By ROD ZOOK
Hutch Post
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — The cold weather can have a negative effect on many things. And that includes your vehicle. Tim Deiser with Midwest Ford Toyota says there are several things to watch for with your vehicle during the cold snap.
“The first thing you want to do is keep your tire pressures correct, because that’s going to affect your fuel mileage and how your vehicle drives, “ Tim Deiser of Midwest Ford Toyota said. “Anothing thing is to check the coolant and make sure that you’re at the correct tempurature...negative 35 to negative 50 degrees.”
Another part of your vehicle that can take a beating during cold weather is your battery.
“Pay attention to your battery indicator light if it comes on...do not shut off ,” Deiser said. “With this cold weather, once it goes down, if you shut it off it (the battery) pretty much destroys itself.”
The very cold weather can also have an effect on how your car performs and warms up first thing in the morning. Deiser says to warm up the vehicle and keep the RPM’s on the engine low.
“You just kind of want to get your car started for about five to ten minutes in the morning,” Deiser said. “Do not sit there and rev the engine, that is not good for the engine. Just basically letting it sit there and idle to get the oil temperature raised and get the oil flowing through the motor.”
A reminder when driving. When it's this cold most road treatments will not thaw out roads completely leaving them slick so care needs to be given when driving in this cold. Also it is a good idea to have a survival kit with you in your vehicle if it becomes disabled. Such things include food water, a fully charged cell phone and extra clothing.
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