It can sometimes be a frightening experience. You’re following along with traffic and all of a sudden all you see is a sea of taillights. You hit the brakes, only to feel a vibration from your steering wheel. This vibration ultimately stems from your braking system. There are a few components that can contribute to the vibration in your steering wheel.

The first and most common culprit could be worn out rotors. Front brake rotors can warp when in heavy use. This is caused by extreme heat created by friction and pressure applied to the front brake pads and rotors. A heavy braking condition can be caused by driving down a long grade or extreme driving conditions such as racing. When a brake rotor becomes warped it will cause the steering wheel to shake when the brakes are applied.

If the brake rotors are warped it is recommended to replace them. It is possible, but not recommended to re-machine to the rotor (the rotor will be straight but it will have less mass to dissipate heat therefore re-warping is eminent).

The second braking component to check is the lower ball joint. If the suspension lower ball joints are worn it will cause the spindle to wander causing the steering wheel to shake. Lower ball joints are a normal service item and need to be inspected every 40,000 to 60,000 miles.

The third components of your braking system that could cause a vibration in the steering wheel when you apply the brakes are the idler arm and tie rod ends. The idler arm, pitman arm and tie rod ends are normal service items and need to be inspected between 50,000 and 80,000 miles.

If you are experiencing vibrations in your steering wheel when you apply the brakes, be sure to visit the Crown Kia Service Department for a comprehensive check-up of your steering and braking systems.

Source: [2 Car Pros]

28 acres of asphalt
2,000 tons of steel
7,500 square feet of canvas.

It all adds up to the biggest Tent Event the Bay Area’s ever seen!

The Crown Big Tent Event is going on right now at all 14 local Crown dealerships. New cars are discounted as much as $8,000 with payments as low as $169 a month. Choose from row after row of used cars, some marked 60% off original MSRP, with prices as low as $7,985. Plus, drive home with financing from 0% that can save you thousands!

It’s all happening right now, at the Crown Big Tent Event. But you’ll have to hurry; the best selection will be the first to go!

The all-new 2011 Kia Forte 5 door hatchback joins Kia Forte sedan and two-door Kia Forte Koup.

Kia Motors America plans to expand its Forte range by introducing the 5-door Forte with hatchback body style.

The 2011 Kia Forte 5 door has been one of four exciting Kia cars that made their inaugural public premieres at the New York International Auto Show. It has been put on display alongside hot-looking Kia Sorento SX, new Optima sedan and completely redesigned Sportage crossover.

The all-new Forte 5-door follows the design lines of the Forte sedan and the two-door Koup. It incorporates similar front-end styling as the four-door sibling with minor changes made to the front grille. Major styling changes have been done to the car’s rear-end, which received the fifth-door for sportier look and added practicality.

The 5-door Kia Forte will be available with three efficient four-cylinder engines coupled with either a six-speed manual or automatic transmission. According to Kia, North American customers will be able to choose from 2.0L and 2.4L engines, while consumers outside of the USA and Canada will be able to choose between 1.6L and 2.0L engines.

Kia revealed the 2011 Forte 5-door has been scheduled to go on sale in the NA market in October, so we will have to wait until then to hear more information about available trim levels and detailed pricing.

Source: [Kia World]

Kia loves America – more specifically, Georgia. Not only did the automaker just open a new manufacturing facility there last fall, but it chose the illustrious Atlanta Auto Show to debut the latest addition to the 2011 Sorento line, the SX trim. The SX will feature a slightly more aggressive design elements over the lesser Sorentos – things like revised front and rear fascias, new 18-inch wheels, a chrome exhaust tip and LED tail lamps. SX-trimmed Sorentos will be nearly half an inch lower to the ground, as well.

The SX will come standard with the Sorento’s 276-horsepower, 3.5-liter V6, mated to a six-speed automatic transmission – optional on LX and EX models. The only other major mechanical change is the addition of DFD (Dual Flow Damper) shock absorbers, which should provide better handling characteristics.

Inside, the SX comes standard with features that are optional on the EX model, such as leather-trimmed seats (heated up front), voice-activated navigation with a back-up camera and an Infinity audio system. Other changes to the cabin include a unique metallic gauge cluster with standard accent illumination and stainless steel pedals. Nifty.

Source: [Auto Blog]

After introducing three uniquely styled Souls in a span of past six months, Kia is now bringing its fourth Special Edition model to the market. Called Soul Ghost Special Edition, the model will be marketed exclusively on the U.S. soil and is expected to be the last Special Edition Soul to be brought to the market this year.

But, since all four Soul Special Models have been very-well accepted by consumers across the USA and were sold out pretty quickly, according to some Kia dealer reports, we are pretty confident to see more Soul SE editions coming from Kia soon.

Kia did not reveal how many Special Edition Souls it has built, but we have been told that the company brought about 2500 units of each SE model to the States.

The 2010 Kia Soul Ghost Special Edition model follows Soul Shadow, Soul Dragon and Soul Denim editions and differs from standard Kia Soul by its unique exterior color and various add-ons exclusive to all Special Edition Souls from before.

