| By Chilton Staff |
ChiltonLibrary provides expert guidance to get everyone’s vehicles ready for spring and summer, whether it’s putting in a new engine or just checking fluids. With April as National Car Care Month, now is the perfect time to promote this valuable resource to your community!
ChiltonLibrary, trusted by automotive experts for more than a century, offers comprehensive, up-to-date repair, maintenance, and service information for cars, trucks, vans, and SUVs. 24/7 online access, accessibility tools, and handy search features make it easy to find vehicle manuals, diagnostics, technical service bulletins, recalls, a labor estimating tool, wiring diagrams, and more.
These days, most of us can expect to keep our vehicles longer. According to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics in 2024, the average passenger car on the road was 14 years old and the average age for all light-duty vehicles averaged 12.6 years.1 Car Care Month is a chance to attend to issues caused by older vehicles as well as issues developed over winter.
Car care is about preventive maintenance—a proven way to extend the life of a vehicle. Preventive maintenance saves money in the long run, increases fuel economy, and provides peace of mind. Here are a few of the tasks to help get your patrons’ vehicles ready for spring:
- Cleaning Keeping the vehicle exterior and interior clean is a good way to protect a vehicle’s value and comfort. In areas with road salt, remove all snow, salt, dirt, and debris. Attentive cleaning is an opportunity to notice things like small scratches on the exterior, which can lead to rust. Tip: Use touch-up paint or nail polish to coat the scratches.
- Tires Check tires frequently. Look for tread wear and damage. Check tire inflation manually with a quality gauge or have it checked by a professional—even when the vehicle has tire pressure monitor sensors (TPMS). If you were using winter tires, replace them with all-season or summer tires now.
- Brakes Your life may be go-go-go, but make sure you can also stop safely. Winter conditions can take a toll on brakes.
- Fluids You may have used a lot of windshield washer fluid, antifreeze, and refrigerant during the winter. Ensure the fluid levels are correct, including brake, transmission, and power steering fluids. ChiltonLibrary contains original equipment manufacturer (OEM) procedures, capacities and fluid-type specifications.
- Oil and Filter If your vehicle has a gas engine, ensure the oil and filter are changed according to the manufacturer’s recommendations. ChiltonLibrary OEM data specifies the amount of oil as well as the type of oil.
Whether it’s the basics like tires and fluids or bigger jobs, ChiltonLibrary contains valuable information to help keep vehicles running smoothly. With OEM data, easy-to-use navigation, robust search features, and accessibility tools, ChiltonLibrary leads the pack. Not a subscribing library? Why not stop in for a test drive?
1. United States Department of Transportation, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, “Average Age of Automobiles and Trucks in Operation in the United States” dataset.
https://www.bts.gov/content/average-age-automobiles-and-trucks-operation-united-states
