Every year we are asked by many customers why they should have their vehicle winterized and what is involved, at Thompson Buick GMC Cadillac we believe these are good questions that deserve good answers.
The “why” part is simple. When driving under winter conditions your vehicles condition is not just good for your peace of mind, it can save your life. Now to address the “what is involved” part. There is also more to it than just getting your vehicle in top shape, you will need to prepare yourself too. While we do not have deep snow in our part of North Carolina every year we often have slick or icy roads, which can be just as dangerous. See our suggested starting points below.
- Have your vehicle winterized by a certified, franchised dealership.
- A certified technician needs to check your vehicle for old or worn hoses and drive belts, these can fail and leave your vehicle inoperable without warning.
- Have your battery checked. There are many places that will hook a meter up to a battery and tell you if it has a charge, but not every shop has the expensive equipment needed to do a proper test on your battery. Also make sure all cables and connections are clean and tight. Hint: If it takes only a few minutes for your battery to be checked they did nothing but check the cold cranking amps, look for another shop.
- Check the condition of your antifreeze. If the PH or the mixture is wrong you could be asking for trouble and if your vehicle has over 50,000 miles you will want to discuss changing the antifreeze/coolant with your Service Advisor.
- Make sure all of the fluids and lubricants are at maximum efficiency. If you have over 50,000 miles on your vehicle discuss having the brake fluid, power steering fluid, differential lubricant, etc checked. If they are not at or near peak efficiency consider changing them.
- Check your tires. Even if they have plenty of tread depth make sure the pressure is correct and look for any signs of uneven wear or dry rotting. Tip: Consider filling your tires with nitrogen. Nitrogen not only runs cooler and has more consistent pressure but due to its larger molecules nitrogen is much less likely to leak down when your vehicle is not driven.
- Do you have 4 wheel drive/all wheel drive? If so make sure it is working properly and that every driver in your household knows how and when to engage it. You Service Advisor can help you with this.
- Prepare an emergency kit. Even if your vehicle performs perfectly all through the winter have an emergency kit prepared and in the vehicle. This way if you are stranded for any reason you will be able to safely and comfortably wait for rescue. What should you have in your emergency kit? A blanket (or two), an extra set of warm clothes, extra gloves, non perishable food and water to last for at least a day, a flashlight with new batteries, a small shovel, an ice scraper, a tool kit, flares, jumper cables, a small bag of sand (or “kitty litter”) for traction on ice or snow, and keep plenty of gas in your tank.
- Have a plan, know what to do. While deep snow is not common in our part of North Carolina slick, dangerous roads are. If you are stranded place a flare near the front and back of your vehicle to draw attention to your situation, call the authorities if you have cell service, don’t wander away from your vehicle unless you know exactly where you are going, if you do leave the vehicle leave a note detailing where you are going and when you left, use the blanket in your kit to stay warm and if you have plenty of fuel run the engine around 10 minutes every hour to help keep warm.
Thank you,
Team Thompson.
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