"Winter Driving Recap: 5 Things That Can Save Your Life ( Tires, Fluids,Battery & More)

Good morning Niagara, you're tuned into car connection where the coffee's hot, the tools

are ready and the talk is always tuned up.

I'm your host, Niall Motormouth Jenkins, coming to you straight from the car connection workshop,

this frosty freezing winter cold Monday morning.

Happy Monday.

Yep, we mix a little humor, a little know-how and a whole lot of horsepower.

Here's, here in the workshop, it's not just about fixing cars, it's about keeping you

rolling and saving you money and giving you the confidence to understand what's under

that hood.

From the classics to the commuters, the weird noises to the what the heck moments we've

got you covered.

So grab your cup of joe, if you're just heading through the drive-thru, FYI always is a standing

operation.

Check your order before you get back out on the roadway and on your way to your workplace

or wherever you're going.

I'm just saying, yeah, it's a check, you cannot forget.

So sit back, keep an eye on the other guy, secure your beverage and your cup holder,

pinch your co-pilot just to make sure that they're awake so they can take some notes

for you this morning because this is Car Connection, your Monday through Saturday morning pit

stop for stories, smarts and a few good laughs.

And I'm Niall Mortimer of Jenkins, shifting her into drive this morning and let's get

the day rolling.

Hey, a little bird told me this morning, 10 days to Christmas.

How's your Christmas shopping going?

If you've got that automotive service tech or that car guy on your list, go back into

our archives of our podcasts on our website at carconnectionbusinessnetwork.com or just

go to our iHeart channel and remember wherever you're tuning in and pulling your podcasts

from, we are there.

Just put it in the search box, Car Connection Workshop and you'll find us.

All the links for every platform that we are connected to for car connections on our

website at ccbusnet.com.

I always put all that information for you, including our merchandise store on our descriptions

for our podcast.

So visit us anytime at ccbusnet.com, that's short for carconnectionbusinessnetwork.com.

On the homepage, you'll see all the logos of our program partners and recommended businesses

that have my seal of approval.

We've just come off 31 years recently, the beginning of November, 31 years of car connection,

our live call-in talk show, yeah, it's gone three decades and a day, three decades and

one extra year, 31.

So a lot of the businesses that are with us still, we're blessed to have them, that

is for sure.

To come alongside and be a part of our programming, are we calling it Car Connection Next Gen 2.0

as we head into 2026 and just to share a little back story.

So before I digress a little bit, all our links are available in the top right hand

corner of the homepage of our website to make it real easy for you.

That's where you'll see our link for YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Stevensvilleontheweb.ca.

My pops lived in Stevensville for 42 years and I've gotten to know a lot of the businesses

there, wonderful eateries, lots of great family owned and operated businesses and so they

plugged me in and said, hey, Motor Health, we're going to make you an unofficial, official

Stevensvilleonian.

I think I just made that up.

So when you click on Stevensvilleontheweb.ca, click the Businesses tab, you'll find our

profile page they've made for us there and that's where you'll see outtakes and bloopers

of our YouTube videos as well as reels on Instagram and Facebook that you won't see

anywhere else.

Our merch store is there.

Just click and you can order whatever you like, your color, your size, put it in your

shopping cart and pay for it safely online and it gets shipped, whatever items you order

gets shipped to you directly.

I have to get in touch with Freedom Expressions that put our store together.

We've picked out another six items or so to go up on our merch store and I can't wait

to see them myself.

So just a back story, the whole reason we started our YouTube channel, Niall MotorMelt

Jenkins, we're about, I think we're in our fourth month now, not checking the calendar.

I will later because we shoot videos every Monday morning at 7 a.m.

So we're cruising a long year because to get this podcast out to you on time so it drops

for 8 a.m., you've got to get up super early.

And in the winter, no, the early bird does not get the worm.

So we need to address that situation.

I think it should be the early bird gets a hot, fresh morning beverage and a breakfast

snack of choice.

Yeah.

