Surprises often come at the most unexpected places, such as seeing a mouse sleeping soundly inside your car. It’s not a great surprise but a surprise nonetheless. Seeing a rodent inside your car should not only shock you but also worry you. While there’s a possibility you are just looking at a transient mouse, it can also mean they are calling your car home. Knowing how to prevent rodents from causing damage to your car can save you a lot of hassle and headache in the future.

Do Rodents Really Live in Cars?

When looking for a home, rodents are pretty much straightforward. They look for homes that can keep them warm, safe, and full. They are more likely to seek refuge in your car during the winter or spring when its colder. Your car is a perfect candidate especially when you don’t like to clean up after food messes in the back seat.

They can look gross but the real damage they can inflict to your car can be alarming. They will chew on just about anything from insulation to wires. They also tend to hoard and stuff food on different parts of your car like the glove compartment or your air conditioner vents. If you’ve left your car unchecked for weeks or months, they might even have a nest somewhere within your car.

How Do I Know If There Are Rodents in My Car?

Thankfully, rodents aren’t very good with hygiene so it’s quite easy to know if there are any in your car. If you spy droppings or weird odor, that’s usually a tell-tale sign that mice actually live inside your car. If you also hear rumbling noises coming from your heater fan, this might mean mice have made a nest in your heater motor.

Another way of finding out rodents live in your car, albeit too late, is to see the damage they have caused to your wirings, linings, insulation, and upholstery. They don’t exactly eat what they chew but they usually use whatever they can to build a nest. The damage they cause ranges from bothersome to dangerous especially when they start gnawing on the delicate electrical wiring of your car.

How Do You Prevent Rodents From Causing Damage to Your Car?

When talking about trying to stop rats from taking over your car and causing damage, cleanliness is always the best answer. Here are our top tips to prevent rodents from causing damage to your car:

• Inspect your garage – If you keep your car in your garage, make sure you check any hole that rodents can use as an entrance.
• Contain your food – Keep anything that can be considered food for rats in containers that they can’t get into. This ensures that they consider your garage a bad place to look for food.
• Use your car often – Mice, rats, squirrels, and chipmunks can only build nests and “live” in your car if it hasn’t been used for some time as it gives them time to gather all they need to create a nest. Take your car out for a drive every now and then.
• Make your car smell bad for rodents – Rodents rely more on their sense of smell than their eyesight. This adaptation gave them very sensitive noses. Using peppermint oil, cat hair or red pepper on certain entry points of your car will deter rodents from even trying to go near.
• Open your hood – Rodents look for areas that are dark and cozy, by simply opening up your hood you are making your car an unlikely candidate for a home for rats.

Damage caused by rodents may not always be catastrophically destructive, but they can certainly cause you problems if the right wiring is chewed or damaged. If you suspect rodents are living in your car, go to T3 Atlanta to have your car checked for nests and damage.

Spring is here and while we say goodbye to icy roads and snow hazards, we are welcoming wet roads and hydroplaning. Hydroplaning? Oh, it’s just the term to describe when you “slip” on a puddle on the road. You know, when you seem to lose control for a few seconds while your whole life flashes before your eyes. While a second or two of hydroplaning at slow speeds can be surprising, it can be quite an experience when it happens at faster speeds.

But what exactly happens when you hydroplane? How do you regain control and save yourself while you hydroplane and how do you lessen chances of your car hydroplaning? Let’s answer each question one by one with this article. We believe all these things are important, especially the tips on what to do when you hydroplane. Let’s start.

What Happens When You Hydroplane

Normally, your car runs when your car tires propel your car forward by pushing on a solid and stationary plane which is usually the road. The constant push of the tire keeps us running. It’s the same way when we run, our feet pushes on the floor or road and propels us forward.

But have you seen one of those cartoon skits where the protagonist places a piece of banana peel on the floor and the poor antagonist steps on it while running and he/she slips?

It’s basically the same thing when you hydroplane. Water gets between your tires and the road and your tire can’t get enough traction to “push” your car forward so you lose control. Going at a faster speed only makes the situation worse.

Normally, small puddles of water won’t pose a problem to your car. However, when the tread of your car is thin then water can’t escape as fast and gets forced down instead of out. This is why checking your tire treads is always recommended by car mechanics.

