Spring has come, and we all want to get our vehicles cleaned out and ready for the picnics, barbeques, and just pure enjoyment in the outdoors. Winter had us cooped for far too long, so now we get to enjoy this season to its fullest. But what are some ways we can do this, so we can enjoy the season without having to break a sweat getting everything ready?
Oh yeah and I know there are countless lists to get your vehicle ready for Spring, but sadly they did not go in-depth enough for me. I want to know why do I need to replace my wiper blades before I throw money away, why are we cleaning the undercarriage so well. So if you are looking for a detailed list to find out why we are doing the checks that we are, then you are in the right place, and I know you will enjoy the read. So here are 11 simple ways to get your car ready for Spring, enjoy.
It is always better to be safe than sorry. Heres my article on 5 Simple Ways to Protect your Car in Hurricane Season.
Your Tires, All of Them
Tires, everyone knows how to check the air pressure in their tires but did you know for every ten degrees that the outside temperature changes your tires air pressure changes by one psi. So if you aired initially up your tires and it was 70 degrees Fahrenheit outside, and now it is 20 degrees Fahrenheit outside your tire that was at 40 psi is currently at 35 psi. The same goes for when it is hot outside, but it is vice verse.
If the outside temperature increased from 70 degrees Fahrenheit to 100 degrees Fahrenheit then your tires air pressure that was 40 psi is now 43 psi. So that would explain why you woke up one morning in October, and your tire pressure warning light was on. Now, why does all of this matter?
Tires can be expensive, and I know no one likes throwing money away, I know I don’t. So to save yourself some money by keeping your tire pressure at the correct level because if you don’t your rim will slice your tire up like a can opener. When your tire loses pressure, it starts to droop onto the ground. Since the rim is in the middle, it lays nicely on top of the sidewall of your tires.
Do you need a 1/2″ drive set for this repair? I put one in my Tool Library just in case you needed it. I found this set on Amazon at a great price and quality.
This can cause additional damage to your tire and shorten your tire’s life substantially. So that is the reason we need to watch our tire pressure and adjust by the change of the seasons. While checking your tire pressure, make sure you check your tire for any signs of dry rot, this can be cracks, ridges, and cuts. If you do have any of these, it would be recommended to replace that tire. Do not forget your spare tire; many people forget it is there until they need it.
You will be surprised by this one here’s my article on 12 Crucial Maintenance Things to Check on your Vehicle.
Spring rain is coming
Windshield wipers, this is another routine check when it comes to post-winter tests, and no one understands of explains why. The reason why is most windshield wipers is made of rubber just like your tires unless they are the more expensive windshield wipers which are made of silicone. The rubber windshield wipers can be frozen to your windshield, and from that, they get freezing.
Well, cold rubber tends to break, and that is precisely what they do. So if you have rubber windshield wipers, you will need to check for cracks on the windshield wiper blade which is the rubber part. Also, make sure that the blade is still attached to the windshield wiper arm itself.
I became tired of rubber windshield wiper blades, so this year I picked up a set of silicone wiper blades, and I have to tell you I love them! They are then RainX set and every time they wipe my window they apply RainX as well, which is great because in a real torrential downpour my wipers need all the help they can get. The RainX is on the window so well that in light rain storms I don’t even have to turn my wipers on so definitely check those out.
Make sure your wiper blade is attached to the wiper’s arm because if it isn’t the wiper arm can scratch your window that can start shallow but deepen the more you use your windshield wipers.
Salt and dirt don’t play nice
Hey it’s Spring, it’s time to floss your new ride!!…..or…..we could be cleaning our vehicle for another reason, oh yeah salt! Now if you live in a pleasantly warm climate, you do not have to worry about this, but still a great section to read over and learn about in case you ever get set to a colder climate.
Salt is beneficial on those ice-covered roads, but in case you do not wash your vehicle that often if you were to look under it, you would see a substantial amount of rust. For all those out there that do not know what rust is, rust is an iron oxide, and it forms when metal, air, and water come in contact with each other and given enough time rust can fully disintegrate a piece of metal. So what can we do about that?
There are a couple of options; you can spray your entire undercarriage and
wheel wells with rubberized bed liner after taking any rust on the frame and body off first before putting the bed liner on. Then there is the other option which is a bit easier, and that is to take your vehicle to the car wash. Now, of course, I do not mean to wash your car at the end of Winter. You need to wash your vehicle a few times during Winter. Depending on how much salt has been put on the road.
That, of course, is decided by how much snow has fallen in your area. Salt can also damage your vehicle’s rims if you have them left on during the Winter, so make sure you wash them off thoroughly as well inside and outside of the rim.
Have you ever looked into the advantages of spending more on your brake pads? Don’t worry, I have and what I found is here in my article.
Time to change Winter to Spring fluids
Think of Spring as the time to start with a fresh new beginning the trees are blooming, and your oil needs changed so let’s enjoy those beautiful trees with some oil on our clothes…..just kidding do not get it on your clothes. But I was serious about it is the time to start new with your vehicle.
