Planning a road trip? Here's how to get your car spring-ready

The snow is finally melting away, grass and gardens are starting to show, and spring is poking its head around the corner. And with the warmer weather, it’s natural to start thinking about spending more time outdoors - and maybe even planning your first road trip!

But before you start booking your accommodations and plotting your trip, here are 6 things you should do to get your car road trip ready after a long, cold winter - and how you can save big along the way with a CAA Membership.

1. Swap out your winter tires

When the snow is gone for the year and the temperature is consistently over 7 degrees, it’s time to take off your winter tires and have your summer or all-season tires put on. Summer tires are designed to provide better traction through the warmer seasons so you can drive safer on your road trips this summer.

Luckily, you don’t need to change your tires on your own. In fact, with a CAA Membership, you don’t even need to leave your home. With CAA’s Mobile Tire Service, you can have your tires changed at home, and get exclusive pricing for the service.

2. Get an oil change

While you’re getting the summer tires put back on the car, it’s a perfect opportunity to get an oil change as well. Regular oil changes maintain engine lubrication, improve fuel efficiency, and remove dirt and debris, which helps your engine continue running smoothly for the long run.

And similar to CAA’s Mobile Tire Service, CAA offers their exclusive Mobile Oil Change service, where CAA Members can book an appointment to have an expert technician come to their home to change their car’s oil, completely mess-free.

3. Give your car a deep clean

Driving on salt-covered roads all winter can really do a number on your car, no matter how thorough you are with cleaning it through the winter. And that’s exactly why your spring cleaning shouldn’t end at the front door.

Spring is the perfect time to get rid of the buildup from winter with a deep clean, a fresh coat of wax, and a good polish - especially on one of those first beautiful warm spring days. But if you don’t want to clean it yourself, that’s ok too! CAA Members can save 10% on car washes at participating locations, so you can stay comfortable in your vehicle while your car is being cleaned. And if it’s been a while since you rust-proofed your vehicle, CAA Members save $10 on Krown Rust Control applications, and get 20% off all other Krown products.

4. Check your headlights

Another reality of driving on salted roads is the impact that has on our headlights. While the salt and gravel do provide traction to drive safely on icy roads, they also cause wires to rust or corrode, and scratch or crack the plastic casings. Use this as a chance to give your headlights a once over to check for any damage or other issues.

If you’re up for a bit of DIY, you can clean and restore your headlights with a bit of white toothpaste. It works as an abrasive to clean off any build up, and removes the effects of oxidation to polish the clear plastic to make sure your headlights are performing their best.

5. Test your battery

As the weather levels out, this is a good time to make sure your battery is in good working condition. The freezing temperatures of winter can be hard on car batteries, and the last thing you want to have happen is to have your battery die while you’re far from home.

To prevent that from happening, book an appointment with CAA’s Mobile Battery Service. They’ll come to your home, do a full inspection of your charging system, install a new battery, and recycle the old one - so you can save up to $270 without ever leaving home.

6. Service your brakes

Last, but certainly not least, spring is a great time to have your brakes checked. You should have your brakes inspected every 6 months - or every 20,000km, whichever comes sooner. Just like the other points we outlined here, salt and gravel can damage your brake system, and that’s something that needs to be repaired as soon as possible to ensure your brakes are working reliably when you need them.

 

As you know, Canadian winters can be hard on our vehicles. But while the snow, salt, and gravel are out of our control, you can control how you get your car ready for spring. To make sure you can spend your road trips enjoying the journey, take advantage of all the benefits of a CAA Membership by finding the right Membership option for your needs, or call CAA at 1-844-252-3648 to learn more.