Winter seems to last forever in Upstate NY. Prepare your car for winter in fall, and keep giving TLC throughout the snowy season. Here are some tips for how to do this once winter gets here.
- Let’s start with the basics. Make sure the entire vehicle is clear of ice and snow every day. Modern vehicles have a growing number of cameras and sensors. We need to clear more than just the windows, for these systems to work properly. Excessive warm ups are not good for your car or the environment. A 2-5 minute warm up, while you clear loose snow and ice, is the best approach. Remember; never warm up a vehicle while parked in a garage, or parked with the exhaust pipe parked against the snow bank.
- Keep washing off the road salt. The salt speeds up corrosion all over your vehicle. Between car washes remember to clean headlights and tail lights. You also need to frequently wipe off your back-up camera lens. This dime sized lens is usually near your back license plate. Keep it clean!
- Keep filling up the washer fluid reservoir. During the winter months, we go through several gallons of this stuff. It’s always a good idea to carry an extra gallon in the vehicle. Don’t let the under hood reservoir run low. It is very dangerous to be pulling over on the shoulder of a roadway to refill.
- Are your wiper blades still working well? Winter’s ice and snow can cause them to crack or peel. Having the wiper blade fail during a snow storm is frustrating and dangerous. Pick a day when the temperature is above freezing to pop on a new set. The process only takes 5-10 minutes. YouTube ‘how to’ videos are a great addition to the written directions.
- Winter is also known as “Pothole Season”. The constant freezing and thawing really busts up our roadways. Winter pothole repairs are very temporary. By the time spring arrives the roads are a mess. Even smart drivers, who look ahead, may not be able to avoid these craters. A quick walk around your vehicle may help discover tire or wheel damage, so you’re not stuck in a dangerous location with a flat tire. Don’t wait for a low pressure warning light to add air to your tires. Even good tires lose small amounts of air. Properly inflated tires will handle the impact of potholes better than underinflated ones.
- Have you needed any jump starts recently? Your battery may need to be replaced, or the connections may need to be cleaned and tightened. AAA offers mobile battery testing and replacement. Our website also has a list of AAA Approved Auto Repair Facilities. When temperatures drop near or below zero, the high number of disabled vehicles can cause long delays in roadside assistance. Don’t wait for the battery to fail, call today.
Michael Sweeney is a Traffic Safety Educator at AAA Hudson Valley. Last updated 10/1/20.
