Four Ways To Prepare Your Vehicle For Winter

While we might not experience the harshest of winters in East Texas, we all know that the weather in the Lone Star State is unpredictable. It might be gorgeous and in the 70’s for Christmas, and freezing two days later when begrudgingly return to work.

At Bosworth & Associates we proudly provide auto insurance for many throughout Tyler and the rest of East Texas. But when winter weather does occasionally wreak havoc around here, often you still need to use your vehicles to get out into the ice or snow.

So here are four friendly tips to help your prepare a vehicle for the winter for the possibility of nasty weather.

Change Out Your Oil

If you like to change your own oil, you definitely will want to take care of that quickly or when the weather outside does not have you laying on freezing concrete when doing so.

Having oil of the correct viscosity that is fresh in your engine can greatly improve starts and performance in cold weather. Many mechanics will adjust or recommend changing your oil with the seasons. When the temperatures outside are very low or excessively high, it affects how the oil lubricates and flows inside the engine.

If your vehicle is due for servicing or regularly maintenance, it is wise to simply have all of your fluids throughout the vehicle changed to get it out of the way.

Change The Wiper Blades

Visibility in a strong storm, no matter what precipitation is coming down, is vital. If you can not see where you are going, it goes without saying that you are far more likely to get into an accident.

Make sure you are relying on wiper blades that will still be effective when the next big storm rolls through by taking a little time now to replace those blades you keep forgetting to address.

Avoid Frozen Door Seals

Have you ever needed to get in your car to at least warm it up in the morning and been locked out even though you unlocked the door? Sure most of us have experienced doors that have been frozen shut. There are a few common tips out there to avoid this, but here might be the simplest one:

Apply nonstick cooking spray to your door seals. You can get a can of nonstick cooking spray fairly easily at your local grocery store. Then open up all your doors and at close range spray all the way along the rubber seals around your doors. Wipe away the excess with a rag or paper tool, and you are set to go! Simply apply again periodically or before each chance of winter weather.

Prepare A Vehicle Emergency Kit

This is always a sound idea, and something many people recommend doing for any time of the year. You likely do not want to be stranded on the side of the road or trapped in a vehicle because of weather or a situation. But this can be even worse if you are stuck on the road during the winter months.

Prepare a set of items that can stay in the vehicle at all times for emergencies. You likely should include some first aid supplies, a blanket for the winter, some nutritional bars possibly, roadside flares, and some hand warmers if you might face some frigid temperatures.

From there you could get in more depth with items such as a full first aid kit, a flashlight, kitty litter, and water. The key is to think about the things necessary to you if you are stranded or stuck in the car because of automotive problems.

Call Bosworth & Associates

If you are trying to slide by without auto insurance, call Bosworth & Associates before you face something truly unpredictable. We are proud to be your top resource for local auto, home and life insurance throughout Tyler, TX since 1939. Contact us for a quote or to inquire about our policies, we are always ready to answer your needs.