When the seasons start to change you get yourself ready and you get your home ready, so it only makes sense that you would get your vehicle ready as well. By performing seasonal maintenance on your vehicle, you can enhance its overall performance, reduce fuel consumption, prevent breakdowns and help protect its overall value. Best of all, at your local Signature Tire, you can have your seasonal maintenance performed in only around 30 minutes.
At Signature Tire, we are legally authorized to meet the seasonal service requirements of your vehicle, so you can feel confident bringing it to us instead of the dealer. Our seasonal maintenance process is precise, and we use the appropriate parts that ensure your vehicle manufacturer remains obligated to honour the commitments of its warranty.
The Difference Between Summer Maintenance and Winter Maintenance
As you would expect, your vehicle will require different maintenance going from spring to summer than it does going from fall to winter. In the spring, your Signature Tire mechanic will do the following:
- Change over your winter tires to your summer or all season tires.
- Rotate your tires to help in the prevention of wear as well as prolong use.
- Check your coolant levels and, if necessary, top them up to make sure your vehicle is ready for summer temperatures.
- Check your cabin air filter to ensure it is clean and not introducing allergens, decreasing airflow or otherwise reducing the efficiency of your heating and air conditioning systems.
- Check your vehicle’s five vital fluids, the brake system fluid, coolant system fluid, transmission fluid, power steering fluid, and differential fluid. These fluids will be topped up if necessary.
- Inspect your brake pads and recommend replacing them if necessary.
- Inspect your suspension system for wear and recommend replacing parts as required.
- Check your wheel alignment to ensure it meets your manufacturer’s specifications.
- Inspect your engine oil levels and top up if necessary.
- Ensure your windshield washer fluid is topped up and inspect your wipers and recommend replacement if necessary.
During the changeover from fall to winter, your Signature Tire mechanic will do all of the above, as well as the following:
- Check your tire tread depth to ensure that they are up to the task of keeping your vehicle safe during winter conditions.
- Test your battery to ensure it is in solid working condition and able to last in the cold winter temperatures.
Do I Really Need Seasonal Maintenance?
Ultimately that is up to you. Even if your car seems to be running smoothly, there are many problems that can remain unseen until it’s too late, leaving you with sizeable repair costs. As a matter of fact, the Car Care Council recently completed a survey of vehicles that revealed some pretty shocking statistics:
- 10% had low or contaminated brake fluid
- 28% had inadequate engine cooling
- 38% of cars had low or dirty engine oil
- 54% had low tire pressure
- 19% needed new belts
- 16% had dirty air filters
Taking the time to plan for seasonal maintenance is a smart and simple way to make sure that your vehicle is running at its best. Stop into your local Signature Tire and book your appointment today.
