Trusted Saskatoon Auto Body Experts at Western Millennium Collision - Winter Vehicle Maintenance Tips

16. Nov 2021 Admin Saskatoon Auto Body, Trusted Tips

At Western Millennium Collision, they focus on three things: quality, convenience, and service. Quality implies that they maintain state-of-the-art tools and equipment so that their highly experienced technicians have all the latest tools and technology to ensure that your vehicle receives the finest quality and extraordinary workmanship. Convenience is all about valuing your time and simplifying the process of having your car fixed from the moment you contact them. Their shop is large enough to accommodate any size of vehicle, so that you can drive into the estimator for a complete evaluation of the damages to determine how fast the repairs can be done and how much it will cost, in one easy step. Western Millennium Collision Is a Trusted Saskatoon Collision Repair & Auto Body Shop.

PREPARE YOUR VEHICLE FOR WINTER

Winter driving conditions are hard on your vehicle. As winter approaches, it is helpful to be prepared for the icy, snowy road conditions ahead. Here are a few easy vehicle maintenance tips to prepare for winter.

CHECK YOUR VEHICLE'S BATTERY TO PREPARE FOR WINTER

To prepare for the cold winter months, one of the most important things to do is check your battery. A quick inspection and battery health test will ensure a dead battery will not leave you stranded in the cold. Your best defence against the cold weather is a fresh battery. If your battery is weak, be sure to replace it.

If you do not drive your vehicle often, it is beneficial to attach your battery to a trickle charger or maintainer. Because your battery needs to work harder in the cold weather, it loses power over time if your vehicle is not frequently in use. Utilizing a trickle charger will ensure your vehicle starts when you need it to.

CHECK YOUR VEHICLE'S TIRE PRESSURE

As the weather gets colder, it is particularly important to monitor tire pressure. In cold weather conditions, low tire pressure is more common. This is because fluctuating temperatures cause the air in your tires to expand and contract. As good tires are essential for icy conditions, low tire pressure leads to poor performance on the road. In addition to monitoring tire pressure, utilizing snow or winter tires may be worth the investment. Winter tires will help with traction and safety on icy winter roads.

GET AN OIL CHANGE

To ensure your engine runs efficiently in cold weather conditions, it needs to be properly lubricated. Due to the fact that cold weather reduces the effectiveness of car oil, it is necessary to use thinner oil during the winter months. Therefore, the wintertime can be a good opportunity to switch to synthetic oil, provided it is appropriate for your vehicle. Overall, synthetic oil is more free-flowing at temperatures below freezing and offers protection against your vehicle’s engine immediately. This is because synthetic oil does not require any time to warm up. Be sure to check your vehicle’s owner’s manual to ensure you are using the proper oil viscosity.

PROTECT YOUR VEHICLE'S EXTERIOR

As the temperature drops, exposure to the cold elements is not ideal for the exterior of your vehicle. Whenever possible, always seek shelter for your vehicle in the cold months. This keeps brushing the snow and scraping the ice off of it to a minimum. If you have a garage, it is recommended that you utilize it to park your vehicle. Shelter protects your vehicle’s paint job from the elements.

In addition to your vehicle’s exterior, protecting your vehicle’s interior is also important throughout the winter. Use snow mats to keep melted snow and dirt from wrecking the carpet of your vehicle.

REPLACE YOUR WIPER BLADES

In conditions where snow and ice are prevalent, clear visibility on the road is especially important. To ensure clear visibility, good-quality windshield wiper blades are essential. A good set of wiper blades will suffice for all seasons, and there is not necessarily a need for wiper blades that are winter-specific. However, it is recommended that you replace windshield wiper blades once a year. In addition, a car scraper should always be used to remove ice from your windshield. This will prolong the life of your windshield wipers.

Following these easy tips will ensure you drive comfortably and stay safe on the roads this winter. When you’re driving, you should focus only on the road that is in front of you and if you get in any collision or accident, contact Western Millennium Collision for all your vehicle repair needs.

Western Millennium Collision Is a Trusted Saskatoon Collision Repair & Auto Body Shop.

Trusted Saskatoon Tire and Auto Repair & Service Winter Car Maintenance Tips

5. Dec 2019 Trusted Saskatoon Saskatoon Auto Repair & Service, Saskatoon Tires, Trusted Tips

Be Safe On The Roads This Winter

Safe driving is always important, but being on the road during winter warrants extra precautions. That's why we have written up our most important tips to stay safe in hazardous, wintery weather conditions.

1) Avoid slipping and sliding

Ensure your vehicle is ready for Canada’s changing winter weather, by switching your all-season tires to winter ones before the temperature drops below 7°C. Winter tires optimize the performance and safety of winter driving. The braking distance of a winter tire could be up to two vehicle lengths shorter than the braking distance of an all-season tire.

2) Replace Worn Tires

It’s extremely important to check your tires each winter season because worn or bald tires can be very dangerous. Tires have tread wear indicator bars moulded into them. A solid bar of rubber across the width of the tread means it’s time to replace the tire.

