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Helpful Tips for Winterizing Your Car Frozen nights and icy mornings are just around the corner for North Texas drivers. The time to prepare is now, so get your car ready and don’t miss a beat due to cold weather troubles.
Some helpful tips:
- Change your car’s oil before the temperature begins to drop. As the weather gets colder, the oil will thicken and have a harder time circulating through the engine.
- Check the anti-freeze, which keeps your car’s engine, radiator and hoses from freezing when the mercury falls.
- Test tire pressure. It is essential to maintaining traction on icy roadways. Check the pressure and condition on all of your car’s tires, and remember—as the air gets cooler, the tires will have a tendency to shrink. Reference your car owner’s manual for details regarding proper tire pressure.
- Monitor windshield wipers and wiper fluid, inspect your car’s battery, and check the lights, heater and de-frost mechanisms. Trying to keep your gas tank as full as possible on a consistent basis will help prevent a freeze in the gas lines.
The right preparations can help you avoid a potentially bad situation. However, if you find yourself stranded in cold weather, make sure you are ready by keeping an emergency kit in your car. It should include a flashlight, jumper cables, a tool kit and first aid kit, a blanket, warm clothes, sand or salt, an ice scraper and some extra food and water.
And what better way to get a jump on winterizing your vehicle than by registering to win one of ten NTTA Emergency Kits! The kit includes jumper cables, various tools, gloves and an ice-scraper. To register, just send an e-mail to TalkToNTTA@ntta.org. Be sure to include your name, address, telephone number and e-mail address. Anyone with a valid NTTA TollTag account may register from Oct. 18 to Nov. 19. Only one entry per e-mail address is allowed. Winners will be randomly selected and notified first by phone, then by e-mail on Nov. 20. By registering, you agree to abide by the giveaway’s terms and conditions. Winners will also be announced in the December edition of Driving Forward.
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