What To Do When You Hydroplane

No control, fast speed. It’s easy to panic in such a situation. However, a stable presence of mind is necessary to save yourself when you hydroplane. So don’t panic.

The first thing you need to do is to stop yourself from hitting the brakes. When you hit the brakes, you are prone to spin out because you don’t have control on your front tires and the rear tires are now locked up. This also means you should not accelerate right away because nobody wants to go 60 to 120 with zero control over the front tires, right?

The next thing to do is to look for an open space. Maybe the shoulder? A drier part of the road? Find an open space and focus on that. Now, you can do one of two things depending on the car you have.

If you own a car with front-wheel drive, all wheel drive, or a car with ABS or traction control then accelerate slowly while steering towards the open space. The ABS or traction control can help you manage to wrestle control of your car while you hydroplane so it becomes easier for you.

However, if you own a car that has rear wheel drive with no ABS or traction control, don’t hit the accelerator and just steer the car towards the open space. You are practically at the mercy of physics here so don’t exacerbate the situation by accelerating or hitting the brakes.

How Not To Hydroplane

Hydroplaning is not a good experience. You may feel like you are part of the cast of The Fast and Furious but it can get pretty traumatic.

In this case, prevention is always better than cure. So let’s try to find out how we can prevent our cars from hydroplaning.

First off, make sure your tires are properly inflated and make sure they have proper tread depth. Your tire’s tread can spell the difference between hydroplaning and a safe drive.

Next, don’t use cruise control during wet conditions. Most cruise control setups are only good on optimal conditions and they don’t know how to adapt when your car hydroplanes.

Lastly, try to drive slower when it’s wet outside. Like what was mentioned above, hitting a wet patch at 30 miles an hour is much better than when you are going 90.

Car Maintenance at T3 Atlanta

Here in T3 Atlanta, we care about all our clients. That’s why we do our best to be thorough in all our checks. We also recommend constant checks on tire tread to lessen chances of accidents happening. If you want to know if your car is safe to drive during the wet season, visit us and let our experts check your car and give you pointers.

The snow has melted and the once white and barren landscape has transformed into that of life and joy. It’s almost spring, ladies and gentlemen, and we are back to love-hating this season once again. But before you go and head on out to enjoy the warmer weather, you should not forget about spring car maintenance.

Remember that due to the big difference in temperature and road conditions, you have to ensure that your car is up for the task. You did some adjustments and maintenance checks on your car before winter started and you should do the same for spring.

Spring and Your Car

Unlike winter, there’s really nothing much to “look out” for in spring. Spring maintenance is all about checking your car for any damages it has incurred during the winter and to revert any changes you have made to it. This is to make sure that your car performs at its best while on the road. Spring maintenance can help you save money and headaches in the long run especially when you have a lot planned for the spring and summer.

But where do you start?

We’re going to help you out with a guide on how to prepare your car for spring. While not all these suggestions can apply to all types of vehicles or for cars in different locations, they will serve as a guideline for everybody to use for spring car maintenance.

Spring Car Maintenance Checklist

1. Give your car a thorough wash – The term “spring cleaning” should not just apply to your home but also to your car. Just like spring cleaning, your spring carwash should be thorough. Getting an expert really helps but you can always do it yourself given you have the time and patience to do so. Make sure you get into every nook and cranny of your car. You can also go and add baking soda on your wash water to make sure you stop any form of salt buildup from the winter. Winter can do a number on your car exterior so this carwash is really important.
2. Have your tires checked – When checking your car tires, don’t just focus on whether it has enough air or not. Winter driving can be brutal to your cars. To make sure that they are in tip-top shape, go to a shop to have them rotate and align your tires. This will make sure you get even and safer wearing thus giving your tires a longer life. You also might want to change your tires in case you changed them for winter tires. But check if the replacement tire has enough tread. Spring is notorious for random showers so the road can get slippery when you least expect it.
3. Check the electrical wirings of your car – While most mechanics would just ask you to check your battery, it would be better for your car if you go the extra mile by checking the electrical wirings. First check would definitely be the battery but you also have to make sure that terminals and electrical components are in good shape. Nobody wants to have their car dying on them in the middle of the road, right?
4. Rehabilitate your windshield wipers – Your windshield wipers can easily get damaged during the winter. If you feel like your wipers are already streaking, replace them. New wipers don’t cost much and you can even replace it yourself. Spring also means rain so you still need a properly working windshield wiper for a safer drive.
5. Manage the fluids – Winter may require you to use specialized fluids for your car so that means you might have to change them for spring. You can start with your oil to make sure your engine enjoys a long and healthy life. Next up will be your wiper fluid which often gets used up during winter to wash off the grime from your windshield. Lastly, check your brake fluid for a safer drive.

