The fall months bring stunning beauty with the changing leaves, but migrating animals, daylight saving time, and wet weather can bring its own challenges to your driving. By taking a few preventative measures, you can protect yourself and prepare your vehicle for the colder weather.
Seasonal Car Maintenance Tips for Fall and Winter
Illuminate Your Drive
With a simple walk around the exterior of your vehicle, you can inspect the headlights, tail lights, brake lights, and flashers to ensure each one is working properly. If you notice any are out, replace the bulbs. Maintaining proper illumination of the road ahead of you and keeping the rear of your vehicle visible to cars behind you is important when visibility is poor.
See Clearly
Replacing torn or cracked wiper blades for new ones is a simple way to ensure your windshield remains clear during rainstorms or when it snows. At the same time, swap out your windshield washer fluid for a winter-grade solution. This kind is specially formulated to not freeze in cold temperatures when it comes in contact with your windshield.
Penny Lane
Insert a penny into the tread of your tires with Abraham Lincoln’s head pointed toward the tire. If you see all of Honest Abe’s head, the tread is worn down to an unsafe level and won’t provide the stopping power or traction you need. Time to replace that tire.
Also, monitor your tires for low air pressure and add more when necessary. When your tires are inflated to the vehicle’s specifications, it will help prevent premature wear.
Inspect the Battery
When the temperature drops and you’re out running errands with the kids, the last thing you need is a battery that won’t start. By inspecting your battery for corrosion, checking and cleaning the terminals, and inspecting the cables for cracks or breaks, you’ll be able to see issues that can be fixed right away. Also, if you are noticing your vehicle takes longer than usual to turn over in cold weather, it could be time for a replacement.
Change the Oil
Taking your vehicle in for an oil change will ensure it has clean, fresh oil for the harsh winter months. The technician will also be able to give your old oil a look and a feel to see if your engine is experiencing any damage that needs to be looked at.
Visit the Union County Kia Service Center
With these tips, you can easily get your car ready for driving in the cooler months of the year.
Schedule Kia service to prepare your vehicle for fall and winter, or contact us if you have any questions.
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