(KERO) — Summer is here and that means weekend trips, BBQ's and maybe some road trips. But before you plug your destination into Mapquest, ya gotta make sure your car is ready for the road.
If you're gearing up for that summer road trip, you're not alone. But before you start your engine, you gotta get your car road-trip ready. So we spoke with Shahe Koullouklan, auto expert and owner of Mazvo Auto in Phoenix, Arizona, to learn how. And it starts with being proactive. So take your car into a repair shop ahead of your road trip.
"Take it into a repair shop and say, 'hey, check my car out. I'm ready to take a trip.' Whether it's five miles or 50 miles or 3,000 miles, make sure to have your spare tire. All the fluids, belts, hoses, all the crucial things that are gonna make you get stuck on the side of the road. You want to be on top. You're ready and you're not surprised."
Next, prep an emergency kit.
"So with summer heat, things happen. You could have a blowout. You may be stuck on the side of the road. Sometimes accidents are inevitable, but you wanna make sure that you're prepared. Have an emergency kit set. Basically lots of water, a protein bar, jumper cables, and an extra battery charger. Having extra water is great. Not only for you, but for the car as well. If you have a coolant leak or, vehicles overheating, you wanna make sure you have enough water to get you going to the next stop or maybe the next exit or even at a repair shop."
"Hazard triangles, road flares are crucial because you wanna let drivers know that, hey, you're stuck on the side of the road. A good rule of thumb is to open up the hood and the trunk. That way people can see, hey, something is not right rather than just sitting in the car."
Shahe's third tip: protect your eyes.
"Sun's glare on the side mirrors is very common because depending on which direction you're driving, that will glare and bounce right back into your eyes. So you wanna make sure that before you even take your road trip, you know how to set your side view mirror. If you set it correctly, you're not gonna get that sun glare. So the rule of thumb again is to tilt your head to one side and make sure that you have the side view mirror aimed at the back of the vehicle."
Finally, attention to tires is a must.
"By going down to the tire and follow the actual size. You'll see a circle with four digits. That's the little secret code that tells you when that tire was made. Anything, five years or older, you gotta replace. And if they're not that old and they're two to three years old, you want to see how thick they are. Basically, grab an old copper penny, and flip it upside down to where Lincoln's head is inserted inside the actual tread line. And if you can't see his head, you're good. The minute you see his half or more of his head, Lincoln's head, it's time to replace that tire."
We're taking in sunshine from the open road with a summer-ready car!
