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Winter Preparation for Your Acura Winter may not bring heavy snow to El Paso, Texas, but cooler temperatures and occasional icy conditions still call for preparation. To ensure your Acura performs at its best, it’s important to winterize your vehicle. From maintaining tire health to inspecting critical systems, these steps will help you stay safe and confident behind the wheel during the season. Check and Maintain Your Tires When it comes to ensuring safe winter driving, your tires are critical. Inspect them for proper tread depth and signs of wear, as these factors directly impact traction. Even in mild winter conditions, the roads can become slippery. For Acura owners in El Paso, consider all-season tires equipped to handle occasional icy patches. Ensuring the correct tire pressure is another key component of winterizing your Acura, as fluctuating temperatures can affect pressure levels. more Perform a Battery Inspection Cold weather can take a toll on your Acura’s battery performance. Before winter fully sets in, have your battery tested to confirm it’s in good condition. A weak battery can lead to unexpected issues, especially during chilly mornings. At Fox Acura El Paso, we recommend having a professional check your battery connections and charge level to avoid any disruptions. Evaluate Your Fluids Fluids play a vital role in keeping your Acura running smoothly, especially during winter. Ensure your antifreeze levels are adequate to prevent your engine from freezing on colder nights in El Paso. Additionally, switch to a winter-grade windshield washer fluid that won’t freeze and will help maintain visibility on frosty mornings. Inspect Your Wipers and Lights Visibility is essential for safe winter driving. Check your Acura’s windshield wipers for any wear and consider replacing them if they leave streaks or fail to clear the glass properly. Similarly, inspect your headlights, taillights, and brake lights to ensure they’re functioning optimally. With shorter days during winter, properly working lights are crucial for your safety and that of others on the road. Keep an Emergency Kit in Your Vehicle Even with proper preparations, unexpected situations can arise. Assemble a small emergency kit tailored to winter conditions. Include items such as a flashlight, blanket, jumper cables, and a first-aid kit. While El Paso’s winters are generally mild, being prepared ensures you’re ready for any scenario.   At Fox Acura El Paso, we’re here to help you winterize your Acura and provide expert advice to keep your vehicle in top shape. Whether you need a battery check, tire replacement, or a full inspection, our team is ready to assist. Visit our service department in El Paso, TX today to prepare your Acura for the winter months! Conclusion Winterizing your Acura in El Paso is essential for maintaining performance and ensuring safety during the colder season. By inspecting your tires, battery, fluids, wipers, and lights, you’ll enjoy peace of mind and the confidence to handle winter driving conditions. Follow these safe winter driving tips to get the most out of your Acura and stay prepared for any weather. Visit Fox Acura El Paso to schedule your winter preparation service and enjoy worry-free driving this season.

One critical aspect of maintaining your vehicle's peak performance is ensuring your tires remain in excellent condition. Regular tire service at your Acura dealership helps extend the life of your tires, improve your vehicle's handling, and keep you safe. Today, we're looking at the most important steps to keep your Acura's tires in prime condition. On the Road: Keeping Your Acura's Tires in Prime Condition Check your tire pressure at least once monthly to keep your tires in prime condition. The maximum PSI your tires should be inflated to can be found in your owner's manual or on a sticker on your driver's side door. ​You must release ​air pressure if your tires are overinflated, and you must only measure your tires' pressure when the tires are cold. ​ more Also, get a tire rotation every time you visit your local dealership for an oil change. ​Having your tires rotated every ​5,000 ​to 8,000 miles is vital because uneven tire wear decreases traction. This can make cornering, hard braking, and driving on slick roads dangerous. ​Regular tire rotation mitigates the risk of uneven tire wear. Even tire wear ​also ​helps you maintain your fuel efficiency and extend your suspension system's lifespan. The Importance of Proper Tire Alignment You also must keep your tires aligned to keep them in prime condition. ​By getting a tire alignment, you can enjoy a better driving experience, improved safety, a longer tire life, and fewer ​expensive repairs over your vehicle's life. You're ​less likely to need repairs if you keep your tires aligned properly because your steering and suspension systems won't be put under as much strain. Proper tire alignment ​extends your tires' lifespan by reducing the rate at which they wear. You will be safer when you drive because your vehicle won't ​reduce your maneuverability by pulling to one side. ​Your driving experience will be more enjoyable because you won't have to adjust your steering wheel constantly to compensate for your vehicle pulling. Why You Should Get Tire Service at Your Acura Dealership You should visit your local dealership for tire work because we have the knowledge and hands-on experience to take great care of your car. You can trust our Acura-certified technicians to diagnose and repair tire problems quickly when possible. If a tire replacement is necessary, we'll help you select the tire type, tread pattern, and size you need. Keeping your Acura's tires in prime condition is vital for your safety, your car's performance, and the useful life of your tires. If it's been a while since your trusted dealership has rotated your tires, schedule a service appointment with us now at Fox Acura of El Paso in El Paso, TX.

