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Suggestions For Planning Your Car For Summer Drive
Spring is the ideal time to get your vehicle ready for the busy summer driving season ahead. It's sensible to have your vehicle tested before summer's extreme vacation traffic and stop-and-go situation begin earnestly.
The professionals at the nonprofit National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence recommend the following tips on preparing your car:
* Read the owner's guide and keep up to the recommended service schedules. Pay attention to "regular" vs. "severe" schedules listed, and determine which is suitable for your driving conditions and habits.
* Try to find an orderly repair facility with recent equipment in the service bays and skilled automotive technicians being workers, as demonstrated by trade school qualifications, credentials of advanced course work and training, and national certification of the individual technicians by ASE.
* Wash out and refill the cooling system (radiator) according to the service manual's recommendations. The level, state and concentration of the coolant should be checked regularly. Make sure the engine has cooled down before removing the radiator cap. Engine overheating is the most recurrent summer breakdown.
* Have engine performance conditions rectified, such as hard starts, harsh idling and stalling. You'll get improved gasoline mileage, and you could avert more expensive repairs.
* Don't ignore your transmission and brakes. Costly repairs can be prevented by routine service. Neglected brakes can create safety issues, too.
* Look for an experienced auto technician to test the condition of belts, clamps and hoses, but be precautionary by looking for signs of wear, cracking or fraying.
* Have a marginally working air conditioner system serviced by a technician qualified to deal with refrigerants. Older units often contain ozone-depleting substances that could be released into the air due to improper or incompetent service.
* Change the oil and oil filter as specified in the owner's manual. This straightforward, inexpensive service can add to the life of your vehicle.
* Replace other filters (air, fuel, PCV) as recommended in the service manual.
* Verify the condition of tires, including the spare. Let the tires "cool down" before checking their pressure. Rough wear, "cupping", vibrations or "pulling" to one side implies problems with your tires or suspension system.
* Replace your headlights with some good quality aftermarket headlights. Good custom headlights or even just a nice new series of H11 bulbs for your normal lights will make a vast difference when you're traveling in dark. Hardly ever do you realize how weak your headlights are until you upgrade. It is likely that the winter road grim has spoiled your lenses to the point where they really need to be replaced.
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