Check these Items To Make Sure Your Car Is Ready For Winter
As winter is finally setting in, there are a few things that everyone should check on their cars. Even a milder winter like we have down here in the south can cause problems to rise to the top, and these problems may make your car quit running for a day or cause serious damage that it would take hundreds or thousands to fix!
The Battery
As temperatures goes down, an older or poorly maintained battery will really be put under pressure, and batteries love a cold snap to simply give up the ghost. If this happens in the morning, it can cause hours of inconvenience and make you miss appointments or work!
There are two types of batteries, maintenance free and standard. Standard batteries will gradually run short on fluid, and as they get low on water they will have a harder and harder time holding charge or delivering enough energy to turn the motor over. If your battery is 4 years or older, consider replacing it. If it is not maintenance free and it seems to be sluggish sometimes, check and add distilled water. If you are not sure how to do this, come by Waycaster Tire & Auto or by many auto parts stores and they will check it for you.
This is a maintenance free battery - on batteries where you do need to check the water levels, there will be two caps (usually rectangles) that will cover three cells each. There will be an indicator line where the fluid should be. When refilling the battery cells, be sure to use distilled water!
Check Your Radiator Fluid
If you are driving a used car or if your new car has over 60,000 miles on it, you will want to get the radiator fluid checked and if needed flush and refill your radiator. Auto parts stores can usually help you with this.
As radiator fluid ages, it loses its ability to resist the cold; this can also happen if your radiator has a slow leak and you kept refilling it with water instead of anti-freeze. While we do not have many very cold nights in North Carolina and South Carolina, a heavy freeze can destroy a radiator or an engine if the anti-freeze in your system is not up to snuff.
Top Up With Freeze Prof Windshield Wiper Fluid
This one may seem a bit lightweight compared to the other things we are talking about, but freezing liquids in your car are never good, even if it just keeps you from washing the windshields, and one thing every winter is good at, even a light one like ours, is making our windshields dirty and hard to see through. This can be a safety issue, so get a good freeze-proof windshield washer fluid (I really like the Rain-X Winter formula) and top your washer reservoir up for a worry free, clean windshield experience!
A Great Time To Buy New Tires
Going into the winter is a great time to think about the new tires Lincoln County drivers need. It rains more often than it snows in this area, but winter is a time of bad roads; rain, freezing rain, snow and slush (and good ole North Carolina Winter Mud!) can all be treacherous, and this is made more so by running tires which are getting thin on treads. Waycaster Tires can now supply the new tires Lincolnton and Lincoln County drivers need to make sure their vehicle is as safe as possible. For NC Vehicle Inspections in Lincoln County, oil changes, rotations and of course a wide selection of new and used tires come to Waycaster Tire & Auto!
Waycaster Tire & Auto has New Tire Sets starting as low as $240.00, so call today to see what we can do for you!
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