out. Just pull out the muffin cups and throw them in the dishwasher when they’re really grody.
6. Bringing candy on a road trip? Stick the pieces between the slats on your air vent to keep them from melting with the summer heat.
7. Keep your glove compartment neat. When you’re traveling, especially to a different state, you’re definitely going to need your registration, insurance, and license in case you get pulled over. It’s also just a good idea to keep that spot organized!
8. Use a binder clip to hold your sunglasses on your visor when it’s dark out. Now they won’t get lost!
9. If you drive an SUV or hatchback, use a shoe organizer hung from the back of the rear seats as a trunk organizer so small stuff doesn’t go flying and you have all the essentials on hand.
10. Don’t want to lose your spare key? Use a magnetic key holder to store your key under your car. Make sure it’s attached to a spot that is both magnetic AND tucked into a relatively secure spot to avoid getting knocked off or damaged.

Summer’s officially here and it’s more important than ever to make sure that your vehicle’s coolant level is where it should be so that your engine doesn’t overheat. We can do that for you when you come visit the shop, but if you’re out of the area and need to take a look, you should know what to look for. Here goes – keep reading for more tips!

Before you reach for the radiator cap, check the coolant reservoir to make sure that the liquid reaches the “Full” line on the side of the reservoir. If it doesn’t reach that far, then open up that lid and pour in a 50/50 mix of water and the coolant your vehicle takes until the level reaches the full line. Some coolants do come premixed, so make sure you read the bottle thoroughly.

DO NOT add coolant to a hot engine! You can burn yourself badly or crack your engine block. You can also spray yourself with hot coolant if you open the radiator or coolant cap when your engine is hot due to the pressure and heat buildup.

Coolant is usually red, green, blue, or yellow. If you see something weird, like things floating in the coolant or a rustiness or even a sludgy, oily surface, then you should take your vehicle to the shop to check for issues such as internal head gasket leakage.

When you’re under the hood, feel your radiator hoses as well. Make sure they are not cracked, squishy, bulging, or leaking. If they are any of these things, replace them ASAP.

Are you looking to add something new to your life? Are you feeling restless and like you need a change, but you can’t figure out what it is? We have the solution. It’s a new Kia from Destination Kia! We have some great new specials for the month of June that will get you where you need to go and further! You’ll also look and feel great behind the wheel of whichever vehicle you choose. Check out what we’ve got!

First up, the 2018 Kia Forte LX! This is a fantastic sedan that’s zippy and fun while still being safe and roomy! This is the perfect vehicle if you like to look sharp pulling up to the valet; if you’re a “real trunk” sort of person; and if modern, high-tech, and 4-door are all adjectives you love in a car. The LX trim gives you all the essentials and a bit more on top! With great fuel economy, the tech you’re looking for, and a slick appearance inside and out, this is the vehicle for you!

Next comes the 2018 Optima LX, a Kia standard that’s anything but standard. The Kia Optima’s modern exterior styling identifies it as the most exciting midsize sedan on the road today. Inside, its spacious and well-appointed interior reflects Kia’s dedication to an uncompromising process of refinement. Optima’s dynamic performance is complemented by a wealth of premium features that use advanced technology to monitor your driving environment and connect you to the road. Like all Kia models, Optima comes with an industry-leading,10-year/100,000-mile warranty program, a testament to its outstanding quality and reliability.

For the more eco-minded, the 2018 Niro LX is the perfect choice. This vehicle features considerable versatility, comfort, and driving enjoyment, along with some truly forward-thinking engineering. Behind the Niro’s inviting profile, you’ll find an artful orchestration of systems that define modern driving, including available driver-assistance technologies. Road time should be quality time, the Niro delivers an engaging driving experience in a spacious and comfortable interior. Niro takes you farther too, with a hybrid powertrain designed to work seamlessly and help maximize operating efficiency.

Finally, we have the 2018 Sportage LX with All-Wheel Drive. Where are you going? Doesn’t matter – the Sportage can get you there no matter how far off the beaten track you’re traveling! With a striking synthesis of performance, versatility, and refinement, the 2018 Kia Sportage invites you to discover just how good a compact crossover can be. Sleek exterior styling is complemented by a comfortable and spacious interior, while available Dynamax™ fully active all-wheel drive can increase traction and control to help deliver impressive all-around capability. Plus, a variety of available technologically advanced features monitor your driving environment and enhance your daily drive.

Stop in today to take a test drive in your favorite model… or just check all of them out for yourself! We’re happy to help!

Have you ever stopped at the gas station, filled up the tank, and then squeezed that pump just a little bit more after it automatically shuts off so that you get a nice round dollar amount? It’s okay if you have, because I totally do that too. Pretty much every time I get gas. However, I want to tell you that it’s actually a very bad idea to do this! I know, I didn’t think that it was actually bad either but, well. Now I know. Check out the reasons why you shouldn’t top off your gas tank – I didn’t know these and now I feel like I am saving my car every time I manfully refrain from squeezing that pump.

