As the recently passed winter approached last fall, it was a really good idea to bring your car, truck or SUV into a McHenry auto repair shop to ensure that it was ready for the winter ahead. Hopefully, you did so. And, if you did so, it’s almost certain your car, truck or SUV made out better than it would have as you drove your way through winter. But, as mentioned above, winter is now over.

Winter is over and we’re enjoying that blessed season known as Springtime. And spring, as usual, is followed by summer.

A McHenry summer has a largely different kind of effect on your vehicle. Instead of dealing with the effects of frigid weather, ice and snow; in the summer, our car, truck or SUV deals with the effects of hot weather – potentially very hot.

Just as you prepare your car, truck or SUV for winter, you need to prepare it for summer, too. This includes:

• Checking the coolant, which you also referred to as antifreeze in the winter
• Checking the belts and hoses
• Checking your tires and tire pressure
• Switching back to all-season tires if you ran snow tires in the winter
• Checking you suspension and steering
• Checking your air conditioning
• Changing the oil on schedule

That’s a fairly exhaustive list. But it’s not really a big deal. When you bring your car in for its next oil change, you can have your trusted auto repair shop check your car, truck or SUV to ensure that all of those systems and components are ready for summer.

It stinks to breakdown in the winter where you’re forced to try to stay warm while waiting for help to arrive. It’s the same thing but different when you’re trying to stay cool on a 98-degree day. And those Dog Days of Summer are coming.

Having your car, truck or SUV checked out now means that you’re heading into the coming McHenry summer without having to worry about whether your vehicle is up to the challenge. You can think about other things, such as how you’ll spend your time enjoying the season.