How to Prep Your Vehicle for Mountain Driving

Aug 11, 2023

Today is Mountain Day! Instead of giving you a list of destinations near and far, we’re going to help you get ready to take the road less traveled with these great service tips to prep your vehicle for mountain roadways instead! Let’s look at how to get our vehicles in tip-top shape for those challenging steep slopes and death defying curves.

Have you recently gone on a journey ascending or descending from a mountain summit? Let our readers know your experience and tips and tricks in the comments!

Bring your car in for a tuneup before you hit the road. Be sure to have your fluids changed and topped off, tires rotated and balanced, an engine tune-up, brakes checked, and that your tires are properly inflated to pressure. Taking preemptive measures for a service appointment before you embark on your mountain travel will save you time, money, and aggravation in the long run.

Prepare for emergencies with a fully stocked emergency kit. Be sure to stock up your spare emergency kit with first aid supplies, a tire patch kit, battery charger, emergency flashlights, road salt and/or gravel, a spare shovel, shelf stable food and water, warm clothing, various tools and safety gear for fixing flats and vehicle maintenance. You can purchase a fully loaded kit online, or assemble your own.

Be prepared to tackle mountain roads. Driving up and down mountains and navigating the bends and dips on the route can really keep you guessing. Be ready for anything, and take extra caution. Stay on your side of the road, and leave a little extra room between you and the vehicle in front of you; don’t tailgate or pass anyone on blind curves! You’ll want to be prepared for sudden stops and short braking. Look out for dirt and debris on the roadways, and potential hazards like water, mud, and snow. Make sure to engage your parking brake when you’re pulling over to the side of the road to take in the view or if there’s an emergency, and place some rocks behind your tires to help prevent rolling back downhill. If drivers behind you become impatient, it’s better to pull over to the side and let them pass so you can maintain proper speed.

Keep your eyes peeled for special signage. Mountain roadways present additional hazards than your average residential or city street. Make sure that you keep an eye out for animal crossings, as well as any steep graded roads, flooding areas, boulders or rocks falling, and other unpredictable foils of nature.

Bring a Map and prepare for low-signal on GPS and SmartPhones. In this modern day and age, it’s all too easy to rely on our technology to do the navigation work for us. However, when driving up and down mountains and tucked away roadways, we’ll need to rely on manual navigation in case we lose reception. Make sure you carry a local atlas and road map so you can plot your route before you leave, and refer to it to find alternate routes if need be on the fly with no reception to magically get you through. It can also help to have a physical compass to denote the direction of your path, and help orient your spot on the map.

Save your brakes and your engine from overworking. If you notice your car is struggling to make it up a steep incline, shift your vehicle into a lower gear to allow you to maintain constant speed. If you need to brake frequently, pull over if you smell any questionable burning aromas; this will prevent you from burning out the brakes or getting into an accident. Keep cool by rolling your windows down and turning off the AC to prevent overheating from making your engine work double time; likewise, if you notice it overheating you can blast the vehicle’s heat system to draw heat away from the engine until you can safely pull over. Let your car rest at the summit or idle for a short period, allowing it to cool off and reducing the strain.