Temporary waiver on car registration and inspection expires next Wednesday
This is also the time of the year to perform post-winter maintenance on your vehicle, especially if you’ve been driving less due to coronavirus.
SAN ANTONIO — Winter weather and the pandemic have taken a toll on a lot of our vehicles. In addition to routine maintenance set aside when we weren’t driving, there are a few other items that need to be addressed before you get behind the wheel more frequently.
April is National Car Care Month, and because of the pandemic many may have put off getting their car inspected and registration renewed for an entire year. But starting next Wednesday, April 14, police can start ticketing people driving a vehicle without a current registration sticker or current registration receipt, as the temporary waiver that was put in place last March expires.
“With COVID, yeah bubba you’re right, people have been reluctant to get their inspection done,” said Aaron Criner, the General Manager of Econo Lube in San Antonio.
Many drivers have also skipped necessary maintenance because they are working from home and not putting miles on the car. Emily Voss from CARFAX public relations said, “A lot of us hit that mileage before we hit the time. But right now, when you’re not driving as much, you need to be paying attention to that time interval as well.”
Here are some maintenance tips from Mr. Transmission. Change your air filter every 15,000 miles to ensure good fuel economy and performance. Monitor your brakes for the condition and overall safety of the vehicle. Make sure windshield wipers are in good condition and your wiper fluid is full. And check transmission, coolants, braking, and steering fluids on a regular basis.
Don’t forget about your tires, even if your car hasn’t moved in months.
“When you’re when your vehicle is sitting for extended period time, all the weight of that vehicle is on one particular portion of the tire. So another good reason to take it out, roll around the block every once in a while, because that can actually, in extreme case, start to affect your tire tread itself,” said Tony Rosetto, the manager of San Antonio Firestone.
Also don’t forget to make sure your tires are properly inflated. As the weather heats up the air expands, and you don’t want to over-inflate your tires.
You can get more tips for car maintenance from Mr. Transmission here.
