Must-Do Spring Car Care After a Harsh Iowa Winter
Iowa winters are brutal. The frigid winds, sloppy snow, and corrosive road salt can damage your car if you don’t properly maintain it. That’s why we at Motor Inn of Spirit Lake recommend having your vehicle serviced after winter ends. Completing this essential spring car care checklist will help your vehicle recover from a damaging winter season.
Cold temperatures sap the charge from your car’s battery, especially if you don’t run the engine for a while every day. Spring is when you should have the battery’s charge capacity and condition checked by an automotive mechanic in Dickinson County.
Our technicians at Motor Inn of Spirit Lake can assess the battery’s health after winter’s extreme temperature fluctuations and tell you if a new battery should be installed. Remember that most car batteries need replaced by 5 years regardless of usage or condition.
Winter is over, so swap off those snow tires for all-season tires. Whether you used winter tires or not, you should still make sure your summer tires have enough tread left for adequate stopping distance and cornering traction on rain-soaked Iowa roads.
Also, have the wheels aligned and balanced so they’re straightened after knocking into curbs, potholes, and snowbanks all winter. Motor Inn of Spirit Lake can easily do this for your car during a spring tune-up appointment.
You probably haven’t used your car’s air conditioning since last year, so it needs maintenance to start blowing cool air as spring warms up. We can make sure that your car’s climate control system is functioning properly and blowing air at the right temperature and intensity. An A/C tune-up from Motor Inn of Spirit Lake can involve a refrigerant recharge, line and seal treatments, and a fresh cabin air filter.
120,000 miles: At this milestone, you may need to look at replacing brake, transmission, and coolant fluid; getting new shocks and struts; cleaning carbon deposits off the engine; and servicing AWD or 4WD differentials.
Iowa sure likes to use road salt! That corrosive material can tarnish your car’s carpeting and rust its metal frame. You need to take your vehicle to an automatic or self-serve car wash near Spirit Lake where you can scrub it from top to bottom — especially around the wheel wells and rocker panels where salt accumulates from tire spray. When you’re done, give your car a coat of protective wax for good measure. Inside, wash the carpet mats and vacuum out any lingering salt in the footwells that you tracked in.
Road salt and moisture from melting ice can expedite rust and deterioration on the brake discs. We can inspect the condition of the discs and rotors and ensure that enough padding remains to bring your car to a sudden stop.
Give your car the TLC it needs with a spring car care checkup at Motor Inn of Spirit Lake. Our Dickinson County service center can inspect and address any post-winter problems that are plaguing your sedan, truck, SUV, or van. Schedule a service appointment now.