Winter Maintenance Tips

There’s something about the quiet stillness of winter that leaves you with a warm, cozy feeling. Perhaps this feeling is from the cups of hot chocolate you drink by the fire or watching the snow fall and blanket the streets of Farmington Hills, Ann Arbor, and Southfield, MI.

When the temperature drops and snow is in the forecast, your vehicle needs some TLC to prepare for the months ahead. To help you plan, we at Feldman Hyundai of New Hudson have compiled a list of winter maintenance tips. Read on to learn more!

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Winter Maintenance Tips 101: Parts of Your Vehicle That Are Affected by Winter Weather

A drop in temperature affects everyone differently. Some may feel it in their joints, while others experience dry skin. Winter weather also affects your vehicle and its various parts. Some systems that are the most affected by this change include:

Battery: The colder it gets, the less power a battery has to start your vehicle’s engine.
Tires: The air in your vehicle’s tires compresses in the cold. This can lead to underinflated tires, which could cause hazardous driving conditions.
Fluids: Just like the cold compressing the air in the tires, it also thickens the oil and other fluids in your vehicle.
Windshield: The windshield and the wiper blades can freeze, making it hazardous to drive due to limited visibility.

Now that you know more about some of the ways winter weather can potentially impact your vehicle, let’s look at how you can plan to address these situations.

Four Winter Maintenance Tips to Safeguard a Careful Commute

While winter weather can present obstacles to your travels, there are plenty of ways you can plan to reduce the hazards of winter driving. Let’s check out four winter maintenance tips our team of trained technicians recommends!

1). Have the Battery Tested

Make sure you test your vehicle’s battery health in the fall before the temperatures drop. You can test the battery at home, with the correct tools, or you can visit our service center, where one of our technicians will test the battery for you.

2). Check the Tire Pressure Often

Spend a few minutes once a week throughout the winter checking the pressure of your vehicle’s tires. Be sure to consult the owner’s manual to determine the proper tire PSI for your model. If, when you check the pressure, it’s lower than recommended, add more air to prevent underinflated tires.

Switching to winter tires is another winter maintenance tip our team recommends. Winter tires are built to provide extra traction when snow or ice creates low-friction surfaces.

3). Have the Engine Oil Checked

Open the hood of your vehicle and do a quick oil check. If the oil is thicker than maple syrup when heading into the winter months, it’s recommended that the oil be changed. For that, you can head to our service center.

4). Replace Wiper Blades

When conditions turn harsh, regular wiper blades may no longer do the trick. Consider switching to wiper blades that are designed for colder weather.

Fill out our online form to order new original equipment manufacturer (OEM) wiper blades from our dealership today!

Additional Winter Maintenance Tips

In addition to the above tips on ways you can prepare your vehicle for winter weather, there are additional winter maintenance tips we recommend to help you throughout the winter:

Help your vehicle avoid corrosion from road salt, with frequent car washes.
Leave the wiper blades in the upright position to prevent them from freezing to the windshield when the vehicle is parked outside.
Pack an emergency kit and leave it in your car.
Keep at least half a tank of gas in your vehicle at all times.

Items you should include in an emergency kit include a blanket, a flashlight with extra batteries, jumper cables, an ice scraper, a shovel, and flares. If you have questions about which items you should keep in this kit, contact our team.

Conquer Winter With Ease Thanks to These Maintenance Tips

With our winter maintenance tips in hand, you can feel extra confident and prepared as you travel around Farmington Hills, Ann Arbor, and Southfield, Michigan.

Learn more about ways you can prepare for winter driving by contacting us at Feldman Hyundai of New Hudson today!