No one wants to waste money – which is why the manner you drive in can be so important. By following these simple tips, you can improve your car’s gas efficiency, saving you money in the long run! Read on for cost-cutting tips. Develop Better Driving Habits Rapid acceleration, speeding, and other forms of aggressive driving are not only a nuisance to other drivers, but they're also costing you big. Stopping gradually and slowly accelerating from a stop can help cut fuel consumption by as much as 30 percent. When driving on the highway, turn on cruise control, as this handy feature will boost your vehicle's gas mileage by a noticeable amount. As long as you take it easy and develop good driving habits, you're already coming out ahead. more Download a Mobile App Smartphone apps like GasBuddy and AAA Triptik are designed to help you locate the cheapest gas stations in your area, which makes them invaluable tools to have since prices are constantly fluctuating. You can even save gas by using your mobile phone to check traffic conditions. Waze or even the Maps app for iPhone, for instance, give you a helpful traffic report so that you can plan your route accordingly, avoiding all that gas-wasting idling. Reduce the Weight Hauling unnecessary cargo, especially on the roof of your vehicle, can really cut into your gas mileage. Luggage racks, cargo containers, and other exterior add-ons create more wind resistance, making your vehicle less aerodynamic. Any extra weight in the trunk or cargo space can also be detrimental to your fuel economy. Unless you're setting out on a road trip and require all that extra gear - leave it at home. Turn Off the Air Conditioning Cranking up the air conditioning is a necessity in the summer months, but it really puts a dent in your gas budget. Try wearing lighter clothing and rolling the windows down. If you're commuting in the early morning during the coolest part of the day, you may not even miss the A/C. You'll also want to park your car in a shaded area to help keep it cool. At the very least, try using your A/C less to help save on gas expenses. Time Your Fill-Ups Gas prices tend to rise on Thursdays just before weekend travel, so try to fill up your tank just prior to that on Wednesday or Thursday morning, since 10 a.m. is generally when most gas stations set their prices for the day. Whatever you do, don't buy gas from Friday to Sunday, or even during the holidays, as prices always seem to rise during these periods. Sign Up for a Gas Rewards Card Many grocery stores offer gas rewards cards that allow you to accumulate points with every purchase, which you can put toward gas. If you can get the entire family to share the same card, you can build up points even faster. Sticking to your gas budget is easy when you shop and drive smarter. Try out a few of these suggestions and see just how much you can save! Image via pixabay.com | Licensed under Pixabay License

Road trips are always fun and exciting, until you're a few miles into a long car ride and your children start complaining that they're bored or start squabbling with one another. To make sure everyone has a good time on your next road trip, use some of these tips and tricks to keep your children busy and entertained. Create an Art Kit Children are very creative, and they love expressing this creativity through art. Before you leave on your road trip, put together an art kit your kids can use to stay entertained. Make sure you pack a variety of items in the kit so they don't get bored with it. Some good options for an art kit include washable crayons and markers, paper, stickers, and tape. If you put everything in a small plastic storage box, the box can then double as a lap desk. Pack Snacks Few things are more difficult than grumpy children who have empty stomachs. Packing a few snacks for your children to eat while they're in the car can help them pass the time and stave off sniping when they get hungry. Just make sure you carefully plan what type of snacks you pack. Giving your kids sugary snacks when they're cooped up in a car may backfire on you. Instead, look for healthy snacks such as nuts, crackers, cereals, and fruit. Also, don't forget to pack water and napkins! Bring Along a Favorite Movie If you have a particularly long road trip, consider packing a few favorite television shows and movies on DVD to provide a few hours of entertainment. If your vehicle doesn't come equipped with a rear seat entertainment system, you can pack a portable DVD player for your children to use. To make sure you can enjoy your music without having the sounds from the DVD disturbing you, don't forget to pack headphones for your kids. Play a Road Trip Game When your kids get tired of movies and art, teach them to play a road trip