How to React to a Stuck Acceleration Pedal

We at Sheehy Nissan of Glen Burnie wish you a smooth and enjoyable driving experience each time you sit behind the wheel of your vehicle. However, we recognize that equipment can occasionally malfunction, and if such an event were to occur, we want you to be prepared to deal with the situation. Here’s how we recommend that you react if your gas pedal sticks.

Stay Calm

Your adrenal glands will kick into action if your vehicle accelerates without your consent, so firstly remember to not panic. Take a deep breath and exhale—then assess the situation.

Attempt to Stop Your Car

Shift your vehicle into neutral, remembering to utilize the clutch if you drive a manual. Maneuver your car toward a shoulder or a safe place on the side of the road. Push the brake as firmly as possible, potentially using both feet if the pedal is stubborn.

Power Down

If your car is equipped with a push-button start, depress the button for at least 3 seconds to disable the vehicle. If your car does not have this button, turn the keys and turn off the engine if your situation has not slowed down. Be careful that you are oriented toward a safe spot since turning off the engine will deactivate assisted steering.

Call for Help

If this dangerous situation has transpired, your vehicle is in need of attention before you next drive it. Call our dealership—we will be happy to assist you.

5 New Year's Resolutions for Your Car

New Year is a time when we vow to make a fresh start. And often that includes taking better care of ourselves. But how about taking better care of your car? Here are five resolutions from Sheehy Nissan of Glen Burnie to consider:

1. Wash it once a week

Keeping the paint in good condition is not just a matter of pride; it actually protects the value of your investment! Road grime, tree sap, and deposits from feathered friends contain contaminants that eat into paint, dulling a bright finish and helping corrosion get started. Not everyone has the time or a place to hand-wash their car, so go to a car wash and pay for the better service that includes the underside. Even if you don't live in the snow belt, keeping this clean helps prevent rust.

2. Clean the inside

Do friends and family wrinkle their noses at the left-over fast food boxes in your car or truck? Do they wipe their hands on their pants after closing the door? You probably keep your lounge clean and tidy, so why not your car too? Make it a rule for the first Saturday of each month to vacuum the interior and get rid of the junk. Buy a tub of automotive interior wipes and go over all the surfaces – you'll be surprised at how fast they gather dust – and clean the window glass. You'll see out better, the windows will mist up less, people will want to ride in your car, and by keeping excess weight off, you'll even save a little gas!

3. Get the oil changed

The engine is your car's heart, but it asks for very little. Just treat it to a regular oil change and it will reward you with years of loyal service.

How regular is regular? That depends on your vehicle and the type of driving you do. Some light an indicator when the oil needs changing – resolve not to ignore it! For others, ask the dealership what they recommend - it could be 3,000, 5,000, or even 7,500 miles – then mark on your calendar, organizer, or planner when you need to get fresh oil.

4. Check the lights and tire pressures

Resolve to do this every week. You don't want to drive around without lights, and you certainly don't want under-inflated tires.

Check brake lights by backing up to a garage door or wall and tapping the pedal while looking in the mirror. If you don't see the red glow from each light ask a friend to watch while you work the pedal. If there's a problem get it fixed promptly!

Tire pressures should be checked when the tires are cold. The best way is to buy a gauge and do a check before you get in and start driving. Perhaps you could do it before heading off to the car wash on Saturday morning! And don't forget the spare if you have one.

5. Stay current with servicing

Modern vehicles are extremely reliable, but there are things that need inspecting and replacing at regular intervals. Staying on top of servicing helps ensure your vehicle will provide reliable service for years to come. Ask your local service department what is recommended, and heed their advice.

The New Year is a time for fresh starts. Spend more time looking after your car, and it will be cleaner, more reliable, and even safer. That has to be a resolution worth sticking to!

What's the Ideal Highway Speed?

When you sit behind the steering wheel of your car, you control your destiny. You choose where you want to go, when you want to go, and how fast you want to get there. The latter choice carries with it significant risk in the form of traffic tickets, fuel economy, and the urgency of your situation, so take some time to evaluate whether or not you’re at the ideal highway speed for your situation before you let your lead foot have its way. We at Sheehy Nissan of Glen Burnie have the details.

Ticket-Free Driving

If your primary goal while driving is a ticket-free driving record, you must always drive at or below posted speed limits. If police determine that the speed of your car exceeds the speed limit by as little as 1 mph, they can give you a speeding ticket. You must not drive too slowly, however, because police could ticket you for blocking traffic or failure to maintain designated minimum speeds. Drivers who want to avoid traffic citations must also know local laws for roads that do not have speed limit signs.

Fuel Economy

Most cars have a “sweet spot” for speed that delivers optimum fuel economy. You can often learn about the optimum speeds for your vehicle by visiting the service desk at your dealer. If you cannot find out the speed at which your car delivers the best gas mileage, you can rely on general principles that can help your car get the most out of every gallon of gas. As the speed of your car increases, the resistance it meets from the air also increases. This means that your car must work harder to maintain high speeds than it has to work to maintain low speeds. The U.S. Department of Energy says that the fuel consumption of cars quickly increases at speeds above 50 mph. Surprisingly, cars with the highest fuel-efficiency ratings tend to suffer from bigger drops in gas mileage at high speeds than the drops experienced by cars that have subpar fuel economy ratings. You must drive slowly on the open road if your ideal highway speed is the speed that delivers the most miles per gallon.

