Want more tips for keeping your Lexus in top shape? Here are some blogs you should check out:
3 Signs Your Tires Need to Be Replaced
3 Signs Your Brake Pads & Rotors Need Replacing
How to Know When It’s Time for a Wheel Alignment
1. Check All Your Fluids
Fluids are the lifeblood of every system in your vehicle, and a long highway drive in summer heat puts all of them under more strain than your typical city commute.
- Engine oil: If you're within a few thousand kilometres of your next oil change interval, do it before you leave rather than after. Fresh oil provides better protection against heat and friction on extended drives. If you'll be towing or driving in particularly hot conditions, a full synthetic oil is worth the modest extra cost for the additional thermal protection it provides.
- Coolant: This prevents your engine from overheating, which is a real risk on long summer highway drives, particularly if your cooling system hasn't been serviced in a while. Check the reservoir level and the condition of the fluid. Murky, rust-coloured coolant has broken down and needs a flush, not just a top-up.
- Brake fluid: This absorbs moisture over time, which lowers its boiling point and can cause a spongy pedal feel, particularly under sustained braking on downhill stretches. If it's been more than two years since your last brake fluid flush, now is the time.
Also, check your transmission fluid, power steering fluid, and windshield washer fluid. The latter goes quickly on highway drives behind transport trucks, so top it up with a full-strength summer formula before you leave.
2. Inspect Your Tires
Tires are your only contact with the road, and they affect everything from fuel economy and handling to emergency stopping distance. Check each one for the following:
- Pressure: Check when cold, before driving, using the recommended PSI from the sticker inside your driver's door jamb. Underinflated tires generate excess heat at highway speeds, increasing the risk of a blowout.
- Tread depth: Anything less than 3.5 mm (4/32 of an inch) is getting into genuinely risky territory, especially on wet roads. Use the toonie test or a tread depth gauge. Uneven wear across the tread face often signals an alignment issue worth addressing before a long drive.
- Condition: Inspect the sidewalls for cracking, bulging, or any embedded objects. A sidewall bulge is a blowout waiting to happen and should be replaced immediately.
- The spare: Check that it's properly inflated, and make sure the jack and tools are present and functional before you leave the driveway.
3. Test Your Battery
Summer heat is harder on batteries as it accelerates internal corrosion and can finish off a battery that winter has already weakened. If your battery is three years old or more, or your vehicle has been slow to start recently, have it tested before your trip.
Look for clean, tight terminals free of white or greenish corrosion buildup. A battery that fails on a remote stretch of highway is a significantly worse problem than one that fails in a parking lot near home.
4. Check Your Brakes
Brakes are your most important safety system, and they deserve more than a visual check. Squealing, grinding, a pulsating pedal, or a car that pulls to one side under braking are all signs that your brakes need attention before a long trip, not after.
If you're towing a trailer, or carrying a full load of passengers and luggage, your brakes will be under considerably more strain than usual. Have your pads, rotors, and fluid inspected together.
5. Inspect Belts, Hoses, and Filters
These are the components that drivers most often skip but cause the most dramatic roadside breakdowns when they fail.
- Serpentine belt: A snapped serpentine belt stops the water pump, alternator, and power steering simultaneously. Inspect it for cracking, fraying, or glazing. If it looks questionable, replace it.
- Coolant hoses: Squeeze the radiator hoses and heater hoses. They should feel firm and pliable, not stiff and brittle or soft and spongy. Check where they attach to the engine and radiator.
- Engine air filter: A clogged air filter restricts airflow to the engine, reducing performance and fuel economy on highway drives. Hold it up to the light; if you can't see through it, replace it before you leave.
6. Check Your Lights
From early departures to late arrivals, your lighting system keeps you visible and legal on the road. Walk around your vehicle and check headlights (low and high beam), brake lights, turn signals, hazard lights, and reverse lights.
In Ontario, a burned-out headlight is a ticketable offence, and it's a two-minute fix when you're at home, versus a much bigger problem when you're three provinces away.
7. Test Your Air Conditioning
A functioning A/C system is about more than comfort on a hot July afternoon. Driver fatigue sets in significantly faster in an overheated cabin. If your A/C is blowing warm air, producing weak airflow, or making unusual noises, it may need a refrigerant top-up or a cabin filter replacement before your trip. Both are quick-service items.
Book Your Pre-Trip Service at Lexus Downtown
Heading out this summer? Let our service team at Lexus Downtown make sure your vehicle is ready before you go. A pre-trip inspection covers all the essentials like fluids, tires, brakes, battery, belts, and more! Book your service appointment online or contact us today!
