As the cold months fade away and we welcome in spring and summer what should you be thinking about in terms of maintaining your car? One of the most important pieces of information to know is that heat is hard on vehicles. They have an ideal operating temperature range and in the summer time the car has to work much harder to keep all of its parts in the right temperature threshold. So, what can you do to help? There are two key things you should do; make sure fluids aren’t broken down and check the vehicles cooling system.

The reason we service our vehicles is to refresh the fluid. Overtime the fluid breaks down and loses it ability to perform the way it is designed to. That is why manufacturers suggest changing you fluid regularly. This is especially true in the summer, if you haven’t changed you fluid in a long time it has lost its ability to lube and instead of properly lubing it is now operating at  higher temperature with little to no lubrication. So, change your fluids as recommended. At Wizard we recommend servicing the transmission annually or about every 10,000 to 12,000 miles.

Always check the vehicles cooling system. A motor that is running hot is impacting the transmission temperature and causing it to rise; which in turn can raise the temperature of the transfer case. So its important to make sure the vehicles radiator is clear of debris so that the airflow isn’t interrupted. You always want to make sure you service and check your antifreeze since this is the main element that keeps you vehicle from overheating in the summer.

Not sure how to do these things on your own? Most shops will check fluid condition for you and service recommendations will let you know how often to change/service your fluids.