The eight-point winter checklist we run on our own cars
Every October the same cars come in on the same tow trucks. A battery that was fine in September, a set of all-seasons that never had a chance, wipers that smear instead of clear. None of it is bad luck. Here is the list we run on our own cars before the first snow, in the order that matters.
One: the battery. Cold cuts a battery's cranking power by about a third, and a battery that starts the car at 15 degrees can leave you stranded at minus 15. A load test takes ten minutes and tells you whether it has a winter left in it. If it is more than four years old and has not been tested, test it.
Two: tires. All-seasons stiffen below 7 degrees and stop gripping. Winters stay soft. If you drive in the GTA you need four, not two, and they need to go on before the first snowfall, not the week after. Check the tread on the set going on; below 4 mm they are winters in name only.
Three: wipers and washer fluid. Rubber that has spent a summer baking on the glass will chatter and streak. New blades cost less than one tank of gas. Fill the washer reservoir with fluid rated to minus 40; the summer stuff freezes in the lines.
Four: coolant. It is called antifreeze for a reason. A tester shows the freeze point in seconds. If the coolant has never been changed, the corrosion protection is gone even if the freeze point is fine, and that is what eats water pumps.
Five: brakes. Salt and slush get into everything. A quick measurement of pads and rotors now means you are not guessing on an icy hill in January. If the pedal pulses or the car pulls, do not wait for the snow.
Six: lights. Days are short and you are driving to and from work in the dark. Walk around the car with someone at the switch. A dead bulb is a five-minute fix in the shop and a fine on the road.
Seven: fluids and the belt. Oil, transmission fluid, power steering, brake fluid. Low or dark fluid in fall is a warning; the belt that squeals on a cold start is another. Both are cheap to address now and expensive to address on the shoulder of the 407.
Eight: the kit. A blanket, a scraper with a brush, a small shovel, booster cables, a phone charger and a bag of sand or kitty litter for traction. It sits in the trunk all winter and you hope to never open it.
Two of these you can do in the driveway: the lights and the kit. The rest are twenty minutes on a hoist, and we do them together as a winter check. Book it before the calendar fills, which around here means before Halloween.