This past weekend, I went to another City Moms event. It was different than most. We headed to a Jiffy Lube location… and learned about cars!
I can’t tell you how much I hate going to get my oil changed or anything done on my car. I’m terrified of it. I start sweating, I get nervous, I want to puke. I feel like I know nothing and everyone wherever I go, knows I know nothing! And I usually go in spending like 3x the amount of what my husband would have spent!
Well, not anymore!
Thanks to these guys at Jiffy Lube, we covered quite a few topics by rotating through different stations around the store. Jiffy Lube of Indiana owns 48 stores, 28 of which are in Indy, so they are very well rounded and have been doing it since 1985 so they know what’s up! They’ve been around town for a bit!
With all three bays open, we were able to learn about tires, tread, rotation, and pressure. Did you know that the space between Lincoln’s head and the edge on a penny is 2mm? And that’s about the minimum amount of tread you need on your tire… if it’s less than that, you need new tires! I think that’s what he said. Too much wear causes things like fishtailing in the rain. You always want your good tires on the back to prevent this and you want to rotate regularly!
We learned how to jump a car, which I already knew how to do, but I didn’t know a couple things they told us! Make sure to go Positive Negative to clip on, and then remove Negative Positive. And make sure to use that order because while it doesn’t happen often, it could cause a fire or sparks if you go out of order! Also, if you aren’t sure if you have a good connection, because maybe the car won’t start as soon as you are attached and ready to jump, then turn your lights on and wiggle the clamps to see if the lights flicker. If they do, then you do and it just needs a little more time to juice up.
We learned about checking fluids which I also already knew a little bit about because of a dad who always buys used cars and sometimes these things need checked more often than normal on older used cars. Make sure you oil level is not too low and make sure to follow your recommendations on what oil to use and how often to do it! Don’t ignore the sticker from your last oil change! Most manufacturers recommend oil to be changed every 5000 ish miles, but your car’s recommendation is listed in your car manual. I did learn that the main advantage of synthetic oil is that it has a temperature range. *The more you know*
And we learned about warning lights within the car dash. Red means B A D. Orange is more like needs attention, but it’s not like go RIGHT AWAY! Also, Check Engine light is the one people come in for the most and it usually isn’t that big of deal… usually.
They also did a demonstration of a tire change for us at the end! Did you know that putting your hood up could signal to other passersby that you might need help?! I didn’t even think of that!
It was a really great setup and I felt more confident about heading to a Jiffy Lube for oil changes in the future! I appreciate the guys of Jiffy Lube of Indiana taking time out of their Sunday and sweating it out with us in the seriously hot heat, just to make sure we feel a little bit better about getting stuck on the side of the road or having to change a tire <– which you might have seen on my IG stories Sunday–>>!
A little extra :: Jiffy Lube of Indiana has partnered with the Indy Arts Council to add artwork to the sides of their stores
They work with local artists and allow them to paint these gorgeous murals on their buildings! At this Carmel location there is a piece called “Breathe” by Artist Justin Cooper…
I love that they are doing this. It makes them feel more community driven and immersed and it really does set them apart from others. You can read more about this project here.
And as I turned my car onto drive away, I had real life examples of lights on the dash! hahahhaha! I’ll take care of the gas, but might be seeing those guys at Jiffy Lube real soon for that tire pressure light!
