Car Maintenance Tips For The Winter

When it comes to taking care of your vehicle, it needs love and attention too! This is especially true during the winter months as the cold weather tends to make pliable materials stiffer, more brittle and can even make your fluids thicker. Like humans, a car needs regular car care maintenance to stay running healthy. I know you are like me and you do NOT want to break down when it is COLD outside. Below you will find some car maintenance tips for the winter that you should always keep in mind.

Car Maintenance Tips For The Winter

Below are some helpful winter auto care tips that you will want to keep in mind:

1. Check the wiper blades on your vehicle to see if they need replaced. The hot summer days can really do sun damage to your blades depending on how hot they get. The cold weather can also do damage and make the blades brittle. Depending on where you live, ice that is on the windshield can also cause nicks in your blades that will decrease their performance.
2. Check your fluids, especially your antifreeze which is important for your car during the winter months. Your car’s radiator should contain a mix of half water and half coolant. You will also want to make sure you keep your windshield wiper fluid full too!
3. Have your battery checked. When you use your heater, wipers and even your lights you are putting pressure on your battery so be sure that your terminals are free from corrosion.
4. Make sure your brakes are good! The average braking distance when driving is doubled in wet conditions and even up to 10 times further when you are driving in snow.
5. Inspect your vehicle’s headlights and taillights and make sure to replace any that are out.
6. Check the pressure in your tires. You always want to make sure you have the right amount of air because “too much” or “too little” may bring you problems and the last thing you want is a flat tire on a cold winter day.

If you are uncomfortable doing any of these suggestions yourself  on your vehicle there are plenty of auto care service shops that are there to help for a price. If you have a car that has more problems than it is worth, there is always the options to junk a car! By getting rid of your car that has problems you can earn money from it that you can use towards buying a more reliable car!