So our whole entire vision for YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Stevensvilleontheweb.ca and including

our merchandise store and don't forget the iHeart link is also there in the top right

hand corner but these podcasts are available on all platforms.

All the major platforms, Amazon Music, Spotify, Apple, Podcasts and a whole lot more.

So we want to thank iHeart Radio for helping us to get that done.

So when you connect with us and help us grow our YouTube channel and all the other platforms

and you purchase merchandise from our store, that goes to help us to pay for parts, to

fix vehicles for single moms, widows, orphans, widows, the whole package.

It helps us to be able to reach out and help those that just may be going through a very

tough time and the car is what's keeping them going, getting to a job.

They may have lost a job in the household from one of the adults and things are really,

really tight.

So our vision is I don't need another shiny thing.

I'm quite content with everything that I have and have been given that's been entrusted

to me to be the next caregiver.

It's all about, life is about giving.

It's about people and sharing.

To me, that's what life is all about.

And when we take a look at who we are, are we givers or takers is what my professor used

to say.

You have to decide what arena your feet stand in.

You can't be in both.

You have to pick.

Are you a servant or are you wanting to be weighted on hand and foot?

You want everything handed to you.

So are you a giver or a taker?

That was a really good class.

Let me tell you, it was pretty quiet, but it's true.

There's only two types of people in the world, givers and takers.

And my college professor said, yeah, and those who are right and those who are wrong.

That is so true.

But then he went on to say this, a man or a person of integrity lets time prove him right.

And that is so true in the automotive.

So I'd like to say thank you to Crystal Ridge Dream Center, being our nonprofit, faith-based

organization, doing what they do when we don't have the time or the space or the ability

to do serving men, women, children, meals, love and hope, changing lives one at a time

in the Niagara region.

And I'd hope that you would consider being a part of that somehow and you can donate

safely online.

You could get in touch with them if you want to donate some time.

They're always looking for those who will come in and volunteer.

And I'll tell you, the volunteers they have are just absolutely over the moon about what

they see going on there.

Thank you to Earl Louise Grant, City Auto Sales and Leasing, low mileage vehicles, quality

vehicles at fair prices.

They're greater Toronto areas, premier, pre-owned auto store for over 25 years.

And Earl Louise are husband and wife and they're car guys.

They have a lot of resources.

So no matter what vehicle you're looking for, if it's not on their lot, let them do the

legwork for you.

They will pick you a good one.

Their vehicles look like brand new.

They also do in-house financing.

So whether you have good credit, bad credit or no credit.

City Auto Sales and Leasing, let Earl Louise Grant know that car connections sent you.

And to the brothers at Rainbow Motors and Garage in Scarborough, Ontario, Canada, sales

and service you can trust.

You can buy something there and also have it service there.

Again, if you're looking for a vehicle specific to your needs, let them know.

Let them do the legwork for you.

Rita Ramiz also provide you with service to all years, makes and models, including light

commercial vehicles.

So sales and service you can trust.

Reach out to Rainbow Motors and Garage in Scarborough, Ontario, Canada.

Our certified financial planning professionals, my brothers from other mothers, Tony Miele

and Larry Tietro combined have 50 years' experience as fiduciaries with IG Wealth Management.

If you have an investment portfolio with the bank, you need to get it out of there because

it's not working hard for you.

You need to get that turned around and quickly so that your money that you have invested

is working hard for you instead of you working hard for your money.

So whether you have a dollar or a million dollars, Tony Miele and Larry Tietro will

sit down with you for an hour in a coffee, we call it.

It's a discovery meeting, no pressure sales, no sales whatsoever, just listening to you

to see where you're at, where you want to go, and they will put together a game plan

to get you there.

So whether you're up to your eyeballs in debt, you haven't got an estate plan, you need an

estate plan, you need powers of attorney, you need all that put together in mortgage,

life insurance, critical illness insurance, I have all those things covered with Tony

and Larry and I've known them both for well over 20 years.

So when I say what I say, I say it because I know it, I know it to be true.

And as my professor would say, never take advice from someone who's not standing where

you want to be, that is so true.

