If you drive a minivan, you’re in good company. The popularity of minivans is back in the news for good reasons. Roomy enough for lots of passengers and pets, they also provide a lot of storage, get decent gas mileage, and offer lots of safety features.
Here are some minivan-exclusive maintenance tips to take care of this spring.
Under Body Check
The body of a minivan tends to be lower to the ground as compared to trucks or other passenger vehicles. While being lower to the ground provides additional safety, it also poses some extra maintenance checkpoints.
While driving over speed bumps, potholes and other road challenges, the lower body style may not maneuver as well while encountering them on the road. Hitting a pothole, speed bump or curb with a minivan could cause serious damage to the underbody.
Another potential maintenance issue due to being lower to the ground is the amount of salty water, dirt, and debris that can end up in the undercarriage. Excessive water can potentially cause rust and other damage to the vehicle finish and metal found under your minivan.
It’s important to keep the vehicle clean by routinely washing off ocean salt spray, mud, and debris from underneath your minivan. This helps keep the paint finish intact in addition to avoiding other potential auto body or mechanical issues.
Keep Safety Features Safe
The safety features of minivans are designed with the safety of families in mind. From safety sensors in the bumpers to extra airbags, lane departure and collision warning systems.
Those extra safety features are available through sensors located throughout the vehicle and auto body.
What you may not realize is that by hitting a curb, pothole and experiencing a fender bender or accident, these sensors may become damaged. Undetected hidden damage to any of the safety features of your minivan is dangerous when you’re relying on them.
Taking your minivan in for a spring checkup should include the inspection of all safety features. If you’ve been involved in any kind of an accident, take the vehicle in for an inspection right away.
Sliding Doors
One of the best and most convenient features of a minivan is the sliding door. It makes loading and unloading your crew and gear a lot faster and easier than other passenger vehicles.
While these sliding doors are literally timesavers, they do require routine maintenance to keep them working properly and lasting for the life of your minivan.
Each spring and at each oil change, inspect those sliding doors. If they don’t close properly, stick or are in any way difficult to operate, it’s time for a maintenance check.
Sliding doors need to be clean and properly lubricated to stay in top working condition.
The electric motor components used to power automatic doors can go bad or malfunction. This is a serious issue if the doors don’t open, close, or latch properly. While it’s tempting to try to fix mechanical issues with a sliding door yourself, it’s far better to have a professional inspect and repair the issue.
Conclusion
There’s no doubt that minivans offer a roomy and safe option for you and your family when traveling to events and activities this spring.
This spring, schedule a full-service inspection of your minivan. To repair and restore your vehicle after a collision or freshen up your minivan paint, contact Downtown Autobody in Rohnert Park.
