Get your vehicle Road Ready for the summer travel season
The summer travel season is here, and so is dreaming about your family’s next trip to the beach, mountains or summer concert.
As part of that planning, ensuring your vehicle is ready for the trip is an important part of the process. Nothing puts a damper on vacation quicker than stranding yourself on the roadside in heat and humidity awaiting a tow truck, especially for a preventable mechanical issue that could have been resolved just a few days before.
Avoid the potential travel pitfalls and get your vehicle Road Ready for your family’s big vacation getaway.
To learn more about this FREE offering at participating Hendrick Automotive Dealerships, the HendrickCars.com blog spoke with team member, Chris Deyton, assistant service manager at Hendrick BMW of Northlake in Charlotte.
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“It’s a great program for us to be able to look at your car, and see things you may not be aware of,” Deyton said. “These checks make sure everything is safe for you and your family before you head out on the road. We see these vehicles day in and day out, and know all the nuances on each of them. We know what issues go with each model, and our team knows exactly what to look for.”
The Road Ready inspection is comprehensive, checking on vital areas of operation such as battery, tires, fluids and cooling system, along with a multi-point inspection that evaluates every aspect of your vehicle. This service intends to catch anything that could give a driver trouble during an upcoming trip, with the added benefit of extending the life of your vehicle if any impending maintenance is needed.
“Our cars (BMW’s) have a lot of sensors which will tell you a lot of information, but not everything,” said Deyton, who notes that this applies to most modern vehicles. “There are certain things with fluids, cooling system, brakes … things just happen. A quick service – which is free – to come in here and let us get a chance to look at your car. We will keep you informed so you make the best decisions for your vehicle.”
So which areas are particularly important to stay on top of maintenance-wise?
“Batteries on modern cars don’t work the same as they did on older vehicles,” Deyton said. ”Older cars used to have slower starts or weaker starts. Nowadays, vehicle batteries work more like cordless drills. They work great up until they don’t. A lot of times there really is no warning, either. The Road Ready check is an opportunity for us to look it over and let you know if you are on the cusp on needing one – or are you good to go.
“With fuel efficiency and all the modern cars, cooling systems have gotten more and more complicated,” Deyton added. “There are four and five times more hoses and connections than there used to be. For example, you might get a low coolant light on and it might tell you what is going on, but there are areas the system doesn’t check. If you get an overheat warning, you will have to pull your car over and wait on the side of the road. Cars are really complex and there’s a lot of systems to check. Some shops don’t have the technology we have to understand what may be going on with your vehicle.”
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The other area of concern is your tires. Not only are compromised tires a significant safety issue, any trouble in this area can also hurt a vehicle’s fuel efficiency and usability if something unexpected happens. It's among the many items located at the bottom half of your car that are often hard to detect but still very important to your vehicle’s operation.
“One of the big items during the Road Ready inspection is tires,” Deyton said. “Our cars are set up very aggressively, and a lot of times you cannot see how tires are performing unless you get the vehicle (on a lift). It is really important to look over your tires.
“Also, brake warnings will not come on until you need brakes, and it’s good to know if they are coming up soon or not. Any type of undercarriage damage, things that are loose or leaking. Your car has a lot of underbody panels that catch a lot of fluids, so you may not know something is leaking – until we are able to look at it.”
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If you are looking for that extra peace of mind before heading on your summer adventure, we encourage you to make Road Ready an important part of your pre-trip checklist. Click the schedule service link above and get your vehicle ready to go.
“Sometimes it is nothing more than a top off, other times it could be an indication of a problem,” Deyton said. “Even though you might think its routine service, it might be a forewarning of a bigger issue. Something as simple as a top-off could save you a lot of headaches.”
Remember, you can take any make or model to any one of our dealership locations.
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