Winter car maintenance tips are necessary to maintain your vehicle’s beauty, improve its performance, and increase its longevity. Of course, you should care for your car the whole year through, but winter is the time when being stranded on a sleety road at night can give you the creeps. What if no one’s out there to help you when your tires get flat? Or your battery died?

Such mishaps can be avoided if you do proper cold weather car care. How do you go about it? Read on and find out.

8 Winter Car Maintenance Tips

1. Check your wipers

When winter driving, the least you would want is to have wipers that do not work as they should. Faulty wipers won’t be able to clean your windshield properly. And we all know that dirty windshields can affect visibility, especially on those wet, winter months. If you see streaking on your windshield, hear a grating, squeaky sound, notice slow-moving blades that do not seem to touch the windshield, then, it’s high time to replace your wipers.

Also, it will be a good idea to change your windshield washer liquid into something that contains de-icers. Those with no de-icers might freeze just when you need

2. Prep up your tires

Your tires get the most beating from the road especially during winter time because they tend to deflate. So it’ll be wise to check your tires’ overall well-being before hitting the road. First, check the tire pressure. See your owner’s manual for the recommended tire pressure for your car.

Also, check the treads. A popular way to do this is by inserting a penny into the tread. Make sure it’s upside down, with Abe Lincoln’s head facing you.  If you can see all of Lincoln’s head, it’s time to change your tires. If you don’t, your car’s tires won’t have the necessary traction to prevent it from sliding on snowy roads, even if your car’s brake is working properly.

3. Choose steam cleaning

What’s the best way to melt snow that has clung to your car’s exterior? Some might say salt is the way to go. We disagree. It’s actually one of the mistakes when doing car wash in winter If  anything, salt can cause oxidation.

For better car maintenance, we recommend steam cleaning your car’s exterior instead. It’ll melt the ice and as it liquefies, will take road salt and other contaminants with it.

4. Mind your fluids

Your car’s fluids are its lifeline. Properly maintained, they can make your car function at its peak and increase its durability and longevity. If your car’s coolant is made up of 50 per cent water and 50 per cent anti-freeze, and you live in an area where the temperature occasionally drops to below zero, then change to a coolant that has a 70-30 or 60-40 blend. Here’s why: if your anti-freeze is not adjusted to your area’s climate, your car’s engine will work overtime and your gasoline consumption will increase as well.

5. Check your battery

Are you having a difficult time starting your car in winter? Chances are, your car battery isn’t prepared for cold, winter mornings. This usually occurs in batteries that are more than three years old. But no, you don’t have to change your battery right away. All it needs is a little TLC from you and some help from a battery charger.

First, check all the ports of your battery. Remove any corrosion. Apply some dielectric grease to prevent further corrosion. Then slap on those alligator clips. Charge and test.

6. Rejuvenate those headlights

Did you know that in Connecticut alone, 52,000 auto accidents in 2008 happened due to poor visibility? And poor visibility conditions are mostly caused by natural elements like sleet. Couple this with nighttime driving with a foggy, yellowish car headlight and you have a recipe for disaster.

So restore those headlights to ensure you and your loved ones’ safety on the road all year through.

7. Vehicle undercarriage cleaning

Your car’s undercarriage is especially susceptible to the ravages of winter, what with salt and other contaminants on the road.  This is why vehicle undercarriage cleaning is important. It protects your undercarriage from rusting and overheating. With a clean undercarriage, you get to save a huge amount of money from costly repairs in the future.

8. Have winter floor mats

Your snow shoes are great for protecting your feet from the intense cold of winter. However, they’re the number one carriers of contaminants that can affect your health and damage the beauty of your car’s carpets.

Not when you have a winter floor mat. It’s one of the best auto preventive maintenance tips ever. It comes in a tray which collects snow, salt, and other contaminants. Thus, it keeps your permanently installed carpet and upholstery clean and dry, winter-time or not.

These are just some winter car maintenance tips. Use them to keep your ride looking great for a long time.If you lack the time to perform a winter car care, consider scheduling an appointment with DetailXPerts. Our steam technology and expert approach guarantees top quality results, inside and out.

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