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Fall Cleanup and Maintenance for Your Car

With summer but a fading memory, it’s now time to start thinking about getting your car ready for the colder months ahead. Here are a few simple maintenance checks to help keep your vehicle in top condition.

Car Battery

Fall is a good time to inspect your car battery, making sure the cables and terminals are snug, and retighten as necessary for good contact. If your connections are dirty or showing a lot of corrosion, disconnect and clean them with a wire brush or cleaning tool. Be aware that when you disconnect the battery, you may have to re-enter a security code in your radio or navigation system. If you have a sealed, maintenance-free battery with no removable caps, there's little else you need to do. If your battery has removable caps, check the water level periodically, and refill with distilled water as needed.

Last, if the vehicle is going to be parked or stored for an extended period of time, you may want to consider investing in a trickle charger to keep it charged. All batteries lose strength over time, so it’s prudent to be proactive in replacing your battery. Batteries come in a variety of sizes, and it's important to choose the right size. Check your owner’s manual or in-store guide, then check our car battery ratings and buying advice to choose the right ones for your needs.

Headlights

As cars age, the headlights can become cloudy or hazy, especially on cars that are routinely parked outside. More than a cosmetic problem, clouded lenses can pose a serious threat to safety, compromising night vision and reducing the effectiveness of your headlights by up to 80 percent, based on our measurements. Fortunately, our tests show that for a modest cost, even junkyard-ready lens covers can be made clear again using a headlight restoration kit costing less than $22. By following the directions closely and using a bit of elbow grease, good results are possible.

Tires

Proper maintenance and responsible driving can maximize the mileage in a set of tires. Monthly tread inspections can inform when the tires warrant replacement. If you notice that your tires have less than 1/8-inch of tread left, then it’s time to go shopping. (The distance from a quarter's rim to George Washington's hairline is about 1/8 inch.) Most people buy all-season tires because it's easier and cheaper than buying one set for the winter and another for summer. All-season car tires deliver good, well-rounded performance but are never outstanding in any way. By contrast, winter tires have outstanding snow traction but just fair braking ability on cleared roads.

Wash and Wax

Fall is a good time to clean up your car so that winter’s mess doesn’t land on top of the summer’s dead bugs, bird droppings, and tree sap. If you want to go further than soap and water, you can try car wax to keep your car’s finish looking new. Most waxes we tested showed a significant loss of protection within about five weeks. For that reason, we recommend waxing even new cars every two or three months. Think of it as a seasonal chore to protect and beautify your car.

Wipers

If your wipers are leaving streaks of water on your windshield, then it’s time to replace them—or clean them. Wipers degrade quickly and typically need to be changed every 6 to 12 months. Should performance deteriorate in less time, try cleaning the blade with a paper towel and glass cleaner. Often, that can renew the blades for a few more weeks or months of streak-free operation.

09/30/2019 in Maintenance

Fall, cars, Honey Brook

Winter Tires What You Need to Know

For most folks who drive in winter weather, the idea of buying winter tires has at least crossed their minds. It just makes sense, because any small advantage in traction can make a big difference on treacherous roads. That’s important, considering some 95,000 people are injured each year in auto accidents caused by snow, sleet and ice.

On the other hand, winter tires aren’t exactly cheap. Customers can expect to pay more than $140 per tire with a popular SUV, such as the 2018 Subaru Forester. Then there’s the fact that the Forester, along with most of the SUVs and pickups sold today, has all-wheel drive. So do quite a few cars. Many people think that ordering a vehicle with that hardware is all they need to handle snow and ice.

The experts don’t agree. The cold, hard facts indicate that if you want optimum traction in wicked weather, you need winter tires.

Let’s find out why.

What’s the Difference between Winter Tires and Regular Tires?

There are two key differences between winter tires and so-called “regular” tires. For starters, they’re made out of different rubber compounds. The material used for winter tires is specifically engineered to stay relatively soft when the weather turns cold. That softness allows the tires to grab onto the rough surface of the road, creating traction. Indeed, winter tires are so soft that they often can get some grip even if there’s ice on the road.