You need to kickstart your new year with fresh fluids and cycle the winter fluids out with some liquids that are good for the rest of the year. In case your vehicle was in storage for the Winter, you will need to drain the preservative entirely out of your system and fill it with new fluids.
This service time is much more than just your oil, though. You need to change your air filter and cabin filter as well if they need to be replaced. If you do not want to guess what needs to be changed, you need to start a scheduled maintenance interval if you haven’t already.
This will save you a headache in the future because Winter will be coming again, so why not prepare ahead of time. Your engine fluids can get thicker in density during the Winter depending on how cold it gets, so with your engine oil make sure you check to see if that weight of the oil is suitable for freezing temperatures.
With your transmission, brake, and power steering fluids, make sure you go slow after starting your cold vehicle, so they have time to warm up while driving. Coolant/antifreeze and windshield washer fluid can both freeze and crack their reservoirs or even worse the coolant can expand and dislodge all of your freeze plugs and also in a worse case can break your block.
That is why you want to put the coolant to water ratio as 50/50 or get the premixed bottle to save yourself from looking like a Chemist in your front yard. If you do that, then the coolant/antifreeze will not freeze, which hints the name. Your windshield washer fluid can be switched to a winter blend that has more chemicals in it that prevent freezing as well.
Prevent a leak before it can start
After flipping so many vehicles with our business, I can wholeheartedly agree with this point. After Winter we need to check our engine due to a lot of the lines and hoses in the car are made of rubber. Just like we did for our tires, we need to make sure that your hoses are not doing that as well.
Once your hoses have a crack in them from dry rot, they will start to leak and can cause a much bigger problem with your engine. So save yourself the time, money, and patience by just replacing it when you see it.
Of course, if the crack is near the end of the hose and you have enough slack with the hose or line that you can cut off the defective piece of it then do it. There is no reason why we should not try to save money.
June to October every year is hurricane season throughout the United States. Take a look at my article on 5 Simple Ways to Protect your Car in Hurricane Season.
Balance and alignment lengthen your Tire’s Lifespan
It is time to put our winter tires back up and put our all-season tires back on if you changed them at all. Depending on where you are located, you might not have to change your tires to a winter set which will save you a step.
When we put these new tires on, we need to have the alignment checked and have the tires rotated as well since they are already off the vehicle. This 
will help our vehicle have an even wear pattern on all four tires, which will increase their lifespan but will not go longer than their maximum mileage rating though.
Tire manufacturers recommend you rotate your tires twice a year, but make sure what tires you have by the tire shop you purchased them from because some tires have a directional pattern and cannot be rotated. But as long as you stick to the tire manufacture recommendations, you will be ok!
Battery check
This check will be an easy one for you, all you need to do if you do not have a battery load tester us take it to Advanced Auto, Autozone, Oreilys, or whatever automotive parts store you live by and have your battery load tested.
This will show you what voltage your battery has when the vehicle is demanding power as well. You want to have this checked before and after the Winter. If your battery is defective in any way the coldness of the Winter will bring that out and your battery will fail during the Winter. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO JUMPSTART A FROZEN BATTERY!!
Fill up your roadside kit
Since Winter is over, we can now remove a few things from our first aid kit and our roadside kit. We do not need the extra pair of Winter clothing, and our hand warmers we can get those out as well.
Depending on where you live will decide if you need to add anything additional in for your rest of the year kit. A great example would be if you live in Arizona, it would be a good idea for you to have a case of water in your trunk with a tarp to create shade if you need it.
Some roads in Arizona do not get traveled on frequently, and the last thing you want is to wander through the desert because your vehicle broke down. So let’s plan wisely, that can save our life one day.
Update vehicle software if needed
Many vehicles on the road today have software that powers their internal computers. Talk about a change in the times; now your car needs to have software updates or at least depending on the vehicle you have. Check with your vehicle’s manufacturer to see if there is any new recall or software update.
Just so you know I am not talking about Tesla, Mercedes-Benz, and other high-end vehicle companies for software updates. Your Dodge Challenger and Chrysler vehicles even have software updates needed to be completed on them so make sure you check if your vehicle has a new software update it needs.
Here is a VIN Lookup tool that you can use to see if you have a recall on your vehicle
Fix exterior damages
Spring is always the time we see those new knicks and scratches on our cars. They are an eyesore, but Spring is the time to deal with them.
There are products on the market now that simplify fixing those small to deep scratches. Since the touch up needs to dry with the sun, what better of a time than Spring to fix them!
In Conclusion
Spring is in the air, and your new fresh start is here, so make sure you start this year off on the right foot, and you can do some amazing things this year. While you are doing amazing things, let’s make sure we start our scheduled maintenance interval checklist this year to make this the year we save money on major repairs!
Thank you for checking out my article! I hope you enjoyed it and it helped you with your problem at hand. Check out my YouTube channel for up to date how-to video guides. Thank you again, and I hope you enjoy my next piece!
