Get Your Vehicle Ready for Winter

Check Your Battery

Your battery life is impacted by extreme hot and cold temperatures. You know that it can get down-right frigid in Idaho – and your battery will need to work harder in the colder temperature. Check the voltage that the battery is giving out. If your battery hasn’t been changed in a few years, you might want to change it out so that you’re on the safer side.

Change Your Windshield Wipers

Rain, sleet, snow, and ice are common throughout the winter. You’re going to need those out of the way if you want to drive down the road safely. Windshield wiper blades dull over time. If you find that your wipers aren’t clearing away everything after one or two passes, it’s a good idea to replace them. Be sure that you replace wipers in the back, too, if your vehicle has them.

While you’re at it, be sure to get a washer fluid with an antifreeze solution. It will better equip you for the colder weather.

Get an Oil Change and Inspection

Basic maintenance is important, and around the winter months, it’s extra important. When you come in for your oil change, ask for a basic inspection and tune-up, too. It’s a chance to ensure that your hoses, belts, spark plugs, and everything else is in working order. Breaking down is never any fun, but it should be avoided at all costs when it’s the dead of winter.

Check Your Defroster and Heater

Check Your Defroster and Heater

It’s a good idea to check for air leaks around your windows and doors. A leak can increase the moisture, making it seem like your defroster is broken when it’s actually working just fine.

Inspect Your Tires

Your tires should be inspected throughout the year. The reason it’s so important at the start of winter is to ensure your tires are capable of providing enough grip on the road. Ice and snow will be plentiful, and if you don’t have sufficient tread, it could cause you to slide or not be able to stop in time.

You may also want to consider investing in snow tires (designed to offer a higher level of grip in snow and ice) or install snow chains (especially if you’ll be driving in the mountains).

Gas Up

The last thing you want is to end up with no gas in your tank. However, there’s another reason to keep your gas tank full throughout the winter months. When the tank is empty or near empty, condensation can build. Water drips down and can even travel into the fuel lines. As the temperatures reach the freezing point, the water in your fuel lines will freeze, blocking the flow of gas to the engine.

So, each time you’re headed home, swing by the gas station to keep your tank at least one-quarter of the way full.

Build an Emergency Kit

You should be prepared for any kind of emergency that might strike in the winter – doors being frozen shut, getting stranded on the side of the road, and even driving off the road.

Here are a few things you’ll want to include:

• Ice scraper
• A shovel
• Flashlight with batteries
• Emergency flares
• Phone charger
• Gloves
• Blanket
• Bottles of water
• Protein bars

Particularly if you have to wait in freezing cold temperatures until help can arrive, you’ll be thankful for the blanket and protein bars.