Under the Hood – You and Your Car

• Prevent corrosion and rust! Open your vehicle doors to wash and wax the door jam areas. Salt from road treatment collects and may cause corrosion or rust. Wash you car regularly, especially the under carriage to maintain the appearance and overall value.

• Check for coolant leaks. Engines can overheat in the winter. Inspect your coolant tank, radiator, intake manifold and all areas around the engine block for signs of leakage. Make sure the coolant purchased for your vehicle’s radiator is tested to 35 degrees below zero to avoid premature freezing.

• Use lower viscosity oil. During extremely cold temperatures, low viscosity oil flows much more easily than conventional oils, allowing engine parts to get the lubrication they need. This can also help increase fuel economy. Check your owner’s manual for more details.

• Keep your gas tank at least half full. Smaller amounts of gasoline freeze faster and more easily than larger amounts. To help keep your fuel line from freezing, always maintain a relatively full tank of gas. The extra weight can also help provide additional traction in the snow.

• Make sure you have plenty of anti-freeze windshield washer fluid available. In many cases, people use more of their washer fluid in the winter than in any other season. Carrying enough windshield washer fluid will help optimize driving visibility.

• Keep tires properly inflated, and check your tread level regularly. This will help to ensure you have the proper amount of traction. Only one out of seven drivers correctly check tire pressure on a monthly basis. Under normal operation, tires lose approximately one psi per month. For every 10-degree change in the ambient temperature, the inflation pressure of a tire changes by approximately one psi.

• There are seals that run up the windshield pillar and along the roof line and seal the windows when they are rolled up. There are also seals between the doors and the body. When these seals dry up and fall apart you will get wind noise and potential water leaks. This can also lead to some minor loss of passenger compartment heat with a corroded or missing seal. During cold weather when water gets into the gap created from a poorly fitted or missing seal, the water will freeze possibly causing your windows or doors to get frozen open or stuck shut. I recommend using a rubber conditioner on the seals so you can count on a water tight barrier!

• Your A/C and or heater blower motor is an important part of keeping you comfortable on you daily drives. As with any electric motor they can wear out. Some symptoms of a failing blower motor are: intermittent stopping during use, squealing noise from bearings, poor flow out of your dash vents. A stopped motor is not going to be able to blow hot air onto your windshield to aid in defrosting and will fail to heat your passenger compartment. This will not only result in a cold trip but is also a safety hazard.