During the summer season, many folks go for road trips. These trips are a superb way to have fun with your family while checking out new destinations. You do, however, spend a lot of time on the road in your car on these journeys. Once you come home, you are soon to find that traveling took a toll on your ride. Before you enter the fall and winter seasons which are filled with holiday festivities that will require more traveling in your sedan, SUV, or truck, you will want to take some time to care for your car to keep it in excellent condition. Business Insider offers some helpful tips to follow for caring for your vehicle after any road trip.
Completely Clean Your Car
From the interior cabin filled with the smell of stale fast food and traces of dirt or sand on the floor to mud splashes around the hub caps and smooshed bugs on the windshield, your vehicle can get dirty fast on a road trip. The first thing you will want to do after coming home from your vacation on the road is to clean your car thoroughly from the inside out. Throw away all the trash that has accumulated in the interior as well as vacuum out the inside. Do a detailed cleaning of your car’s exterior, whether you do it at home with proper car cleaning tools and products or visit a reliable car wash. The point of cleaning your car is not to make it look and smell nice, but it can also assist in preventing rust or even corrosion.
Check Your Tires
Your tires see a lot of action in daily commutes, but they are exposed even more when on a road trip. You need your tires to stay in good shape to be able to drive, so after you have gone on a long trip, take time to inspect the tread of your tires. A tire’s tread should not be less than 2/32 of an inch. Driving with tires that are worn during wet or even icy conditions can be dangerous, so be sure to replace your tires when necessary.
Fill Up Your Car’s Fluid Levels
After your journey, it is a necessary step to check your car’s fluid levels. While you will probably stop at the gas station to top off the gas, it is also important to take care of your brake fluid, oil, coolant, and transmission fluid. To keep your car running smoothly, it is important to fill up on the fluids.
Add a Fuel Stabilizer
Your gas tank probably took many hits on the road trip, and while you will want to gas up after the journey, it is also essential to add a fuel stabilizer to your gas tank if you will be taking a break from using that car for an extended amount of time. This will save you from having to pay for pricey repairs that can occur from fuel clogging or deteriorating the fuel system when a vehicle is parked stagnant for a while.
Get an Oil Change
Statistically, it is encouraged to get an oil change every 3,000 miles. If you went on an extended road trip, then you might have possibly driven even more miles than that. It is probably a good rule of thumb to get an oil change after your journey on the road. This will assist your engine to stay cool and properly lubricated with clean oil. While you are at it, you may want to also change the oil filter as well.
Change Your Wiper Blades
As far as vehicle services go, changing the wiper blades on your windshield is often forgotten. You will realize how important those blades are when you are trying to see in rainy or even snowy weather. As you are checking every part of your vehicle after a road trip, it certainly does not hurt to see if you need to replace your blades. You will know if you need to if you see worn blades or if the blades are streaking across the windshield when you are using them.
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Test Your Brakes
Of all the safety features on your car, the brakes are the most critical. Make sure that you test them after a long trip on the road. Pay attention to notice if there are any vibrations or noises when pressure is applied to the brake pedal. If there is shaking, noise, or your brakes are soft, then it is time to schedule an appointment to have your brakes checked by a professional.
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