game. One of the classic road trip games is License Plate Bingo. Simply print out bingo cards with different license plates on them to see who can get a bingo first. If you laminate the cards and use dry erase markers, you can easily play the game again and again. Other great road trip games to teach your kids include I Spy, 20 Questions, and My Cow. Give The Kids a Camera Taking pictures is always fun, especially when you're on a road trip. Consider getting your children digital cameras they can use to take pictures during the trip. Since the cameras are digital, your kids can take pictures of anything that's inside or outside the car to keep them entertained. They can then simply delete the ones they don't want to keep. Although children can start to feel a little bored when they're on a long road trip, these tips will keep them entertained so everyone has a good time when you hit the road! Image via anjanettew | Licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0

The amount of fuel your car uses is mostly down to your choice of vehicle and its fuel-saving technology. However, although cars are getting more fuel efficient every year, there are still some easy steps that you can take to slightly reduce your fuel consumption. Although the reduction will not have an instant impact, the amount you'll be saving will add up to a lot of money in the long run. Here are some simple steps that you can take to save money on gas. Plan Your Drives You can not only save fuel by driving your car in a certain way but also by planning your trips in a smarter way. You probably take more trips than you need to and do it at times where traffic is at its peak. Of course, if you need to get to work or to a meeting at a specific time, there's little you can do about it. However, if you more analyze other trips that you have to make and group them together geographically, you may realize that you can get to more places in just one big trip, using much less gas than you would have if you'd taken individual trips to all those places. Also, by taking the time of day into consideration, you'll be saving gas by taking some trips outside rush hour. Remove Unnecessary Weight From Your Car Many people leave all sorts of heavy things in their trunks for months out of convenience. Leaving everything you don't need in your garage makes your car lighter, so you can get rid of all those suitcases, spare parts, bottles, and all sort of equipment that you may have back there. For every extra hundred pounds of weight added to your car, fuel consumption rises by as much as two percent, so figuring out how much you'll be saving in the long run by taking out all the heavy stuff is just a case of simple math. Avoid Being in a Rush This may be a good piece of advice to take in everyday life, anyway, but it definitely applies to saving fuel. Fast driving and late braking will greatly increase your chance of getting in an accident and raise your stress levels, so taking it easy would be a good idea even without the fuel-saving bonus. Driving calmly, anticipating the time and place where you can accelerate and break, and generally not rushing through town can save you about 30% of your fuel. Closing the Windows This is a valid advice when taking long drives because at constant high speeds, the car's aerodynamics play a major part in fuel consumption. It may sound counter-intuitive, but sometimes opening a window will cause more fuel to be used than by turning on the air conditioning system. So for commuters, driving with the windows closed and letting the car cut through the air the way it was designed to do will save you a lot of money over time. Image via Marco Verch | Licensed by CC BY 2.0

Even if you haven't struck a deer with your vehicle, chances are good that you know someone who has. The reasons for this common type of accident are many: habitat fragmentation, the movements of deer during mating season, and the location of highways. But there are a few steps you can take to reduce the risk of running into a deer in the first place. Heed Warning Signs Deer crossing signs are put up for good reason. Many of the highway systems in our country cut across prime deer habitat, including state and national forests. Be on the lookout for deer crossing signs to identify areas that are used heavily by the animals. Conversely, the absence of a deer crossing sign doesn't mean that you shouldn't be vigilant. These are adaptable animals that may move into urban and suburban areas to escape hunting or find new browsing, which means that you can encounter them just about anywhere. more Travel During the Day It's impossible for most of us to restrict our vehicle usage to only daylight hours. However, avoiding the road during the hours of dawn and