Temperatures are dropping and the snow’s coming down. You might be bundling up accordingly, but is your car prepared for winter as well? Failing to prepare your car for the winter season can make driving dangerous.

Make sure you follow these steps to winterize your car.

1. Check Your Tire Pressure and Tread

When the air gets cold, tire pressure drops. Insufficient tire pressure can be perilous on winter roads. Check your tire pressure and fill each one up to the proper amount stated in your vehicle’s owner’s manual.

Additionally, make sure you check your tire treads and rotate your tires regularly. To check your treads, stick a penny into the tread with Lincoln’s head facing you. If you can see Lincoln’s entire head, your tires need replacing.

2. Change Your Antifreeze and Oil

You should be checking and changing your oil regularly regardless of the season. Make sure to knock that out as soon as possible if you haven’t recently.

However, antifreeze becomes important in the winter as well. It prevents your engine from becoming too cold to do its job (and also prevents radiator water from boiling over in hot temperatures, fun fact).

Make sure you change out your antifreeze.

3. Check Your Battery

Automobile battery capacity decreases when temperatures drop. The last thing you want is for your battery to die while you’re out in the cold. Bring your vehicle to a professional and have them take a look at all your battery’s cables and fluids.

4. Pack an Emergency Kit

Bad things can happen no matter how prepared you are for the winter. If you end up stranded in the cold, it’s vital to have an emergency kit packed in your car. Make sure your kit has the following in it:

• Winter gloves, mittens, hats, socks, and blankets
• Hand warmers (optional, but recommended)
• Ice scraper and snow brush
• Flashlight (hand-cranked or battery-powered with spare batteries)
• Bottled water
• Warning triangles
• Jumper cables
• Bag of sand or kitty litter for traction (if you get stuck)

5. Get a Remote Starter

Few things feel worse than scraping your windshield in the freezing cold, then getting into a frigid car with an icy steering wheel. It’s uncomfortable, but it also means you have to be out the door a few minutes earlier to get to your destination on time.

Not with a remote starter. Just push the button 5-10 minutes before you leave, and your car will welcome you with a cozy interior and clear windshields.

It’s not just for your convenience, though, but for the health of your engine and transmission. Sure, modern cars may not need to idle for several minutes. However, you still need to take it easy on braking and accelerating for the first few minutes of driving. If you start your car ahead of time and let it warm up, you won’t need to wait as long.

Get yourself a remote starter from Car Pretty today to make frozen windshields and painfully-cold steering wheels a thing of the past.