Why Winter Vehicle Maintenance Matters: Steep (and Preventable) Costs

Posted January 04th 2016

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Regular Winter Vehicle Maintenance is Instrumental in Controlling Sudden Costs

Regular vehicle maintenance on a vehicle’s systems, components and subsystems guarantees that the vehicle performs as it is designed to do. Updated car maintenance helps ensure that emissions are minimized and optimizes efficiencies and fuel consumption. Regular winter maintenance helps maximize savings associated with major breakdowns and emergency repairs.

According to the Car Care Council (a consumer awareness and advocacy body), about $2 billion is spent each year on accidents caused by poorly maintained vehicles. Even if you are fortunate and do not experience an accident, poor car maintenance is likely to reduce the life-span of your car. Failing to opt for regular auto repair services may result in hefty bills for prematurely worn tires, sluggish brakes or even a broken down engine.

Worn tires are associated with higher safety risks and therefore higher costs. Shallow treads, for example, are unable to offer adequate amount of traction on icy roads and this results in increased risk of skidding. Edmonton winter tires can be perceived as the ‘feet’ of your vehicle; they perform multiple functions such as distributing the weight of the vehicle and helping the car change direction. Problems with tires can be traced to poor usage, poor maintenance and mismanagement of tires.

The costs for winter vehicle maintenance are significantly less compared to spending big money on major repairs. Tire pressure, for example, falls by one pound for every ten degrees fall in temperature. While new cars are equipped with tire pressure monitoring tools, older cars do not have this feature. Hence, if you happen to drive an older model, you may wish to have tire pressure checked manually by professionals.  Adjusting tire pressure will minimize the prospect of having to spend to have worn tires replaced during winter.