In the Winter when an arctic blast has engulfed much of the U.S. and NYC becomes bitterly cold you need to protect your car from problems that can happen to it. Here are seven things to check and stay on top of to make sure your car will handle the cold as if it was just another day.
Check your tires. Make sure you have enough tread to dig into snow on the road instead of sliding across the top of it.
Check your battery and its terminals. A colder engine is more difficult to crank over, and batteries aren’t as powerful when they get cold.
Check your oil. Not only to make sure the level is correct but also check your owners manual to see if you need to switch to a different viscosity of oil for colder temperatures.
Check your coolant. Race cars often use nothing more than water in their cooling systems, both for easy cleanup in case of a crash and because track races don’t typically happen in temperatures below freezing.
Check your wiper blades. It helps to see where you’re going, and winter is particularly rough on wipers.
Use winter washer fluid. Related to this, regular blue wiper fluid tends to freeze in cold temperatures, not only rendering it useless when you need it most but making visibility worse rather than better when it freezes to your windshield.
Clear snow completely off your car. Not just the windows, but your hood, trunk, and roof as well.
Keep a shovel in the trunk and an Ice scraper handy so you have it when you need it.