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With Winter coming right around the corner, we need to take this time and prepare your car for winter. No one wants to be driving down the road during a snowstorm, but what is worse is breaking down in the road during one.
Preventative Maintenance
You should always make sure your fluids are topped off in your vehicle. If your coolant is low, your motor can overheat. If your fluids are low, it can cause damage to your vehicle.
One thing to have in your vehicle other than the basics, would be a box, or old milk crate, to store a gallon of coolant, oil, and other fluids for your vehicle.
Make sure to have your vehicle serviced, or do the work yourself, before the winter months. You should check the fluids under the hood once a week, even if you have it serviced at
a shop.
One thing to keep in mind, if you have put straight water in your radiator during the summer, make sure you flush the system and get the proper level of coolant for your coolant system. Busted radiators are not cheap to replace. It is very important to make sure your vehicle is running perfect for the winter months, no one likes to break down, but it is much worse in the winter especially if you have little one’s with you.
In trucks and 4X4’s it’s a good rule of thumb to check the fluid level in the transfer case and differentials at least once a month in the older trucks, or once every few months in newer trucks.
You need to check the tread depth on your tires. If they’re below 2/32″ then I would get them replaced asap. Traction is a must have with snow and ice, bald tires won’t get you far.
Check your tires for cracks from dry rot, cuts or bulges along the sidewall and look for any wires sticking out of the tire. If you see wires, get that tire replaced immediately!
Keeping the right amount of PSI in the tires will also help prolong the life of the tires. Most vehicles have a recommended PSI for each tire, this label is usually in the drivers side door frame, towards the bottom.
Your tires will also have a max PSI, this is usually along the writing on the sidewall of the tire itself. Never exceed that PSI even if the label on your door frame states a higher PSI.
After you have looked over your tires, take a look at the brakes, disc brakes are easier to look at and inspect. If there are deep grooves on the rotor or if it’s wavy, that’s a good sign that something isn’t right and you should get it inspected.
Drum brakes aren’t as common anymore, but there are still a few vehicles that have them. These are a bit different. You can crawl under the vehicle and look behind the wheel and you’ll see the drum, if the brake pads are very thin, or chipped away or cracked, it is a good idea to get it inspected.
Look and see if any of your lights are out or are hard to see at night. If they are out, replace them. If they’re just not as bright as you think it should be, see if the housing needs cleaned. I know that with headlights on old cars, this happens often.
If after you have changed the bulb and it still doesn’t come on, it could be a wiring issue, or a fuse went out.
Most vehicles have 2 or more fuse boxes. They are placed in different spots throughout the car with every make and model it seems.
The fuse box should be labeled, so it shouldn’t be hard to figure out which one needs replaced. Sometimes the fuse puller is still there which is nice, but that isn’t always the case.
What to keep in your car for winter?
You should have a cell phone charger or another way to communicate with someone in the event that you break down. I’ve been through some places where you will go down the road for hours and never come across any other vehicles.
In extreme temperatures, your gasoline can freeze and your diesel fuel can gel up. It is good to have anti-gel on hand for diesel powered equipment.
For gasoline, you can use stuff like ISO-HEET, you can pick that up at a supermarket or auto part stores.
My first experience with frozen fuel wasn’t the best. We had a snow/ice storm, the temperature had dropped below zero, the driveway was shoveled clear, everyone parked in the driveway because it was the only place to park. I was the last to pull in so I ended up blocking everyone else in when my truck wouldn’t start. Needless to say, not everyone was happy about that. But you live and you
learn. I’ve always made sure to use antifreeze for my fuel when I know the temperatures will be cold enough since that time.
Though nowadays that isn’t much of an issue with the newer vehicles. I had a ’93 F150 with the duel tanks at the time. That truck had a lot of issues but it had a lot of power.
I always make sure to have a blanket and some snacks in our vehicle’s, you never know when it’ll come in handy. If not for you, it might help someone else in need.
Hand warmers and some extra gloves, along with extra clothing like sweatpants or a sweatshirt or two could be the difference between life and death, or at least help prevent frostbite, depending on your normal winter weather conditions.
Road flares can warn other drivers of an accident or a vehicle breakdown ahead as well as help keeping you a bit warm in a pinch. Just make sure that there isn’t any leaking fluids from your vehicle, you don’t want to start a fire that takes your vehicle with it.
A tow rope or a winch could come in handy. Someone can help pull you out or you can try to get yourself out of of a ditch, a bumper mounted winch would be pretty awesome, but even the hand crank winches will do. It would not be fun, but it could get the job done.
I don’t suggest leaving bottled water in your vehicle, it could freeze and bust. You could just pour some water out of the bottles, enough to allow it to expand and not bust the bottle, that way you don’t ruin the inside on your vehicle.
Bottled water that is frozen can that out when the ambient temp is above freezing, allowing you to get something to drink. I don’t suggest putting them in your inner jacket pocket, as this could also lower your body temperature, but that is all dependant on your current situation.
What do I do if my car breaks down
If you break down, try to call for help, some insurance companies will send a tow truck out to you at a discounted rate. After you get someone on their way to your location, be sure to put out either the road flares or triangles.
That will help keep you safe from people plowing into you because they couldn’t see you.
If you slide off into the ditch, you can use the winch to pull yourself out of the hole. I know in some cases a tow truck could be a 5+ hour wait for them to get to you.
Check in with loved ones every hour. If you haven’t told them already, give them your location. I know most phones nowadays, you can share your current location.
If you are broke down in the road, you might contact the local police station or county sheriff’s office, they might want to send a unit out to help get you out of the road, or at least have a set of flashing lights out there to help keep people’s attention and hopefully not cause a wreck.
Keep in mind though, that not all case’s a cop will come, so don’t count on that.
Another thing to keep in mind is that not everyone is out there to help you, especially female’s. There have been a number of instances over the years where a female breaks down and someone stops to help, but instead, they might abduct you or worse, rape and kill you. This world we live in now is not the same our parents grew up in.
If someone ever stops by offering help and it feels off, snap a picture of them and send it to a loved one. This could help identify someone if something goes awry.
Stay safe this winter season, keep your vehicle maintained, don’t drive crazy on the snow and ice!