Getting Your Car Ready for a Piedmont Winter

Battery

A battery at 60% capacity works fine at 70°F and dies at 25°F. Get it load-tested in October. If it's over four years old and you're not sure, replace it on your schedule instead of on the coldest morning of the year.

Tires

Check tread depth — a quarter shouldn't show Washington's head. Check pressure monthly; it drops about a pound for every 10-degree drop in temperature, and the TPMS light will come on. All-seasons are fine here; snow tires are overkill for most people.

Wipers and washer fluid

Swap the blades and fill the reservoir with winter fluid that won't freeze. Summer fluid freezes on the windshield and that's how people end up in the ditch on Old Mountain Road.

Coolant

Check the freeze point. Coolant that's been topped off with water freezes and cracks blocks. We test it in 30 seconds.

Heat and defrost

If your heat was weak last winter, it's a thermostat, a low coolant level, or a clogged heater core — all fixable now instead of in February.

The winter kit

• Jumper cables or a lithium jump pack
• Blanket, gloves, flashlight
• Phone charger
• Our number saved in your phone