Three Easy Ways To Maintain Your Car This Summer Driving Season

Posted August 9, 2017

Whether you are going to go on vacation just around the corner, drive around the country on a long trip, or head to the beach or mountains to get away for a few days, summer driving has it’s own unique challenges for your car. Intense sunlight, oppressing heat, and harsh weather or just some of the extreme conditions that are faced by our vehicles over the summer.

Here are three easy ways to help maintain your car this summer driving season under these conditions.

Bring Your Car In For A Summer Check-up

Certain parts and systems of your car take just a little more maintenance during the summer than what is normally required throughout the rest of the year. Bringing your car in to have it checked out by an ASE certified technician is extremely important to start the summer off right. Your battery in particular can be affected, fluid inside the battery can evaporate, eventually causing it to stop working altogether. It’s critically important that your shop tests the battery as part of the summer maintenance checkup. The cooling system is equally susceptible to summer wear. Having your shop look at the hoses and seals for cracks and wear and tear are critical. In addition, you may want to have them completely flush the cooling system and replace all of the fluid.

Pay attention to and maintain your tires

In particular over the summer, your tires take a lot of wear and tear on them. While this may decrease the lifetime limit of a tire, more importantly it can put you or your loved ones at risk for a tire blowout on the road. It’s critical to have your tires rotated as a before summer check and to have a certified mechanic check for indications of unusual wear and tear, especially with increased driving during the summer months. In addition, the hot weather also causes the pressure in your tires to naturally increase. Check your tire pressure periodically, ensuring that it’s filled to according to the manufacturer’s technical specifications when it’s cooler in the morning.

Pay heed to the exterior of your car

The summer heat and sun can also take it’s toll on the exterior of your car as well. Regular washing of the car will remove unsightly bird droppings, unwanted tree sap, and help protect the paint of the car. Of higher importance is your windshield wipers and their condition. Rain storms during this time can be particularly violent and it’s critical to have wipers in good condition that will keep your windshield clear. We can’t over emphasize this enough, a good set of wipers is a critical safety feature in your car over the summer.

Keeping these tips in mind will not only help you enjoy your summer months, but keep your car in proper shape throughout the year as well.

Make sure to contact our trained ASE technicians and shop for more help in maintaining your car at 651-426-0462