Winter is almost here, and before you know it, you’ll be driving in the snow. While New Englanders have plenty of practice driving in the winter, it’s much easier if your car is prepared for the weather. If you haven’t taken the steps to winterize your car yet, don’t worry! Come to your Concord mechanic, Weston Automotive, and we’ll get your car ready for whatever winter can throw at it.
Take these helpful tips from your Concord mechanic to ensure your car is ready to drive in the ice and snow.
Get a tune-up and top off your fluids.
Before you start seriously winterizing your car, you should check that everything is working and in good shape. Get an oil change and top off all your fluids, including coolant, windshield washer fluid, brake fluid, and any others your Concord mechanic thinks are necessary. You should check your brakes to make sure they are ready for the slippery roads. And don’t forget to check your battery! You don’t want to get stuck in the cold with a car that won’t start.
Check your tire pressure and consider snow tires.
Extreme cold can mess with your tire pressure, so check that your tires are correctly inflated and adjust them if needed. Newer cars have a sensor that will tell you if your tire pressure is off. If that tire pressure light goes off, don’t ignore it! Check your tire pressure and adjust it, especially after the first really cold night of the winter.
If you have all-weather tires, you might decide that you’re okay to keep them for the winter. Depending on the car your drive, you very well might be. Cars with all-wheel drive or 4-wheel drive often do fine with all-weather tires. But if you have a smaller car with only front- or rear-wheel drive, snow tires are a good idea.
Get new wiper blades and a fresh ice scraper.
Wiper blades wear down as you use them, especially in the winter when your windshield is covered in ice. Starting the winter off with fresh blades will save you from having to peer through a streaky windshield as you drive. And you should always have a good ice scraper on hand to get all the ice and snow off your windshield. Your scraper from last year is probably pretty dull and won’t work as well as you need it to. New ice scrapers are inexpensive and it’s easy to pick one up almost anywhere.
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