As the name implies, the 2010 Soul Ghost is done up in a special gray-blue exterior color scheme. Besides the sport body kit and rear spoiler, the Ghost Blue Soul also sports a set of blacked-out 18-inch alloy wheels with machined accents and fender vents with side marker repeaters, while a couple of gray side stripes make up the tweaks made outside.

Inside, the Soul Ghost gets black leather wrapped seats equipped with seat warmers.

Source: [Kia World]

The Kia Soul Safety Car made its public debut on March 21 at Infineon Speedway in Sonoma, California. The safety car was first shown at the 2009 SEMA Show.

The Soul safety car was customized by Gogogear and features an upgraded suspension and tires, along with strobe lights mounted inside the headlights, taillights and light bar. The modified Soul also got enhanced aerodynamics, custom free-flow Borla exhaust, a lightweight Optima battery, lightweight Konig wheels with low-resistance tires and a short ram intake by Takeda.

The Kia is the official safety car of the U.S. Touring Car Championship series, which is modeled after European touring car races and features modified production-based sedans.

The Kia Soul Safety Car appeared on April 24-25 at the Thunderhill Raceway in Willows, California, and it has a July 31-August 1 appearance at the AutoClub Speedway in Fontana, California, among others.

Source: [Edmunds Inside Line]

Automatic/drive-through car washes are more popular than ever because they save time and hassle.

And as winter winds down and spring beckons, they save us from having to brave the last remaining days of cold weather. It’s not yet driveway car washing weather, after all.

But are automatic car washes safe for your car? In fact, in many instances, they are the “safest” course of action for many car owners who want to keep their car clean.

In fact, automatic car washes can be safer for your car’s finish than washing your car yourself because do-it-yourselfers sometimes don’t use enough water to safely remove dirt; or they wash the car in direct sunlight – which can burn spots in the paint. Or they use the wrong type of soap – such as dishwashing detergent, which removes protective wax and leaves a chalky residue on the finish. Or any one of several common mistakes can end up doing more harm than good.

Keeping your car clean and the finish looking good can also mean higher resale value when it comes time to get a new car. All else being equal, a car with faded paint and a dingy overall look sells for 10-20 percent less than an otherwise identical vehicle that just looks nicer.

So how often should you have your vehicle washed? That depends on how quickly it gets dirty – and how dirty it gets. For some cars, once a month or so is sufficient – especially if the car is lightly used and kept in a garage. But some cars will need a bath more often – especially those that are parked outdoors where they’re exposed to bird droppings, tree sap and so on, or driven in areas with very long/severe winters, where the roads are salted when it snows.

Here are a few important things to keep in mind when it comes to automatic car washes:

Be sure its “brushless” – Some older car washes still use abrasive brushes (instead of cloth), which can leave small scratches in a car’s finish. On older cars with so-called “single stage” paint jobs, light scratches could usually be buffed out; but all modern cars use a “base/clear” system with a thin, transparent layer of clear coat on top of the underlying color coat to provide the shine. Once the thin clear coat is damaged, often the only way to restore the shine is to repaint the damaged area.

Another safe bet is “touchless” car washes that use only high-pressure water jets and detergents to clean the car — without physically touching it at all. There is virtually no chance of your vehicle suffering any cosmetic damage this way. Some areas have “self-service” coin-operated hand washes, which are great for spraying away heavy dirt buildup. You’ll usually need to bring your own bucket, wash cloth/sponge and dry towels, though.

Watch out for the after-wash wipe-down – Most drive-through washes use a strong jet of heated air to force excess water off after the car goes through the wash. Many full-service car washes will then have you drive the car (or drive it for you, in some cases) away from the wash area to be hand-wiped by attendants. This is usually OK – provided the attendants are using fresh, clean (and soft) towels to do so. Be alert on busy days, when lots of other cars have gone ahead of you. If you see the attendants using obviously dirty old rags to wipe the car down, you should say “thanks, but no thanks” – and drive away wet. Dirt and other abrasives in the rags can scratch the finish just like sandpaper. Simply driving away from the wash and letting airflow over the car to dry any remaining water won’t hurt anything – and is the best guarantee of a no-damage experience. Any lingering streaks can easily be cleaned up at home yourself using readily available spray cleaners designed for just this purpose.

Hold off on the extras – A “works” car wash can cost twice as much as the basic wash, but you may not be getting twice the wash for your money. Undercarriage rust proofing, for example, is of dubious value. Effective rust proofing is applied to brand-new metal, in order to seal it from contact with external corrosives such as road salt. Most new cars are extensively rust proofed at the factory during the assembly process; further “treatment” is superfluous – and a money-waster.

On the other hand, if the wash offers an undercarriage bath, it may be worth the additional cost. Jets of water sprayed directly underneath the car can break loose accumulated crud that would be difficult (and unpleasant) to try to remove yourself using a garden hose. It’s also important that underbody drainage holes not be obstructed by mud and other buildup; accumulated moisture can accelerate rust or (in the case of the air conditioning system) lead to the formation of mold in the system. The undercarriage bath should help keep those drain holes clear.

