Car Maintenance Checklist before Road Trip
Looking for car maintenance checklist before road trip?
Whether you are a novice or an experienced road-tripper, there’s nothing more thrilling than hitting the gas and exploring new destinations. Before embarking on an epic trip, however, it’s important to ensure that your vehicle is in its best condition.
Having a well-laid car maintenance checklist is a crucial step to ensuring you have a successful road trip. It’s an undebatable fact that nothing can ruin your road trip like being stranded on the road with mechanical breakdowns.
Thus, to have a smooth and flawless road trip, you need to follow a few car maintenance practices and make some preparations. Ensuring your car is in good condition will go a long way to preparing your car for the trip beforehand and avoiding most of the vehicle problems that might put a wench in your journey. Check out our ultimate car maintenance checklist before embarking on your road trip.
Fluids Check
Whether it’s the engine oil, coolant, brake fluid, or power steering fluid, you should inspect different car oils, change them, or top them off appropriately to ensure that your vehicle is in top-notch condition for a road trip.
The antifreeze or the engine coolant is another crucial car fluid on our checklist. Ensure that the coolant is full to the recommended level per the manufacturer’s manual. In addition, you should inspect the fluid reservoir for any floating dirt, which indicates that the coolant is probably too old and needs changing.
Regardless of which type of braking fluid your vehicle uses, it’s important to ensure that it is at the appropriate level and condition. Your vehicle’s brake fluid impacts the efficiency of each component of the brake system.
Tire Inspection
Ensuring your car tires are road-worthy is another crucial addition to our checklist. First, check to ensure that your car has properly inflated tires. In addition, check the tread to ensure it has a stronghold and no bald spots or cuts.
Also, ensure your car has a spare tire and is in good condition. If your car tires are extremely worn out, you should replace them before embarking on your road trip.
Stocking the Emergency Toolkit
All machines are susceptible to breakdowns, and your car is no exception. Thus, even with the best car maintenance practices, you might be stranded beside the road. Always bring a few vehicle repair necessities to help deal with unexpected breakdowns.
Some basic tools you can stock your emergency toolkit with include wrenches, screwdrivers, pliers, an air compressor, a small voltmeter to check the battery level, jumper cables, and a can of foam to easily patch a punctured tire.
General Inspection
Our detailed checklist also includes some general items you need to prepare for your car road trip. They include:
- Battery Examination
A dead battery is the last thing you need on your road trip. It will dampen your mood and potentially cost you a hefty repair bill if you choose to see a mechanic. To ensure a smooth road trip, ensure the battery terminals are not corroded, or replace your battery with a new one if your car takes ages to start.
- Testing the Brakes
Another important thing on our checklist is the brakes. Give your car’s brake pedal a good pump and test its responsiveness to ensure it is in optimal condition. If the brake pedal fails or feels spongy, it’s probably time to replace it with new brakes. Remember that the brake pads are prone to excessive wear and tear over time and need regular replacement, especially if you notice a screechy noise when hitting the brake pedal.
- Light Bulbs
You should also ensure that your vehicle’s headlights and taillights are in top-notch working condition. If such light bulbs fail, it might cause a road safety hazard. In addition to that, don’t forget to check the turn signals to avoid confusing other drivers on the road. Ensuring that the parking lights are functioning properly is also crucial to enhancing road safety during your trip.
- Air Filter
While most vehicles can go for very long without replacing the air filter, Checking on it before hitting the road on a long trip is always good. The air filter, usually at the end of the intake pipe, prevents dirt from entering the combustion chamber. This not only protects the engine but also enhances fuel combustion by ensuring a proper intake of air-to-fuel ratio.
Check the air filter to ascertain it is clean and free of dirt. A clean air filter is usually white. Excessive dirt and debris may clog the filter, so you’ll have to replace it with a new one before starting your trip.
- Engine belts
It is also important to inspect your engine’s accessory belts. Having a serpentine belt fail during your road trip is a major engine trouble that could ruin your entire journey and probably leave you settling a hefty repair bill. Check the belt’s condition and watch out for any smooth and shiny spots or cracks; these mostly indicate that the belt is worn out and needs replacing. You can also check the belt’s tension using your thumb and forefinger.
Contact Yusra Driving School a driving school in Toronto for more information.
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