How To Prepare Your Car For Winter

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Your car has had it easy all summer with the warm weather, easy road conditions and lack of punishing cold on its internal components. Now that winter is on its way, there are some preparations that car owners need to make to ensure that they are protecting their vehicles, and themselves, during the more hazardous driving months. Below are some tips for preparing your car for winter.

Get A Pre-Winter Checkup. Take your car to your mechanic and have them check the battery, the antifreeze level, the car’s thermostat, the heater, defroster and the breaks. These all need to be in top working order, and/or fully topped up, so that you are prepared for everything the winter has to throw at you and your car.

Make Sure The Lights Are In Full Working Order. Conduct a visual inspection of the car’s lights, making double sure that both the front and rear lights are working, as well as hazard lights, which may need to be used in poor visibility conditions to protect you and other drivers from potential accidents. Being able to see other cars on the road, and them being able to see you is one of the most important parts of winter driving.

Winter Wiper Blades. You should invest in a pair of winter wiper blades if you haven’t already because you need to be able to cut through snow when driving conditions get hairy. Not being able to see out your windows when snow starts to pile on puts you, and other drivers on the winter roads, in danger.

Stock Your Car Up With Some Winter Essentials. It’s a good idea to keep an emergency kit of some sort in your car during the winter, especially if you live in rural areas, or plan on driving alone a lot. Something to eat, a flashlight, some spare batteries, a thermal blanket, a bottle of water, and perhaps even a signalling device are all good ideas. It’s also smart to keep an ice scraper handy at all times. Being able to quickly scrape ice off your windows is not only convenient, it may end up saving your life, or that of someone else.

Select The Appropriate Tires. If you live in areas with heavy snowfall, most people will be driving around with snow tires on. Find out what kind of road conditions you are likely to encounter this winter driving season and equip your car with the tires to handle it. Some winter conditions simply require all weather tires. Others require heavy-duty snow tires.

Winter driving can be nerve-wracking for many people, and for good reason. Driving in the snow and the cold is not only hard on our cars, in can be a lot of emotional stress as well. Keep the above winter preparations for your car in mind this coming season and do everything in your power to make it a safe and happy one.