First of all, when you top off your gas tank, what you’re doing is literally adding more gas than can actually fit in the tank to begin with. That’s why the pump handle releases – because the sensor in the pump can tell when the tank is totally full, and so when you keep squeezing… well. You can figure it out. That excess gas doesn’t magically fit into the tank, though. If the tank is too full then the gas can go into your vehicle’s evaporative emissions system – specifically the carbon filter, which is designed only to hold fuel vapors, not actual fuel. The gas can then spill on the ground or cause issues with engine operation – the result of which is poor fuel economy, poor emissions, and decreased engine performance overall.

The next thing is that you’re just wasting money. A lot of pumps can sense when there’s too much gas in the tank already (as I mentioned above) and after that point is reached, it’ll start sending gas back into the station’s tank if you keep trying to add more to your own tank. So the dollars and cents will continue to rise but you’re getting none of the gas that you’re paying for. Waste! Of! Money!

Save your hard-earned cash and don’t waste it on topping off or engine repairs due to topping off. Let’s break the top-off habit together and revel in our newfound wealth! It might not be much, but it’s better than having nothing, right?

One of my favorite parts of summer (and late spring that feels like summer) is driving around town with my windows and sunroof open, blasting some of my favorite tunes and enjoying a delicious extra-thick chocolate milkshake from our favorite stew and art supplies store. My little Soul is the perfect vehicle for this, by the way – with a bumpin’ sound system and those awesome vibes, I feel very cool when I do this. Try it sometime, seriously.

Anyway, I have created a ~collection~ of some of my favorite songs to listen to on just this type of day, and you should definitely give it a listen and let me know what you think.

THE LATE SPRING/EARLY SUMMER PLAYLIST OF YOUR POP MUSIC DREAMS

• Really Don’t Care – Demi Lovato, Cher Lloyd
• Fred Astaire – San Cisco
• Human – The Killers
• Take A Walk – Passion Pit
• Shut Up And Dance – WALK THE MOON
• Boogie Feet – Kesha, Eagles Of Death Metal
• Girls Chase Boys – Ingrid Michaelson
• Cool For The Summer – Demi Lovato
• Kissing Strangers – DNCE
• Holiday – Vampire Weekend
• Feel It Still – Portugal. The Man
• Échame La Culpa – Luis Fonsi, Demi Lovato
• Girl Almighty – One Direction
• LA Devotee – Panic! At The Disco
• You’re Such A – Hailee Steinfeld
• Everybody Knows – Jukebox The Ghost
• Genius – Sia, Diplo, Labrinth, LSD
• Rock Bottom – Hailee Steinfeld, DNCE

Turn these jams way up and enjoy the drive!

Something that you should know about your car’s battery is that the power that’s housed inside of it is an absolutely finite resource. One day, your battery will die. Of course, if you take good care of it and drive carefully, that day should be several years after you buy the battery, but eventually, it will perish and you’ll be powerless (get it) to stop it. That’s why you should know now how to change your battery, so that in the event that you need to do so, you can.

First of all, the location of your battery is going to be in your owner’s manual. If you drive anything other than a regular old gasoline vehicle (i.e. a hybrid) you should 100% be checking your owner’s manual for instructions on how to change the battery.

When you’ve located the battery, make sure you know which post is the positive one and which is the negative, and which color the cables are that are attached to them. The positive post will probably have a red plastic cover, a red cable, and a plus sign (+) stamped on the battery next to the positive post. If the cables are not color coded, put some tape on them and label the cables.

With a wrench, loosen the nut or bolt that keeps the negative terminal and cable attached to the battery. Remove them from the battery, and then move on to the positive terminal. ALWAYS DO NEGATIVE FIRST!

Check your battery to see if it is being held down by clamps or tie-downs or similar and remove them if they are there. Set all of your loose parts aside where they will not be misplaced while you switch out the battery.

Now, lift out the battery without jostling it or tipping it. It is heavy, so be careful!

Next, it’s time to install the new battery! Place it into the same spot the old battery was in and make sure it is oriented the same exact way the old one was. Take the plastic caps off of the battery posts, and if there are anti-corrosion washers included then slide those on. A good idea is to smear a thin layer of Vaseline onto the posts before attaching the terminals to the battery to prevent corrosion and make sure your vehicle is always getting as much power as it needs.

Attach the terminals back on, positive first, and fasten it back down with the clamps/tie-downs that you removed before.

Give the battery a little wiggle and make sure it doesn’t move. If it does, tighten the clamps holding it down. And… you’re done! Great job! Make sure you recycle your old battery – a quick Google search will let you know the best place to do that.