Have you winterized your car yet? Well it's time
HOPKINS, Minn. -- Car experts say if you've yet to winterize your vehicle, now is the time.
They recommend doing things ranging from simple tasks like checking fluid levels and tire pressure, to making sure wiper blades are effective. Most recommend taking your car in for an oil change or tune up before the winter sets in.
"Any time the temperature drops to freezing, people are going to have car problems, that's pretty normal," said Paul Kinney, Owner and Operator of Jeff's Auto Service in Hopkins. "We have one or two stints of cold weather and then stuff shows up. The coolant starts to leak, the wiper blades start to smear, or the car won't start."
Kinney says most car leaks happen because rubber pieces tend to shrink with cold weather.
As a family owned and run business, Kinney says he's seen his fair share of Minnesota winters.
"Any car that comes in here, I look at it like 'If this was my wife's car, what would I want to do to make sure she doesn't have to worry about anything on the road?" he said. "I love doing something and doing it well, and then having other people expressing their gratitude for doing a job well done so they don't have to worry about stuff. There's enough stuff to worry about right now."
Other experts recommend keeping a "go-bag" of winter supplies in your car, like blankets, battery-powered flashlights, and roadside flares.
"For winter, just making sure maintenance is up to date, fluids are full and ready for the cold weather," said Alan Nemitz, a technician at Imola Motorsports in Plymouth. "The first few weeks around when it's going to snow, it's a lot of what we're doing."
