With the weather slowly beginning to warm and a seasonal change on the horizon, handling springtime maintenance should be at the forefront of your mind. By taking action now, you can prevent breakdowns from happening in the future and help to ensure that your vehicle continues to operate strongly.

The Importance of Vehicle Maintenance

Handling vehicle maintenance is about more than simply taking care of spring cleaning. Ignoring maintenance tasks on your vehicle can lead to the accelerated degradation of parts under the hood, which can have a negative impact on the performance of your vehicle.

By performing car maintenance at regular intervals, you can keep all parts under the hood working properly and spot any potential problems before they become more serious. Additionally, vehicle maintenance will save you both time and money by reducing the likelihood of serious repairs being needed. Common tasks associated with vehicle maintenance include:

• Taking care of tire rotations at regular intervals
• Replacing windshield wipers before rainy seasons
• Inspecting hoses under the hood for any damage
• Replacing fluids such as coolant, brake fluid, transmission fluid, and more
• Checking your suspension, especially if you drive on rough roads with potholes
• Replacing engine oil at regular intervals

All of the above are important maintenance tasks to handle regularly, but oil changes are one in particular that absolutely cannot be neglected for long.

Oil Changes: Why Are They Important?

More often than not, you’ve been told that oil changes are a necessary maintenance task for your vehicle, but the reason may not have been explained. If your engine is the heart of your vehicle, oil is the blood. More accurately, oil is a lubricant that keeps all of the moving metal pieces under the hood running smoothly.

Oil works to reduce friction and component wear as metal parts move every time the engine’s pistons fire, which helps to improve engine life and reduce mechanical breakdowns. Additionally, beyond acting as a lubricant, oil also transfers some heat away from the engine block that builds up due to friction.

On top of all of this, oil has a number of additives that help prevent the buildup of varnish and other types of deposits that may build up in your engine. By cleaning these buildups, oil helps to improve operating efficiency and protects the components of your engine. While the specific oil change interval will vary from vehicle to vehicle, most manufacturers will recommend replacing oil every 5,000 to 7,000 miles to ensure everything is operating as needed.

Different Types of Oil

Depending on the vehicle you have, the type of oil you need will change. While the majority of vehicles will use conventional oil, there are a number of different types that your owner’s manual may list:

1. Conventional Motor Oil

As mentioned, conventional motor oil is the most common type of oil. It is a crude oil that comes directly from an underground oil well. Most vehicles that use this type are light-duty and later-model vehicles that have low mileage. Simple engine designs are commonly seen used with conventional motor oil.

2. High-Mileage Motor Oil

This type of oil is specialized for vehicles that have higher mileage, typically above 75,000 miles, and is geared toward the specific needs of that vehicle type. In general, this type has additional additives to clear grime and common causes of engine breakdowns in older vehicles.

3. Synthetic Motor Oil

This form of motor oil costs 2-3x more than standard motor oil, but it is better for the long-term health of your engine. It is essentially a highly refined variant of conventional oil that has a number of extra additives and carrier oil that is distributed throughout your vehicle’s system.

4. Synthetic Blend Motor Oil

Finally, synthetic blend oil is a pure mix of synthetic oil with conventional oil, making it a lower-cost alternative to synthetic motor oil.

Maintenance Tips for the Spring

With the importance of maintenance, primarily oil changes, outlined above, it’s also important to look at some tasks that should be handled specifically in the springtime as opposed to other months. If you haven’t already taken care of these tasks, then the perfect time is now:

• Inspect underneath the hood for any corrosion that may have occurred during the cold temperatures
• Inspect all belts and hoses for cracks or general damage
• Double-check your tire pressure
• Test your car battery to make sure the cold winter didn’t have a negative effect
• Purchase a car cover to protect against rain or wind in the spring if you don’t have a garage
• Take a look at the undercarriage of your vehicle to make sure no dirt or rocks got embedded in machinery as you were driving around
• Replace windshield wiper fluid, along with windshield wiper blades
• Test the air conditioner to make sure it’s operational
• Replace the cabin air filter if necessary

In addition to all of the above, regardless of the time of year, be sure to take your vehicle to an effective car wash that hits hard-to-reach places, such as the wheel wells. On top of this, follow your vehicle’s general maintenance schedule as outlined in the owner’s manual.

Spring car care tips don’t differ drastically from those tips for the other warmer months, but generally, preparing your car for the end of winter weather is a great mindset.

Protect Your Car with Endurance

Protecting your vehicle is important and investing in an extended warranty or auto protection plan is an excellent way to accomplish this. By covering wear and tear damage, you can save money on potentially high-cost repairs. Our Endurance Supreme plan offers the closest protection to manufacturer warranty, providing coverage for air conditioning, electrical components, gaskets, engine, suspension, and so much more.

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