Spring Car & Truck Maintenance

Fall back into winter potholes, spring ahead into summer maintenance. The sun shines eventually, temperatures rise and all of our winter sweaters find their place back in storage and our spring clothes find themselves first on the shelf. When spring cleaning remember that our vehicles need the same attention our closets do. Here are our best spring maintenance tips: 

Winters in New England and snow even into April bring an influx of exposure to road salts. Road salts can be detrimental to the life of the undercarriages of our vehicle. Road salts can increase rust and corrosion on major components such as brake pads and rotors, mufflers and exhaust systems. Consider a thorough cleaning and inspection of the undercarriage of your vehicle following a winter that heavily relied on road salts. 

Our lengthy winters place a larger strain and demand on batteries, starters and complete charging systems. Have the charging system and battery health checked frequently. Shockingly enough the battery issues you experience during the winter are likely caused from the hot temperatures that summer brings. 

Don’t forget if you swapped your summer accessories and components to winter last fall that it’s time to make the switch back. Remove the winter wipers, drain the winter fluids and put away the winter tires. Remember that your winter tires are a softer composition tire and considerably more flexible in rubber. Failing to remove them will cause an increase in wear as the warm pavement causes the tread to wear much more quickly. 

Visit your local mechanic to ensure that your vehicle is prepped and spring ready. Don’t have a local mechanic established? Just moving to the area? Spring snuck up on you and you need an immediate appointment? Give Irwin Automotive Group a call. We would be glad to perform a free multi-point inspection which examines the quality of the undercarriage of your vehicle, a battery health check, and changeover of all winter fluids. When it’s done in the service department we encourage you to visit the Laconia Car Wash for a free wash with our complimentary coupon! 

NO MORE SNOW!

Chris Irwin is vice president of Irwin Automotive Group in Laconia.

Irwin Automotive Group in Laconia sells Toyota, Scion, Ford, Lincoln, and Hyundai. Irwin operates a Quicklane Tire & Auto Center as well as Irwin’s   Collision Center, and NHCarCredit.com. Contact us with any questions related to purchasing or servicing a vehicle, regardless of the make, model, or where it was purchased!