Understanding How Your Car Runs

You might not think of spring as a particularly hazardous time for your vehicle. After all, the cold months of winter are over and warmer days are ahead, so shouldn't it be time to breathe a sigh of relief? While spring weather isn't typically too hard on your vehicle's components, it is the time when the lingering effects of a harsh winter may begin to take shape.

Taking a few critical maintenance steps during this time can help you to avoid long-term trouble. These three maintenance items can all run into trouble over the winter, so checking them as spring approaches can save you real headaches as the days lengthen and the weather improves.

1. Check Your Alignment

It's no secret that the winter tends to be devastating on roads. Even the most competent road maintenance program often falls behind when faced with winter potholes, frost heaves, and crumbling asphalt. You can do your best to avoid these problems, but sometimes a painful encounter with a dangerous pothole is unavoidable.

These bumps are more than just a minor annoyance, however. A severe enough impact can knock your car's suspension out of alignment, adding slope to your steering and ultimately leading to additional tire wear. A spring alignment check and adjustment will keep your vehicle driving straight and true despite winter roads' harshness.

2. Swap Tires

If you live in an area with regular snowfall, winter tires are an excellent investment no matter what type of vehicle you drive. Unfortunately, winter tires live up to their name: they function best in cold temperatures. Once the weather turns warm, the specially formulated compound in your winter tires will begin to perform poorly, wear more quickly, and even fail.

Once you know that temperatures will remain reliably above freezing, it's time to start thinking about swapping in your summer or all-season tires. This critical maintenance task will ensure that your winter tires last through multiple seasons, saving you hundreds of dollars in tire replacement costs.

3. Inspect Consumables

Winter can be harsh on a variety of consumable maintenance items, including your wiper blades and battery. Check your windshield wiper blades for proper operation and ensure that the rubber doesn't look worn or detached, replacing the wipers if necessary. Ice and snow can be especially harsh on your windshield wipers, so don't be surprised if they require replacement after the winter.

Spring is also an excellent time to check your battery. Many repair shops and auto parts stores will check your battery for free to give a good idea of its remaining life. Warm weather can be harsh on batteries, so replacing a worn-down battery before the summer can potentially keep you from finding yourself stranded.

Contact a company like Grey Chevrolet Inc to learn more about car maintenance.