Because here's the thing, even when it comes to automobiles, your neighbor, the neighbor

across the road, the guy at work that knows everything, the armchair warrior, they think

they know it all.

And you know what happens?

They lead you down the garden path.

And I don't think they mean to do it, they want to help, but it comes down to that simple

phrase.

If the person giving you advice is not right where you want to be, you should not be listening

to them.

Get the fruit from those who have the fruit on the tree.

So connect with Tony Miele or Larry Tietro and get that hour in a coffee booked and get

your questions answered.

Thank you to Niagara Block, the Greenwell family, 5,000 Montrose Road, Niagara Falls,

building Canada since 1931, building supplies, hardscape, landscaping materials to help you

to design and build that backyard oasis.

And I recommend you start looking at landscapers now and asking around because the good ones,

I waited two years to get landscaping done after building the studio back in 2012, but

it was worth it.

It was absolutely worth it.

So make sure you get on a landscapers calendar for 2026 so you can get your landscaping done.

With all the new builds around town and all over, especially down here in the Fort Erie

area, they're all going to need lawns and landscaping.

And that keeps the landscapers busy and you get pushed back.

That's what happens.

So thank you to Total Freedom Dairy and Center New York and Total Freedom Sydney, Manitoba,

Canada.

It's a men-only campus.

It's men and women at Dairy and Center New York.

Lives are being changed.

Addictions are being crushed daily.

So if you or someone, you know, is stuck in an addiction, that's the other area where

we're helping.

When you purchase merchandise from Car Connection, it goes to help those suffering with addictions

get into a campus and get that life changed because a new life awaits you.

All right, let's jump into this morning's topics.

It's actually one topic.

This is the Rubicon.

No, it's not.

No.

Is this the Alamo?

No, it's not the Alamo.

This is your winter recap.

Yes.

Winter is here along the south shore of Lake Erie.

We have about eight to 10 inches of snow and I just lit the fireplace this morning when

I got up at 4.30 and it's snowing.

Yeah, and the lake is open.

So what we know is whatever happens happens.

That's it because Lake Effect, I call it we live in the banana belt because we're actually

sandwiched between Lake Erie and Lake Ontario.

So two big bodies of water that are not frozen, which means moisture and accumulation.

All right, let's jump right in.

If your co-pilot is not awake, give him a gentle little nudge or a pinch and say, hey,

you got your crayons, you got your brown paper bag, I'll fold it up nice so you can just

keep writing.

Good, because we're going to get through this real quick this morning.

I went back through all the podcasts we have so far and I plucked out.

I did.

I plucked them out.

I plucked out some reminders that I thought, you know what, we're human beings and we are

creatures of habit and it's so true, self included.

I know I still have to have my mother address me, but at least I look okay afterwards.

My attempt, not so good.

Not so good.

I have clothing on, but some of it might be on backwards.

And the sock thing.

Is there really a left foot sock and a right foot sock?

Is that true?

I don't believe it, but somebody told me, oh, you got to make sure you put your left

sock on your left foot and your right sock on your right foot and I'm going, they don't

have an L or an R on them.

I've looked at all the socks I have in my sock drawer.

It's not true.

I think, I think he was jamming it to me.

Yeah.

It's like telling an apprentice, why don't you wash your hands and I'll send you up to

the part store.

Go in and ask them for a upper and lower radiator hose for 1967 Volkswagen Beetle.

Yeah, that usually gets a few laughs.

All right.

Number one on the list this morning, your winter recaps.

These are things that if you listen up and you put them into practice, winter is going

to be a whole lot nicer for you.

And hopefully we get, we all get out the other side, whatever that looks like unscathed.

Yeah.

Without frostbite.

Exactly.

All right.

Let's, let's have a swiggy together and get started.

What do you say on three, two, one?

That's how we do it here.

We count it down.

Whatever your beverage is, keep your eyes on the road.

And the other guy, you know who he is.

Same one every morning.

