Thinking of taking a spring road trip? You’ll want to make sure that your car’s fully up to the task.
Having your car break down is never fun, but it’s much more problematic when you’re out of town. A mechanical problem during a road trip can foil your vacation plans and leave you stranded far from home.
To prepare your car for your spring road trip, here are five maintenance items you should take care of before leaving town.
- Check the air conditioning. Warmer weather is great, unless you’re stuck inside a car without air conditioning on a long drive. After a winter of non-use, the rubber hoses and seals of an A/C system can become dry and cracked, causing slow refrigerant leaks. Have the refrigerant pressure checked, and consult your owner’s manual to see if it might be time to replace the cabin air filter.
- Inspect the belts and hoses. A frayed or loose belt can also cause problems for the air conditioning, since it powers the A/C compressor, as well as the power steering, electrical and cooling systems.
- Top off the fluids. If the spring road trip will push you far beyond the recommended mileage for your next oil change, you may want to replace the oil and filter now, rather than trying to do so on the road.
- Check the tires. You hopefully won’t have to deal with snow and ice on your spring road trip, but wet weather is certainly a possibility, and warmer roads increase the possibility of a blowout. Check the tire pressure, as that changes with temperature, and make sure you have a safe tread depth.
- Inspect the brakes. Listen for the “squealers” that are designed to tell you that the brake pads are getting thin. A burning smell coming from the brakes can also indicate a problem, particularly if it happens when you’re not using the brakes heavily.
The car you’re driving can make or break your spring road trip. You can upgrade your car quickly and easily with a lease transfer from Swapalease.com. Contact us for more information.
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