8 tips for servicing your car after a summer road trip

REUTERS/Robert Galbraith

1915 Ford Model T.

• Long road trips are a staple of the American summer, but they can cause extensive wear-and-tear on your vehicle, leading to a shorter operating life and costly repairs and maintenance.
• With proper post-road trip service, you can minimize the deleterious effects a long road trip has on your vehicle.
• One of the best ways to keep your car in good shape after a long, multiday drive is to thoroughly clean the car both inside and out, protecting the body and the interior against cosmetic damage, mold, and other issues.
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The summer road trip is an iconic American institution.

Whether a cross-country tour with the family, a trip to the beach with friends, or the long haul home from college when the second semester ends, American motorists log millions of collective miles on those summer road trips. A US Department of Transportation study found that the average recreational summer road trip sees an average of a 314-mile drive one-way on such trips, or more than 600 miles in total. Many trips, of course, measure well into the thousands of miles.

Road trips can be enjoyable and relatively inexpensive compared with air travel, but they can do a number on the car, truck, or SUV logging all those miles. To keep your vehicle in its best possible shape, you need to complete a number of car care tasks after the long drive is over, and these go beyond the routine maintenance you offer a commuter vehicle.

Here are the steps to take to service a car after a long summer road trip.