As the leaves on the trees change colors and begin to fall to the ground, we start preparing ourselves for the colder months by purchasing new coats, gloves, and scarves. During this time, it is equally important that we service our vehicles to ensure that they too are equipped to handle the seasonal transition.
In this video, the “Car Lady” Sarah Lee gives helpful hints for winterizing cars as seasons change. Sarah Lee advises that servicing your vehicle properly every year during cold weather months is extremely beneficial in the long run. By maintaining your vehicle properly you can improve the longevity of the life of your vehicle and help preserve its performance and fuel economy.
Hi Sarah Lee here, My Car Lady dot com. Just a quick little update on servicing your vehicle during a transition from season to season. For many of us summer is gone, we’re into fall, the temperature has dropped anywhere from ten to 30 degrees and it’s moving towards winter. What do you need to be aware of? Just a few things but let’s talk about them.
Number One: Air pressure in your tires. Any time you have a change in the temperature outside your tires may get soft, you may lose air and in some cases, your car manufacturer has changed out the regular old air for nitrogen. So look for a green cap on your tire stem or a green dot on the cap of the tire stem. You cannot mix regular air with nitrogen. So visit your dealership or your tire center and make sure you top of the nitrogen. Once a year is good to check your tire pressure especially if you have nitrogen. If you have regular air it should be every season.
Number Two: In addition to checking your heat you need to be aware of the anti-freeze, the coolant in your radiator. It is highly recommended that you flush the radiator fluid every two-three years depending on where you live. Two years if you have an extreme temperature situation, like Las Vegas where it is 114 degrees for two months of the time. Or extreme cold, like Canada or the northern states where it can get down to below zero. That can drastically break down the anti-freeze in your car, and the acidity level changes and it can rot out the inside of your radiator because some of those radiators have plastic interior cores. It’s a lot less expensive to pay for a radiator flush every two-three years than it is to replace an entire radiator.
Number Three: Now, one other thing while you’re checking your tire pressure, you’re always checking on how the car is running. Gasoline can also change this time of year. In many states from October until April the gasoline includes a new additive to reduce the carbon in the air. That’s because, of course, the sun is not around so much to burn off those carbons. This is not a good thing for your car. This additive actually hurts the performance of the vehicle, adding carbon build-up to the injectors. So please, if you have a high-performance vehicle, if you have a 6 cylinder, if you have a super charge or turbo and you live in state where it clearly states at the gas station label by the handle that an additive has been added to the gasoline, please bump up the octane level to 89-90 or 87-91. Get it up there so that your car’s performance and fuel economy stays where it belongs.
This is Sarah Lee with My Car Lady dot com, thank you so much for visiting today, please come back often. I hope I have helpful tips that will make your car run better and give you peace of mind of the road.
