The trick to identifying when it’s time to have your vehicle towed, is really paying attention to how your vehicle functions when it’s running normally. Often you become accustomed to how your car drives without even knowing it. Tapping into this knowledge of how your vehicle usually performs and your senses to decide if your vehicle is safe to drive or not is a crucial skill. Being in tune with smells, how it performs, seeing any unusual smoke or leaking of fluids under the car, or any new and loud sounds created by the vehicle, can be a good indicator of whether a vehicle needs towing or not.

Warnings to watch, listen and look for:

• Check Engine Light is flashing.
• The vehicle is overheating according to the temperature gauge or sudden drop on the gauge.
• Oil Level or Oil Pressure light is illuminated.
• Smoke is coming out from under the hood or out the tailpipe.
• The vehicle has a burning smell.
• The smell of fuel while the vehicle is either running or not.
• Brakes that make a very loud grinding noise either while driving or when applied.
• Rotational noise while the vehicle is moving, that gets louder with increased RPMs or road speed.
• Loud noise under the hood while the engine is running, like knocking, whirring or screeching.
• Vehicle runs poorly, misfiring, backfiring, stalling at stops, no power when accelerating.
• Sudden loss of fluid like coolant, oil, power steering or brake fluid that can be seen around the vehicle.

If one of these key indicators happens, it is likely that something is wrong and your vehicle may not be safe. Trying to drive the vehicle may not be safe, so it doesn’t hurt to have someone from the DELLA Kia in Plattsburgh check your vehicle out just in case. There is nothing wrong with relying on the trusted specialists at Della Kia of Plattsburgh for your vehicle’s well-being, but it’s always good to know how your vehicle typically operates, and the difference between its normal sounds its unusual and questionable sounds.

When in doubt it’s better to be safe than sorry. I really dislike having to pay a big bill to get my vehicle to the service center, but I dislike wasting money much much more. So get familiar with your vehicles, friends. It’s information worth having.