dusk, when the light is murky and deer are most active, might just help you avoid a collision. The simple fact is that it's much easier to see an obstacle in the road during daylight. If you do have to travel during these times of the day, consider using your vehicle's high beams to help spot any animals on the road. This will assist in giving you plenty of time and distance to stop. Your headlights might also reflect a deer's eyes, which makes spotting it easier. Look for More Deer If you spot a deer in the road and manage to avoid a collision, you should be especially alert to the possibility that other deer may be about to follow the first. Deer tend to travel in herds, and it's not uncommon to see multiple animals run across the highway, one-by-one. If you've come to a complete stop to avoid the first deer, carefully scan the sides of the road to determine that no more animals are on the verge of crossing before resuming your travels. Don't Swerve When a collision is imminent, most experts recommend that you stay the course. You should apply your brakes to reduce your speed and, therefore, reduce the severity of impact, but you shouldn't swerve to avoid the collision. If you swerve into another lane, you run the risk of colliding with another vehicle, which would almost certainly be worse than hitting the deer. You can also honk your horn. Some experts have suggested that the sound will startle deer out of their mesmerized state, allowing them to escape unharmed. While sharing the road with deer is a fact of life in much of America, following these simple tips will help you keep the risk of accidents to a minimum. Above all, you should always remain alert and careful in any driving situation. Photo by Marneejill | Licensed by CC BY-SA 2.0

Prescription First, make sure your lenses are the right prescription. This means going to the eye doctor on a yearly basis, as most people’s eyes change prescription over time. This is the most important tip we can offer — if you aren’t wearing lenses with the right prescription, most of our other suggestions will be of limited use. You should get your eyes checked regularly and make sure that your glasses are the right match for you. more Lens Coating Many lens manufacturers are able to create lenses with an anti-reflective coating on them. This serves to reduce the glare presented by bright sunlight and the headlights of other vehicles, as well as the blinding shine that can occur on wet roads at night. This type of lens coating is especially effective for drivers who have difficulty discerning objects at twilight and nighttime. Another kind of available lens coating comes in the form of polarization filters. Lenses enhanced with this coating can improve contrast and make hazards on the road easier to identify. Sunglasses You may have observed that it’s difficult to wear sunglasses on top of your prescription glasses. Many drivers have attempted to circumvent this issue by purchasing clip-on sunglasses, which can be affixed to prescription lenses and flipped down when needed. While these are effective, some drivers may find them to be a hassle and may not use them when they need them. As such, drivers may benefit more from purchasing glasses with lenses that are capable of tinting in bright sunlight, essentially turning themselves into sunglasses when needed. This may come at an additional cost, but the added visibility certainly justifies the expense. Cleanliness Keeping your glasses clean is just as important as making sure your prescription is up to date. After all, if your lenses are smudged, you won’t be able to see the road in front of you. Some lens manufacturers have produced scratch-resistant lenses, which are less likely to become scuffed and will therefore offer clearer vision. While wearing glasses may present additional problems, such as compromised peripheral vision, these few tips will keep you safer on the road by ensuring that your glasses remain as functional as possible. At FOX Acura of El Paso, we’re committed to your safety. That’s why, in addition to providing useful safety tips like these, we would be happy to steer you towards a new vehicle that would let you travel in safety and comfort. If you are in the market for a new car, don’t hesitate to get in touch with us today. Image via Pixabay.com

