Travel Prep: How to Perform a Pre-Trip Inspection on Your Car for Holiday Travel

When you have family spread out over the states, even one state, your calender year isn't broken down into months. It's broken down into holidays and the noted times of travel. When planning for a trip, there is always a laundry list of items that are needed and things to do to make sure you forget absolutely nothing when you finally walk out and lock that door behind you. Unfortunately people rarely consider making a pre-trip inspection on their automobile a part of the planning process. Bypassing a quick inspection of your vehicle is an open-invitation to find yourself broken down on the side of the road. With Murphy's Law, you can almost guarantee that it'll be a few miles from civilization if you're making a long trip. You can do a lot to avoid the costly fees of towing and small services by being proactive and following a few simple steps to inspect your car.

A good walk-around and inspection of your vehicle usually won't take more than 30 minutes, though it's entirely dependent on how familiar you are with the family truckster. Now, just because you drove it yesterday and the day before and the day before that doesn't mean that it's going to run fine for you tomorrow. Consider each item listed, and take the time to check on each.

The first thing you should do, especially if your vehicle sat overnight, is to start it up and take it for a short drive. A few blocks is enough. When you return home, shut the engine off with the vehicle in park and check your oil. Pull the dipstick, wipe it clean with a clean shop towel (napkins and paper towels can leave lint). Once you wipe it clean, replace the dipstick then remove it again and check the oil. Look for color, weight and level. Your oil should be relatively clear and light in color. It should have the consistency of a thin syrup. If it's thick and dark or black, and dirty consider an oil change immediately even if you just recently had one. If the color and weight is fine, but its low, add the appropriate amount to fill it. It's not recommended that you add fresh oil to old dirty oil.