Maintain Your Car for Summer Trips

Summertime presents the opportunity to reconnect with family and friends in order to enjoy time in the sun and to create new memories. But for some, family and friends may be long distances away.

So a good old-fashioned car trip ensures some much-needed family song time, and perhaps even a breakdown, or not. A good rule of thumb is if you keep your vehicle full of water (coolant), oil and gas, it will not leave you stuck.

To prevent a bump in the road on your next car trip, here are some helpful tips for summertime travel:

1. Get an oil service. At , an oil service is not just about dumping out the old oil and putting new in, it's about doing a full inspection on your car and rotating the tires in addition to the oil service. Giving your vehicle a full inspection allows us to catch any overlooked problems and those that will cause future ones.

2. Tire pressure. Having the correct amount of air in your tires specific to your car makes a huge amount of difference on how your car travels. It can save you gas and wear on your tires, which affects safety features such as braking and the overall handling of the vehicle. Also, in addition, make sure your spare tire is in great shape and full of air in case you get a flat and don't forget your tools that come with your car to change the spare such as the jack and the key lock for the wheel locks!

3. Cooling system. It is a good idea to do a cooling system flush this time of year with the changes in temperature, especially if you will be travelling to the desert or mountainous regions. This will enhance the efficiency of the system and help prevent a radiator burnout. The heater hoses, radiator, water pump and fan clutch are included in a cooling system check.

4. A/C Service. To make sure your air conditioning is working at its most efficient levels, testing the freon levels and filters will tell if the vehicle has lost any of its refridgerant charge. (It is possible for a vehicle to lose half of its charge on its own over a few years time.)

5. Wipers & Lights. These are your safety features. If you are caught in unexpected weather and haven't used your wipers in months, they could be dried and cracked and will not work properly. Having all your lights working will help you remain safe on the road and gives other drivers the proper messages when needed.

6. Tune-Up. This includes spark plugs and fuel filter, to name the basics. These help your engine run better and give you better gas mileage.

7. Battery & Charging Service. Tests the productivity of your existing battery and determines whether or not you are ready for a new one. The alternator charges the battery so you want to make sure it is in top notch shape.

8. Transmission Service. This is much like an oil service where the transmission fluid and filter are changed, which will keep your transmission running. When transmission fluid gets dirty, the transmission starts slipping and effects how the gears work in your vehicle.

At El Cordova Garage, we do a full inspection on all oil services. These services listed above are automatically checked for their efficiency.

By maintaining your car, you are certain to spend your vacation as planned and not in an auto garage! Come into El Cordova Garage today, before your next trip!