While we’ve got a few months before winter truly kicks in, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be thinking about it, in fact a few months beforehand is the perfect time to prepare your car for winter in Canada. There are many things you can and should do to get your car ready, and in this article, we’re going to go through some of the best.
Buy Winter Tires
You’ve already heard it many times, but it always bears repeating anyway. Winter tires are vastly more efficient and much safer in icy and snowy conditions than regular or all-season tires and you should absolutely have a set handy to switch over. In fact, now is the best time to do it.
Winter tires are sold all year round but of course they sell the most in the winter months, which is why they see a price hike in the winter months, so if you prepare your car for winter in Canada early you can actually save money. It’s also a good idea if you have the space to store them to get a set of winter rims, that way you should be able to switch over the tires for much cheaper or even by yourself with the right tools.
Do A Regular Maintenance Check
There are many regular things you should check in your car, but the season before winter is the best time since you really don’t want to be out there checking the oil in the snow and ice. 2 primary categories to look at are fluids and the battery.
Older batteries can often die in cold weather, so if you haven’t run a check in a while now is a good time to do so, as for fluids there are several. Oil, coolant, brake fluid and washer fluid are all things that’ll need to be checked and in the case of brake fluid and washer fluid, replaced with winter variants that are less prone to freezing.
Also make sure the heating is working properly, in dangerously low temperatures proper heating is essential.
Check/Replace Wiper Blades
Staying on the topic of washing, your wipers can take a beating in the cold as well, Wipers break down quicker than you might expect and should be replaced as soon as you start seeing streaks on the window when they’re in use. You can either invest in a set of winter wipers that specialize in cold conditions, or you can try to carry some of the load with a window scraper which you can use yourself in the morning or afternoon.