A little bit of preventative maintenance will help you avoid a wide variety of problems while out on the road. Here is a look at a few steps that you can take to get your vehicle ready for the upcoming school year.

The first step in this process is contacting the service department here at Honda of Ames to schedule a checkup. We can also help you take care of scheduled maintenance such as changing the oil, topping off fluids, and rotating the tires. 

Roof racks are not only good for carrying extra luggage, but they do a good job at protecting it during your long journeys as well. However, there are some extra things you can do to make the roof racks even more secure than they already are.

After closing the cargo bag or box, you can use cam buckle straps to provide extra security. They are very inexpensive straps that will tie down the cargo to the rack. After hooking the straps onto the rack, you crank the cam buckle to tighten everything together. We suggest using a total of four…

A tire blowout is a sure way to ruin your day and make you have to waste valuable time and resources getting it fixed. Fortunately, there are ways to avoid tire blowouts, the most effective being to educate yourself on what causes a blowout so that you better know how to avoid one.

The most common cause of a tire blowout is underinflated tires. The solutions are simple: check your tires monthly to ensure that they're properly inflated. All tires don't have the same inflation rates, though, so you'll want to check your owner's manual, doorsill…

Your brakes play an important role for you and your vehicle. If your brakes stop working or aren’t working properly, you and your family could be involved in a serious accident. Why not stop at Honda of Ames and let our technicians inspect your brakes and give you the assurance you need to know you’re safe.

Often, it’s hard to know your brakes might be in need of repair or replacement if you don’t know what signs to look for. Here are some indications your brake pedals may need to be repaired or replaced.

Even if…

Cameras are located in a lot of places. Many people are placing dash cams in their cars in ever growing numbers. The reason for this increase is due in part to the fact that there are many benefits to having a dash cam in your vehicle.

A dash cam is very useful if you are ever in an accident. Video footage will allow insurance adjusters and the police to see exactly what happened. This will also protect you in case someone tries to file a fraudulent insurance claim against you. Dash cams also have some fun aspects. A dash cam…

Being knowledgeable about all aspects of your vehicle allows you to make informed decisions when upgrading your car's accessories. Often you can find upgrades that save time or are a more convenient alternative to features your car currently has.

While most vehicles have carpet floor mats as a standard feature, other alternatives do exist. For drivers who live in climates prone to mud or excessive snowfall, having a set of all-weather floor mats in their vehicle is a clear advantage over the carpeted alternative. Removing the floor mats and spraying them with a hose offers an easier...

Have you ever noticed that dealers have different warranties? These warranties mean different things according to what the dealership wants to include. However, the powertrain warranty is the more straightforward of the two. The powertrain refers to the engine and transmission. These are two expensive parts of the car that must be covered by a warranty to avoid any costly repairs. You commonly see these types of warranties for used cars.

However, there are also bumper-to-bumper warranties that cover everything inside the car and between the bumpers, for the most part.

We appreciate educated car buyers, and we routinely offer information via this blog that help you make an informed purchase. Today, we explain the differences between the front-wheel drive and rear-wheel drive.

In a front-wheel drive car, you find a setup that applies the engine's horsepower to the car's front wheels. Alternatively, a rear-wheel drive car offers a configuration that transmits the engine's force to the car's rear wheels. Due to these constructions, front-wheel drive transmissions pull cars, and their rear-wheel counterparts push cars.

Jump-starting a vehicle with a dead battery is no laughing matter. It's serious business! Here is how to do it, with a little help from the Honda of Ames service team:

1. Make sure you have access to a vehicle with a charged battery and jumper cables first.
2. Move both vehicles to a safe location.
3. Using jumper cables, attach the negative end to the negative post on the dead battery and the positive cable end to the positive post.
4. Attach the other negative cable end to either the negative post or metal frame of the charged battery and the positive…

All new cars are required by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to have a Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TMPS). These systems are shown to reduce the number of injuries and fatalities caused by car accidents. If your TMPS light comes on, you should not ignore it. However, the issue it is alerting you to may not be a major one.

In some cases, the light will come on because it was cold the night before.