2011 MITSUBISHI GALANT Gas light

Vehicle care and maintenance
7-63
7

The genuine leather surface can be damaged if brushed
with a nylon or synthetic fiber brush.

Organic solvents such as benzine, alcohol, gasoline, acid
or alkaline solvents can discolor the genuine leather sur-
face and should not be used.

Genuine leather can mildew if not kept clean. Clean up
any oil stains immediately.

The genuine leather surface may harden and shrink if it is
exposed to the direct sunlight for long hours. When your
vehicle is parked, place it in the shade as much as possi-
ble.
Cleaning the outside of your vehicle
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To protect your vehicle’s finish, wash it often and thoroughly.
If desired, you may wax your vehicle using a nonabrasive auto-
mobile wax. Foreign material
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Industrial pollution, road tar, bird droppings, tree sap, insect
remains, sea water and other foreign matters can damage the
finish on your vehicle.
Generally, the longer any foreign material stays on the finish,
the worse the damage. Wash your vehicle as soon as possible
whenever the finish gets soiled.Wa s h i n g
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Chemicals contained in the dirt and dust picked up from air,
rain, snow or road surfaces can damage the paint and body of
your vehicle if left on.
Frequent washing and waxing is the best way to protect your
vehicle from this damage.
Do not wash the vehicle in direct sunlight. Park the vehicle in
the shade and spray it with water to remove dust. Next, using
plenty of clean water and a car washing mitt or sponge, wash
the vehicle from top to bottom.
Use a mild car washing soap if necessary. Rinse thoroughly
and wipe dry with a chamois or soft cloth. After washing the
vehicle, carefully clean the joints and flanges of the doors,
hood, etc., where dirt is likely to remain.
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7-64 Vehicle care and maintenance
7
During cold weather Salt and other chemicals spread on winter roads in some geo-
graphical areas can have a detrimental effect on the vehicle
underbody. You should flush the underbody with a high pres-
sure hose every time you wash the outside of your vehicle.Take special care to remove mud or other debris which could
trap and hold salt and moisture.
After washing your vehicle, wipe off all waterdrops from the
rubber parts around the doors to prevent the doors from freez-
ing.
NOTE
When the door is frozen, opening it by force may tear off
or crack the rubber gasket installed around the door. Pour
warm water to melt the ice. Be sure to thoroughly wipe off
the water after opening the door. To prevent freezing of
the weatherstripping on the doors, hood, etc., treat with
silicone lubricant.Waxing
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Wax your vehicle once or twice a year, or when water does not
bead up on the paint.
Use a soft cloth to put a small amount of wax on the painted
surfaces. After the wax has dried, polish with a dry soft cloth.
Do not wax your vehicle in direct sunlight.
You should wax when the painted surfaces are cool.
CAUTION
!
When washing the underside of your vehicle or the
wheels, wear a pair of gloves to protect your hands.
Never spray or splash water on the electrical parts
in the engine compartment. This may damage them.
Be careful also when washing the underbody. Do not
spray water into the engine compartment.
Avoid automatic car washers that use rotating
brushes. These brushes may scratch the paint sur-
face and make it dull.
Scratches are more noticeable on darker colored
vehicles.
Some hot water washing equipment uses high pres-
sure and heat to clean your vehicle. This heated
water may damage your vehicle’s resin parts. It can
flood the interior of the vehicle. Therefore, be sure
of the following:
• Keep the washing nozzle at least 20 inches (50 cm)
away from the vehicle body.
• When washing around the door glass, hold the
nozzle at a distance of more than 20 inches (50 cm)
and at right angles to the glass surface.

Make sure to fold the outside mirrors when using an
automatic car wash to avoid damaging your vehicle.
CAUTION
!
Waxes containing high abrasive compounds should
not be used. These waxes remove rust and stain
effectively from the paintwork, but are harmful to
the finish of the paint, because they also remove
paint/clearcoat.
They are also harmful to other glossy surfaces such
as the grille, trim, moldings, etc.
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Vehicle care and maintenance
7-65
7
Polishing
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If painted surfaces have been severely damaged and lost their
original luster and color tone, polish the surface lightly with a
fine polishing compound. Avoid limiting your polishing to the
damaged surface only; polish a somewhat wider area, moving
the polishing cloth in one direction. After polishing, flush the
compound from the surface and apply a coat of wax to regain a
beautiful luster.Damaged paint
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Small cracks and scratches in the paint coat should be touched
up as soon as possible with touch-up paint to prevent corrosion.
Check body areas facing the road or the tires carefully for dam-
age to the paint caused by flying stones, etc. The paint codenumber for your vehicle can be found on the vehicle informa-
tion code plate in the engine compartment.

Do not use gasoline, kerosene, benzene or paint thin-
ners to remove road tar or other dirt from the vehi-
cle surface.
Do not put wax on the areas having black matte
coating because it can cause uneven discoloration,
patches, blurs, etc. If these get wax on them, wipe
the wax off right away with a soft cloth and warm
water.
On vehicles with sunroof, be careful not to apply any
wax on the weatherstrip (black rubber) when wax-
ing the area around the sunroof opening.
If stained with wax, the weatherstrip cannot main-
tain a weatherproof seal with the sunroof.
CAUTION
!
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7-66 Vehicle care and maintenance
7
Cleaning plastic parts
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Use a sponge or chamois to clean these parts.
If vehicle wax sticks to a gray or black rough surface of the
bumper, moulding or lights, the surface may appear white in
color. In this case, wipe it off using lukewarm water and a soft
cloth or chamois.Chrome parts
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To prevent spots and corrosion of chrome parts, wash with
water, dry thoroughly, and apply a nonabrasive automotive
wax. If the chrome is severely damaged or pitted, use a com-
mercially available chrome polish.
Aluminum wheels
(if so equipped)
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1. Remove dirt using a sponge while sprinkling water on the
wheel.
2. Use neutral detergent on any dirt that cannot be removed
easily with water.
Rinse off the neutral detergent after washing the wheel.
3. Dry the wheel thoroughly using a chamois leather or a soft
cloth.Window glass
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The window glass can usually be cleaned using only a sponge
and water. Glass cleaner can be used to remove wax, oil,
grease, dead insects, etc. After washing the glass, wipe it dry
with a clean, dry, soft cloth.
CAUTION
!
Do not use a scrubbing brush or other rough scrub-
ber as these may damage the plastic surface.
Do not use wax containing compounds (polishing
powder) which may damage the plastic surface.
Do not let the plastic parts get soiled with gasoline,
light oil, brake fluids, engine oils, greases, paint thin-
ner and sulfuric acid (battery electrolyte). These flu-
ids, etc., may crack, stain or discolor the plastic
parts.
If any of these get on the plastic parts, wipe them up
with a soft cloth or chamois and a watery solution of
gentle soap. Then rinse them immediately with
water.
CAUTION
!
Do not use a brush or other hard implement on the
wheels.
Doing so could scratch the wheels.
Do not use any cleaner that contains an abrasive
substance or is acidic or alkaline. Doing so could
cause the coating on the wheels to peel or become
discolored or stained.
Do not directly apply hot water using a steam
cleaner or by any other means.
Contact with seawater and road deicer can cause
corrosion. Rinse off such substances as soon as pos-
sible.
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