Spring Car Maintenance at T3 Atlanta

Spring can get pretty exciting for everybody, but without preparation, this can result in problems. Spring maintenance will breathe a new life into your car and will lengthen its life. Visit T3 Atlanta today to have your spring car maintenance and checkup. Rest assured your car is in good hands every time with T3 Atlanta.

The holidays are coming up and everybody is in panic mode to look for gifts to give. You might have friends who got a new car, or a family member who might need a thing or two in their car. For these people, car gifts for Christmas make perfect sense. But what should you buy?

Do a quick search on Amazon and you will be swallowed by an ocean of products that promise to do this and that but are they really gift-worthy? So we’ll help you out by listing down the five best car gifts for Christmas. Note that we took into consideration a regular person’s budget when making this list so don’t expect anything that would break the bank. Plus, we added one more item that just amazed us we had to include it on the list. Let’s start the Christmas shopping!

The Best Car Gifts for Christmas

1. Phone mount/holder – According to statistics, around 88 out of 100 drivers use their phones while driving. This could either be to play music, check social media, answer texts, or take phone calls. Holding your phone while driving is distracting and can result in a number of accidents. A quick 4-second sequence of picking up your phone and checking it out can result in a gruesome accident. A phone mount can help lessen the distraction by holding your phone up for you. If placed in the right spot, it will take you a second to check who is calling or what a notification is all about. A phone holder/mount also allows you to check your phone easily for instructions or directions from your phone GPS. There are countless choices and they come rather cheap. Perfect giveaway gift for your employees or co-workers.
2. Dash Cam – No car should be without a dashcam nowadays. Nowadays, you can buy off-brand dash cams online for less than $100 and they work great. Some of them even have a rear camera that can help you while backing up. A dash cam is a perfect gift for someone who just got a new car and just started driving. The recording from the dash cam can help explain how they got dings and dents on their cars.
3. OBD 2 Scanner – Got a friend who really loves cars? They would probably love an OBD2 scanner. An OBD, or on-board diagnostics, scanner is a nifty tool that pretty much translates machine talk to something we can all understand. Is your check engine light lit up? An OBD 2 scanner can help tell you what’s wrong within seconds. This is great for people who can do minor repairs and maintennance in their cars. With an OBD 2 scanner, you can save your friend an unwanted trip or two to the shop.
4. Bluetooth adapter – Ask anybody who does long drives and the one thing that keeps them sane at all times and their answer would probably be music. If your car just rolled off the assembly line within the past 5 years, this would not be a problem. However, older cars only have a USB, 3.5mm jack, or cd interfaces for music input. Unless you have your high school CD stash of rad music with you, this can be quite a problem. Worry not though, a simple device is available to save you. A bluetooth adapter serves as a bridge between your phone (or any bluetooth capable music player) and your car sound system. Usually connected through the audio jack, the adapter receives and translates the music from your phone to your stereo. No more silent drives. Just feel good music from engine start until you reach your destination
5. Car Charger – Nothing could be worse than having a dead phone battery in the middle of a road trip, right? While you can always use a powerbank, those things can get quite heavy and clunky. Not to mention the fact that you are actually carrying a mini hand grenade. So how to solve this problem? By charging your phone with the help of your car. A car charger turns your cigarette lighter port into a 2 or even 3 port phone charger. Perfect for people who are always on the go who can’t afford to stop at a coffee shop just to charge. As long as your car is running, you can charge anywhere at anytime.

**BONUS!**

1. Handpresso – While doing research for this article, I was looking for the stuff that people might find necessary. I didn’t expect to see anything coffee related but that’s when I found the Handpresso. Basically, it’s a coffee maker that you can carry to your car. Yep. You heard me right. You can make a piping hot cup of joe in your car. Imagine sipping your favorite brew on a truck stop after driving for hours. Plus, the most basic model is priced at around $75.

