Cold weather poses maintenance challenges for vehicles
COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI) – Winter weather can be challenging for cars, but things can go from bad to worse when your car won’t even crank.
We visited with a local service department to get tips and tricks on how to keep your car coasting through the cold weather.
Colder weather is around the corner, and that can mean some problems when it comes time to start your car. Keeping up to date with maintenance can be a hassle, but it is necessary to make sure your car is in it for the long haul.
“We do a multi-point inspection so during that we check your tire pressure; we check your brakes. We do a battery health check, especially in the winter time because it gets so cold at night now versus the different temperatures. It’ll take a good battery and it could turn it bad so we check the cold cranking amps so that we can make sure that the battery is at the optimal cold cranking amps so that when you come in the morning, it starts and it doesn’t click and you can go about your day,” said James Cypress at Carl Hogan Toyota.
What about those pesky tire pressure warnings? It is important to not overlook them.
“Always check your tire pressure when the sensor comes on. Not all cars have it, so you can see where the tire pressures are. If it doesn’t have that option but it does have tire sensors, then correct your tire pressures. Just set them in the morning as soon as the light is on and then if it doesn’t go out you come to us and we can check it,” said Cypress.
And with the holidays around the corner, you might leave your car sitting for a while. Cypress said a few days off the road should not affect your car, but if it does, there is something you can do.
“So cranking it every day daily will keep the battery charged to offset that. If you do come back from your vacation seeing mom dad grandma and enjoying the family and the car doesn’t start, I wouldn’t panic. We jump-start the car and we get it and then we do a battery check and everything should be fine from there,” said Cypress.
Keeping up with your car care is crucial to helping the longevity of your car.
