There are many things you should do for the health of your car, such as checking batteries and keeping gas tanks full, but we’re going to focus on the things that will help you avoid getting in an accident. We know that there will be plenty of cars getting collision repair in our auto body shop this winter – we don’t need to see yours, too!
Inflate Tires
As the temperature drops, so does the pressure in your tires. Having underinflated tires can affect not just your gas mileage, but your maneuvering. A car with underinflated tires is less responsive in steering and needs more distance to stop.
Check Tire Tread
Your tire tread is designed to give you traction in adverse conditions such as on wet, snowy roads. Having good tire tread is important to maintaining maneuverability in the winter. Note that Colorado’s new traction law requires a deeper tread to be in compliance (3/16” vs. 1/8”) so old-fashioned tests of tread depth are insufficient.
Consider Winter Tires
If you are checking your tread and notice that there’s not enough, now might be a good time to upgrade to winter tires. Winter tires can give you better handling and braking during snowy conditions. The trade-off is that winter tires can diminish your gas mileage, but it’s often worth it.
Check Your Brakes
It’s a good idea to get your car a checkup before the winter season is in full swing. As part of this checkup, you should make sure your brakes are inspected. Make sure all brake components are in good shape, and that the entire system is working properly (including anti-lock brakes and traction control systems).
Replace Windshield Wiper Blades
Visibility is paramount in winter driving. You can’t maneuver around obstacles that you can’t see. Making sure you can see means being able to clear your windshield during winter weather. If your windshield wiper blades aren’t up to the task, either because they’re worn out or they’ve degraded with sunlight, it’s time to replace them. Don’t forget your rear wiper, either!
Get Freeze Resistant Wiper Fluid
Start by checking your wiper fluid levels. Don’t forget the rear fluid reservoir, if you have one. If you need more fluid, top it off. Make sure that the windshield wiper fluid you’re using is designed to avoid freezing. Otherwise, it can turn to ice on your windshield, and that won’t help your visibility at all.
Check Your Heat
Having a functioning heater in your car is about more than just comfort. When it gets cold, snow doesn’t just fall onto your windshield, it can freeze there. This creates a thin layer of ice that can make it almost impossible to see out from the car. It’s important to make sure that your windshield defroster is working properly.
Why Choose Accurate Auto Body for Collision Repair
If your car is in an accident, you want several things from your auto body shop: competence, trustworthiness, and compassion.
Accurate Auto Body is an I-CAR Gold Class auto body shop. This means that our technicians achieve and maintain the highest levels of training in the industry. We do this in part with factory training from Toyota and taking part in Honda’s ProFirst collision repair training.
Accurate Auto Body is also trustworthy. We are ranked A+ with the BBB. We maintain this grade by not giving customers reasons to make a claim with the BBB. And if we do have claims, we resolve them quickly to our customers’ satisfaction.
You can also trust us thanks to our Focus on You Service™ system. This means we give you guaranteed pricing, guaranteed completion dates, and educate you on all you need to know about your car’s repairs.
Our Focus on You Service™ system is also a measure of our compassion. We understand how hard it is to live without your car, and we work hard to work around your schedule. We offer fast turnaround times, and fix your damage right the first time.
Need collision repairs on your car after a winter car accident? Please call 303-344-2212 or use our online form to schedule a free repair estimate at our shop in Aurora.
To tell the truth, a lot of people neglect this vehicle preparation for winter but this time can be really harsh and it is truly important to pay enough attention to this process in order to avoid some emergency situations. Unfortunately, a lot of people are not fully aware of all proper and necessary methods to implement it but it is so valuable that you shared them in your article. From my point of view, all these tips are truly effective and they all need to be taken into account because if you forget about one of these things, you will have a risk of getting in trouble which can be fatal. But I think that primarily you need to check your brakes because it’s one of the fundamental factors in ensuring security. In winter, environmental conditions increase the negative impact on the braking system and the brakes must pass a full inspection to prevent the final unusability of the mechanisms.