Spring is one of the most important times of the year you should have your care serviced. Winter is harsh here in Calgary and last winter was no exception. Springs are tricky as well, you never know what kind of weather you’re going to get. One morning it looks like the nice weather is here to stay and then by the afternoon you have snow on the ground again.

But one thing you can count on in the spring. It gradually gets warmer and warmer. Let me guess, your thinking “What does that have to with my car, it’s warmer so it needs less love”. Not true. Your vehicle has a few major systems that are constantly working and constantly wearing. But your engine is the heart of it all. If your engine doesn’t run.. you aren’t going anywhere and you might as well not have a car, not to mention you will be faced with a huge bill when fixing it.

So the first thing to look at for service in the spring is an oil change with filters. This is the most important thing you need to do when servicing your car in the spring. The reason is that in the winter, or before the cold hits, preferably you want to run thinner oil. If your car goes to the shop in the fall, then that is what they are doing when they change your oil. We – all shops – replace your oil for the cold months with one that has a lower viscosity. This means it’s not as thick and as the oil gets colder it gets thicker on its own. This directly contributes to your car not starting when it’s really cold. The oil is too thick to move through the engine parts and basically glues everything together. We avoid this from happening by putting in thinner oil.

But as the weather warms up, that thin oil is not helping your engine anymore. In fact, it’s hurting it. Just as oil gets thicker when it’s cold, it gets thinner as it gets warmer. So you can imagine, if you’re already running thin oil, it will just get thinner and thinner as the weather gets hotter. The result being your car’s engine isn’t getting the protection it needs from the friction caused by all the components moving at the high speeds they do within your engine. More friction means greater chances of something vital breaking. That is why it’s no joke when getting your oil changed. And of course, your filter needs to be part of that since it’s been filled with the thinner oil from the winter. You want to start with everything fresh, clean and the right grade of oil for the season you are driving in.

Another important reason to have your car serviced or at least looked at by a professional in the spring is winter’s play their toll on your car’s systems. Heck, the cold plays a toll on our bodies, how can it not cause a few issues with your car? The dramatic cold again is harder on your car’s brakes, shocks, struts, ball joints, bearings,belts and all manner of pieces we couldn’t possibly mention here. But the ones that are safety issues and the components that will cause break-downs later if not caught and fixed are the ones that really need to be looked at to make sure they are still in good working order. Brakes especially wear in the winter with the added gravel and salt that gets placed on the roads. Anything that is exposed to the cold and harnesses needs to be looked at.

Tires are another thing you should not forget about. If you run winter tires.. you definitely need to change them before too long to your summer tires as you’ll cause unnecessary wear to your winter tires. Your winter tires are expensive and you can extend the life of them by not running them too long in the good weather months.

To help customers make it more cost effective to do their spring maintenance service, Heritage Autopro has our spring service package that gives you everything you need to get rid of the nasties of winter and ready for the fun of spring. It’s a much cheaper option then trying to take care of everything separately even if you are a “do it your-selfer”.

Stop by or give us a call.

Heritage Autopro & Tire
403-258-3030
Click here to book an appointment online

Heritage Dr SE. Location:

8304 Fairmount Dr, SE
Calgary, AB, T2J 7B4

Chinook SW Location:

203, 58 Ave. SW
Calgary, T2H 0A5

At Heritage Auto & Tire we install quality NAPA replacement parts.