While material things are the first things we consider when thinking of gifts, car care can also be a great gift to give your friend or family. Here in T3 Atlanta, we are the best place for Nissan, Infiniti, Toyota, and Lexus auto repairs. Take your friend/family member’s car to T3 Atlanta and we’ll get it to tip-top shape in no time.

Christmas is right around the corner and people are busy doing whatever they can to make sure everything is ready for Christmas eve. People buying gifts, people getting the lights ready, sending all the Christmas cards, preparing food for the Christmas feast, and of course the most important one of all – finding the right Christmas Tree.

As what my old man told me, the best trees can’t be found on a shopping mall. That’s why you might need to go on a small road trip if you want the perfect tree. While the road trip in itself might be enjoyable, the ride home might not be as easy. See, carrying a 7-9 foot evergreen can get a little tricky – even dangerous.

But worry not, we’re here to ensure your Christmas is really merry. We’ve listed down tips on how you can transport your Christmas Tree easily and safely. The goal here is to ensure the tree arrives at your place with as little damage as possible without needing special gear. We will be considering various modes of transport so make sure you read through it all.

Safely Transporting a Christmas Tree

1. The first thing you need to do is to prep the tree. You can have the tree netted to make the tree more manageable. This will also reduce any damage to the tree as it keeps the needles from moving around too much.
2. You have two options when transporting trees depending on the car you have – putting them inside the cargo area of your car or placing them on a roof rack.
   • When using the cargo area, make sure that the tree fits snugly. If it does not, opt to put it on a roof rack. Make sure you put a blanket or plastic sheet before placing the tree inside. This is to make sure your cargo hold is protected from the pine needles that may scratch or get lodged into your mat. It’s also a good idea to tie down the tree just to be safe. It might fit snuggly inside the cargo hold but a few bumps here and there might dislodge it.
   • The roof rack is the most common thing people use to transport their trees. It shouldn’t pose much of a problem as long as you prepped the tree properly. It also helps if you position the tree in such a way that the trunk is in front. This reduces the amount of damage, and helps is keeping the car easier to steer. Adding a blanket or tarp is necessary to protect the roof rack and the roof itself. Lastly, tie down the tree as safely as possible to make sure it won’t fly off.
3. Before you start your trip back home, make sure you give your tree a good tug to make sure it is secure.
4. One thing to look out for are hot spots in the cargo area such as in the case of pickup trucks. A place to watch out for is the area near the exhaust pipe. The heat can cause damage to the tree needles which will definitely make the tree a little less perfect.
5. Last thing, wherever you put the tree make sure you can still see the road. Sit on the driver’s chair and check your side and rearview mirror if you have an unobstructed view.

Also, it pays to drive slowly when transporting your tree. This might extend your trip by a couple of hours, this ensures that the tree and the passengers of the car are all safe.

Take your car to T3Atlanta before and after you take your Christmas Tree home. We can help you condition your car and to give you tips on the best way to transport your Christmas Tree. Our resident experts can also add a roof rack to your car in case you need one right away. Contact T3  Atlanta today!

When you buy a new car, what are the things you consider before making the purchase? Price? Mileage? Size? How about safety rating? Do you even think about how safe a car is? But more than that, do we even know what makes a car safe?

What Makes A Car Safe?

Accidents happen at the worst moments. There’s no way to predict when it can happen. Because of this, the only thing you can do is to ensure that your car is the safest place you can be during the accident.

However, not all cars are created equal. Some are safer than others. If you are shopping for a brand new or used car, it’s best to know the safety rating of a car and the safety features it has before making a decision. More than the price or mileage, you must be sure that your car can protect you on the road.

But before we go and talk about safety features, let’s try to understand what safety ratings are and how they work.

Safety ratings are given by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to cars depending on how safe they are. Cars are given 1 to 5 stars with 5 as the safest and 1 as the lowest possible safety standard. You can check the safety ratings of cars online or on the stickers that come are found on the windows.

