Let's Talk Cars®: Car Maintenance Is Always in Season

Vehicle manufacturers base their maintenance recommendations on your vehicle's engineering and on your anticipated driving habits. Following the service recommendations in your owner's manual helps ensure that your vehicle is running in top condition year round. However, with summer's heat and family road trips approaching, a little extra attention to your car's needs will help keep everything rolling smoothly.

Here are seven items that need attention to keep your car running smoothly.

Tires
Just as safety and fuel conservation are year-round necessities, so too is checking your tires. Properly inflated tires are safer and help maximize fuel economy.

Use a tire pressure gauge to check pressures when the tires are cool; pressure will rise as the tires warm up while driving. When checking inflation pressures, give the tires a quick visual inspection as well. Uneven or excessive wear of the tire tread may indicate the need for suspension repair or wheel alignment. Proper tire alignment extends the life of your tires.

Headlights and Vision Aids
Experts say that 90 percent of your decisions behind the wheel are based on vision. As a result, anything that reduces your vision will increase both your reaction time and your stress level. No one wants to end up driving on a rainy night with only one headlight or a pair of headlights so poorly aimed that they don't illuminate the road. Give your eyes all they help they need while in your vehicle. Make sure the headlights, window glass, signal lights, and mirrors are all clean and operating properly.

Windshield Wipers
Wipers are easy to overlook until you're in a pounding summer rainstorm. Check your car's wiper blades periodically. If they're worn, cracked, or rigid, the wipers will not adequately remove the rain, grime, and other debris that can easily compromise your vision.

Windshield Washer Fluid
Be sure to keep your washer fluid reservoir full. Dusty days, flowering trees, pollen, muddy water spray, and summer bug frenzies make washer fluid go fast. Check and add fluid regularly so you're not caught struggling behind a windshield you can't see through.

Sunscreen
A good coat of wax provides a layer of protection for your car's finish, shielding it from the harsh, dulling rays of the sun as well as acid rain, bugs, grime, tar, and road debris. To preserve your vehicle's interior, use one of the many protective sprays that are available, and get into the habit of using a sunshield in your vehicle's front window when you park outside. These precautions will help prevent the dash from cracking and the interior from fading.

Early Warning Signs
If your car's running rough, if it's pulling left or right, if your check-engine or service-engine-soon light is illuminated, or if anything else seems not quite right, have it checked out as soon as possible by a trusted technician at a AAA Approved Auto Repair facility. If you put off needed repairs, there's a chance that other car parts may be affected by the problem, turning a quick, easy fix into serious, costly damage.

Car Seat Check-up
A car seat is an invaluable safety feature, but unlike your thermostat, you cannot set it and forget it. If a car seat does not properly fit a vehicle, if it is installed incorrectly, or if it becomes loose for some reason, it will no longer secure your little ones safely - and may even create a hazard. Make sure that all car seats are installed properly according to the manufacturer's instructions.