Prepping Your Vehicle for Cold Weather

Nov 6, 2015

Can you believe it’s November already?

For the Chicago area, that means one thing: cold weather up ahead.

Whether you like to take care of your car yourself or prefer to have it checked out by a professional service, there are a few important things to check out before the winter season is upon us.

And it arrives quickly.

Check your battery

Connections should be free of corrosion and nice and tight. The colder weather is hard on batteries, which means they should be checked more often.

Is your battery more than three years old? If so, it’s a wise idea to have it replaced. You won’t receive a warning sign that it’s about to bite the dust, so you might as well spare having to flag someone down to help you jump your car later.

Take a look at your tires

As you probably already know, your tires lose pressure when the temperature drops. That’s why it’s a good time to check the pressure as well as the tread depth. Be sure to lookout for any bald spots or bulges, too.

Also note that if your tires have uneven wear, it might be time to have them rotated.

Check your heater, defroster and wiper blades

You wake up on a cold morning to see that frost or snow has taken over your vehicle. Although you’ll initially have to do some scraping, your defroster and wiper blades should take care of the rest to keep you safe and warm while you drive. Replace you wiper blades if they’re torn or cracked. Otherwise, you should replace them every six months or so.

It’s crucial that you have full visibility when driving through ice and snow. Comfort is important, but safety is priority.

Have your brakes inspected

It’s absolutely critical that your brakes are performing like they should during the colder months. Make sure you have your entire brake system checked to ensure that you’ll be safe on ice and snow-covered roads. They’re pretty slick.

If you haven’t had any service to your vehicle recently, then now is the time to do it. And if you live in Chicago, you know how it goes. The weather will turn colder and winter will be here with the blink of an eye.

Wouldn’t you rather spare the headache of a breakdown later, costing you to fork over your hard-earned savings?

We thought so.

Feel free to schedule service with us at anytime because it’s never too late. We’ll be more than happy to inspect your vehicle and ensure that you’re safe and sound while on the road this fall and winter season.