Your Monday Maintenance Tip: Fall Car Care

Just as we all change our clocks to “fall back,” and check the batteries in our smoke detectors, Fall is a good time to ensure our vehicles will carry us safely and dependably through another winter.

Here are the main things that are good to check this time of year:

Oil – Are you on track with your vehicle’s recommended oil change schedule? The cooler weather conditions can mean longer running times for a car’s engine due to prolonged idling while waiting for the vehicle to ‘warm up.’ Let’s face it, who likes sitting in a cold car?

Coolant – does your engine cooling system need to be checked? Many newer cars have lifetime fluid systems, but if you’ve had to have any repairs done that required “breaking the seal” you should have your system checked periodically to be sure all is well.

Windshield Washers – do you have plenty of fresh washer fluid to handle the season’s heavier usage, and are your wiper blades up to the demands of daily use? This is something you can check for yourself if you wish.
To check the condition of your washer fluid, simply remove the cap from the washer fluid reservoir and look down into it. If the fluid is cloudy or has visible debris in it, you will want to change it out right away. If it is transparent and the proper color just fill to the recommended level with the manufacturer approved fluid.
To check your wiper blades, examine for visible dry rot, cracks, splits or potential tears. Change if needed.

Tires – do your tires have good tread depth, and are they free of signs of wear? The wet conditions this time of year require good tires for maximum traction on wet roads. Since many signs of wear aren’t easily visible on a car parked in a garage or driveway, we’d be happy to check your tires for you.

Shocks and Struts – in addition to good tires, healthy shocks and struts are needed to maximize traction neccessary for safe driving in our soggy season.

Brakes – do you know if your braking system is ready for the abundant Eugene sunshine? Does your car take a little longer to stop? Do you feel a slight pull to one side or a wobble in your seat or steering wheel when you brake suddenly? Do you hear any squeal or squeak when braking?
Sometimes the squeak is due to the accumulation of brake pad ‘dust.’ This is normal for many vehicles. Just hose out your wheels as thoroughly as you can. (It’s best to allow to dry before driving.) If that remedies the squeak, good. If not, or you have any questions about your braking system’s performance, just bring your vehicle in and we’ll be happy to check things out for you.

Battery – more batteries fail in cold weather than any other time of year. It takes more power to start a cold engine, and cold also decreases the available cranking power the battery has available. Batteries don’t always die slowly. They can fail without warning, too. One customer’s car started normally one morning, then five hours later, the battery was completely dead. No lights were left on, etc. The battery, still under warranty, simply died.

Seals, Hoses and Belts – these are things that are usually tough to check yourself. An obvious sign of failing seals, hoses or belts is a leak or a squeak (in the case of a worn belt), but not always. A broken seal, hose or belt usually means you are stuck wherever you are when it happens. So, to prevent being stranded on a wet road a seasonal inspection of your belts, hoses and seals can help make sure you make it through the winter problem-free.

Headlights – are they pointing straight ahead like the should, and are they as bright as they ought to be? Do you have any dimmed or burned out bulbs? Is there condensation inside the headlamp housing? These are all indicators that your headlamps could need a little work to perform at their peak. After all, you’ll be depending on them more during the wetter, darker days and nights ahead."

 

Courtesy of AbsoluteAuto.org