Using less oil doesn't mean merely cutting back on refined gasoline. Your car uses oil every day, and changing it at 3,000-mile intervals has been the time-honored recommendation for ages--to the tune of 1 billion gallons each year in the U.S. alone.

Only now, with the invention and innovation of oil-life monitors, the 3,000-mile oil change could be history. And that could save some of the estimated 185 million gallons of used oil that are disposed of improperly each year--dumped on the ground, poured down drains, or thrown in the trash, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. One gallon of that used oil can contaminate 1 million gallons of drinking water, the EPA says.

General Motors is working with the California Integrated Waste Management Board (CIWMB) and the state's version of the EPA to make sure drivers know that they don't necessarily have to change their oil at the 3,000-mile interval. Many cars, including those from GM, have oil-life monitors that use sensors to detect debris and color changes in oil that can indicate when it's time for a change. The gauges can read like the one shown here--or as on the Toyota Prius in my driveway, a dash light illuminates when it's time to schedule a service and to swap oil. It's a great convenience not to have to worry about keeping track of mileage, not to mention those peel-off stickers in the windshield.

What say you--do you still change your oil every 3,000 miles, do you just neglect to do it, or does your car tell you what's best? Let us know in the comments, and keep it clean.

Here at TCC's Western Outpost in Portland, winter means gray skies and lots of mud. Come the rainy season, you can't let a little mist in the air keep you from going out and getting your exercise, and you have to accept the idea that your baby will get dirty — no, filthy — inside and out. Unless you have a pro to keep up with it, maintaining gleaming-clean sheetmetal, sparkling wheels, and non-gritty floomats can be downright dispiriting.

To keep a tidy appearance the rest of the time, we have a “dog car” — a ragged but rugged 1991 Volvo 240 wagon that already sports a bubbly “Don't Mess with Texas Sun” paint job — to take the brunt of the muckiest forest forays, and it hasn't seen the suds all winter. At mid February, we're through the worst of the rainy season, and within a few more weeks I'll be seriously thinking about some spring cleaning for the canine hauler, with its hair-and-mud-encrusted interior, grimy lower body, and a mysterious bright green charismatic macroflora that seems to love its badges and trim.

Dirty-car season is nothing new to this Michigan native. The Snow (Rust) Belt definitely has it the worst. Corrosive road salt, loose stones, and road debris from snow plows, traction sand, and repeated freezing and thawing can wreak havoc on your car's body. And the freezing temps probably kept you from washing your car as often as you should have.

So ya fell a bit behind. The first warm, spring weekend of the year, give your car a good spring cleaning, and check for any minor damage from the long winter before it turns into a costly or dangerous problem. What follows is a good set of reminders and starting points for your spring cleaning:

First, give your car a thorough hand-washing, inside and out, and do it the right way:

- Clean and vacuum inside first. Get out the Dustbuster, the cotton swabs, and the old toothbrushes. Shampoo might be in order for those salty-slush places.
- Make sure you have soap that's specifically for cars.
- Never wash your car in direct sunlight.
- Use a hose with a mist-spray nozzle to wet down the car and wash away debris (this might take a while if it's really caked on).
- Using a bucket with tepid water and soap, gently sponge down all areas of the car, rinsing the sponge frequently. Do the fender and bumper areas last.
- Blast the undercarriage and wheel wells with the hose to remove as much salt buildup as you can.
- Rinse the whole car, from top to bottom (don't allow soapy areas to dry).
- Dry the vehicle lightly with a chamois or natural-fiber drying cloth.
- Remember to clean the windows and mirrors!
- Stay away from automated, commercial car washes on busy, winter-thaw days. Many of them recycle a certain portion of their water, to the point that they're washing with salty water at those times. Otherwise, they're alternatives for keeping your underbody clean and for when it's too cold to hand-wash.

Next, look for stone chips, sand abrasions, and rust. Look over the body completely for stone chips, including smaller surface nicks and scratches from traction sand thrown up by trucks. Repair them immediately with a touch-up kit (a small bottle of touch-up paint plus a special brush for application, usually inexpensive and available at the dealership). Make sure the spot is clean and dry, without any loose or sharp edges, and apply primer if bare metal is exposed. Have a body shop repair larger patches of rust.

And this would be a good time to lubricate your locks and hinges. Consult with your owner's manual and use a graphite lubricant on your locks if recommended. Applying a small amount of petroleum-based lubricant to door and trunk hinges might also silence any creaking that started during winter.

