Most people are looking forward to spending time with family during the holidays. This usually means having to take long road trips to visit relatives and sometimes, this means going through snow, sleet and rain. To make sure that you have a safe journey, you need to check if your vehicle is in excellent running condition.
- Make sure all lights are working properly: Check your headlights, brake lights, flashers, the license plate light as well as your interior lights.
- Check your car battery: The connection of your battery should be tight and clean, and must be free of corrosion. It is also important to note that at 00 F, a car battery has only around 50% of its cranking power at 800 F. All car batteries also lose strength as they age.
- Hoses and belts must be in good condition: They should not be cracked, frayed or loose.
- Check your tires, the tire tread, air pressure and alignment: If your tires are not properly inflated, this can increase gas consumption and can be dangerous especially on wet and slippery roads. Over-inflated and under-inflated tires cause unsafe handling and braking. If you are going to encounter a snow storm during your trip, investing in winter tires would be best. These are designed specifically to grip on snow and ice.
- Check your car’s fluid levels: Check your oil, antifreeze, brake fluid, transmission fluid, power steering fluid, and windshield washer fluid. If you are going to travel to areas with very cold temperatures, consider using oil with a lower cold weather viscosity grade. Ordinary windshield washer fluid freezes quickly upon contact with the windshield. Switch to a washer fluid that has an antifreeze agent. This will help loosen ice and snow from your windshield. Keep a gallon in the trunk just in case you’ll need more during your trip. You also need to make sure that your cooling system has a 50/50 mixture of antifreeze and water. You can also purchase a 50/50 premix antifreeze/coolant. Ideally, antifreeze should be changed every 30,000 miles or every two years to prevent corrosion. Most antifreeze products in the market have instructions on when you should change them.
- Check your windshield wipers: Check for cracks and tears. Observe the movement of your wipers. Are there missed spots or streaking? If you haven’t changed your wiper blades for a long time, you need to do this if you are going on a road trip during the holidays.
These simple maintenance checks can help ensure that you will have a stress-free journey during the holidays. But to make sure that you will have a safe trip this season, visit Dallas European Auto in Texas.
At Dallas European Auto, you don’t have to worry about paying high prices for maintenance and repairs. Our auto experts are specialists in foreign and domestic cars. We help car owners identify and solve problems with their vehicles, and we don’t offer services that you don’t need. In fact, our expert technicians always make sure that customers are informed about all costs, including labor and diagnosis to repair.
