Winter passed us by which seemed to be like an eternity, and we are all planning to hit the road for a spring or summer road trip.
Often times, drivers overlook their cars when it is spring cleaning time and this article will be beneficial to all car owners out here that may take time to read and care to take on our Car Care Tips for the spring season.
Some road service shared that they were helping out more stranded motorists during summer, all because car owners neglected the essential checklists after winter season. There are several types of steps to spruce up your vehicle that may help avoid costly repairs and being part of the toll of being stranded during your road trip.
Using this spring maintenance checklist ensures that your car is reliable and running efficiently.
Battery Check: Winter is a little tough on starting components in your car like the starter and alternator. The battery works double during winter so the tendency will be, your battery may get drained. And you literally cannot go anywhere if your car won’t start.
Check the signs for a weak battery: Dimming headlights/ interior lights and power windows may take longer than usual to go up or down.
Brake Check: Winter conditions brings salt on the roads that can lead to corrosion of brake parts. When the car uses the anti-lock braking system enables the car to work harder in the winter’s slick conditions. Safety of your brakes is the most crucial part of your car, so getting them checked out is very important.
Know the Trouble Signs: When hitting the breaks, the car is pulling to one side, creating squeaking or grinding noises and or when the brake pedal feels too soft.
Tire Inspecting: Tires that were worn-down make it hard to stop, even if the car’s brakes are in tip-top condition. We suggest you to try on the coin test by inserting a quarter into several grooves into each tire. What happens is that when part of the coin is covering , you might still have 4/32 inch of tread left and is probably safe to drive. When you have less tread, replacements is important.
Keeping the tires inflated is also a good sign to check on. Making sure to keep the tires inflated can boost your gas mileage by 3% or more and make the car safer as well.
Belts and Hoses Check: Belts and Hoses that are in no good shape may cause problems specifically loss of power steering to an overheated engine and these parts are easily overlooks. Look for cracks and peeling on the belts, the softening of the hoses. Broken belts are one of the motorists’ worst summer breakdown.
Air Conditioning Testing: A way to test is to turn on the cooler on full blast and making sure it reaches that max chill in a short span of time. If you suspect some problems, have a mechanic check it out soon.