Inspect your weatherstripping so as to keep everything weathertight and protect electrical components from damage. Get any 'rubber' that looks mildewy, cracked, brittle, or loose — like what you see here on the Volvo's back hatch — replaced right away. According to advice from the International Carwash Association, spraying weatherstripping with silicone spray will ensure that the water will bead away.

Finally, be safe and proactive; inspect your car's underbody for rust and winter damage. If there are any suspicious areas, have a mechanic look at them, and fix them immediately if needed. Pay special attention to brake components (sticky calipers, corroded brake lines), and exhaust components (rusted clamps, crumbling tailpipes, holes forming in muffler) that might have salt or slush damage. Suspension and steering pieces such as bushings, strut mounts, springs, and tie rods are also susceptible to winter damage.

These tips should help you get your car recovered from winter and ready for summer play. And in time, the gray skies, snows, and cold rains will be a distant memory.

I wish I could say the same for that wet-dog smell.

If you want an example of how policymaking involving the earth’s atmosphere can lead to adverse consequences for car owners, look no further than the air conditioning in your car, either now or in the future.

Refrigerant-12, the earliest refrigerant in auto a/c systems, was phased out of automobiles during 1991-94 in the U.S. because it depleted the ozone layer that protects us from skin cancer. The U.S. stopped making it in 1996. If you look at what’s called a global warming impact number that assigns one to CO2, then R-12 has a rating of 12,000.

Its replacement, R-134a has an index number of 1300. It cost the U.S. auto industry an estimated $8.5 billion to convert over, according to Ward Atkinson, the chair of the SAE Interior Climate Control Committee.

Now, R-134a could be on the way out—and SAE says that changeover could cost “significantly more.” The European Community signed the Kyoto Protocol, which lists R134a as a global warming gas. The EC is now in the process of phasing out R134a from 2011-2017 in favor of a refrigerant with an impact number of less than 150 – an order of magnitude down.

That move is trickling down to the U.S. California has proposed a ban of R-134a in trucks starting in 2015. One potential replacement refrigerant is R-152a, and a couple of other secret blends that are essentially unknown quantities regarding cost, material compatibility, performance and serviceability, including whether you can use it to service your R-134a system in the future. Automakers want a global replacement but there is not enough information, according to the SAE committee.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced at SAE that it would sponsor a demonstration project to explore these areas. SAE experts and engineers from Delphi, General Motors, Ford, and Fiat are among the participants. However, time is short – contracts for new components need to be assigned by the end of this year.

Is there enough time for the industry to test and validate the new refrigerant and develop service procedures? No one knows for sure. Insiders are nervous. Improperly handled early customers of the new systems could provide the final development testing – and suffer the costs if reliability problems arise.--Ken Zino

You have questions—and Bob Weber, TheCarConnection.com’s on-site mechanic, has answers. This week, Bob’s big riddle concerns anti-lock brakes, or ABS.

“I have read a lot about using ABS—that you should continue to put constant pressure as you brake when the system activates—but I have not read about the usage of traction control systems,” a reader asks. “When it engages, should you release pressure on the gas pedal or let the system work during slippage? What damage could result (to the engine or brakes) if the system is allowed to stay engaged until the tires grip?”

It comes down to integration, Bob says. “Traction control is integrated with the ABS. If one or more wheels are spinning too fast from lack of traction, the brakes are applied until the spinning stops. If the condition persists, the control module will begin depowering the engine until traction is reestablished. In answer to your question, keep your foot in it. Nothing will be damaged.”

Bob has all the answers. Get more from him over at the main site.

ASK A MECHANIC: MARCH 29, 2007—TheCarConnection.com

What’s up in TheCarConnection’s garage this week? Resident gearhead Bob Weber lets you in on a little secret club racers have been bitching about for years. Neons eat brakes—and one reader’s none too pleased. “I replace one set of fronts on my ‘99 Malibu to three sets of fronts on my ‘98 Plymouth Voyager while my 2 Neons get about 12,000 miles on a set of front pads.”

Weber, always the humanitarian, ministers to the poor sap. “I’m biting my lip tongue to keep from saying ‘I told you so.’”

There’s more sympathy inside this week’s Ask a Mechanic. Well, not really.

ASK A MECHANIC: MARCH 15, 2007—TheCarConnection.com