Inside the NHTSA, they check for a number of things in order to give the safety rating of a car. Perhaps the most popular check they do is called a crash test. This is when they subject the car to various crashes (front, rear, and side) to check for crashworthiness.The test aims to find out whether the car can lessen the damage to its passengers in the event of an accident.

Car Safety Features You Should Look Out For

Aside from the safety rating provided by the NHTSA, you should also look out for safety features that can make a specific car safer than the others. We’ve listed down some of the safety features you might want to look out for if you are in the market for a new car.

Airbags – Airbags work perfectly with seat belts in ensuring passenger safety. While the seat belt keeps you from being thrown away from your seat, the airbag cushions the probable impact you might have with the steering wheel or dashboard. While others claim that seat belts are unnecessary when you have airbags, this is false and a very dangerous way of looking at car safety.

Anti-lock Braking System – ABS is a mechanism that prevents the car’s wheels from locking due to emergency braking. This allows the driver to have better control of the car even when they hit the brakes. This helps in collision avoidance and gives the driver enough control to maneuver. However, the ABS is not all-powerful as you may still lose control of your car if you are going to fast or are doing extreme maneuvers. Some cars that come with ABS also have brake assist. Brake assist senses the “urgency” of your brake and adjusts the power as needed. The system detects the speed and force at which the driver steps on the brake pedal and assesses it. On normal conditions, brake assist allows the driver to reach the threshold to activate ABS more quickly.

Electronic Stability Control – Often named differently depending on the manufacturer, ESC is a system that assists the driver in keeping the car under control during extreme maneuvers. ESC can sense when a driver is oversteering (causing the car to spin) and applies the brake to one wheel in order to cancel the spin. ESC is designed to minimize accidents where cars veer off the road. One thing worth noting is that ESC can easily be overcome by extreme speed.

Seat belts – No car on the road should be without a seatbelt. However, a seatbelt should be more than just a thing that keeps you on your seat. It should be comfortable enough to be used during daily drives, strong enough to keep you from flying out of the windshield or hitting the steering wheel in an accident, and designed to limit damage to your shoulders and chest upon impact. Look for a car with safer seat belt designs.

Safety should be the number 1 priority when buying cars. After all, accidents can happen at any time so you should be sure that your car can handle the job when the time arises. T3 Atlanta can help you out in picking the right car for your need based on the safety ratings and features. We can help you create a checklist to find out if a specific car is safe enough for you and your family. Contact us today!

A lot of people are easily worried about a lot of things about their car. One good example is with the car heater. They often approach us and ask, “Does your car heater waste gas?” This is not a silly question. As a matter of fact, a lot of car owners are really worried about wasting precious gas during winter.

To better answer the question, let’s try to understand first how the car heater works. We’ll explain the process for you to better understand how car heating works and whether or not you are wasting your gas when you are turning it on.

How Does the Car Heater Work?

When you have been using your car for some time, the engine heats up. In order to ensure that the engine does not overheat, water or coolant is circulated to take the heat from the engine into your radiator. Inside the radiator, heat is dumped to the outside air as the coolant cools down and makes another trip to the engine. This is how the engine cools itself off.

But when you turn on your car heater, the process changes a little bit. Instead of just dumping the excess heat to the outside air – coolant (which still carries the heat from the engine) goes into a small radiator located somewhere in your dashboard. A fan then turns on to direct the warm air from the radiator to the inside of your car.

So Does Your Car Heater Waste Gas?

Not necessarily.

It uses gas in the sense that it turns on a fan to direct the warm air inside the cabin of your car but the consumption is negligible at most. The heat being used is there for free and it’s only a matter of taking it from the engine into the cabin. As a matter of fact, one way to prevent overheating in the summer is to turn on the heater of your car. This helps the engine cool down by taking the water or coolant into another radiator where it can release its heat.

So, by all means, use your car heater when you feel like it. Unlike your A/C which can really affect your fuel consumption, a car heater has negligible effect ON your mileage.

How to Improve Fuel Consumption – The Basics

You might be a bit disappointed now knowing that turning off the car heater won’t affect your fuel consumption. However, we’d like to help you out by listing the best ways for you to save fuel that does not involve turning off the car heater.

