{"id":57,"date":"2015-09-22T20:55:16","date_gmt":"2015-09-23T00:55:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/elliottinsuranceservices.com\/blog\/?p=57"},"modified":"2016-11-30T10:39:18","modified_gmt":"2016-11-30T15:39:18","slug":"winter-is-coming-make-sure-you-car-is-ready","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/elliottinsuranceservices.com\/blog\/2015\/09\/22\/winter-is-coming-make-sure-you-car-is-ready\/","title":{"rendered":"Winter is coming &#8211; Make sure your car is ready"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Fall is here and it is time to think about the colder weather.\u00a0 It is a great time to check over your cars and trucks to make sure they are ready for the change in the weather.\u00a0 There are a lot of small maintenance items people tend to overlook when it comes to their automobiles.<\/p>\n<p>In some cases, simple car maintenance can prevent accidents before they happen.\u00a0 Some of the suggestions will seem very basic, but not everyone is an expert when it comes to their vehicle.\u00a0 In some cases, they may simply rely on the opinion of a family member or friend.<\/p>\n<p>Fall maintenance is basically a preparation for the coming winter months.\u00a0 We have included a small checklist for things you should be looking for on your autumn car maintenance routine.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Replace Windshield Wiper Blades<\/strong> \u2013 You can\u2019t avoid accidents if you can\u2019t see the other cars. Cracked or worn blades won\u2019t do an adequate job.\u00a0 Check the rubber on your windshield wiper blades to make sure they can handle clearing the heavy rain and snow.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Have Your Battery Checked<\/strong> \u2013 Having a fully charged battery is crucial for getting your vehicle started in the colder weather. Have the battery health checked and the charging system inspected by a trained technician.\u00a0 If you can see any signs of corrosion on the battery terminals or the battery cables look in rough shape, you should have these fixed right away.\u00a0 No one likes to be stranded in the cold with a vehicle that won\u2019t start.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Check The Heater\/Defroster<\/strong> \u2013 Make sure your heater and defroster work now. Driving with frosted or foggy windows not only is a challenge, but is very unsafe.\u00a0 Make sure you check your front and rear defrosters to make sure they are in working order.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Check Your Fluids<\/strong> \u2013 Now is a great time to check the fluid levels on your vehicle. You can check the basic ones (windshield washer fluid), or leave it to your technician if you are not so inclined.\u00a0 Windshield washer fluid is crucial in the fall and winter in Canada.\u00a0 You will need it between the mud, dirt, sludge, and snow.\u00a0 Now don\u2019t forget to get your technician to check your brake, transmission, power steering, and any other fluids your vehicle may have.\u00a0 Having clean and topped up fluids will help extend the life of your vehicle.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Car Wash \/ Detail<\/strong> \u2013 Your car and or truck will take a beating between fall and winter. Protect the paint by getting a proper car wash.\u00a0 Wash, Seal, and Wax.\u00a0 The layers of protection will prolong the life of your vehicle and make sure you look good driving down the street.\u00a0 Rust kills cars in Canada; don\u2019t let the salt sit on yours.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Check Spare Tire<\/strong> \u2013 If your vehicle has a spare tire, now is the time to make sure it is still able to be put on your vehicle. Make sure it is fully inflated and ready to be put into action.\u00a0 With the spare tire check, you should make sure you have the tools and supplies to make the change if you need to.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Windshield Check<\/strong> \u2013 Check your windshield for any cracks now. Once the cold weather comes, it could be too late.\u00a0 Small cracks and chips are known to spider and become larger when the cold weather comes.\u00a0 Save yourself time and money now, get them looked at by a windshield specialist.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Autumn car maintenance is not as scary as it seems.\u00a0 By paying attention to the maintenance of your vehicle, you can prolong its life and make sure you are going to be safe.\u00a0 Some of the suggestions can be completed by yourself, but if you are not confident with vehicle maintenance, then we would suggest you take your vehicle to see a trained technician.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_58\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/elliottinsuranceservices.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/Winter-Car-Maintenance.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-58\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-58\" src=\"https:\/\/elliottinsuranceservices.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/Winter-Car-Maintenance-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"Car lights in winter \" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/elliottinsuranceservices.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/Winter-Car-Maintenance-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/elliottinsuranceservices.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/Winter-Car-Maintenance-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/elliottinsuranceservices.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/Winter-Car-Maintenance-624x416.jpg 624w, https:\/\/elliottinsuranceservices.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/Winter-Car-Maintenance.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-58\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Be sure your car is ready for winter by following a simple maintenance plan.<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Fall is here and it is time to think about the colder weather.\u00a0 It is a great time to check over your cars and trucks to make sure they are ready for the change in the weather.\u00a0 There are a lot of small maintenance items people tend to overlook when it comes to their automobiles. In some cases, simple car&#8230; <a href=\"https:\/\/elliottinsuranceservices.com\/blog\/2015\/09\/22\/winter-is-coming-make-sure-you-car-is-ready\/\">Read more &raquo;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":58,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[23,22,24,143],"class_list":["post-57","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","placeholder-for-hentry","category-auto-insurance","tag-accident-prevention","tag-car-maintenance","tag-loss-prevention-tips","tag-winter"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/elliottinsuranceservices.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/elliottinsuranceservices.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/elliottinsuranceservices.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/elliottinsuranceservices.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/elliottinsuranceservices.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=57"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/elliottinsuranceservices.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/elliottinsuranceservices.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/58"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/elliottinsuranceservices.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=57"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/elliottinsuranceservices.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=57"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/elliottinsuranceservices.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=57"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}