Every vehicle in cold climates has to face the music when it comes to winter weather. If you live anywhere where the temperatures dip below freezing for any number of days, you need to winterize your vehicle. Of particular importance is the oil and the battery that lubricates the engine and powers your vehicle respectively.
The Oil Change
Somewhere around late fall when the weather turns cooler, it's time to look at changing the oil in your gas-powered engine. In older cars and trucks, you should switch the oil from heavier to lighter viscosity to encourage easier flow around moving engine parts. Newer engines might not need to make a switch between heavier to lighter for winterization.
It's also important to change the filter because the old filter will be clogged up with dirty oil and engine particulates. Putting fresh oil in without changing the filter only wastes the fresh oil and prevents the filter from doing its intended job. Additionally, keep in mind that some manufacturers will insist that nothing but synthetic oil is allowed in your vehicle's engine. Putting regular oil in instead of synthetic oil will ruin and damage the engine, resulting in thousands of dollars of repairs or a complete engine replacement.
The best approach is to follow the manufacturer's recommendations for an oil change. It will say in your owner's manual what type of oil to use and how often to change it. After the oil change is complete, your vehicle should be good for the next three months, unless you drive more than 3,000 miles during that time.
The Car Battery
When we are talking car batteries, we aren't talking about EV batteries. You should naturally be plugging in a hybrid or EV every time you stop your vehicle and leave it sit for an hour or more. Instead, we're talking about a standard car battery.
Some trucks require two automotive batteries, usually the heavy duty kind. Other vehicles only need one car battery. However, every battery of this type needs to be winterized. It starts by checking the battery for live cells and conductivity to make sure the battery still has enough life left in it for winter.
The battery is hooked up to a machine that reads the charge left inside. It may be recharged and tested again. If the battery's power doesn't hold after a recharge, the battery may be on its way out and will have to be replaced. If the charge holds, the battery is reconnected to your engine and it's ready to go.
In some batteries, battery fluid exists to aid in the electrical charge and conductivity of electricity. Your technician will wait for the engine to cool down and then very carefully remove the battery to check fluid levels. Some of these batteries have indicators on top that will change color to show that they need to be topped off. Other batteries require a removal of the battery cap to check fluids and top off very carefully. Once filled and fully charged, your battery is ready to go and should last all winter.
Schedule Winter Service Online
Schedule winter service as soon as you can. Expect to set aside at least a couple of hours to give the technician time to test and check the battery. If you request a full winterization package (e.g., tire pressure check and fill, radiator flush, etc.), your technician can perform those other winterization services while the car cools down for the battery service. September and October are the best months to schedule a winterization for your vehicle, but you can do it into November or December if the weather is warmer than usual.