November 12, 2008 – For the growing number of automobile owners participating in do-it-yourself repairs, Auto Repair For Dummies® now includes even more ways to cut costs on fuel, general maintenance and minor repairs, as well as important advice on reducing a vehicle’s impact on the environment and understanding safety systems that protect you and your family on the road.
Auto Repair For Dummies, 2nd Edition (Wiley Publishing, Inc., 978-0-7645-9902-6, $21.99) by acclaimed auto repair expert Deanna Sclar, teaches readers how to understand, care for, and troubleshoot a vehicle or choose a new, more efficient, and safer one. It covers basics like how to open the hood, use a jack and change a tire safely, as well as new information on alternative fuels and alternatively fueled vehicles that reduce dependence on fossil fuel.
Sclar says in the introduction, “With this book as your guide to how cars work, you may discover that your vehicle stops being a mystery and begins to be fun to hang around with.”
The book features a Dictionary of Acronyms and a Practical Glossary that provides explanations of automotive terms and advice about them; an extensive Index; a Specifications Record for the part numbers you’ll need on trips to the auto supply store; and a Maintenance Record for a history of maintenance and repair that’s useful to mechanics and to prospective buyers when it’s time to sell or trade in your vehicle.
In addition, an “Eco-Logic” icon found throughout the book alerts readers to tips on saving fuel, cutting air pollution, recycling parts, and safely disposing of toxic substances.
Here is just a small sample of tips found in the book:
From Chapter 19, “Staying Safe on the Road”
- With the growing emphasis on fuel economy, it’s easy to forget that one of the most important issues for everyone who owns, drives, or is a passenger in modern vehicles is safety. Getting there efficiently is important as long as you get there in one piece! Automakers have responded with a variety of improvements and innovations. Auto Repair For Dummies, 2nd Edition, describes the most important safety features that are currently available or will be in the near future-from proper seating to avoid air-bag injuries, to side impact protection, navigation and tracking systems, backup cameras and sensors, and traction, stability, and rollover control systems.
- Four types of child safety seats are necessary as children grow. This edition shows when and how to choose each type of seat.
- If you’re driving an older vehicle that lacks many vital safety features, you should definitely consider replacing it with a newer, safer, model.
- At the NHTSA site (www.safercar.gov), you can type in a vehicle’s make, model, and year and see its rollover and crash-test ratings. The IIHS site (www.iihs.org) lists the Ten Safest Vehicles along with ratings for air bags and offers a free brochure called “Shopping for a Safer Car” that you can view and download. In addition, publications such as Consumer Reports feature the results of their tests and ratings on a regular basis.
Preventive Maintenance: A Monthly Under-the-Hood Check
Spending 15 minutes a month checking under the hood can prevent 70 percent of the problems that lead to highway breakdowns and extend the life of your vehicle! Run through the following list once a month or every 1,000 miles by following instructions in the book:
- Check the air filter
- Check the accessory belts
- Check the battery
- Check the coolant
- Check the hoses
- Check the oil level on the dipstick
- Check the automatic transmission fluid on the dipstick
- Check the brake fluid
- Check the power-steering fluid
- Check and replace windshield wipers
- Check the amount of windshield washer fluid
- Check the wiring
- Check the tires
About the Author
Deanna Sclar is an acclaimed auto repair expert and consumer advocate. She has appeared on hundreds of radio and TV shows including NBC’s Today Show and the NBC Nightly News. Sclar lectures on the ecological impact of vehicles and is active in promoting residential solar energy programs. She is also the author of Buying a Car For Dummies.
| For more information, contact: Adrienne Fontaine 201 748 5626 afontain@wiley.com |
Auto Repair for Dummies 2nd Edition by Deanna Sclar Wiley; November2008; $21.99 978-0-7645-9902-6;  |
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