3) Make Sure Your Tires Are Correctly Inflated

For every 5°C drop in temperature, tires lose one pound of air pressure. To ensure optimum fuel efficiency and prevent irregular or premature wear, tire inflation should be checked monthly. Several tire manufacturers recommend that tire pressure should be higher in the winter, so check to see whether your tire pressure should be adjusted accordingly.

4) Fill Your Trunk With A Winter Survival Kit

Winter weather can be very unpredictable, so make sure you have a winter survival kit in your trunk in case you get stuck in bad conditions. Every car should have a scraper for the windshield, a small shovel, candles, and warm clothing such as a winter jacket, gloves and a hat. Also, make sure you bring a cell phone with you on every trip in case you need to call for help.

5) Defrost Your Vehicle Properly

Although it takes you a few extra minutes, make sure to properly clean your windows and remove any excess snow from the top of your vehicle. Ice and snow that is left on your vehicle can obstruct your view, causing potentially dangerous situations.

6) Top Up Your Fluids

Wintery road conditions can cause your windshield to get dirty quickly, so make sure your windshield washer fluid is filled up. Also, ensure your gas tank is at least half full, as on very cold days the condensation in the tank can freeze and cause problems.

7) Buckle Up & Adjust To Driving Conditions

Make sure you are always buckled up and adjust your driving to what the conditions are like. You will put yourself and others at risk if you do not change your driving style to suit the wintery conditions.

Epic Auto & Driveline Trusted Saskatoon Tire and Auto Repair expert tip on Re-Torquing Tires

9. Jan 2015 Trusted Saskatoon Saskatoon Auto Repair & Service, Saskatoon Tires, Trusted Tips

Epic Auto and Driveline is a one-stop Saskatoon automotive and tire shop for domestic and import cars, light trucks, and SUVs

You can be confident knowing that they always take pride in their work and take good care of their customers. Epic Automotive and Driveline is a Trusted Saskatoon Tire Shop. In this tire tip they share why you should re-torque your tires!

Re-Torque Your Tires

Occasionally a customer will come into our auto repair shop with a concern of a noise; once in a while we find loose lug nuts that hold the tires and rims tight to the car. This usually happens shortly after they have had the vehicle in for servicing somewhere and the wheels were off or they have taken the wheel off themselves.

Re-torquing wheels after vehicle servicing

When you bring your vehicle to a Trusted Saskatoon repair shop, if we have had your wheels off of the vehicle, we will ask you to return so we can re-torque the wheels. Your invoice will also have a statement on it advising that the wheels need to be re-torqued. You can do this yourself if you like, but if we were the ones to work on the car we do this at no charge to you. We always use a torque wrench to tighten your wheels when we re-install them. This is more of a safety concern now than it was 20 years ago. Vehicles are much more reliable today, but they are made with lighter materials and some of these are very fussy about how they are put together. Even a slight decrease or increase in the tightness of bolts and nuts can have adverse effects, in that they can loosen or they can break.

Most automotive shops will use a torque wrench to tighten the wheel and this is the best way to make sure the nuts are tight but not so tight that the wheel studs break from too much pressure on them. Some vehicles are more prone to having the lug nuts loosen and will need multiple re-torquing to make sure they stay tight.

Loose wheels don’t happen often, but to be safe, have your wheels re-torqued within the first 100 KM after they have been put on. It is the responsibility of the vehicle owner/driver that this is done. Loose wheels can cause a lot of damage to your car and potential injury to you and others. It doesn't take long to re-torque wheels and could save you a repair bill and a big headache.

Epic also offers financing. If you need vehicle parts or car service but don't have the immediate funds to pay for it, take advantage of a monthly payment plan using the value of your vehicle through their financing partner.

Relationships - Affordability - Transparency

Epic Automotive and Driveline is a Trusted Saskatoon Tire Shop

Preferred Collision and Glass Trusted Saskatoon Auto Body experts share a video tip on Proper vs Improper Windshield Installation

6. Mar 2014 trusted Saskatoon Auto Body, Trusted Tips

What can you expect when you deal with the professionals at Preferred Collision and Glass Saskatoon? More than you thought!

First, expect big cost savings!

You can also expect Seamless quality repairs! A faster turnaround for your vehicle (on average 25% faster!!) & Assistance dealing with insurance!

You'll find quality at every price point - from a few hundred dollars to a thousand or more. It's up to you. Trusted Saskatoon Auto Body experts in collision repair and auto paint!

Here they share a video tip on Proper vs Improper Windshield Installation:

This is an example of the Crystal Glass products we're proud to use here in the shop! Come have your windshield installed by us today!

If you are in a collision, they will look after all your and your car’s needs, during and after, with our Customer For Life program. Give us a call at (306) 653-5655 so that we can help you out and get you back on the road. Remember, we can’t prevent an accident, but we can make it like it never happened.

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Trusted Saskatoon Auto Body Experts at Western Millennium Collision - Winter Vehicle Maintenance Tips

PREPARE YOUR VEHICLE FOR WINTER