Acura TLX This sedan might not look like a cold weather warrior, but it has a lot of features packed into a small frame, making it a great choice for driving in the snow. If you opt for the base model, the car has a four-cylinder 2.4-liter engine that works with an eight-speed dual-clutch transmission. The higher trim levels have a more capable 3.5-liter V6 engine, paired with a nine-speed automatic transmission. The TLX comes standard with front-wheel drive, but all trim levels are available with the all-wheel drive system, which Acura calls Super Handling All-Wheel Drive. It's especially good for winter driving because it has a precise torque-vectoring control that makes it easier to handle around turns. more Acura MDX The SUV underwent a major redesign in 2014, so the latest models still showcase the new and improved body style. It's sleek and comfortable, with available Super Handling All-Wheel Drive that does very well in poor road conditions. According to the automotive manufacturer, this feature enhances performance handling on dry roads while giving drivers an advantage on icy, wet, or snowy roads. When directing the engine power continuously, the car has better traction and weight distribution to keep all four tires in contact with the road. It's a better option than a standard all-wheel or four-wheel drive system because of the handling around corners and turns, both of which are difficult to do safely in the wintertime. The MDX has plenty of other features as well, including a premium interior and seating for up to seven. Wintertime driving also calls for better safety features, and every model includes AcuraWatch, a safety technology suite that includes collision warning with mitigation, road departure mitigation, adaptive cruise control, and lane keep assist. Acura RDX This compact SUV is smaller and more fuel-efficient than the MDX but still handles well in the snow. Under the hood, you find a refined V6 engine that has as much or more power than turbocharged versions found in many similar vehicles in this class. When the all-wheel drive system kicks in due to loss of traction on slick roads, it immediately transfers power back to the rear wheels, keeping them from sliding as much as they would in a front-wheel or rear-wheel drive. Driving in the winter doesn't have to cause fear and panic. While you should always drive slowly and cautiously in inclement weather, having a car that can better handle wet, icy, and snowy roads can ease a lot of your stress and keep you and your family safe. Image via Acura.com

Develop Better Driving Habits Rapid acceleration, speeding, and other forms of aggressive driving are not only a nuisance to other drivers, but they're also costing you big. Stopping gradually and slowly accelerating from a stop can help cut fuel consumption by as much as 30 percent. When driving on the highway, turn on cruise control, as this handy feature will boost your vehicle's gas mileage by a noticeable amount. As long as you take it easy and develop good driving habits, you're already coming out ahead. more Download a Mobile App Smartphone apps like GasBuddy and AAA Triptik are designed to help you locate the cheapest gas stations in your area, which makes them invaluable tools to have since prices are constantly fluctuating. You can even save gas by using your mobile phone to check traffic conditions. Waze or even the Maps app for iPhone, for instance, gives you a helpful traffic report so that you can plan your route accordingly, avoiding all that gas-wasting idling. Reduce the Weight Hauling unnecessary cargo, especially on the roof of your vehicle, can really cut into your gas mileage. Luggage racks, cargo containers, and other exterior add-ons create more wind resistance, making your vehicle less aerodynamic. Any extra weight in the trunk or cargo space can also be detrimental to your fuel economy. Unless you're setting out on a road trip and require all that extra gear, leave it at home. Turn Off the Air Conditioning Cranking up the air conditioning is a necessity in the summer months, but it really puts a dent in your gas budget. Try wearing lighter clothing and rolling the windows down. If you're commuting in the early morning during the coolest part of the day, you may not even miss the A/C. You'll also want to park your car in a shaded area to help keep it cool. At the very least, try using your A/C less to help save on gas expenses. Time Your Fill-Ups Gas prices tend to rise on Thursdays just before weekend travel, so try to fill up your tank just prior to that on Wednesday or Thursday morning, since 10 a.m. is generally when most gas stations set their prices for the day. Whatever you do, don't buy gas from Friday to Sunday, or even during the holidays, as prices always seem to rise during these periods. Sign Up for a Gas Rewards Card Many grocery stores offer gas rewards cards that allow you to accumulate points with every purchase, which you can put toward gas. If you can the entire family to share the same card, you can even build up points faster. Sticking to your gas budget is easy when you shop and drive smarter. Try out a few of these suggestions and see just how much you can save. Image via Pixabay.com