You know, I used to see when I was traveling from Hamilton to downtown Toronto, I was working

at a big shop for Mack Trucks Canada, Queensway and Kipling was like 91 mechanics.

I would see the same lady every day reading a newspaper, drinking a beverage and driving

all and putting makeup on makeup, newspaper, beverage and driving the car.

I was, I always kept an eye out for, for that lady.

So if you're that lady too dead, I saw you every single day of the week.

You ready?

I bought you a little time so you can prepare three, two, one.

What is that exactly this morning?

There's a hint of something in there.

Might have been the screwdriver I used to stir the cup this morning.

Possibly as a little hint of maybe some brake fluid, maybe a little diesel oil used.

Yeah, possibly.

All right, number one, should we warm our vehicles up in the morning?

Yes, I was just speaking with somebody the other day, minus 44 to 47, yeah, Northwest

Territories in, in a bit up in that area and that they were into mechanics and said that

at those temperatures, things like tie rod ends, you know, just small pieces of equipment

that help you steer left and right when you turn the steering wheel.

The, the metal is so cold, they would just snap right off.

The metal would just shear off because the molecules are so cold.

Man, if it's that cold, I am not going outside.

I'm telling you that no way, but I, my brother-in-law works up and in of it 14 days a month in that

freezing cold, minus 40, minus 44 to minus 47.

E-gads, man.

I don't know how he does it, but that's what they do.

They fly them in, they fix mining equipment and a lot of it has to be fixed outside.

So they fix, they work, then they go into what they call a warming tent.

They warm up, they go back out, they do some more work, they go back in.

Most of the equipment fits inside the building where they're working, but they got to, if it's

broken down, they got to get it in from outside, picture that one.

So they need to keep their vehicles running all the time, night and day, and it's dark

during the day as well as at night in the winter.

It never gets sunny and blue skies.

So do we warm up our vehicles?

Just to start and go at this, even this morning, I think it's like 10.

I think we're actually at single digits this morning.

We're around nine.

And yeah, the overnight lows, we're starting to hit single digits here on the

south shores of Lake Erie.

Yes, I warm my vehicle up.

15 on single digits.

Mornings, 15 minutes, 20 minutes, and then set off nice and easy till that engine and all the

moving components and fluids get warmed right up.

If you want to break something prematurely, then go ahead, be that person that just fires it up

and gets on it, stomps on that loud pedal.

It's something we'll break.

I guarantee you.

I've worked on machinery.

I've been on a road crew where we fix stuff on the road.

And this time of year, a lot of machinery breaks right in the field because somebody just

didn't give the machinery an opportunity to warm up and metal is cold.

The molecules are freezing cold.

That's when stuff breaks.

So I'll warm up absolutely number one.

Give yourself time to take care of your vehicle.

If your vehicle is that important to you, you can't do without it for a week or how

about 30 days?

How about six weeks?

Yeah, you know, here in Canada, we have a shortage of service techs and other trade

techs as well.

So it's going to be a different world the next few years getting your car fix could take

two, three months.

In fact, an article that I just read said that at the rate we are losing tradesmen,

it's going to take a lot longer for things to happen in the field, in those trades.

And automotive is one of the top ones.

It might come to a point in the article I read because of the shortage of automotive

service techs, the kids are not getting into the professions, into the trades.

You could wait six months to get your vehicle fixed.

And that we're only talking a couple of years by 2030, 2028.

We're going to begin to see the issues with that.

So learning your vehicle now and how to better take care of it is really going to help you

a great deal.

It really, really will.

So warm up that vehicle.

If it's really, really cold, 15, 20 minutes, what I do is I clean off the driver's side,

get in, get it started, set the heater controls, and get the rest of the vehicle cleaned off.

So while I'm doing that, freezing to death outside, you've got to dress for it.

Gloves, hats, scarf.

In the wintertime, there's no such thing as perfect hair.

Because you know what?

I don't want frostbite on my ears.

I've had it, and you don't want it.

Trust me.

So I put a hat on my head, even if I've just dressed myself up to go to an event or something,

I just fix my hair at the other end the best I can.

