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More focus is generally applied to preparing a car for winter weather driving. However, it is equally as important to focus on getting your car ready for spring! In this article, I’m going to give you a few useful tips that you can use to give your car some spring TLC.
1) For starters, take your car to the car wash and get a nice undercarriage wash. If there’s ever a time to shell the bucks and get the supremo wash, this would be the best time for it. If you have been driving your car where roads get salted, an undercarriage wash will remove that salt caked under wheel wells and on all of that metal under your car. Salt build-up left on the bottom of your car will eat away at the undercarriage like termites in a dead tree and leave your car prone to rusting. If you really want to go the extra mile, go to a car wash that sprays a rust inhibitor. While you’re at the car wash, take five minutes to vacuum the winter crud out your car!
2) Another simple tip for getting your car ready for spring would be to replace your windshield wipers! This will prevent you from getting stuck in a spring rain storm with frayed windshield wipers. Believe me, hearing metal scrape on glass is like listening to a three year old play violin. And you’ll not want to pay the $200 to replace the glass.
3) Check the air pressure in your tires! If you kept them nice and full during winter, chances are you’ll need to let some air out. For those that slept through physics class, good old “Charles’ Law” tells us that pressure is proportional to absolute temperature. So when the temps rise, that tire pressure goes up!
4) Dry hands and lips aren’t the only things that crack in the winter cold. Check all of the belts and hoses under the hood for cracks! If you don’t know how to diagnose a belt, click here. It doesn’t take a genius to realize that a cracked belt or hose spells bad news. A snapped belt can kill your car. Believe me, that is how my precious ’91 civic bit the dust.
5) Check your car’s fluid levels! By simply topping of your fluids you can prevent serious problems from happening down the road! The more that you love your car the more it will love you.
It’s not a bad idea to take your car to a mechanic for a seasonal tune-up. A mechanic will cover the whole check list of important things to do to prepare your car for spring driving. The only thing that you’ll have to take care of at this point is wash your car and hang up a little air freshener. Choose the new car fragrance. After all, that’s what your car is going to feel like when it’s ready to hit the road for the spring and summer months! …. and perhaps during your upcoming Summer PCS.
