Posted by Jim

Even though the weather has been mild recently, the frosty days will soon be upon us and you’ll want to be sure your car is up for the less-than-ideal driving conditions it will surely encounter.

Historically, preparing your car for winter meant changing the coolant, replacing the thicker summer engine oil with a slicker “thinner” oil, and checking your battery water levels. You may also have installed winter (or studded) tires.

Through the years, technology has made our vehicle fluids, batteries and tires more versatile. They no longer need to be changed with the seasons, but few auto experts have stepped up to inform consumers that the idea of “winterizing” your car has changed.

Here’s how we recommend you ready your car for winter:

• Inspect the tire tread and overall condition. Is there sufficient tread for the car to gain traction in the snow? Are the tires wearing evenly across all treads (and all tires)? Are there any bulges or cracking in the sidewalls or treads? If your vehicle performs poorly in the snow and your tires are in good condition, you may want to ask your service advisor if a set of winter tires would help.
• Ensure all fluids are up to par (clean) and topped off. This is actually important for all seasons, but now seems like an ideal time to prevent a breakdown (in arctic temps) caused by dirty or low fluids. Inspect the condition and level of your coolant, transmission fluid, power steering fluid, and engine oil. While fluid colors vary, you essentially want them to be clear or translucent. Any fluid that is thick and opaque most likely needs to be flushed. Reviewing your maintenance schedule can serve as a guide, or seek a professional opinion from your technician or service advisor.
• Test the freeze  protection of the coolant. While you’re checking the condition and level above, this test is important enough to warrant its own bullet point. Over time, coolant looses its ability to resist freezing. A quick litmus type test can tell you if the fluid needs to be flushed for lacking the protective qualities you need to survive winter.
  
• Conduct a full load test on the battery. Your favorite auto technician can handle this for you and can fairly accurately predict if your battery will be able to crank the engine on those bone-chilling January mornings.
• Replace the windshield wiper blades. As we reported in a recent post, about 90 percent of our driving decisions are based on what we see, and even though we’ve all experienced the frustration and fear of not being able to see clearly during a storm, an estimated 46 million U.S. motorists have wipers that can’t adequately clear their windshields. Let’s take a more proactive approach and replace them before they stop cleaning the windshield.
• Protect the paint. To keep your car looking good year after year, this is also an ideal time to have it detailed. A protective wax or coating will be applied to the clearcoat, protecting it from the harsh effects of road salt, snow, ice and rain.

At Star Auto Authority, we automatically inspect all of the above with every visit, except for the battery load test. If you’re a do-it-yourselfer, use this as a guide to ensure trouble-free winter travels.

If you’re among those who don’t have the luxury of parking your car in a garage 24/7, you’ve probably become well acquainted with your snow scraper this winter.

And if you loathe scraping or find it somewhat ineffective, here are three affordable, homemade de-icing solutions from the minds at Wisebread and DollarStretcher.com:

1. To prevent frost on your windows, mix three parts vinegar and one part water in a spray bottle. Apply to all the car windows before going to bed at night.
2. To remove very thick ice from your windshield, mix one part water to two parts rubbing alcohol. Apply to the window and watch it peel right off!
3. To remove ice, use a bottle of 70% isopropyl alcohol with a few drops of dish soap. Apply liberally to the glass with a spray bottle.