Your Car

Your car helps define your ideal highway speed. If you drive a super-high-performance vehicle, your ideal speed could be much higher than if you drive a motor scooter. If you have a need for speed and your car will not deliver, schedule an appointment with your dealer to test drive cars that have ambition under their hoods.

5 Underappreciated Car Parts

Cars are made of many systems, often with hundreds of individual components. Our team at Sheehy Nissan of Glen Burnie has the details on five of the most underappreciated car parts on your car:

1. Tires – Nothing is more important to your vehicle’s performance and safety than the tires you select. Beyond the usual conversation of summer/winter tires and tire wear, the brand and model of tire you select can make an enormous difference in your car’s ride and handling. Tires - the big, black, donuts on your car – may not look like much, but they actually represent a wealth of design, technology, and manufacturing development. There is an abundance of research and reviews available online, so take the time to make a well-informed decision on your tires, as specific to your driving habits, needs, budget, and climate.

2. Oil Filters – if you’re like most drivers, you’ve never seen your oil filter, and have no idea where, what kind, or what quality filter you have. More so than most other commonly replaceable components on your car, oil filter quality can vary tremendously. Oil filters protect your oil and thus also your engine. Ask your technician for advice, but we’d recommend spending a bit more for a reputable brand, and if they offer two lines, buy the better one. It’s money well spent.

3. Permanent Automatic Transmission Fluid (aka ATF) – means less maintenance and therefore expense for most drivers, but not all drivers should refrain from changing their ATF, even if the manual states that it’s not necessary. Towing, constant stop-and-go driving, hot climates, hills, and dusty conditions can strain the properties of your ATF. Ask your technician if s/he’d recommend a fluid change.

4. Shocks and Struts – Next to tires, these are the components most necessary for safe driving and decent handling. They are responsible for keeping your tires firmly in contact with the road. Shocks and struts typically wear and begin to fail slowly, so it’s easy to overlook and forget about them. Failed shocks and struts can burst, leak, crack or break, and as they fail, so does your handling and braking. Ask that they be inspected next time your car’s up on a lift.

5. Headlights – Here again, headlights tend to be overlooked and underappreciated, namely because they typically go about their business quietly and without notice, until one of them burns out and you get pulled over or notice your illumination is down by half. Headlights are easy and inexpensive (in most cases) to replace, and a little-known fact is that halogen bulbs dim slowly over time. Another factor which can affect your headlight’s output is the clouding of headlight lenses caused by sun, rain, road rash, and environmental chemicals. This can often be removed by professionally polishing the headlight, but if they’re too far gone, ask about replacing them with new units, to be assured of safer night-time driving.

How to Make Your Car Look New Again in the New Year

All right, it’s the New Year and time to make your car look like new again. The first step is pretty obvious – clean it. Don’t go through an automated carwash if you want the best results though, as even the most advanced car washes can leave dirty spots on the outside of your car, and some can even damage the paint surface on your car. Read on for more details from Sheehy Nissan of Glen Burnie.

But first, a description of the paint on your car. It’s made up of several layers of paint, usually a primer, one or more layers of color paint, and a clear coat on top of it all to protect the color paint. The scratches that build up in car paint are often only damage to the clear coat and it is this that you want to repair. Buy a reputable brand of cleaning products – they usually come as a multiple step system, but this is what you essentially want. First item necessary is a good detergent. Don’t use dishwashing liquid or household cleaners, as they can strip layers of wax and clear coat off. Next, you will want to use a good quality wax. This not only protects the clear coat, it fills in the scratches in the clear coat itself. Apply a layer of polish for the final gloss. At all stages use a new, clean cloth – never brushes or sponges. The idea to keeping care of your paint is using the least aggressive way of cleaning it.

Larger scratches and paint damage, such as the result from getting into a scrape with another car or a pole can often be buffed out using a cutting wax. This has tiny abrasive particles in it that strip contamination off the car. Even when it looks like your paint has been badly scratched, it is often the case that whatever the car has contacted has left some if it’s paint on top of your paint, and with a cutting wax it can quite literally be wiped away.

On the inside of your car it’s always a good idea to have a set of good quality floor mats. These not only cover the carpet under the mat and keep dirt off it, but it also means you don’t need to be too aggressive when cleaning the carpet itself. Most cars have synthetic carpets, and if you move the head of a vacuum cleaner over it too fast and with too much pressure, the friction can actually cause enough heat to melt the fibers together and cause a big scratch-like mark.

Dust builds up on the dashboard and center console, and this can be removed by simply running a damp cloth over the surfaces. As long as the cloth is damp and not actually wet the electronics in your car should not be affected. If you want to go further there are plenty of interior cleaners and polishes that can give a glossy effect, but always try the new formula on a piece of trim you don’t normally see so you can gauge whether you want your entire dashboard to look like that.

If your car has leather upholstery, you can go with a high quality leather cleaner. This not only cleans the leather, but like the polish on the outside of the car, it protects the leather from certain damage. Again, be careful in choosing a cleaner as some can make the leather extremely slippery.

Alternately, find a detailing company with a good name and reputation and have them do it all for you. Completely cleaning a car can take a long time, and that’s why there are many professionals around to do the job for you.