• Turn off the A/C – Your A/C eats up a lot of fuel so you might want to step back from using them unnecessarily. Try driving with the windows down especially when the air is fresh.
• Drive smoothly – Sudden accelerations and “revving” your engine can affect your car’s fuel consumption. Pay attention to the road and drive smoothly as much as possible to increase mileage.
• Take a load off – Take off excess weight from your car. A heavy car consumes more fuel than a lighter one so take time to declutter your car or remove heavy items from the trunk. Remember to only carry the essentials as much as possible. Not using your roof rack? Remove it for now as the excess weight and drag it causes your car to eat up more fuel.
• Check the tires – Underinflated tires can cause your car to use more power to move. So if you are going on a long trip, make sure your tire pressure is correct to get more miles.

There are a lot of ways to increase your mileage but turning off your car heater is definitely not one. During winter, your car heater can be a lifesaver so it’s not advisable to skimp out on the heating just because you want to save on fuel. Have your car heater checked today with T3 Atlanta. Winter is just around the corner so you better make sure your car heater is in tip-top shape. Contact us today and let’s make sure you have a safe and comfortable ride.

One of the worst possible surprises in life is finding out your car is stolen. It’s just downright terrible. You wake up in the morning ready to take on the challenges of the day only to realize the car you parked in the curb last night is nowhere to be found. You’ve worked hours to get it and now somebody just swiped it away from you. There are countless of gadgets and gizmos out there that can help, but safety always starts with the owner. We’ve listed the best ways to prevent your car from getting stolen.

Ways to Prevent Your Car From Getting Stolen

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, one car gets stolen every 44 seconds in the US. Of this number, only half gets recovered. The other half is sold in underground black markets or take to chop shops for parts.

Nobody wants their beloved car in a chop shop. That’s why it’s always necessary to ensure that our cars don’t get stolen.

Have a Garage

This tip is not really applicable to all car owners but it’s arguably the best way to dissuade a thief from targeting your car. Most thieves look for the easiest pickings for a quick and clean job. Parking your car in your garage gives them a lot of problems which makes your car a little less enticing for them.

While renting a garage can be quite a hefty investment for those who live in the city, it can be worth it especially when your car is worth a lot.

Have a Well-Maintained Car

Following the ideas behind the broken windows theory, having a well-maintained car will make thieves think twice about jacking your car. When your car is visibly clean and obviously taken cared of, they will assume that you are keeping a close eye on your car or have an alarm installed. As what was mentioned on #1, they would rather go on the easy jobs than take a risk.

Have an Alarm Sticker or LED

When carjackers take a look at a line of cars, they don’t only consider which one will sell more. They will be looking for the one that won’t give them too much trouble. Just like how most homes have stickers saying “Protected by X Company” to deter thieves, keeping a sticker or alarm LED will do the same to carjackers. It doesn’t matter if the sticker or LED is true or not, they won’t take the risk of finding out.

Take Your Valuables With You

One mistake people make when they leave their cars parked outside is leaving the valuables inside – even if it’s out of sight in the glovebox.

Not only does this make your car a much better target for the carjackers, it also shows you are a bit careless. They will think you won’t have an alarm installed or you might even have left the doors unlocked.

Always Park in a Safe Zone

This is quite self-explanatory, if you park your car in an area with frequent cases of carjacking then the chances of your car getting stolen gets higher. If you don’t have a garage, try to park your car in a well-lighted area. A place with a neighborhood watch is also preferable.

Use the “Club”

There’s no big surprise that a metal bar is the most popular anti-theft device in the metropolitan areas of the country. While it is not 100% effective as there are still ways to take it off, it still works as a great “you’ll spend an extra 5 minutes to take this off” warning for would-be carjackers.

Drive a Manual

While this may sound like a funny thing to include in our list, multiple instances of would-be thieves thinking twice of stealing a car once they see a shift stick. So if you are thinking of getting a new car and would want to lessen its chances of getting stolen, think about getting a manual this time around.

Don’t Leave Your Car Running

This one is quite simple yet there are still people who take chances with leaving their cars running to grab something “fast”. You know what’s faster? A thief who can easily spot a driverless car that’s idling by the curb.

While thieves are getting more and more resourceful every day with their methods, one thing still rings true – they don’t want to get caught. So, take steps make your car a harder target for these carjackers.

How about you? What’s your #1 tip for keeping your car safe from getting stolen?