No matter the season, there are always steps you can take to keep your vehicle in peak condition! And it’s always important to pay attention to the seasons because as they change, so do the demands placed on your vehicle. Whether it’s winter, fall, spring, or summer, it’s important to perform seasonal maintenance. Fortunately, you don’t have to do it alone! The experts at Rob Green Nissan can help no matter the season. Let’s look at a few seasonal maintenance tips you can use to keep your vehicle performing how the manufacturer intended.
Oil and Filter
Regardless of the season, it’s always an intelligent decision to have your oil and filter changed based on the manufacturer’s suggested intervals. Having regular oil changes can help keep the inner passages of your engine clean, lubricated, and cool.
Summer Oil and Filter Tips
During summer’s hotter temperatures, it’s important your oil reflects the manufacturer’s recommended oil weight.
Winter Oil Maintenance Tips
Winter oils are typically a bit lighter than summer oil. For cold oil to provide lubrication, it should be thinner. If the wrong oil is used in the vehicle during cold-engine starts, it can result in severe wear. As a result, you may want to transition to winter oils as the temps drop. In either case, you should always check with your owner’s manual for recommended oil viscosity.
Engine Cooling Systems
The cooling system of your vehicle is engineered to keep your engine cool and make sure the engine is warm enough to deliver clean, efficient operation.
Summer Tips for Engine Cooling Systems
Your engine is much more likely to overheat during the summer, and the top reason for overheating is a poorly maintained coolant system. You can schedule an engine cooling system inspection to determine if all components are functioning properly and ready for the rigors of summer. In addition to coolant level checks, top-offs, and fluid replacement; the radiator and all associated hoses should be inspected for leaks.
Winter Tips for Engine Cooling System
In the winter, the cooling system is tasked with functioning flawlessly through temperatures that can drop below freezing. It’s vital to have the coolant inspected, flushed, and/or replaced. Any fluid that is older than two years should be replaced. All caps, hoses, and radiators should be checked for wear.
Tire Care
As the only part of your vehicle that comes in contact with the road, your tires are critical. It’s always a good practice to have your tires regularly rotated based on the manufacturer’s suggested intervals. In addition, the temperature fluctuations can cause your tire pressure to drastically change, so you should pay special attention to your pressure as temperatures climb or fall.
Summer Tire Tips
You may want to consider adding summer tires to your vehicle. These tires are harder and designed to handle hotter temperatures while still providing excellent traction, efficiency, and handling.
Cold Weather Tires
When temperatures drop, it becomes even more important to conduct tire pressure checks. For your tires to perform on icy or snow-covered roads, they must be properly inflated. You may consider winter tires, which are made of a softer compound and are more aggressively patterned. This design makes them more pliable at lower temperatures. Driving habits and local conditions may prompt you to choose snow tires, traction tires, tire chains, and studded snow tires.
Air Conditioning & Heating System
Your heat and AC are both without a doubt important. Here are a few different steps and tips you can use for seasonal maintenance.
Summer Air Conditioning Tips
Few things are more alarming than hopping into a smoldering vehicle and turning on the AC to enjoy warm blowing air. One way to prevent this from happening is to have preventative AC maintenance with a comprehensive inspection at Rob Green Nissan.
Winter Defroster and Heater
You should schedule an inspection of your rear and front windshield defoggers, heaters, and fans. And it’s best to schedule these inspections before the temperatures drop.
Braking System
The brakes on your vehicle are undoubtedly the most essential safety feature. Because of this, it makes dollars and sense to pay special attention to this system with seasonal maintenance.
Summer Brake Maintenance
Summer represents hot roads and unexpectedly wet roads that necessitate good braking power. However, the very conditions of summer tend to add extra stress to the brake system. To compensate for this, it’s vital to have your brake system inspected to ensure the drums or rotors have sufficient thickness and your pads have plenty of material to handle increased wear and dissipate the heat.
Winter Brake Maintenance
Ice and snow can have a negative impact on the performance of your brake system. Once ice and snow melts, it can add extra moisture to your brake fluid or brakes. This additional moisture can lead to a dragging sensation and an increased length of time required to stop your vehicle. However, you can prevent both of these unfavorable outcomes by scheduling regular brake inspections during the winter.
Battery Maintenance Tips
When it comes to battery maintenance, don’t get us started! And if you fail to pay your battery some attention, you won’t be able to.
Summer Battery Maintenance
The summer is a great time to ensure your battery terminals are clean. It’s helpful to remove any corrosion surrounding the cable ends or terminal posts. You can apply dielectric grease to your terminals to ensure a good connection with the cable and limit corrosion.
Winter Battery Maintenance
Your car needs a strong battery to efficiently start in cold temperatures because colder chemicals will react slower than hot chemicals. You can thoroughly inspect your battery and terminal connections before the cold temperatures roll in. If your battery is more than two years old or demonstrates signs of weakness in moderate temperatures, it’s usually a good idea to have it tested — at the very least. In most instances, you’ll need to replace the battery.
