The chances of car breakdown increase drastically during the winter season, forcing the motorists to make expensive call outs for help and wait stuck at a side of the road. But, you can avoid all those potential troubles by applying the following Winter maintenance tips.
Make it a point to remove any leaves that sometimes find their way into your car. Just as leaves and twigs can block gutters in your house, they can also wreck the equivalent havoc on your car. When leaves or any other organic matter stuck in areas of your vehicle where water is supposed to gush out, your vehicle can get corrosion or leaks. This can mostly happen in the air plenum close to the windshield.
In case your vehicle has a sunroof, its drains that flow water that creeps past the seals down to the ground, any leaf stuck in there can lead to wet headliners and make your journey worse. Therefore you must check those drains before leaving.
Sometimes birds may make nests under the hood of your vehicle. This is less common, but creates a bigger problem. In any such case you may require a mechanic as well as an animal trapper to get this problem fully solved.
You must make sure that you have cleared all the ice from the windscreen of your vehicle. Ice on windscreen is a common occurrence during the winter. It is important that you don’t drive your vehicle until your vision is clear because poor visibility could cause accidents on the road. Make certain that wipers are in good conditions but do not try to use them to remove hard ice from the windscreen as it could damage them. If the wipers’ blades are torn, then this is a high time to replace them.
There is an anti-freeze – a colored fluid – in radiators of you vehicle. This fluid plays a vital role by preventing your engine and radiators from freezing during the winter season. You must regularly make sure that your anti-freeze levels of the fluid in the radiators are between the minimum and maximum. This vigilance will help avoid potential damage to the radiators or engine. Before changing the anti-freeze fluid, it is highly recommended that you consult a qualified mechanic or your local dealership.
You also must keep an eye on oil levels. You should check them regularly. Low oil levels can cause a big damage to your engine. You can use a dipstick to check the levels of oil in your vehicle. The level must be between the maximum and minimum level.
Your vehicle is in contact with the road through its tyres. Therefore the quality of tyres has a big impact on the drivability of vehicles. Keeping tyres in high quality has also become more important due to deteriorating condition of roads. Experts recommend that tyres must have a minimum tread depth 2mm. The tread disperses lose water as well as snow from the roads so that your vehicle does not aquaplane.
Tyre pressures are also important. You should check pressures in the tyres of your vehicle at least once a week during the winter season. It will make sure that they reach the manufacturers recommended levels. This will help you avoid any potential accident on the road.