Preventive maintenance is the best way to ensure your vehicle is in top condition for the life of your car. Keeping up with your vehicle’s maintenance schedule ensures you know exactly what needs to be fixed and when. But seasonal maintenance is just as important, so here’s your spring car maintenance checklist to prepare your car for 2020.

Your 2020 Spring Car Maintenance Checklist

Change Your Oil

Not sure when you last changed your vehicle’s oil? That’s a good sign that you need an oil change.

Since old oil collects debris and dirt, it isn’t a great way to provide this essential cushion between the parts inside your engine. Regularly changing your oil helps keep your engine’s parts from wearing against each other and causing premature damage. Or, worse, seizing up and causing your engine to lock up while you’re driving. Changing your oil this spring could help you prevent an expensive repair bill later.

Check Your Fluids

You may be thinking that you just checked your fluid as part of your fall or winter car maintenance. Ideally, you should check your vehicle’s essential fluids twice a year – once in the spring and once in the fall. Your essential fluids include transmission fluid, power steering fluid, brake fluid, oil, and coolant. If you don’t feel comfortable checking these, don’t worry. Call T3 Atlanta – we’ll check and top off your fluids for you.

Test Your Car’s Air Conditioner

If you’ve lived in Atlanta for any amount of time, you know that summer heat will be here before you know it. Test your car’s air conditioner to make sure that you aren’t caught off guard when the first hot day of 2020 arrives.

While you’re at it, it’s a good idea to check your air filter. Your air filter is essential to good engine performance and can get clogged with debris over the winter. Replace your air filter if needed.

Inspect Your Engine Compartment

Many people never open their engine compartment more than a couple of times per year, if ever. This spring, take a look inside your engine compartment and clear away any debris that may have accumulated from falling leaves or pine needles.

You’ll also want to check your battery to make sure that there is no corrosion on the terminals. If you do see corrosion, you apply a quick mix of baking soda and water with a toothbrush to clean it off.

Check Your Windshield Wipers

Maybe your windshield wipers were in good condition when you winterized your vehicle, or maybe you skipped over this part of winterizing your vehicle. Whatever your situation, ‘2020’ isn’t just for eyeglasses – the new decade is the perfect time to make sure you can see when it’s raining, too!

Check to make sure that your windshield wipers don’t smear or leave streaks. If they do, it’s time to replace them for this year’s spring showers.

Check Your Tires for Wear and Damage

Your tires are one of those very important but easy to forget about car parts. They undergo a lot of wear and tear even on short trips to the store. Having adequate tread on your tires isn’t just important for winter driving conditions; it’s essential for wet spring conditions.

Use the penny trick to check how much tread is left on your tires. To do this, insert a penny in the tread of your tire with Abraham Lincoln’s head facing you. If you can see the top of his hair, you will need to get new tires.

In addition to tread, check your tires and wheels for bulges or signs of damage and visit your local tire shop if needed. You don’t want your tire to blow out while you’re driving, after all!

Lastly, you likely deflated your tires for the winter months. It’s time to reinflate them in preparation for warmer weather. Your local auto shop can quickly take care of this for you.

Spring Car Maintenance at T3 Atlanta

T3 Atlanta has more than 20 years of experience servicing Nissan, Lexus, Infiniti, and Toyota vehicles. We’re happy to give your vehicle a full inspection to make sure your car is in top shape for the new season and new decade. With our two convenient metro area locations in Smyrna and Decatur, we make fast and friendly spring car maintenance easy.