The first-freeze checklist every driver should run

When the first hard freeze arrives, vehicles that were perfectly fine in autumn suddenly refuse to cooperate. The good news is that most cold-weather trouble is predictable, and a short routine handles the majority of it.

Start with the battery. Cold weather reduces the energy a battery can deliver at the exact moment your engine needs more of it. A quick test at a shop tells you whether yours has the reserve to make it through winter.

Next, look at visibility. Worn wiper blades, summer washer fluid that freezes, and a hazy windshield all become safety problems the first time you face slush at highway speed. Swapping blades and topping off winter washer fluid takes minutes.

Finally, check your tire pressure on a cold morning. Pressure drops about one PSI for every ten degrees the temperature falls, so a tire that was fine in October may be noticeably low by December.