You should regularly be informally inspecting your car or getting a professional to do it, especially before you go on any long trips. There are far too many things that can go wrong if you don’t catch them before they’re serious, so preventive maintenance is key. And of all the things that can suddenly go wrong with your car, one of the most common and important issues is your tires.
Tires play an essential role in controlling the motion of your car and keeping it on the road. They’re the physical point of contact between your car and the road, which also means they can be subject to a lot of wear and tear from environmental conditions. Take the time to read these tips about regular tire problems so you can be prepared to fix a problem when it starts or react quickly if it happens suddenly.
Tire Inflation
Ideally, you should do a spot-check of your car tires for adequate inflation nearly every time you get in the car. Before you leave town for a longer trip, you should also take the time to check the air on the tires and refill them if needed. Too much air or an uneven distribution of air can lead to unexpected damage to the tires and to the car itself later on. Not enough air is likely to lead to a flat tire.
If you find yourself consistently finding one tire to be lower in air than the others, you may want to have it checked for leaks. Nevertheless, getting a sudden flat tire from something on the road once in a while is inevitable, so you should be sure to keep your spare tire in good shape, too.
Tread Issues
Be sure to regularly check the surface of your tires for unusual wear and tear as well. Excessive cracks in the tire or dents and unevenness in the tread should be addressed before they cause you any real trouble while you’re driving. Damage can lead to problems while driving or an unexpected flat tire, and often damage like this can be an outward sign of some other problem with the car, such as an issue with the alignment or suspension.
Other Issues
Something else to watch out for, especially when the tires are being adjusted or repaired for any reason, is the connection of the tires to the car itself. In some cases, an inadequate repair job or a sloppy tire rotation can leave a tire loose. If not caught and fixed, your tire could fall off while driving and cause an accident. Securing your tires depends on the lugnuts, the hub, and the axle. The simplest cause of this sort of accident is when the lug nuts on a tire are not tightened enough. However, a fracture in the hub or axle that leaves the tire spinning can be easier to miss if those parts aren’t regularly inspected.
