A good rule of thumb to provide your car with a good maintenance schedule is by following the maintenance plan designated by the manufacturer in your owner’s manual. Another strategy that is helpful, and often necessary, is providing your car with maintenance and servicing before and/or after every season. In this article, we’ll go over the importance of seasonal auto maintenance and some helpful tips – primarily after-summer maintenance in preparation for the fall season.
Why It’s Important to Service Your Car Seasonally
Every season, our car is put under a different type of stress and strain, which creates different repair needs. For instance, during the fall or winter, car batteries tend to become drained because they use extra power to keep the engine at the appropriate temperature. Therefore, it is important to check and service the battery before and after each winter season.
When the fall season rolls around, there are special considerations to take into account as well. Of course, your automotive needs may vary depending on the climate you live in and the typical conditions you drive under (i.e. frequently driving in heavy traffic, transporting heavy items, or traveling long distances uphill). Here are a few things you should take note of and implement into your auto servicing protocol:
- Typical driving conditions
- Climate where you live
- Individual driving habits
- Age and mileage of your car
- Type of car you drive
- Common distances you travel
Helpful Tips to Maintain Your Car for the Fall Season
It’s tough to remember which areas of your car require attention during the fall season, so we’ve come up with a short list of the essentials that need to be checked out before your car is safe for fall. Here is a non-comprehensive checklist that can help you give your car the servicing it requires:
1. Check the cooling system
The cooling system is essential to maintain the engine’s temperature for proper performance. Here are some components you may want to check out for quality and efficiency:
- Water pump
- Hoses
- Radiator
- Cooling fan
- Antifreeze/coolant
- Cooling reservoir
2. Perform an oil change and replace air filter
Oil changes are perhaps one of the most important and most overlooked maintenance tasks in automotive care. Routinely checking the oil is important for every season, and replacing the air filter can greatly enhance your car’s performance.
3. Check your battery and alternator
Your car battery can corrode and become worn out, just like many other components in your vehicle. It’s important to check the battery terminals, cables, and connectors. It’s also recommended to ensure that your alternator (what is responsible for building the battery charge as you drive) is working properly.
4. Service brakes
Your brakes are crucial for your safety, and they can become worn rather easily under the right circumstances. Brake rotors, calipers, pads, lines, and fluid are all important to inspect after summer and before fall.
5. Service tires
Under the heat of the summer sun, tires become more pliable and exposed to wear. Here are a few things you should make sure to do for your tires and wheels:
- Keep at recommended pressure level
- Rotations
- Inspections
- Wheel alignments
- Wheel balancing
6. Attend to the HVAC system
The cabin cooling and heating system, also referred to as the HVAC system, is not only responsible for keeping the cabin cool or warm, but during fall and winter seasons the defroster is especially important to have in working condition as a safety concern.
7. Check all the exterior lights
Exterior lights should be checked on a regular basis, but due to the time change in the fall season, it’s especially important that we’re prepared to drive in the dark. Brake lights, emergency lights, fog lights, and headlights should all be in working condition.
8. Replace the windshield wiper blades
Last, but certainly not least, the windshield wipers are important for your safety on the road – the fall and winter is when we see the most rain, fog, hail, and snow.
Here at Dell’s Service Center, the residents of Green Bay, Manitowoc, and Sturgeon Bay, WI, have trusted us with their ongoing automotive care for years. Providing specialized care for luxury imports like Audi, Jaguar, BMW, and Land Rover, we are meticulous in the best ways. To learn more about our services or seasonal automotive care protocol, please call one of our experts today.