Back-to-school season is here in Houston. That means earlier mornings, school drop-offs, after-school activities, heavier traffic, and a lot more time spent in the car.
After a summer of road trips, vacations, extreme Houston heat, or simply a different driving routine, now is a good time to give your vehicle a quick check before the school-year schedule gets underway.
The good news is that you don’t have to be a mechanic to spot many potential problems. Here are a few things you can check at home this weekend to help make sure your vehicle is ready for Monday morning.
Start With Your Tires
Your tires are one of the most important safety items on your vehicle, and Houston’s summer heat can be especially hard on them.
Walk around the vehicle and check all four tires for low pressure, cracks, bulges, nails, uneven wear, or areas where the tread is getting thin.
You can also check the pressure with a tire gauge. The correct tire pressure is normally listed on the sticker inside the driver’s door jamb. Don’t use the maximum pressure printed on the tire itself as your target.
If your tire pressure warning light is on, don’t ignore it just because the tire still looks okay. A slow leak may not be obvious just by looking at it.
Pay Attention to Your Brakes
Think about how your vehicle feels and sounds when you stop. Do you hear squeaking or grinding? Maybe the steering wheel shakes, the vehicle pulls to one side, or the brake pedal feels different than it used to.
Any change in braking performance is worth having checked, especially before getting back into the daily routine of school zones and Houston traffic.
If you don’t remember the last time your brakes were inspected, having them checked during your next service is a good idea.
Make Sure the A/C Is Keeping Up
August in Houston isn’t exactly the time you want to discover that your A/C is struggling.
Make sure the air coming from the vents gets consistently cold. Try the different fan speeds and pay attention to whether the A/C stays cold while sitting still as well as while driving.
An A/C system that blows cold at first and then turns warm, takes longer than usual to cool the vehicle, or only works well while driving may need attention.
With plenty of hot weather still ahead of us, this isn’t something we’d recommend putting off until fall.
Check Your Coolant Level
Your vehicle’s cooling system has been working hard through the Houston summer.
When the engine is completely cool, visually check the coolant reservoir under the hood. The level should generally be between the minimum and maximum markings.
Never open a radiator cap or pressurized cooling system while the engine is hot.
If the coolant is low, don’t assume adding more solves the problem. Coolant doesn’t normally disappear on its own, and a low level can be an early sign of a leak.
Check Your Lights
This is an easy safety check that only takes a couple of minutes.
Turn on your headlights, high beams, turn signals, hazard lights, and parking lights. Have someone stand behind the vehicle while you press the brake pedal to make sure your brake lights are working, too.
Don’t forget about the license plate lights. They’re easy to overlook until one burns out.
Check Your Registration Sticker
While you’re walking around the vehicle, take a quick look at your Texas registration sticker and make sure it hasn’t expired.
With school starting back up, drivers can expect to see more activity around school zones and more attention to speed limits and traffic safety. An expired registration sticker is an easy thing to overlook, especially if you don’t spend much time looking at the corner of your windshield.
If your registration is coming due or has already expired, now is a good time to take care of it before you’re back in the daily school-year routine.
Don’t Forget the Battery
Houston heat can be tough on batteries, and they don’t always give much warning before they fail.
Pay attention if the engine is cranking slower than normal or you’ve noticed unusual electrical behavior. You can also look under the hood for visible corrosion around the battery terminals.
If your battery is several years old or the vehicle has become slower to start, having the battery and charging system tested could prevent a very inconvenient morning.
Check Your Wipers and Washer Fluid
Check your windshield washer fluid and run the wipers. If they’re streaking, skipping, making noise, or leaving areas you can’t see through clearly, it’s probably time for new blades.
While you’re there, take a quick look at the windshield for any chips or cracks that may have grown during the summer.
Look Under the Vehicle
Before you pull out of the driveway, take a quick look underneath your vehicle.
A few drops of clear water after running the A/C are usually normal condensation. Colored, oily, or unusually large puddles deserve a closer look.
If you’re regularly finding fluid underneath the vehicle, it’s better to figure out where it’s coming from before it turns into a bigger problem.
Pay Attention to Warning Lights
When you start your vehicle, several warning lights normally illuminate briefly and then turn off. What matters is what stays on.
A check engine light, ABS light, airbag warning, battery light, temperature warning, or other warning message shouldn’t simply become part of the dashboard scenery.
Not every warning light means you need to stop driving immediately, but some can indicate serious safety or mechanical problems. Not sure what a warning means? Have it checked.
A Few Minutes Now Can Prevent a Bad Monday Morning
Back-to-school mornings are hectic enough without adding a flat tire, dead battery, overheating vehicle, or A/C that suddenly stops working.
Taking 10 or 15 minutes this weekend to walk around your vehicle, check the basics, and pay attention to anything that doesn’t seem right can help you catch a problem before Monday morning.
If you notice something that doesn’t look, sound, or feel right, we’re happy to take a closer look. Whether you need your brakes or tires checked, your battery tested, an A/C concern diagnosed, or you’re simply overdue for maintenance, we can help make sure your vehicle is ready for the school-year routine.
Chimney Rock Car Care serves drivers throughout the Galleria, Greater Uptown, Bellaire, West University, St. George Place, River Oaks, Memorial, Meyerland, Spring Branch, and surrounding Houston areas. Schedule an appointment today and head into the new school year with one less thing to worry about.
