Car maintenance tips to for a safe winter

WELLINGTON COUNTY  – With fall well underway and winter fast approaching, it is important to consider what must be done to prepare one’s vehicle for snowy weather.

Battery health

It is important to ensure your vehicle’s battery is in good working condition before the winter. A weak or damaged battery could prove detrimental during the colder months.

“There’s a couple of different tests [your mechanic] can do to [the car battery], but a basic test would be good to make sure that it’s going to hold it’s charge when it gets cold outside and it’s actually going to start for you every time,” said Dwayne Jansen, a mechanic at CSN Hutten Auto in Fergus.

Aside from testing the power and stability of your vehicle’s battery, it is important to have a licensed technician check your battery for any signs of corrosion.

“They can check for  any corrosion on electrical contacts ... stuff that’s going to draw voltage away in the winter months,” said Jansen.

Lights

Another important thing to have checked is your lights. It is important that all vehicle lights remain in working condition for your safety and the safety of others.

It is also important to note that driving a vehicle with missing lights is a crime in Ontario.

“Make sure that all lights are working, especially, you know, high beams, low beams and signals and break lights,” said Jansen.

“Make sure none of them are cracked or broken so they’re not going to hold moisture or freeze.”

Brakes

One of the most important steps before the winter is to have your vehicle’s brakes inspected and maintained.

“With those brakes we want to get them taken apart and serviced,” said Jansen. “So clean all the rust and gunk out from the summer and get them all cleaned up, re-lubricated, freed up and working properly.”

Jansen says this is crucial to have done before the salt hits the roads.

Fluids

There are a multiple fluids that need to be changed and topped up before the snow flies.

Aside from the obvious oil change, which should be done at least once before winter, Jansen also encouraged drivers to check their engine coolant.

“A lot of people think that’s mostly just a summer thing to keep it cold, but coolant is made up of 50 per cent water and 50% glycol,” he said.

“So if the water amount starts to get more than the glycol, we can actually find in the winter that it will freeze.”

Another thing to check is brake fluid.

“We can inspect that [brake fluid] for water content,” said Jansen.

“If you get water into your brake fluid, what happens is your brakes start getting hot ... that water in your break fluid boils off and gives you poor brake pedal.”

Jansen also reminds drivers to exchange their summer washer fluid for the winter fluid. This will avoid the washer fluid freezing onto the windshield in the winter.

Rust proofing

“Contrary to popular belief, it’s actually better to do it when it’s warmer outside, rather than waiting until November,” Jansen said rust proofing.

“Because in the heat, the oil that they spray on is actually able to thin out and it creeps everywhere a lot better.”

Having the undercarriage of your vehicle oiled is essential to extending the longevity of the body of your vehicle, by minimizing rust and erosion from harsh road salts.

Vehicle storage

For those looking to store a vehicle over the winter months, Jansen says it is important to remember to add conditioner to the fuel to ensure there are no issues starting the vehicle in the spring.

The conditioner ensures “the fuel quality stays up,” said Jansen.