Are you preparing for a road trip? It’s a good idea to perform a personal car check and assemble an emergency road kit for your trip. You can also ask your local auto repair shop for a road trip check.
Here are maintenance checks you can do before you hit the road.
Owner’s Manual
Read your manual before your trip. It will also be handy to keep your manual in your glove box. You can find information here on how to change your headlight bulb, how to jump-start your car if your battery dies, and what to do if your car overheats.
Under Hood Inspection
- Battery Connections – Check and clean the battery posts and cable terminals for corrosive buildup, you can easily identify this with surrounding white fuzz. Clean and remove this white fuzz for optimum maintenance and performance for your vehicle’s electrical system. This step is critical to prevent accidental sparks.
- Air Conditioning – Test your A/C to make sure that is working and cooling your vehicle properly.
- Fluid Levels – Check under your hood for the condition of your automatic transmission fluid, engine oil, steering fluid, brake fluid, windshield washer fluid levels and radiator coolant.
- Belts & Hoses – Check your hoses for leaks, brittleness, proper fit, loose clamps and elbow areas. For the belts, make sure to check for glazing, adjustment, alignment, and tearing and cracking. If necessary, replace broken belts and hoses. Make sure all belts and hoses are secured tightly.
The Walk-Around Inspection
- Lights – Make sure to check that your headlights, turn signals, and brake lights are working properly.
- Tires – Check your tires for excessive wear and tire pressure. Altitude and temperature affects tire pressure so check your tires to know whether you have to increase or decrease internal pressure.
- Spare Tires – Make sure that the spare tire is fully inflated.
- Wiper Blades – Check the condition of your blade material for cracks.
Under Vehicle Inspection
- Brakes – It is very important that you conduct a test drive for your vehicle to check that your breaks are working properly. Listen for noises and look for fluid leaks. If necessary, ask your auto repair company to conduct a check-up for your car breaks.
- Fluid Leaks – If there are any, check fluid residue from under the ground where you park your vehicle on. This could be leakage from gas, radiator coolant, windshield washer fluid, engine fluid, brake fluid, power steering fluid; have these leaks repaired immediately.
- Exhaust Leaks – Gases that leak from your exhaust system can be deadly, so listen and look for leaks from your exhaust system. If there are any, have a professional check it before you leave for your trip.
Emergency Road Kit
An emergency road kit can be very helpful in unexpected situations on the roadside. Make sure that you bring these items on your trip:
- Oil
- Premix Radiator Coolant
- Tire Pressure Gauge
- Small Funnel
- Roadside Flares
- Battery Jumper Cables
- Flashlight
- Basic Tools (Screwdrivers, Pliers, Wrenches, Pocket Knife)
- “Help” sign/ “Hazard” sign
- Rags and Cleaners
- First Aid Kit
- Electrical Tape/Duct Tape
- Blanket, Food, Water (in case you’ll be stuck for a while)
Being prepared will take you a long way and will enable you to save money and time. So, it’s highly recommended that you conduct this checklist. Drive safely and as always, enjoy your trip!
Written by the staff at KB Tire & Auto. KB Tire & Auto is the leading expert in auto repair Moberly MO has to offer.