I wear a hat, a full toque.

And we have knitted toques available on our merch store.

So I've ordered some colored ones.

Yeah, I want to be seen out there, especially when I'm cleaning up the driveway.

People don't watch for you these days.

You've got to watch for them.

So warm up, do it completely, leave the driveway or wherever your vehicle's parked,

and give that vehicle a full opportunity to warm up.

Fluids.

If they're dirty, they need to be replaced.

And we can pretty much, in the service space, we can test every single fluid on your vehicle

to determine the health of that fluid.

So we're not just drain and fill for the sake of draining and filling and putting that on the bill.

No.

We want to make sure that if the fluid can still, if there's fluids that can still remain in service,

we leave them in service and test them along the way as you come in for regularly scheduled

vehicle maintenance.

So fluids, I sum it up this way.

Fluids and the labor to replace them are far cheaper for you as a service than the cost

of what breaks when the fluids aren't protecting those components.

So fluids are cheap as compared to the mechanicals that they're protecting from damage.

And in the winter, what happens is when the fluids become contaminated, they become thick.

And as they get cold, they become thicker.

So when you start the vehicle in the cold, it takes quite a while before those contaminated

fluids that are thick protect the components that they're designed to protect.

So you want to make sure that all fluids are being inspected and tested on your vehicle and

replaced accordingly.

That brings me to the importance of wipers and washers.

As we are now officially into winter, we haven't hit the winter solstice yet.

We're only a few days away now.

Lift those wiper blades.

Don't make the mistake of, you know, you want to get in the house and it's warm and, you know,

they just get out of a warm car into a freezing outdoors and you just want to get in the house.

Take that time to lift those wiper blades off the windshield because if you were using them and

forgot to turn the switch off, the next morning there will be damage.

When you turn that key on and the wipers are frozen to the windshield,

something in the wiper mechanism is going to break and it's going to cost you a small fortune

to fix it, along with you've ruined your wiper blades as well.

So there's 100 bucks just like that for wiper blades, 60 to 100 bucks depending on what you're

driving. Washer fluid. Again, keep your eye on the sales and the stores because they don't

care that they're selling you washer fluid at three bucks a jug that will freeze solid

in your washer bottle. Plug all the lines, plug all the nozzles and potentially burn out the

washer pump itself. So it turns into what I call the wiper washer party pack.

The washer bottle is frozen, it's cracked, it's leaking. The pump is destroyed because it froze

inside. The lines are plugged so now we got to take all those lines off and we got to

thaw them out and we got to blow them out. It's time plus materials that's going to cost you

a fortune. If you do not see minus 45 on the jug, leave it on the skid or if you're purchasing it

while it's on sale for the summer months, then make sure it doesn't get mixed up with the winter

washer fluid. I run the minus 45 minus 50 all year round. I just find it removes the bug juice

off the window as well and come wintertime. I don't have to panic to get that summer washer

fluid out of my washer bottle and blow all the lines out just like a sprinkler system.

You got to shut off the water and blow all the heads out, all the lines out otherwise a freeze

means a broken pipe and it costs you money. Your washer fluid system is exactly the same. If you

have a rear washer on the rear glass, that's a very long hose to get that fluid back there and

it's going to be frozen and the nozzle is going to be frozen and that's a project. That's a project

to get it up and running. Battery, have you had it tested? If you haven't, make it a priority now

because winter's arrived and we're reaching, as I've already mentioned, we're going into those

single digits and guess what happens? That's when the battery dies and Monday mornings are usually

the time when a lot of vehicles would get towed into our shop on the Hamilton mountain

with dead batteries and the tow truck drivers would just kind of drop these vehicles every

which way because they've got a lot of calls to do, car won't start, battery's dead. We can test

your battery and tell you for sure beyond the shadow of a doubt whether it's good, bad, or ugly

so that you're not stuck somewhere and especially for the ladies, that can be very intimidating.

