Bring your car out of storage
As much as we love driving our cars, some of them just aren’t cut out for these Wisconsin winters. Or sometimes we simply don’t want to deal with the effects of winter and put our vehicles away for the season. But when summer rolls around – as it’s certainly doing now – it’s time to bring your car out of storage! Here are our top tips for how to transition back from your car’s seasonal hibernation and into warm weather fun!
If you're taking it out into the sun, it ought to shine, right? Whether it’s your beach-combing Wrangler or your prized Dodge Challenger, your winterized car needs to come out of hiding now that these warm sunny days are upon us. So how do we proceed? The first thing you want to do, scary as it may prove for some of us, is to check for signs of rodents. Certainly you prepped for this possibility as best you could while putting your car away, but rodents are nothing if not tricky. So get under the hood and check for chewed belts, wires, and hoses. Also poke around for nests. Any areas that you covered up to avoid this, like the exhaust pipe, should also be cleared. Check your tire pressure. This is one of those things that happens no matter what we do. Tire pressure goes down whether we’re out on the road or not, so make sure yours are up to their recommended weight before getting back out there. As always, your fluid levels are of key importance to your car’s performance, so no matter how topped-off you know you were before putting your car away, it never hurts to make sure things like oil, transmission fluid, and coolant haven’t managed to leak out during the winter. Now get out there and have a great summer! Chances are you disconnected your battery when putting your vehicle away, so make sure you reconnect it and while you’re at it, wipe the battery terminals down with a lint-free rag and if they seems particularly dirty, use baking soda and a toothbrush. Give it a wash! Hey, why take your prized automobile out on its first summer run looking dusty? Run through a carwash or give it an old fashioned hose-down yourself in the driveway. We here at Palmen Dodge Chrysler Jeep of Racine wish you and you car a happy return to the roads!