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What can you do to prepare for yet another Rochester winter? One essential tip: maintain the various fluid levels in your vehicle. It’s easy to get distracted with holiday get-togethers and events (which often include a lot of driving), but you must continue to take care of your cars. The day-to-day maintenance chores don’t go away with the change of season.

Our team has come up with the four most forgotten auto fluids that you need to maintain throughout this winter. We want to keep everyone as safe as possible on those snowy roads.  

1. Antifreeze

Flush the cooling system and check your antifreeze levels. Unlike typical glass cleaner, dropping temperatures won’t affect antifreeze, so don’t try substituting antifreeze with any other auto fluid. Make sure you use the correct ratio of coolant and water, which you can find in the owner’s manual.

2. Brake Fluid

Brake fluid is manufactured to attract moisture, which of course includes snow and ice. Standing moisture quickens corrosion within your vehicle. Brake fluid needs to be replaced once a year (or whenever it turns dark brown instead of honey-colored), especially during each winter. It won’t get low, just dirty. It’s a much less expensive option than replacing rusted calipers and rotors.

3. Engine Oil

Your car can’t run as efficiently as possible with old engine oil. Check your owner’s manual to know how frequently you need to change the oil (it depends on the number of miles, not months). You’ll seriously decrease the life of your car if you neglect this tip.

4. Power Steering Fluid

If you hear abnormal noises when you twist the steering wheel, you probably have a leak in your power steering fluid reservoir. If so, get it repaired by your auto mechanic as soon as possible. If you run out of fluid while on the road, your steering will completely fail--a dangerous risk in winter! Power steering fluid can otherwise be safely ignored.

Written on Wednesday, December 10, 2014 by Permalink |