Get Your Car Summer-Ready With These Maintenance Tips

“Car Maintenance”, not a lot of people like that word. If you think about it though, in one form or another, everything that costs money needs “maintenance”. Whether it’s outdoor furniture baking in the sun, your house's front lawn or your personal vehicle you drive every season. Everything needs a little preventative maintenance to keep it in its best functioning state. Vehicles specifically! Vehicles have service intervals and most people think that all vehicles will ever need is just an oil change “here and there”, but certain weather can also call for more specific preventive maintenance or services. 

With the warmer days approaching, there are definitely some things you should get taken care of before the heat hits full throttle. 

One of the most common concerns Automotive shops see during summer time are vehicles coming in with vents not blowing cold. That’s a very reasonable concern to make you schedule an appointment, driving around in 95 degree weather with no A/C doesn’t sound very…fun. But summer time is also the busiest time for shops and they may not be able to get you in right away. The preventative maintenance here would be having your vehicle's A/C system checked before summer time even hits. Usually that entails whether or not your vehicle is low on refrigerant. Obviously if your vents aren’t blowing at all, then we have a whole different problem outside of just a quick evac and recharge. Taking the precautionary step to have your a/c checked before summer time weather will ultimately tell you what you need to fix, whether it's an evac and recharge or a blower motor. 

Since we’re on the topic of cooling off though, one major thing you should always keep an eye on is your vehicle's cooling system. Imagine your vehicle overheating during summer time: also another situation that doesn’t sound very… fun. The cooling system is your vehicle's first line of defense against overheating. It never hurts to ask if a technician can just ensure that your radiator, cooling fans, etc., are all working properly. 

This topic doesn’t necessarily fall under the daily driven vehicles but rather the project vehicles, or strictly just summer vehicles. So many people have project cars they work on all winter, or even a few winters, and some people have summer vehicles that only get driven during summertime. If you are one of these people, please make sure that you always check your tires. Leaving a vehicle sitting for a long period of time, whether that’s in the sun outside or in your garage, can lead to dry rotting or “sidewall weathering” eventually leading up to a tire that isn’t going to hold any air. 

Now, of course if you have a vehicle that sits multiple seasons at a time, make sure to check your battery.  A standard lead-acid car battery can naturally drain at 0.1V per month, even when not in use. 

These are all helpful tips to take into consideration when preparing for summer time! It’ll never hurt though to just check these things periodically or even every once in a while getting your vehicle into the shop for a multi-point vehicle inspection every year.