As the weather cools down, there’s a range of associated risks and strains to your vehicle, regardless of its size or age. In this blog entry, the towing experts here at Towing Chicago will detail some great ways you can ensure that your vehicle is prepared to survive through the cold season.
Car Battery Testing
Cold weather increases the chances your car battery will be overworked and fail, which can lead you to be stranded in inopportune places. Check your car’s battery before it gets too cold to see how much juice it has. Replace the car battery if you see signs of corrosion on any of its terminals.
Tire Pressure Check
Your tires will often deflate slightly more when temperatures drop under freezing. It’s important to keep a close eye on your tire pressure and make sure that all of your tires are in the proper range of pressure. Check your tire pressure on a weekly basis, as low tire pressure lowers your gas mileage and makes your tires break faster.
Brake Inspection
Make sure that you regularly inspect your brake lines. Moisture on the road in Winter months because of ice, snow, and rain – combined with salt – causes rust on brakes easily, which hurts their functionality. As the weather goes into Winter, service your brakes and check them as much as possible to make sure they are working well.
Keeping Gas Tanks Full
We recommend keeping your gas tanks above half full in order to stop moisture from accumulating within the gas tank and hurting your car. Moisture can quickly build up in empty gas tanks, which hurts hardware in your car like it’s pump. When this moisture freezes in cold weather, this can cause even worse damage! You must make sure there’s as little empty space in your gas tank as possible, at all times.