You may be spending more time holed up in your house as winter rages outside, or maybe you’re heading up to the slopes every weekend you get a chance, but either way, your beloved vehicle still needs care, attention, and regular maintenance. Yes, even when the frigid temperatures make the idea of stepping outside nearly unbearable. If you’re looking to make less trips to your local auto maintenance shop, check out our tips for DIY winter car maintenance this winter.
Oil Change
This is one of the most commonly-DIYs (or attempted DIYs), but a word of caution should be applied before you give it a shot. A properly conducted oil change is necessary for your car to operate at an optimum level, so a misstep here could prove to have worse consequences than anticipated. If you feel confident in your ability to change the oil in your particular vehicle, this can be a big time and money-saver, but make sure you do your research first. What type of vehicle do you have? Some vehicles, like the Jeep Wrangler and Toyota Tacoma make the DIY solution straightforward, but others are a little more complicated to figure out. This might be something you want to continue to leave up to the professionals.
Tire Safety
Checking your tires is especially important in the winter, and it’s an extremely easy thing to do yourself. In general, tire pressure drops 1 psi for every 10-degree drop in temperature. So whenever there’s a significant drop in temperature, you should visually check your tires. Take an official pressure reading at least once a month in the winter months (and it doesn’t hurt to keep up with this practice as the weather turns warmer once again, either). Keeping your tires properly inflated will prevent undue stress and excessive wear and tear. If you’re worried you’ve been too hard on your tires lately, the trusty penny trick is always a good one to employ. Place a penny in the tread of your tire, with the head facing down toward the tire. If Honest Abe’s head is covered by the tire tread, you’re good, but if you can see the top of his head, your tires are starting to wear thin and it’s time to go shopping.
Spark Plugs
If you’ve recently put 30,000 more miles on your car, it’s time to consider replacing those spark plugs! While many shops charge a pretty hefty fee to replace the things, it’s actually quite a simple process as long as you’re willing to take it step by step. Always change just one at a time and make sure to reattach the wires to the first before you move onto the next.
No matter the time of year, your vehicle will always need regular and scheduled maintenance, but if there’s the chance you can take some of those tasks into your own hands safely and armed with the necessary knowledge to get it done well, there’s no reason not to try DIYing some of those things, especially when it’s freakin’ cold out and the idea of leaving the garage is just too much to bear.
But, auto body repair is probably something you should leave to the professional. Even dent repair is something you should have the pros do. If you do need some collision repair, give us a call at 303-344-2212 or contact us online.
