Birchwood Kia Blog

Winter tires - This should be a no-brainer for anyone who has driven during winter before, but sadly too many people think all-season tires are good enough. The traction afforded by winter tires simply can’t be beat, and no matter how good a driver you are, a set of four of these tires (no mixing and matching!) will help immensely when roads become covered in snow and ice.

Windshield wipers – When was the last time you changed your windshield wiper blades? It’s a good idea to switch yours before winter hits, as you’re not doing yourself any favours using old blades that just smudge snow and sleet. It’s easy to find the right size blades in stores, and switching them isn’t difficult either.
Check your tire pressure – Cold temperatures will cause tire pressure to be decreased, so you’ll want to make sure your (winter!) tires are pumped up properly. Underinflated tires will decrease stopping distances, so check the proper PSI levels in the fall months (before valves could get frozen) and adjust accordingly. Don’t forget about your spare tire as well (pressure should be higher than your other tires)!

Clear your car of snow and ice - We hear every driver complain about this, yet it seems a quarter of vehicles on the road in the winter have a ton of snow all over them when they’re being driven. Listen – we know it’s a pain having to spend five minutes in the freezing cold to scrape windows and clear lights and roofs of snow, but avoiding doing so isn’t just unfair to you. It’s just as unfair to the drivers around you who have to avoid flying chunks of snow coming from your car or SUV.

Don’t use cruise control – Winter driving demands even more attention when roads become slick, and activating cruise control can make drivers complacent. With your foot resting on the floor, you could lose a precious second when you need to quickly brake to avoid hitting something. It’s best to leave cruise control off and focus on accelerating and braking the old-fashioned way.

Keep your gas tank at least half full – If you are one of the unlucky few who gets stuck on the side of the road for an extended period of time, you’ll need to run your car’s engine every so often to keep warm. If you have a full gas tank, you won’t have to worry about running out of fuel. A full tank will also help avoid having the tank fill with condensation (when temperatures rise during the day, the tank will fill with air, and then condense when temperatures drop at night).