When You Winterize Your Car, Don't Forget Any of the Steps

Winter is just around the corner, and you know what that means: it's time to winterize your car. Winterizing your car will help protect it from harsh conditions like snow, ice, sleet, and cold weather. But if you don't do these steps properly or forget any of them, then you could end up with a broken-down vehicle when you need it most! This can be a dangerous situation in the winter, when things just aren’t going to forgive your car for breaking down. However, many people don’t realize the things they can do to properly winterize their vehicle. This article will look at several of the steps you need to take to properly winterize your car and ensure it’s running perfectly all winter. 

1 - Get a Tune-up

One of the most important steps to winterizing your car is ensuring that everything under the hood is in good working order. A good way to do this would be getting a full vehicle inspection from a mechanic or even doing it yourself. If you're not comfortable doing it yourself, then make them your car and have a service center inspect it for you. If they recommend anything, don't hesitate to get these repairs done before winter hits.

2 - Check All Fluids and Top Off as Needed

Since cold weather can cause problems with some car parts, make sure you check your antifreeze levels when it starts to get cooler outside. Change out your windshield wiper fluid if necessary and add a washer solution if necessary. Check the transmission fluid level and top it off if needed. If you're not sure where to check or add any of these fluids, be sure to consult your owner's manual for further instructions on how to do so.

3 - Get Winter Tires

It would be best to get winter tires to drive safely when it snows or ices over outside. There are many different types of snow tires, but the two main ones would be all-season tires, and radial tires with a special type of tread known as an M & S rated tire (Mud and Snow). All-season tires provide better traction than normal radial tires, but most all-season tires won't be able to give you the traction you'll need during a snowstorm. However, if they have a particular type of M & S rated tread, this is perfect for winter weather. All-season tires also tend to perform poorly in the rain and other wet surfaces, so if you're going to get just one tire, definitely get an M&S-rated mud and snow tire.

4 - Add Fuel Stabilizer

Keeping your gas tank full throughout the winter months will help keep moisture from building up inside of it and minimize condensation. If too much condensation builds up inside your tank, it can lead to corrosion, affecting your fuel pump and cause problems further down the line. So, to avoid this problem altogether it's a good idea to add a fuel stabilizer before you start using your car again after being parked for the winter months.

5 - Keep the Battery Charged Up

Keeping your battery fully charged throughout the winter is crucial because it minimizes the chances of your battery dying on you once you try to start up your car after being in storage for several months. If you're not going to be driving your vehicle at all during these months, then we recommend getting a trickle charger and hooking it up every month or so. This will make sure that your battery doesn't go dead and allow corrosion to build up inside of it, which can affect how well it holds a charge and other electrical components in your vehicle.

6 - Add Some Sand

Here's an excellent tip for keeping your tires from getting stuck in snow or sand this winter. Once you’re slipping and sliding, put sand inside of an old pair of pantyhose or socks and tie them up into a ball. Then, place it in the bottom of each tire so that when you drive over sand, slush or snow. The sand will fall between the treads to give you better traction. Plus, if you get stuck out in the middle of nowhere, all you have to do is take off one of your socks and use it as a makeshift shovel to dig yourself out.

7 - Make Sure All Doors are Properly Sealed

Many people forget about every year to check the weatherstripping to see how well it's holding up. If you find any cracks or other damage, then now's a great time to get them repaired before they cause your car to lose heat. If you don't want to do this yourself, take it to a service center for them to look at and have it done for you.