Master Auto Repair and Detailing

Is Your Car Ready for Winter?

The first frost has come and gone, and winter is almost upon us. Here's a short list of essential steps to make sure your car is ready to get you through to springtime.

First, test your car battery. When the weather gets cold, your car's engine needs more power to get started--and at the same time, your battery's ability to crank the engine is reduced. On a cold morning in January, your battery has about 75 percent of the juice it had when you started your car in the summertime. If you don't own a battery tester ($25-75 at most auto parts stores), ask your mechanic to test it for you. They shouldn't charge you more than a few dollars, and many repair shops will do it for free. While you car is there, have them check your antifreeze levels.

Winter weather dramatically cuts down on visibility. Make sure that you can see, and that others can see you. Get a helper and have them visually verify that your headlights, brake lights, and all your blinkers and signal lights are in proper working order. Speaking of visibility, if you haven't replaced your windshield wiper blades since last winter, now is the time to do it. Wiper blades have a lifespan of about a year. This is an easy and inexpensive auto maintenance task that almost anyone can do themselves.

If your budget allows it, invest in a set of winter tires and have your auto care professional mount and balance them. On cold and icy roads, winter tires will provide better handling and a shorter stopping distance than all-season tires. It's time to consider mounting winter tires once the daytime high temperature drops below 45 degrees.

[Photo credit: thematthewknot via Flickr under CC-BY-2.0 license]