Monday Maintenance Tip: How To Safely Jumpstart Your Car

Be kind to your battery

If you inadvertently leave your lights on and drain your battery, take the following precautions to prevent damage to the battery and the starter when jump-starting your car:

• Don’t risk causing the battery to explode. With both cars off, connect a positive cable end to the positive battery terminal of the dead battery.
• Connect the other positive cable end to the positive terminal of the source battery.
• Connect a negative cable end to the negative terminal of the source battery.
• Attach the remaining negative cable to unpainted metal on the car engine (as far from the dead battery as possible).
• Wait a few minutes and try to start the disabled car. If it doesn’t start, start the source car and then try starting the dead one again.
• When the car starts, be careful to disconnect the cables in the reverse order.
• If the car still doesn’t start, don’t keep trying to charge it or you are liable to damage the starter. Bring the battery to an automotive shop to see if it can be recharged.
• Even if you’re successful, ensure a full recharge by hooking up the battery to a charger overnight or by driving the car for 5 or 10 miles (8 to 16 km).

 

Courtesy of Reader's Digest.

Kia Launches Chinese Horki Brand with Forte-Based Concept

Kia’s Chinese market joint venture Dongfeng Yueda Kia (DYK) has selected the “Horki” name for its new Chinese-market brand.


The automaker says Horki brand vehicles will be aimed at customers looking for reliable, efficient wheels, while Kia-badged products will skew more to the sporty and stylish side. A pair of Chinese characters represent the Horki brand, the first one “Hor” signifies China and the second one “Ki” relates to driving. So Horki literally means “driving in China.” (That literally covers a lot of territory.) Even before adding Horki to the mix, the expanding Chinese domestic market was awash with hundreds of brands, most of them unknown outside Sino borders.

The as-yet-unnamed (no word as to whether Horki Pokey is in the running) four-door sedan concept shown here is based on the current Kia Forte platform, but appears to share little or no sheetmetal with that model, instead sporting some details, such as the front fascia, A-pillars, and rear decklid that seem to have been inspired by the larger Kia Optima. Dongfeng Yueda Kia didn’t confirm that it would build the car, but did say it will release some sort of vehicle in the latter part of 2015. DYK’s full range of products will also include alternative-powered vehicles. If the Chinese aren’t interested in hybrids and EVs for efficiency reasons (although everybody likes better mileage), maybe they’ll buy them to help alleviate the country’s notorious smog problem.

Courtesy of Car and Driver.

Kia cars to get Google Maps integration

 

Google is partnering with at least two Korean car makers to integrate its Google Maps and Place services into Kia’s new UVO eServices telematics system, a tech site reported this week.

 

The Next Web said Google's new services may roll out later this year for Kia's new 2014 Sorento models, with the Sorento going on sale in the first quarter.

 

It said the system will provide turn-by-turn directions and assist the location of nearby points of interest.

 

Kia also developed its own UVO smartphone app, which will connect to the Sorento’s telematic system via a Send-to-Car feature.

 

The feature beams mapping data from the handset directly to the car. The Android app is expected to launch in the second quarter.

 

Google Maps will also be integrated into Hyundai via Google's Send-to-Car feature, as well as Hyundai's Blue Link technology, though it is not immeditely clear which car models will sport the services.

 

Courtesy of GMA News.

Kia Dealers to Give Customers Three-Month SiriusXM Subscription When Buying Pre-Owned Vehicles Equipped with Satellite Radio

 

NEW YORK, April 9, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Sirius XM Radio (SIRI) and Kia Motors America today announced that Kia dealers will give customers a three-month SiriusXM subscription when buying pre-owned vehicles equipped with satellite radio.  Participating Kia dealers join more than 9,000 auto dealers across the country enrolled in the SiriusXM Pre-Owned Vehicle Program.

Customers buying pre-owned vehicles with a factory-equipped satellite radio, regardless of manufacturer, from any Kia dealer participating in the SiriusXM Pre-Owned Vehicle Program will automatically receive a three-month SiriusXM subscription offering commercial-free music, premier sports talk and live events, comedy, news, and exclusive talk and entertainment.

"We are very excited to add Kia dealers to our growing list of dealerships across the country participating in the SiriusXM Pre-Owned Vehicle Program," said Joe Verbrugge, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Automotive Remarketing and Retail Sales, SiriusXM. "We look forward to working with Kia dealers to demonstrate our wide array of entertainment options for their pre-owned vehicle customers and make the buying experience better than ever."

"SiriusXM's unique combination of commercial-free music, unparalleled sports events, and exclusive entertainment has been a popular feature for customers buying new Kia vehicles," said Adam Perlow, Executive Director of Retail Sales for Kia Motors America, Inc.  "We are pleased our dealers will be able to demonstrate SiriusXM to their pre-owned vehicle customers and the addition of a satellite radio subscription will strengthen the dealer's ability to offer high-quality vehicles with the latest audio entertainment features and amenities at an incredible value."

Kia dealers interested in enrolling in this program can enroll at www.siriusxmpreownedtrial.com.
For more information on SiriusXM, please visit www.siriusxm.com.



Courtesy of Yahoo Finance.

Maintenance Monday Tip: Spark Plugs

Spark plugs do need changing!
 
The advent of electronic ignition and on-board computers has eliminated the need for regular tune-ups, but you still need to change your spark plugs. Many manufacturers recommend changing plugs every 30,000 or 40,000 miles (48,000 or 64,000 km) to ensure good fuel mileage and engine performance. Some new cars come with long-life plugs (sometimes called double platinum plugs) that can last for 100,000 miles (160,000 km). If your car isn’t so equipped, make the switch after 30,000 miles. The extra cost is only a few dollars per spark plug. While you’re at it, change your spark plug wires as well. Their typical life is 50,000 miles (80,000 km). Deteriorated wires can cause those high-tech new spark plugs to foul.

Courtesy of Reader's Digest.

Get 10% Off Service During April!

How well have you been taking care of your car? Come in and get 10% off service for the month of April!

Get the coupon here.

Kia plans rear-drive BRZ/FR-S-fighting sports car

Kia is apparently working on a two-seat, rear-wheel drive sports car to rival the Subaru BRZ and Scion FR-S twins. The Korean carmaker has done a lot to revamp its image.

Granted, the potential Kia sports car isn’t coming anytime soon. Designers have just begun working on it, England’s What Car? reports.

“We have made a model of an affordable, two-seat, rear-wheel-drive coupe,” Kia designer Tom Kearns told What Car?.

Since they debuted last year, the BRZ and FR-S have been the darlings of the car world because of their simplicity and focus on driving fun. By co-opting the popularity of these cars (and the equally petite Mazda Miata roadster) Kia could find a profitable niche and there could be other benefits as well.

A small, two-seat Kia coupe would perfectly complement parent company Hyundai’s four-seat Genesis Coupe. The choice of two sizes of rear-wheel drive sports coupe would make for a dynamic duo unmatched by any other mainstream carmaker.

It would also add some fun to Kia’s competent but serious lineup. With the exception of the fabulously frivolous Soul, Kia doesn’t really take on projects that won’t win it plaudits in the pages of Consumer Reports.

Right now, Kia builds some of the best looking cars on the road, and they’re faultlessly reliable to boot

A Kia BRZ/FR-S competitor would give the brand an air of sportiness, and it would give enthusiasts another choice for their next drift car. Maybe, in the process, some of that sportiness will rub off on Kia’s other products, too.

Courtesy of DigitalTrends.com.