REV HARD: WINTERIZE YOUR CAR

Send your car questions to student experts.

by MCC-Longview Automotive Tech Writing

Q. Whenever the weather starts to get cold, I start seeing signs to “weatherize your car,” and I’m always skeptical. Should I be doing something to my vehicle to get it ready for winter? If so, what should I be doing, and why?

A. There are many reasons to winterize your vehicle because if not done, it could lead to costly expenses.  One of the main reasons to winterize your vehicle is to protect your engine by having your coolant freezing point checked. The reason for this is to ensure that the coolant does not freeze, which could lead to a cracked engine block. If this happened, you would have to replace the entire engine. Another thing you want done is a battery test. Over time batteries get old and cannot put out enough power to crank your engine in the winter. One minor thing to have done is to inflate tires 3 to 6 psi over your manufacturer’s recommended pressure, which can be found on the drivers’ door jam on a sticker. You would want to do this because in the winter, the air in the tires becomes denser, which lowers the pressure and causes your tires’ rolling resistance to increase. Ed. Note: LV’s automotive technology program will host a winterization clinic. Click here for details.

Q. My 2006 Pontiac Vibe is about to hit 100,000 miles. What should I be doing as far as preventative maintenance?

A. Doing preventative maintenance is almost the same on a Vibe as it is on any other vehicle. It could be as little as changing your oil every 3,000 miles or your air filter for proper air induction. One of the main things that people forget about is to check your other fluids. On a Pontiac Vibe at 100,000 miles, the coolant should be flushed along with cleaning out your radiator and overflow. If you do these operations by yourself, make sure that you have the right fluid. Check your belts, hoses, and all other lines on the vehicle that might leak. One of the main things that people look over is their tires; make sure they are inflated properly and have enough tread. Spark plugs should be changed to help with better spark, which will help with better fuel economy. If you do all these things and continue to check them, you should have a vehicle that will last a long time.

Q. All the oil changing places tell me to get my oil changed every 3,000 miles, but I’ve read online that if I use synthetic oil, I don’t have to change my oil as often. Is that true? Why or why not? What’s the difference between synthetic oil and non-synthetic oil? Are there any reasons I might want to change to a synthetic oil even though it’s more expensive?

A. Yes, you are correct about not having to change your engine oil as frequently if you use synthetic oil. Both regular and synthetic oil start out as crude oil that comes out of the ground. Next, they refine the crude oil and produce what is called base stock. After the refining process is complete, they then ship the oil to different companies and they add their own chemicals to make their oil different from the other oil brands. In making the synthetic oils, they add more wear protection additives and more cleaners to last longer through the life of the oil – that’s the main difference. Adding all the cleaners and wear protection, you can expect your oil to last you up to 10,000 to 15,000 miles between oil changes with synthetic oils depending on your driving conditions. The main reason you may want to change to a synthetic is to provide you with better wear protection and lubricate internal parts, increasing engine life. Another reason is it may increase gas mileage because of the added lubricants and allow the engine to work less hard by providing a smoother slicker surface for the moving parts.