Winter Maintenance for your Ford
When the weather outside turns frightful, having your Ford vehicle up to date on essential service can be so delightful. By taking steps to properly care for your Explorer, F-150, or Escape, you can look forward to more reliable driving during the coldest months of the year, and that’s just what you need when you’re getting ready to head over the river and through the woods to grandmother’s house.
Battery
If you’re a driver, one of your worst fears is finding yourself stranded somewhere in the chilly depths of a Pittsburgh winter with a dead battery and snow piling up. But by being proactive about battery care, you can breathe a little easier knowing that your vehicle will start smoothly even in sub-freezing temps.
Generally, you want to swap out your vehicle’s battery every 3-5 years. So if it’s been about that long since your last replacement, or if you’re noticing issues like rough starts or flickering headlights, now may be the best time to stop into Shults Ford. Our expert techs can perform a quick inspection and test to see how your battery is performing, and if necessary, replace it with a new battery in no time at all.
Tires
You need to have healthy tires with sufficient tread depth for safe driving all the time, but it’s especially important during the winter. With roadways becoming slick and icy, too little tread makes it even harder to maintain traction. You can test tire tread depth by performing a penny test. Put a coin between the grooves of your tires with Lincoln’s head facing down. If you can see the top of his head, you’re due for a new set of four.
Tire care goes even deeper than tread depth. You should be following the manufacturer’s recommendations for rotation and inflation, which helps ensure longer life and more consistent performance. Want to extend the life of your tires and have more confidence for winter driving? You may want to consider a set of cold-weather tires, which are engineered to perform better in the winter.
Brakes
Accurate stopping power is always an essential part of safe driving, and it’s even more key if you find yourself needing to stop suddenly on a slushy, snowy, or icy road. If you don’t think your brakes are performing up to their full potential, an inspection, repair, or replacement may be in order. Signs like a soft or mushy pedal, excessive vibration, unusual sounds, increased stopping time and distance are all good signs that your brakes are going bad and could use some help.
Heating & Cooling
Imagine setting out for your winter road trip and finding that your heater isn’t working as it should or producing no heat at all. This nightmare scenario can be easily avoided by bringing your Ford in for service. Our technicians can inspect your vehicle’s HVAC system and radiator to ensure that it’s working as it should and doing its part to keep your ride nice and toasty.
Keeping your Ford current on service and maintenance is a key ingredient in the recipe for keeping your vehicle healthy and reliable. And Shults Ford Wexford can help make sure you don’t miss a beat no matter how hectic the season gets. With advantages like Ford Mobile Service and the Shults Ford Express Service Center, we’re your destination in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, for fast, reliable service from experts you can trust. Get ahead of Old Man Winter and get your Ford back into tip-top shape — schedule your next service appointment at Shults Ford Wexford.
Service Question?
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Write a note below and one of our friendly service experts will get you an answer.