Fall puts a lot of Middle Tennessee families on the road. Leaf season pulls people east toward the Smokies and the Blue Ridge. The Natchez Trace fills up on weekends. Then Thanksgiving arrives and half of Williamson County is driving somewhere for four days.
All of it means covering more miles in one weekend than you normally drive in two weeks, often in weather that’s less forgiving than what you’ve had since April.
That combination finds weak spots. A tire that’s perfectly fine for the commute to Cool Springs is a different proposition at 70 miles an hour for six hours on wet pavement with a loaded trunk.
Tires
Check your pressure before you drive anywhere, while the tires are still cold, and set it to the number printed on the sticker inside your driver’s door rather than the number molded into the tire itself. Cooler fall temperatures pull pressure down on their own, so tires that read correctly in August are probably low right now. An underinflated tire runs hot, wears out faster, and takes longer to stop you on wet pavement.
Then look at the tread. It should be wearing evenly all the way across. Wear concentrated on one edge means your alignment is off, and highway miles make that worse quickly. Check the spare while you’re at it, since a lot of spares have been quietly flat for years.
Read more: Why Your Tire Pressure Light Comes On Every Fall
Brakes
Mountain grades and holiday traffic ask far more of your brakes than a daily commute does, and long descents heat them up in a way flat driving never will.
Listen for squealing, which is usually a built-in wear indicator telling you the pads are getting thin. Feel for a pulsing through the pedal when you slow down, which points to warped or worn rotors. And notice whether the pedal travels farther toward the floor than it used to. Any of those are worth handling before you leave rather than partway down a grade outside Gatlinburg.
Read more: Wet Leaves, Short Days, and Why Fall Is Brake Season
Fluids, belts, and hoses
Check oil, coolant, transmission fluid, brake fluid, power steering, and washer fluid. Condition matters as much as level. Dark gritty oil or rusty-looking coolant is telling you something a level check won’t.
Look at the belt on the front of the engine for cracks running across the grooved side, and for a shiny polished look that means it’s been slipping. Squeeze the radiator hoses when the engine is completely cool. They should feel firm and spring back. Soft and spongy, or stiff and brittle, means the rubber has broken down.
Read more: Belts and Hoses: Summer Aged Them, Winter Will Break Them
Battery
Get it tested before you go. Summer heat wears batteries out from the inside, and the damage stays hidden until cooler weather exposes it. A battery that starts your car reliably in your own driveway can still strand you in a hotel parking lot three hundred miles from home. If yours is more than three years old, or you’ve needed a jump start at any point this year, don’t take it on a long trip untested.
Read more: Your Battery Survived Summer. Will It Survive November?
Lights and wipers
Fall means earlier sunsets and more rain, so this matters more than it did in July. Walk around the car with someone helping and check headlights, brake lights, turn signals, and reverse lights. Brake lights are the ones people miss, because you can’t see them from the driver’s seat.
Then look at your wiper blades. A summer of direct sun bakes the rubber hard, and a blade that smears instead of clearing is a real hazard in a downpour at night on the interstate.
The easier option
You can do all of this yourself in the driveway with an hour and a flashlight. Or you can bring it here and let a technician put it on a lift and check what you simply can’t see from above, like a leaking seal, a worn suspension part, or brake pads that are thinner than they look through the wheel.
Our complimentary inspection covers this ground. If we find something, you’ll get a clear explanation of what it is, whether it’s urgent, and what it costs. If we don’t find anything, you leave knowing the car is ready.
Call before you pack the car
The week before a holiday fills up fast. Booking early means you get the appointment you want instead of whatever’s left.
Schedule Your Service at Franklin Automotive
Franklin Automotive has served Franklin, Brentwood, Cool Springs, Spring Hill, Columbia, and Leiper’s Fork since 1999. We’re a family-owned NAPA AutoCare Center with ASE-certified technicians, and every qualifying repair is backed by our 3-year / 36,000-mile warranty. We also offer a free shuttle and complimentary inspections.
Call (615) 472-8052 or visit us at 307 5th Ave N, Franklin, TN 37064. We’re open Monday through Friday, 7:00 AM to 5:00 PM.