Do, however, think twice about spray-on wax. This typically adds at least a couple bucks to the cost of the wash and while it doesn’t hurt anything, it’s no substitute for hand-applied polish/wax. Spray-on “wax” may provide a short-term gloss enhancement, but doesn’t protect against UV sun damage the way hand-applied wax does. Ditto the cost of having an attendant spray Armor All on your tires to make them shiny. The cost for this extra can be equivalent to the cost of buying an entire bottle of the stuff on your own.

Wheel and tire cleaning is an exception; the heavy-duty cleaners used by the car wash do a great job of removing baked-on brake dust, etc., that can otherwise be a real chore to clean on your own, using over-the-counter cleaners, a hand brush and a hose. It’s especially important to keep aluminum alloy wheels clean; brake dust can eventually permanently stain them if it’s not regularly cleaned away.

Finally:

Make sure your car’s OK before you leave – While many car washes will have a disclaimer posted that they are “not responsible for any damages that may occur” as a result of running your car through their wash, that doesn’t mean you should automatically absolve them of any damage their equipment or personnel may have caused. If you notice something, ask to see the manager and point it out to him; whether “legally liable” or not, he may offer to fix the problem in the interest of customer relations. And even if he does not, you can still pursue the matter with a higher-up (such as the company headquarters, if the wash is a franchise, as many associated with big-name gas stations often are). If you have a cell phone with a camera, use it to take a photo of the damage in order to support your claim. And it ought to go without saying that you should never leave your purse or other valuables in the car if you use a wash where an attendant will have access to the vehicle’s interior.

Source: [AOLAutos]

Traveling By Car

Before taking your dog on a long trip, ask yourself these questions:

• Will your dog be welcome at the vacation destination?
• Will your dog enjoy the trip?
• Is your dog in good health?

If you’ve answered “yes,” accustom your dog to riding in a car. Begin with short rides each day and gradually increase the length of each ride. If your dog is unable to adjust to short rides, a responsible sitter or a boarding kennel is preferable. If you board him, make reservations well in advance, especially for summer months and major holidays.

• Do not feed your dog for at least three hours before leaving on a trip. Take your dog for a walk just before you start the drive and he will be more comfortable as the trip gets underway.
• During stops, provide fresh drinking water for your dog.
• Feed your dog shortly after you arrive at your destination or when you have stopped for the day.
• If your car has adequate space, using a carrier is the safest way for your dog to travel. Never put the carrier on the sunny side of the car where your dog may become overheated.
• If a carrier is not feasible for your dog, consider using a restraining harness. They come in different sizes to fit all breeds and are available at pet supply stores.
• Always put your dog on a leash before letting him out of the car. If you walk your dog on the highway at night, wear reflective strips on your clothing and place a reflective collar on your dog for visibility and protection.
• Never leave your dog in a closed car, even on a mild day. Temperatures in cars can rise quickly even if the windows are open slightly. The heat and insufficient air circulation can quickly lead to heat stress, suffocation and death.

Traveling By Air

• Try to avoid peak travel periods when delays and stopovers are longer. Traveling in extreme hot or cold weather may be dangerous if your dog must wait very long before loading and unloading. Plan a trip with as few stops and transfers as possible.
• Make hotel, resort and airline reservations for your dog well in advance. Some airlines have limited space for transporting pets.
• Some airlines allow small dogs to travel with their owner (generally for an additional charge) if the carrier fits under the passenger seat. Otherwise, rent or purchase a carrier or crate which meets airline regulations and affix a LIVE ANIMAL sticker. Mark it with your name and address and the name of a person who can be contacted about your dog at your destination if necessary.
• Put a cushion or blanket on the crate floor. Attach a water cup to the crate door. The cup should be deep, but not too full of water to avoid spilling.
• On the day of the flight, take your dog for a long walk before leaving for the airport.
• At the end of the trip, pick up your dog promptly.

Certain countries and island destinations require a quarantine period for animals at the owner’s expense. Ask your travel agent or the consul of the country you plan to visit about quarantines.

Health and Identification.

• Make sure your dog’s vaccinations are up-to-date.
• If the mosquito season begins earlier or ends later in the area you will be visiting, make sure you bring the appropriate heartworm protection.
• Be certain your dog is wearing an identification tag giving his name, your name and home address and telephone number including the area code.
• Take along color pictures of your dog and a written description of his colorings and distinguishing marks. Record your dog’s body size and weight. If he is lost, these identification aids could make the difference in locating him.

Packing for Your Dog

• Carry your dog’s health and rabies certificates with you. They may be needed if you fly anywhere or may be required if you board your dog during your trip.
• Pack your dog’s water and food bowls, grooming equipment and any heartworm or other medicine it may require
• If you are not certain that your dog’s usual diet will be available at your destination, take a supply with you to avoid digestive upsets which could be caused by a sudden diet change.

At your vacation site, observe all rules and regulations regarding pets. Confine your dog in a carrier or restricted space when leaving him alone. Your consideration will help keep dogs welcome guests.

Source: [Purina]