Keep your vehicle’s moving parts moving

It’s amazing the number of features automakers pack into new vehicles these days that consumers seldom (or never) use: think rear door latches, rear seatbelts, door lock cylinders, zone climate controls and the like. The problem is, these all involve moving parts and, as the saying goes, if you don’t move it (or use it), you’ll lose it.

Before you pawn off that job to your mechanic, consider that even the best and most attentive technician, armed with the industry’s slipperiest lubricants, won’t do that rear door hinge a pinch of good unless it’s exercised more than once in a while.

A simple walk-around you can do once or twice a month — and it takes less than a minute or two — will help. Unless you regularly carry rear-seat passengers, pop open the rear doors, and latch and unlatch the seat belts. This will not only keep the hinges from getting stiff, but will also ensure the door and belt latches work properly, and keep the weather seals from bonding to the door frames.

Even if you only have a key fob and push-button start, you still need to exercise your vehicle’s lock cylinders. Your keyless-entry system is useless if your battery is dead and your lock cylinders have seized up with non-use, especially those on a liftgate or deck lid. All it takes is one or two turns with the key in the cylinder to keep those tiny tumblers moving.

Some drivers are afraid of moving their seats lest they lose that perfectly comfortable position. But sooner or later, some six-foot-four parking attendant or mechanic is going to climb behind the wheel, and then you’ll be forced to find out how easy it is to get your butt back in the groove. Seat tracks are exposed to just as much corrosion-causing moisture and salt as any exterior part, and their design hasn’t changed in materials or construction in decades. So move that seat back and forth a few times.

Then work those climate control knobs and buttons. Climate control systems don’t have as many problems as they used to, as automakers found out years ago that metal components don’t do well in these environments. But some carmakers still use metal hinges on the inner doors that control where the air comes out, and even all-plastic units can suffer from non-use when foam seals stick to their casings. Exercising these bits is as effortless as pushing a few buttons from time to time to move the mode doors.

If you run into a few sticky wickets during these routines, don’t go overboard with lubricant. Excess lube can attract more grit and dirt, thus causing more problems than it solves. Keep it light: good old WD40 should be in every driver’s arsenal.