What could be more frustrating than a car that doesnt start on a cold Monday morning? We know! You are on your way to your work, the engine is slightly sluggish, but before you could cover half the distance to your work place, your engine completely stalls and wont start. You are clueless it could be a problem with the engine, or the battery might be dead or it could be something thing else that is causing the problem. If you dont want to put yourself in such a grave situation, you should make sure that your car is properly winterized. When you are going out during the winter, it is necessary for you to wear gloves, boots and put on your coat; similarly you need to also gear up your car for the harsh winter months.
We have listed the top 5 tips below to prepare your car for the winter.
#1 Antifreeze
It is the fluorescent green liquid found inside your radiator. This is very important to keep your car running and helps remove waste heat. Pop your hood and locate your radiator and remove its cap. The liquid should always be full, if there is less liquid, top it. A good mix contains 50 percent water and 50 percent antifreeze liquid. Performing a radiator flush is also advisable.
#2 Check The Battery
If you dont have the luxury of parking your vehicle inside a garage and park it outdoors, you need to check the battery on a regular basis since winter puts a lot of stress on your battery. If need be, charge it to avoid starting failures in the mornings. If charging the battery doesnt seem to help and if you still get that sinking feeling when you turn the ignition, your battery could have already set one foot in the grave. You should replace it to avoid all shortcomings.
#3 Tires
Bear in mind that you are likely to ride your car over a patch of snow, and you will not always have the grip and traction of the tarmac. Make sure your tires have enough tread depth to trample snow. If your tires are cheap and do not have enough tread depth, you might as well change them. A safe depth is 2/32 and a depth of 4/32 is pretty good to tackle the unpredictable road during the cold months. You dont really need any fancy tools to figure out the depth. You can quite easily find the tread depth using a coin. It is also advised to check the tire pressure at least once a week.
#4 Equip Yourself
You could have the necessary tools to change out a flat wheel. However, you should equip yourself well during winter. Make sure you have a bottle of engine oil, coolant for radiator, torch, and washer fluid. An ice scraper could also come very handy if you happen to live in a place where it will snow heavily during the winter. Also throw in a thick and warm blanket into the boot, just in case if your vehicles heating system is not working.
#5 Wiper
Wiper blades usually can last for a year or two. Consider changing the wipers, if they are pretty old to tackle snow fall and rain. Also, when you park the vehicle, pop the wipers up so that they are not in direct contact with the windshield. This can help you scrape the snow off your windshield easily.
Author Bio:
Aiden Korr is an automobile enthusiast and writes for many automobile blogs and journals on the internet.
