Winter season is here. While there may be a number of things we enjoy about winter… One thing is for sure, driving is not one of them. The last situation you want to be caught up in as a driver is to be stranded somewhere in the road, with your car broken down because it’s not prepared to handle the winter conditions.

The elements of weather can be quite harsh on a vehicle during winter. But there are a number of things you could do to make your vehicle winter-ready and avoid the expenses of emergency mechanic fix when it breaks down.

Car Care Council, Executive Director, Rich White, said, “Winterizing your vehicle before the temperatures drop is a wise idea. An investment of an hour or two to have your vehicle checked is all it takes to have peace of mind and help avoid the cost and hassle of car trouble during severe weather.”
The following are nine precautionary measures recommended by the Car Care Council to winterize your vehicle:

• If your vehicle is due for maintenance, have it done before winter arrives. Winter seasons have the effect of making existing problems much larger and expensive to fix. Regular vehicle tune-up problems like hard starts, sluggish performance, pings or rough idling may be magnified when winter sets in.
• Ensure that the battery and the charging system is double checked to have it at optimum performance. The coldness that comes with winter has a heavy toll on batteries.
• Ensure your vehicle’s cooling system is in proper condition by cleaning, flushing and putting some new antifreeze in it. Just to be on the safe side this should be done at least once in every two years.
• Also ensure that your vehicle’s heaters, defrosters, and wipers are in their best conditions before winter arrives. You are better off using winter wipers and cold weather washer fluid during winter seasons. Also, as a good policy, ensure you change your wiper blades at least once every six months.
• You should also double check your tire pressure and tread depth. Especially if snow and ice is a big problem when driving in your area. In such circumstances, you should consider getting tires designed to have a better grip on slippery roads. In winter, you should check your tire pressure at least once per week.
• The importance of the brakes in a vehicle can’t be expressed enough. You should have your brakes checked, before the onset of winter.
• The car’s exhaust system could be compromised and thus leaking some carbon monoxide inside the car. Chances are high you will be driving most of the time with the windows closed, to keep the inside of the car warm, and should your exhaust system be leaking carbon monoxide this would be dangerous. So have your exhaust system checked for any possible leakage.
• Some winter comes with low visibility and having a properly working exterior and interior lights, as well as headlights, will improve your safety.
• Ensure you don’t miss your scheduled time for changing oil and filter. If winter comes and your car has dirty oil, that will be detrimental for your car. If you live in very cold areas, you are better off using ‘winter weight’ oil. Before winter sets in, have your mechanic check your car’s fuel, the air and transmission filters all at the same time.

As a general rule of thumb of do’s and don’ts during winter, ensure you car’s gas tank is always about half full. This prevents moisture forming inside the gas lines and leading up to freezing. Also to be on the safe side, ensure that your spare tire has the right amount of pressure, keep an emergency kit in your car with an ice scraper, snowbrush, flashlight, jumper cables, flares, candles/matches, extra clothes, dry food snacks and the necessary medication.