Spring is the perfect time to get your vehicle ready for the active summer driving season ahead. It's wise to have your vehicle checked out before summer's intense vacation traffic and stop-and-go situation begin earnestly.

The professionals at the nonprofit National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence offer the guidelines below on getting your vehicle ready:

* Read the owner's guide and follow the recommended service schedules. Watch out "regular" vs. "severe" schedules planned, and find out which is appropriate for your driving conditions and practice.

* Look for an orderly repair facility with recent equipment in the service bays and qualified automotive technicians being staff, as shown by trade school qualifications, credentials of advanced course work and training, as well as national certification of the individual technicians by ASE.

* Wash out and refill the cooling system (radiator) according to the service manual's recommendations. The level, state and concentration of the coolant should be checked periodically. Make sure the engine has cooled down before taking off the radiator cap. Engine overheating is the most recurrent summer breakdown.

* Have engine performance conditions corrected, such as hard starts, harsh idling and stalling. You'll get better gasoline mileage, and you could prevent more costly repairs.

* Don't neglect your transmission and brakes. Costly repairs can be avoided by regular service. Neglected brakes can cause safety issues, too.

* Seek out an experienced auto technician to check the condition of belts, clamps and hoses, but be proactive by looking for signs of deterioration.

* Have a marginally operating air conditioner system serviced by a technician qualified to deal with refrigerants. Older units often contain ozone-depleting substances that could be emitted into the air through inappropriate or incompetent service.

* Change the oil and oil filter as specified in the owner's manual. This straightforward, inexpensive service can increase the life of your vehicle.

* Replace other filters (air, fuel, PCV) as suggested in the service manual.

* Inspect the condition of tires, including the spare. Let the tires "cool down" prior to checking their pressure. Uneven wear, "cupping", vibrations or "pulling" to one side implies problems with your tires or suspension system.

* Replace your headlights with some good quality aftermarket headlights. Good custom headlights or even just a nice new set of H11 bulbs for your standard lights will make a vast difference when you're traveling in dark. Hardly ever do you realize how dim your headlights are until you upgrade. It is likely that the winter road grim has damaged your lenses to the point where they really need to be replaced.

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