Also helping matters are the specially tailored tread patterns for winter tires. They have a variety of extra cuts, grooves and channels, all with separate jobs. For example, some “bite” into slippery surfaces for extra grip. Others direct melting water away from between the tires and the road. This can reduce the chances of hydroplaning.

When it comes to the demands of summer driving, winter tires are too soft. Those complicated tread patterns can quickly wear down in the higher temperatures.

As a result, most new vehicles try to provide the best of both worlds with all-season tires. Like their name tells you, all-season tires are designed for year-round driving. This means they should be soft enough to create traction in the cold, but hard enough to stand up to the heat of summer driving. In the real world, however, all-season tires lose enough flexibility in colder weather to start losing their grip. Nor do they have the fancy tread designs for managing the snow, slush and other precipitation.

Do You Need Winter Tires with All-wheel Drive?

Let’s be clear. An all-wheel-drive system can be a major benefit if you want to avoid getting stuck in the snow. By providing engine power to all four wheels, it can ensure there’s twice the opportunity for traction as with a two-wheel-drive vehicle. Additionally, many systems can adjust power distribution so that the wheels with the most grip get the most power. Yet once you’re underway, all-wheel drive won’t help you stop any faster. And even advanced all-wheel-drive technology has only a marginal effect on cornering in slippery conditions.

What Do the Numbers Show?

To see exactly how much performance can vary between winter tires and their all-season counterparts, consider the research. Consumer Reports recently tested an all-wheel-drive 2015 Honda CR-V for braking performance in the snow. With that compact SUV traveling at 60 mph and wearing winter tires, it took 310 feet before coming to a stop. With all-season rubber, the distance was more than twice as long, at 668 feet.

It’s further worth noting that off-road tires are no substitute for winter ones. The FourWheeler network discovered that in its own real-world evaluations. Here, the test truck was a 2016 Ford F-150 with four-wheel drive. Running on a closed, snow-covered track, the FourWheeler team put the truck through its paces with all-season, mud, all-terrain, winter and studded winter tires. Unstudded winter tires delivered the best performance, including stopping distances half as long as with mud tires.

In terms of “average trends,” Consumer Reports data also shows that winter tires enable 20 percent shorter stopping distances than all-season tires. The winter tires had a traction advantage in the snow as well. They allowed cars to travel 34 percent farther than all-season tires while accelerating from 5 to 20 mph.

When Do I Need Winter Tires?

A general rule is that winter-rated tires work best for customers who do extended amounts of driving in temperatures below 45 degrees.

09/18/2019 in Maintenance

Snow, car, used car, RideSmart, maintenance

3 Crucial Steps to Get Your Car Ready for Spring

Even if you’re ready for spring, your car probably isn’t.

Before winter hits, many people get the oil changed, tires checked and other pre-winter maintenance completed. But winter takes a heavy toll on cars, often causing hidden damage that could be costly or dangerous.

Now is the time to make sure your car is road ready for spring. Here are 10 must-do checks that car experts recommend so you can drive safely into the season:

1. Take your car for a tire check

Almost all cars in the U.S. are fitted with all-season tires. While these tires are safe and reliable in most climates, they aren’t as flexible as traditional snow tires. All-season tires stiffen in the cold, especially when temperatures drop below 20 degrees Fahrenheit. That can cause cracks and other damage.

You can take your car to many national auto service retailers for a free tire inspection. While you’re there, have your tires rotated and the air pressure checked. Doing these things will make the tires last longer and ensure they’ll grip on rain-slicked roads.

2. Replace your wiper blades

Anyone who has had a windshield wiper peel off during a heavy spring rain knows that winter can be hard on blades. Even if your blades look OK, replace them if they start to leave streaks on your windshield.

An auto technician can change them, or you can easily replace them yourself. Just check the owner’s manual for your car to find the correct size.

3. Ensure your car’s brakes are checked

03/28/2019 in Maintenance

spring, get car read, repair, service,