Preparing Your Car for Winter
Typical Maintenance Inspection
Keeping up with typical maintenance is crucial! This insures that your brakes, belts, hoses, engine, exhaust system, fluids, and filters are in optimal condition and ready for the cold/travel.
2. Car Battery
To prevent a dead car battery on a chilly morning, ask your mechanic to conduct a battery load test to ensure its health. Also, check for any cracked or corroded battery, cables, and terminals. The cold weather can really drain weak batteries.
3. Windshield Wipers & Wiper Fluid
Replacing windshield wipers and filling wiper fluid before winter is important because it ensures clear visibility during harsh weather conditions. New wipers can effectively clear snow, ice and rain from your windshield, while a full wiper fluid reservoir helps remove grime and frost, keeping your view unobstructed and safe.
4. Heater & Defroster
It’s essential for your heater and defroster to work well in the winter to keep you warm and maintain clear visibility. A working heater ensures a comfortable cabin, while the defroster removes condensation and frost from your windows, enhancing safety while driving in cold conditions.
5. Tire Inspection
It is strongly advised to inspect your tires for remaining tread life, uneven wear, and cupping, and check the sidewalls for any cuts or nicks. Additionally, it is important to check that your tires are properly inflated for winter conditions. Cold weather causes air pressure in your tires to drop at approximately 1 PSI per 10 degrees. These could all be detrimental, especially in winter weather.
6. Wash Your Car after Winter Weather
The Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department (AHTD) typically use a pre wetting chemical variant with sand/salt mixtures or mixtures of rock salt brine and beet juice (de-sugared beet molasses). Another option uses high concentrated mixture of salt water (salt brine), because its adhesiveness and longevity on roadways permits easier snow and ice removal. In any case, these mixtures are corrosive and need to be washed off your car as soon the weather has ended.
7. Carry an Emergency Kit
Anything can happen in winter weather, despite excellent planning. In order to avoid a dangerous situation, you should equip your car with an emergency kit filled with supplies including but not limited to blankets, flares, a jack, a first-aid kit, flashlight, shovel, water, food, and kitty litter or sand for traction if you get stuck.
