With winter upon us, you need to make sure that your vehicle is ready for winter weather and winter driving conditions. You need to check your battery, lights, coolant and washer fluid to make sure that they are ready for winter weather and winter driving.
1. Battery
Your battery is put under additional strain in the winter time. It takes more energy to start up your car when it is especially cold outside. If you have an older battery that is not fully charged, it may not be up to the task of starting your car on a particularly cold morning. Before winter progresses any further, you are going to want to check and see what condition your battery is in. This can easily be done by a volt test. Your mechanic can quickly perform a volt test and let you know how much charge your battery still has. If your battery is well below 50% charge, you should invest in a new battery. If your battery is well above 50% charge, it should be able to get you through the winter.
2. Lights
With it getting dark earlier, you are going to spend more time driving in the dark during the winter time, making having adequate lights even more important. If one of your headlights is out, you should replace it right away.
You should also check and see what condition the lens on your headlights are in. Over time, the lens over your headlights can get yellow and foggy. When that happens, your headlights will not look as bright or as clear as they should. You can fix your headlights with a restoration kit. If that doesn't work, you can replace your headlight lens.
3. Coolant
Coolant, in the winter, helps keep your engine from freezing up. You should check the coolant level in your vehicle and make sure that it is filled up to the fill line. You should also make sure that your vehicle isn't leaking coolant; you can spot coolant leaks by looking under where you park your car. Finally, make sure that you are using the right mixture of coolant and water. The general mixture is 50/50; however, if you are using more water than that, your engine could freeze up. If you got the mixture wrong and have too much water in your coolant, have the coolant drained from your vehicle and refilled.
4. Washer Fluid
Finally, you should change up the washer fluid that you use in the winter. You can easily pick up a winter washer fluid mix at your local department or auto store for a couple of dollars. Winter washer fluid mixes are designed to work even when it is below freezing outside, giving you the ability to clean your window even when it is well below zero outside. Regular washer fluid mixes or even just water and soap in your washer fluid reservoir will freeze when it is below freezing outside, leaving you without a way to clean your windshield.
Get ready for winter by making sure that your battery has enough charge for winter start-ups, make sure that your headlights are bright and clear so you can see where you are going, top off your coolant and make sure that there is not too much water in the mix and change to a winter washer fluid mix so you can wash your windshield on-the-go this winter. To learn more, contact a BMW repair company near you.
Share10 January 2018
After trying in vain to fix my car for a few months, I realized that I needed to hire a professional. I was tired of dealing with repairs that I was unfamiliar with, and I knew that I needed to get some help. I started looking around for a great auto mechanic, and even though one business was more expensive than others, I decided to work with them. They worked hard to fix my car, and I was really pleased with how great of a job they did. This blog is all about investing in proper auto service so that you don't have to deal with problems in the future.
