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Step 1
Get a tune up on your car. Regardless of season, you should get a professional tune up at least once per year to optimize your car's performance and gas mileage. The best season to get a tune up is in the winter. Getting tuned up right before winter begins, can safeguard against low spark in spark plugs and your car will start up a lot better than if you did not have one performed.
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Step 2
Check and replace (if needed) your car battery. You should check and replace your battery (at least a month before the winter time if you want to save a little money). Not replacing your battery can result in poor starting conditions in your car and eventual requirement to replace anyway (sometimes at an inopportune time). During the winter, your battery performance can decrease because the battery acid and cables can not perform their best if you have poor battery quality.
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Step 3
Use lower grade oil. For some vehicles, you have to use lower grade oil in the winter time. For these instances, if you don't use lower grade oil during the winter, heavier weighted oil might be harder to lift into the engine parts, causing a premature wear down of your engine parts. Lighter grade oils are easier for your engine to handle during the winter months, thus less viscosity and sludge will develop compared to higher grade oil. When getting an oil change during the winter, tell your lube technician that you want to use lower grade oil such as a 10w30 or 10w40 (if they ask you what you want, tell them).
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Step 4
Check and maintain antifreeze levels. Adding all water to your radiator lines is fine during the spring and summer months, but you don't want to do that during the winter. Adding water to your radiator lines during the winter can cause the lines to freeze and in turn cause damage to your radiator. It is recommended that you buy antifreeze that is especially for winter weather and add at least 75-100% of it to your radiator and add 25% water (if you desire).