You know, everybody's left from work, you're brushing your car off and then you go to start

it and you got nothing. Now what? You're in a parking lot all by yourself. We're in a remote

area by yourself. Not good, not good and especially if your battery on your cell phone, your cell

charge has dropped out as well. So fluids, battery, warm-up, wiper washers, and winter tires are

a must. In fact, we're shooting videos today and I'm almost tempted to shoot a video. I got one

vehicle in the driveway that does not have winter tires on and I purposely took it out to the

farming country to take it on an icy road just to see how it would handle. It was creepy and creepy

as in I'm on a gravel road that is all ice and snow covered. And I was going as slow as I could

because the vehicle was sliding every which way. By itself, it would literally go a little bit

sideways and it just felt like I was on water and I knew the steering was so light that the tires

are just on top of the, they're on the ice. And I just went out to take a quick look at our wood lot

because I've got wood there sitting there that needs to still get home, needs to be harvested

and brought in so that we've got wood to heat the house for the rest of winter. The weather kind

of took us out with all the rain we had but I wanted to just go and have a look and I thought

I'm going to take this very carefully because I, you know, the rest of the roads were clear but I

knew that road would be icy and I just wanted to see how well the all season tires would perform.

And I was a little paranoid but not totally intimidated because I was under control

of the vehicle and I was testing it. And I got to tell you this, that was the longest

mile I ever drove in anything. And this has real-time all-wheel drive. That means when it sees the

front wheel slipping it locks up the rear wheels. That vehicle was totally 100 percent

not controllable. So if you were to be on that stretch, that one-mile stretch of dirt road

that's ice and snow covered and you thought you could fly down there like no problems whatsoever,

you're glued to the road, you would definitely be out in one of the cornfields. And the ditches

are really deep there. You would definitely leave the road and lose complete control of the vehicle

on all season tires. So I was contemplating let's go out there skippy and you can video

the vehicle just traveling ever so slowly down the road and just watch it wiggle waggle

back and forth and steering. You had some steering but it was very light and the vehicle just

kind of picked a path on the road, a groove and kind of dropped into it. And I thought to myself,

man I was going to turn around in the driveway. There is a driveway to get to the wood lot.

And I thought if I get in the front wheels into that snow I'm not getting out because I really

felt that as like this is not going to grip enough to get me back out. So I drove all the

way down to a turnaround at the end of the road and that was pretty sketchy because it hadn't

been plowed there. But I did manage to get turned around very carefully and head back out the same

way I went in at less than five kilometers an hour. That's how stable it was. It was not stable.

And I'm thinking all of you out there that think that all season tires are okay because the salesman

says so or you know the tire salesman or the car salesman says oh yeah these tires they'll

be great. They'll be great in the winter. No they're not. No they're not. And that test

absolutely proved it. The tires are Bridgestone all season and they were useless. Absolutely

useless. I could not imagine driving down that roadway that I was on ice and snow covered at any

more than 10 kilometers an hour. Truly because you would lose it. You would lose it in a heartbeat.

That vehicle would go out of control quickly in a heartbeat. So winter tires I'm going to leave you

with that. It is a personal decision to be safe out there and that's the whole idea of the car

connection workshop is they have a few laughs tell a few stories learn a bunch of stuff the five

things always same with our YouTube videos what it is where it is how it works how it breaks

what you could have learned more about your automobile to save yourself time money and a few

bloody knuckles just understanding your vehicle a whole lot more so until next time happy monday

and we'll see you tomorrow morning for the motor mouth drive through drive morning drive

put that coffee on remember peace patience and kindness bye for now

"Winter Driving Recap: 5 Things That Can Save Your Life ( Tires, Fluids,Battery & More)

About this episode

Volkswagen Beetle

tie rod ends

warming up

loud pedal

vehicle maintenance

fluids

mechanicals

cold start

windshield wiper system

Pontiac Solstice

wiper blades

wiper mechanism

washer fluid

washer pump

wiper washer party pack

frozen nozzle

battery testing

dead battery

winter tires

steering

all-season tires

real-time all-wheel drive

Bridgestone

Request an Explanation

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