Getting Your Car Ready For An Atlanta Winter

By Brian Klaubert and Brian Warbington

October is National Car Care month. It is also a great time to get your vehicle ready for the winter. Of course it doesn’t get bitterly cold here in Atlanta, but there are a few things that are good to look into for even our milder fall and winter.

We are entering the rainy season. This means windshield wipers and washer fluid will be essential. Check your wipers on a nice day, before you need them in a torrential down pour. When you have your oil changed is a good time to ask to have the wipers checked. If you are at all handy, it will always be less expensive to buy the wipers and washer fluid at a discount store and install them yourself.

It is also the time of shorter days, and another item that begins to take on more duty is your battery. Your engine takes a little longer to start, even the mild cold saps capacity from the battery, and you are using your headlights much more often. Many batteries will fail without warning after only 3 years of life. Consider having your battery tested, or just replace it if it is over 3 years old.

If your engine takes a little longer to start than it used to, you could probably benefit from either or both of two services.  If you have more than 80,000 miles it is probably time to consider a tune-up – spark plugs and ignition wires.

Another service that makes a very noticeable difference in both starting and acceleration is an “Air Induction Cleaning”. This service cleans the fuel injectors and intake valves. But equally important it cleans the upper intake manifold and air intake system. You would be amazed at how much grime is in these passages. This grime makes it harder to start your engine, robs performance during acceleration, and increases exhaust emissions. This service typically costs $120 to $150.

Finally, no article about winterization would be complete without discussing anti-freeze. To be truthful, winter here does not pose much of a challenge to anti-freeze. But more importantly, anytime your coolant gets older than 2 years you really need to change it. Your coolant should look “clean”, either clean green or clean orange. If it looks dirty, it is corroding your engine from the inside out. Ask someone who has had their intake manifold gaskets replaced if they would rather have changed the coolant regularly. A coolant replacement usually costs around $40, and a coolant flush around $60. Replacing the intake manifold gaskets will cost $500 to $700.

Keeping your vehicle properly maintained will extend the useful life. It is always less costly to do preventative maintenance than to deal with a major problem from lack of maintenance. Have a great Fall, and enjoy the cooler weather!

Brian Klaubert and Brian Warbington are with Christian Brothers Auto – Hamilton Mill, in Dacula.