Top 6 Tips to Prepare Your Vehicle for the Seasons
With average temperatures in Colorado Springs ranging from a balmy 85 degrees in July to a chilly 42 degrees in December and everything in between, it’s not just your wardrobe that needs to adapt to the seasons.
Your car takes a beating too, and that’ll mean costly repairs and breakdowns unless you prepare it for all seasons.
Follow the 6 tips on our vehicle maintenance checklist, and you’ll be good to go all year round.
Two Tips For Summer
1. Check Your Oil
This is top of our vehicle maintenance checklist and essential to the smooth running of your engine. When you pull out your car’s dipstick, it should be amber colored and meet the fill mark.
If it’s low, get the right grade oil and top it up. If it’s black and murky, it’s time for a change.
2. Check Your Brakes
Brakes can take a battering over winter. To make sure they don’t fail you during the summer, remove your wheels and brake pads and give them a visual inspection. Look out for cracks, crumbling and discoloration.
If this is out of your comfort zone, take them into your local auto repair shop for a brake check.
Two Tips For Fall
3. Check Your Antifreeze
Before the cold weather really bites, make sure that your engine antifreeze is ready to do its job.
If over the summer you’ve topped up with water, make sure you get the system flushed and replace with a 50/50 mix of antifreeze and distilled water.
This will keep the engine at the right temperature so it won’t freeze. It will also reduce the risk of internal corrosion of the engine through the winter.
4. Check Your Battery
Cold weather affects the capacity of your battery, so it’s important to get it checked so that it doesn’t leave you stranded in the worst of the weather.
Keep jump leads or a portable jump starter with you just in case. It might come in handy to help another motorist as well.
Two Tips For Winter
5. Check Your Tire Pressure
If you inflated your tires during warmer weather, chances are the pressure will have dropped when the weather changes.
For optimal and safe handling and fuel economy, make sure that you inflate your tires to the manufacturer’s recommended pressure.
Make sure you adjust your driving to suit the weather. Check out our blog on safe driving in the mountains in winter.
6. Keep Your Windscreen in Good Condition
A dirty, smeary windscreen can be very dangerous. A small chip can also quickly develop into a large crack in winter. Add to this the poorer visibility of winter and you could be heading for trouble.
Keep an eye on your wiper blades as well and replace them with winter grade ones at the same time as topping up the screenwash.
Keep high-quality winter screenwash with you and make sure its topped up before the weather turns.
It Pays to Follow Our Vehicle Maintenance Checklist
These 6 simple, low-cost checks can save you a lot of time, stress and money.
Of course, if despite your best efforts, you still find yourself stranded by the side of the road, we’re here to help.
Click here to see our comprehensive towing service.
