Although October is car care month, here are more tips to get you caught up on your car maintenance for Winter time driving. On the icy and wet road surfaces you need to have your tires inspected for proper tread wear. Your tires have tread wear indicators built in so that your local tire shop will be able to tell you when it is time to replace them. Fall and winter time driving will be more safe when you have the proper tread exposed to give you more traction during the wet Fall and Winter time driving.
I cant stress enough on having your car’s antifreeze tested and having the right amount mixed together. One tip to remember here is to have your antifreeze mixed to at least thirty five degrees below zero to prevent engine freeze ups. You could also have your radiator freeze up and cause it to burst resulting in an expensive replacement. Car maintenance tips such as these are very important not to forget. Although these are directed at Fall and Winter time driving, do not forget to also check your antifreeze in the month of April also.
The Fall and Winter is the time to check the condition of your wiper fluid bottle and the hoses connecting to the wiper blades. Mostly in the Winter time driving the wiper fluid bottle can freeze up and burst also like your radiator. Make sure in the Fall time you have these items inspected as you will need and depend on them to get you through the Winter. One other tip here is to check the hoses as they can freeze up also and prevent any wiper fluid to reach your windshield. You can go to any parts store and find the small windshield wiper hose needed to replace it with. Remember the Fall and Winter time driving will bring a lot of mud and slush preventing you to see from your windshield.
Any Fall and Winter time driving can cause you to break down no matter how much you think you are ready for the weather change. It is always a good idea to keep a small survival kit with you while traveling out there on the highways. Car maintenance is still a good idea and will help you in the weather change but you cannot rely on this. Some other items that you cannot be ready for out there driving in the Fall and Winter are things like your electrical and electronic components. There is no way of getting ready for these items to fail.
I hope these other car maintenance tips will prepare you for the Fall and Winter time driving and also help you to keep safe out there.
