When the leaves start to turn, everyone starts preparing for fall: they bring in the patio furniture, tuck away the gardening tools and checking fireplaces to make sure they work properly for the winter. This is the perfect time to do maintenance on most of the things around your home before winter sets in and it’s too cold to do anything, and your car is no exception. Here are 6 maintenance tasks you should do on your car this fall before it gets too cold.
Oil Filter
Your car uses more gas in the winter as it takes a little more to run the components of your car in the cold weather. Since the oil filter can help with fuel efficiency it’s a great opportunity to change it while the weather is still kind of nice. As a note, it’s important to make sure you never change this while your oil is hot as you could burn yourself and cause damage. Make sure your car is totally cooled down before changing out the oil filter.
Spark Plugs
With the cold weather coming, some cars have a hard time starting because the spark has further to jump in the winter. If you haven’t changed the spark plugs on your vehicle in a while, or you have noticed it’s struggling to start this would be a great project to complete before you’re battling frigid temperatures.
Windshield Wipers
Windshield wipers will bend eventually not form to the curve of your windshield after a couple seasons of hot and cold weather, so with the poor weather coming where you need the wipers to clean your windshield it’s important they conform to the shape of it. If you’ve never done this job before, it takes about 20 minutes and you can buy new wipers from almost any home improvement or car part store.
Headlights
Check the bulbs on all the exterior lights of your car so that you know other drivers will be able to see you. As the days get shorter you will likely be driving more in the dark so it’s very important that all the lights on your vehicle are working.
Battery Connection
Like many other gadgets, batteries prefer the warm weather over cold. If your battery is getting old or has had troubles turning over or starting your vehicle lately then you may want to check the connection and the battery itself. Replacing it before the winter comes could save you from being stranded in a snow storm.
Brake Pads
Brakes are always an important, safety function on a vehicle that you should be checking on a regular basis anyways. Your brake pads could dry up and not perform as well over time, so this is the perfect opportunity to check them out and change them if needed since icy roads will require you to drive much more cautiously. You can easily change out the brake pads on your own, and purchase them at any car parts store. If you don’t feel comfortable checking and changing them on your own, though, you should book an appointment with your mechanic to get them looked at.
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If you follow the maintenance tips above but still have car troubles on the road, be sure to call Toronto’s towing professionals