Winter is coming. Are you and your car ready?

When talking about winter, a lot of us can just sigh at the idea. Winter is inevitable and it’s not the best season for your car. Snow, frost, and ice can make roads more dangerous. That’s why having winter car preparations is important.

Preparing your car for the winter can get pretty exhausting especially when you don’t know where to start. Most people adjust only when something happens. Like how some people change their tires only when they start to feel their cars slipping on the roads. Hindsight is always important in safety so preparations need to be made even before winter hits.

But what should you prioritize? What should you do first? We’ve prepared a short list of what you should include in your winter car preparations. Let’s see what we have.

Winter Car Preparation 101

1. Check your tires – We put this first because this is probably the easiest. Regular tires won’t work on icy roads so you should start switching them with your winter set. But before you do that, check your winter tires if they still have the proper tread depth. No point using them when they can’t even perform properly. Lastly, make sure to constantly check your tire pressure. The cold can cause the pressure to drop at times so check your tires visually before you get on the car and watch out for the tire pressure light.
2. Mind the lights – With winter coming and Daylight Savings Time, it gets darker earlier. This means you need to make sure that you can see and other drivers can see you too. So have all your lights checked from your headlights to your taillights. Spare no expense in ensuring all the lights work because the worst time to find out they don’t is when you are in the middle of the road.
3. Change your wipers – While not exactly applicable to “cold-but-not-really-snowing” winters of Atlanta, you might want to change your wipers just to be sure. There are winter specific wiper blades that plow through snow and ice with no problem. This is very helpful especially during morning when you are defrosting your car. Aside from the wiper blades, change your windshield wiper fluid that won’t freeze when the temperature drops.
4. Have a winter kit ready – Winter can get pretty feisty at times and this might result in pretty bad weather at times. Being stuck because your car broke own or the roads are very unsafe is pretty normal. That’s why you need to have an emergency winter kit ready in your car. The essentials include:
   • Extra warm clothes.
   • Blankets
   • Snacks and energy bars.
   • Water
   • A first aid kit
   • An ice scraper
   • Flashlight and some batteries
5. Visit a mechanic – Your car might run just fine during fall or summer but winter is a totally different beast. Having a trusted mechanic check your car right before the start of winter is always a good way to ensure you lessen the chances of your car breaking down.  A good shop or mechanic will probably check 6-9 different points which may include the following:

1. • Brakes
   • Battery
   • Antifreeze
   • Thermostat
   • Defroster
   • Heating System

All these parts of your car are necessary for it to run properly and safely during the winter.

If you are in need of a trusted mechanic that has the expertise and experience then T3 Atlanta is your best bet. Our tried and tested service for Lexus, Nissan, Infiniti, and Toyota cars has us on the top spot for auto repair shops in Atlanta. Give us a call today and let us help you get your car into shape for winter.