The short answer
Spring in Winnipeg is when winter’s damage shows up. Once the roads are dry: swap off the winter tires, have the alignment and suspension checked after pothole season, wash the salt off the underbody, inspect the brakes, check the battery that survived the cold, test the AC before the first hot week, and replace the wipers that scraped ice all winter.
Why spring is the worst season for your car
Freeze-thaw cycles in March and April open potholes faster than crews can fill them, meltwater hides them, and the snowbanks you bumped in January have left their mark on the alignment. Meanwhile the salt that collected all winter is finally wet enough to work. A spring check catches what winter did before it turns into worn tires or a seized caliper in July.
The spring checklist
- Winter tires off once daytime highs are consistently above 7°C. Inspect the winter set before storing it and note the tread depth.
- Alignment check, especially if the steering wheel is off-centre, the car pulls, or you remember a hard pothole hit.
- Suspension inspection on a lift: struts, control arms, tie rods, sway bar links. Clunks over bumps mean something is loose.
- Underbody wash to get the salt off, followed by a look for new rust on brake lines, rockers and subframes.
- Brakes: pads, rotors and caliper movement. Sticking slide pins after a salty winter are common.
- Battery test. Winter wears batteries out; spring is when a marginal one finally fails.
- Wiper blades and washer fluid. Replace blades that have been scraping ice.
- Air conditioning test before the first 30°C week. A system that lost refrigerant over winter will not cool, and an early recharge or leak repair beats a July wait.
- Cabin air filter, clogged with a winter of road grit.
- Lights and lenses, which get sandblasted by winter grit.
Combine it with the tire swap
The car is already in the air for the changeover, so a spring inspection and alignment check add little time. Tell the shop about any noises, pulls or pothole hits when you book, and ask for the alignment numbers. Garage 46 does the changeover, inspection and alignment in one visit and quotes anything it finds before touching it.