Support for Car Talk is provided by:
Become a Car Talk Sponsor

Click and Clack's Summer Driving Tips

Introduction
1: The Cooling System
2: The Tires
3: The Front End
4: Change the Oil
5: Air Conditioning System
6: Check the Tranny
Some Other Stuff to Think About
List to Take to the Mechanic

Any time you take a road trip, you should check out all the basics. In the summertime, most folks tend to take trips farther from home, and traveling greater distances means a greater likelihood of a breakdown.

So, what should be on the preflight summer checklist? Well, here's the list. If you don't feel competent to check these things yourself, you can print out an abbreviated version of the list and bring it to your mechanic.