Important Winterizing Car Tips

Winterizing your car is VERY important when that area gets to be 20°, 30° or even 40° below zero, similar to South Dakota, Minnesota and other cold neighboring states.
Here are tips some to help you and your vehicle survive the winter:

1. Your anti-freeze is the first thing to check. Many anti-freezes are ethylene glycol based fluid that has a low freezing point when mixed with water and a high boiling point, which makes an outstanding coolant for any vehicle. Anti-freeze is usually a bight green color. Other colors of anti-freeze can be either red, black or gold. The red should not be confused with Dex-Cool anti-freeze used in General Motor’s vehicles. Dex-Cool is for GM products only, and should not be mixed with other anti-freezes. GM rates Dex-Cool to last ten years or 100,000 miles before requiring a change.

Any type of anti-freeze should be change every two years or 30,000 miles, which ever comes first. The chemicals in the ethylene glycol that lubricates the water pump and inhibits corrosion in the engine, wears out and needs to be replace.

2. Your motor oil should be change, from season to season, depending what brand oil you use. If you change oil yourself, most oil companies print their summer and winter grade oil recommendations on their oil bottle or package. You should also check the Owners’ Manual of your vehicle for recommendations. The winter grade oil is lighter that makes your vehicle start easier in the cold. A local mechanic will recommend a oil grade, if you are still in doubt. Don’t forget to change the oil filter.

If you have your oil change by a mechanic, they will recommend a different oil grade.

3. When driving on highway a road that has a lot of salt and sand dumped on it, it takes ten second to cover your windshield with road debris if another vehicle passes you. This is why it is important to have a good set of windshield wiper blades, and check that your washer fluid sprays out properly before the winter season hits. Most washer fluids can stand ten degrees below zero, which is good enough for most part of the country. For South Dakota, Minnesota and other cold areas, that’s not going to cut it. We need to use something a little lower, which can found at retail stores, auto parts stores or your local mechanic shop.

4. The battery and alternator need to be working properly. Especially in the winter season, the battery needs the extra amps for a cold engine. Tips for keeping your battery clean and working properly: Clean the top of the battery with baking soda and water. Dirt and “blue snow” will slowly drain your battery and the colder it gets, the faster it will drain. When its nice and clean, spray a coat of terminal protector or put a layer of white lithium grease on the terminals to keep them clean and air away from them.

5. To prepare your engine for the cold wither months: You should get a vehicle tune-up, if it hasn’t been done in a while. The cold temperatures make it hard to ignite the fuel when starting, with a fresh set of spark plugs, new distributor cap, rotor and ignition wires as needed, your chances of your car starting without flooding greatly improves. Also look at the belts and hoses as well. Winter driving puts more stress on your engine than summer driving.

It is important to perform those winter maintenance tips so your vehicle(s) last a longer and healthy life. A local mechanic can help you accomplish these tasks.