Back to School Car Maintenance Checklist

Is your Vehicle Back to School Ready?

As the summer cools down and the school season approaches, life starts getting a little busier for Minnesota Drivers. Whether that be taking the long hall to drop off your first kid at college, or if you are in charge of after school pickups every day, transportation is now part of your everyday routine, and you need your vehicle to keep up.

Here at Lake Country Toyota, we want the new season to go off without a hitch! Spending a few minutes on basic back-to-school car maintenance now can help you avoid unexpected issues when you really need to be there.

Here is a simple vehicle maintenance checklist to help prepare your vehicle for back-to-school season.

1. Check Your Tires

Your tires are putting in almost as much work as you during this busy time, so before school starts, take a few minutes to:

• Check tire pressure
• Inspect the tread for wear
• Look for nails, cracks, or uneven wear patterns

Making sure your tires are up to date on routine maintenances is a great idea for overall safety, which we want which a bunch of crazy kiddos in the car!

2. Test your Battery

Dropping your kid off at college can be an emotional and heavy time, and the last thing you need to happen on the trip is a car breakdown. The battery of the car is essentially its heart, and it powers the starter, lights, sensors, and more.

There are a couple steps you can take to keep your battery healthy:

• Drive regularly at highway speeds to allow the alternator to recharge the battery to be full.
• Protect from extreme temperatures by parking the garage or using a battery insulation kit– especially in this hot summer!
• Lastly, monitor your battery’s health – if you notice slow engine cranking, dim lights, or frequent jump starts, replace battery ASAP!

Lake Country Toyota can always help you perform a battery test to make sure your batter is in good condition.

3. Top Off Essential Fluids

Your vehicle relies on several fluids to keep everything running smoothly.

Check:

• Engine oil
• Coolant
• Brake fluid
• Windshield washer fluid

If you’re not sure when these were last serviced, you should probably get them checked out!

4. Check your Brakes

The daily school carpool drop-offs often mean a lot of stopping and going while waiting in traffic.

If you’ve noticed squeaking, grinding, vibration, or a soft brake pedal, it’s best to have your brakes inspected because the school year is in full swing, so those pickups go as smooth and quick as possible.

5. Clean out your Vehicle

After wrangling yourself and your kids together, the last thing you want to do is stress about the cleanliness of your car.

To make your morning a little less stressful, take some time to:

• Remove leftover summer essentials – lake gear, summer sports equipment, or camping gear.
• Vacuum those roadtrip crumbs!
• Most importantly, restock tissues, chargers, and water bottles for those items your kids definitely forgot when they were packing their backpack.

Lake Country Toyota Tip: Keep a small trash can in your car to help reduce messes.

You’ll appreciate the extra space once backpacks and sports bags start piling up.

6. Know When your Next Service is Due

If your vehicle is approaching its next oil change, tire rotation, or other schedules maintenance, taking care of it before the calender starts filling up can save a bunch of time later.

Routine maintenance helps keep your vehicle performing the way it was designed and can help catch small issues before they become bigger repairs.

Schedule your next service appointment online.

Start the School Year Off Right

The back-to-school season is busy enough without worrying about your vehicle. A few quick steps and maintenance appointments can keep your vehicle ready for anything from school carpool duty and those longer college drop offs.

If your vehicle is due for service or you’d like a qualified technician to give it a quick look before ethe busy season begins, our team at Lake Country Toyota is here to help.