Winter is coming. Is your car ready?

     It’s that time of year when the leaves change color and everyone starts wearing sweaters.  The sun is still shining, here at Infinite Garage’s luxurious west coast offices, but cooler weather is on it’s way.  Hit the jump for a quick checklist to prep your car for the upcoming sweater weather.

     Staying on top of routine maintenance is really the best and safest way to get the most out of your automobile.  This is especially true as the seasons change and we head into winter.  Winter driving can be the toughest on a car and driver, cold temperatures, ice, poor visibility, and poorly maintained roads are just a few of the things drivers can expect to deal with in the winter.  Adding a poorly functioning car to the equation is just asking for trouble.

     I’m not going to lie, I’m generally not the greatest when it comes to keeping up with the maintenance on my various two and four wheeled relics, but when the 47 year old brake reservoir failed on my drive home the other day (which was not exciting at all) I thought it might be a good time to take care of all the little things that will get my trusty VW through another winter in the Sierra Nevada.

    Obviously, some of the things I need to do to keep a vintage Volkswagen going during the winter aren’t relevant to some modern cars but the basics are the same, so with out further ado the winter prep checklist (in no particular order):

• Check and top up fluids. – This would include the typical stuff like wiper fluid and oil but take some time and check the levels on brake, transmission, power steering, and antifreeze (unless of course you daily drive a superior aircooled German product that doesn’t have those last three things).  Take a look at any hoses that are easily accessible.  Cracked or damaged hoses are only going to be more stressed by the larger temperature changes during winter driving.  An inconvenient break down in the summer can turn into something much more serious in the winter.
• How are your wipers? – Living in Infinite Garage’s secret underground desert headquarters means that I sometimes go eight months or more without having to use the windshield wipers and that can lead to problems.  Even if you live in the land of milk and honey that is the American Southwest, checking to see that your windshield wipers haven’t dry rotted or melted away can save you a lot of excitement when your forced to use them during those handful of winter weather events.
• Put the window scraper in the car before it snows. – People caught without an ice scraper sometimes have to use various inappropriate flat objects to remove window ice with very limited success. It’s never happened to me but I read about it in a book one time.
• Tires – Whether you have a dedicated set of winter tires or run all seasons, now is a good time to make sure your tires are in good shape and properly inflated.  Rain and snow are less of a problem when you have tires with an adequate amount of tread.  Pretending you’re a vintage rally driver is a lot more fun when your car doesn’t go backwards around every corner, or so I’ve heard.
• Fix all those litte things. – That check engine light that has been on for six months, the off idle stumble from poorly adjusted carburetors, electrocuting yourself if you touch the horn when the blinkers are on, and that door that opens when you drive over a big bump are all things that should be fixed now, before the weather turns cold and they become more difficult to deal with.  Anything that distracts or has to be managed while you’re driving can become downright dangerous when driving conditions are less than perfect.  Plus, you’ll probably be saving money in the long run by keeping the small things from becoming big.

That covers the basics. Is there anything I’ve left out?  Let us know in the comments below.