Oh, the weather outside is frightful! Have you properly winterized your car yet?

If you haven’t, you should because, with all the expenses of the winter season, you don’t want car trouble to be one of them.

The Department of Motor Vehicles offers the following tips for making sure your vehicle is up to par for the cold weather:

•Check your engine oil. Use thinner oil when the temperatures get below freezing.

•Check your battery. According to the DMV, “Your battery capacity is reduced by the cold weather. A thorough inspection of your battery, cables, terminals, and fluid will help you make sure your car is ready for the winter.

•Take care of your windshield. Use a non-freezing windshield washing solution, but be careful not to get something so harsh that it causes damage to your car’s paint.

•Emergencies happen. Keep a kit ready. You should always keep a few things in the trunk in case of an emergency during any season of the year, but, in the winter, the DMV recommends including these in the kit: flares, blankets, boots, radio, engine oil, washer fluid, coolant, flash lights.

Mark Lundquist, manager of Master Muffler and Brake in Martin, gives the following advice in addition to the DMV‘s tips:

•Have your brakes checked. “In the winter, you’ll be driving on ice and wet pavement,” said Lundquist. “You’re going to need good brakes.”

•Make sure your tires are good for winter. They should have decent tread because, once again, you will be driving on ice. The front tires are most important.

•Check your tires’ air pressure. As it gets colder, your tires will lose pressure. There is a big difference in how much pressure you’ll have in summer and how much you will have when the temperatures are below freezing if you do not get them weather-ready.

•Be sure you have the proper amount of antifreeze. According to MSN.com, the proper mix of water and antifreeze is “…usually about 50/50.”

•Have your thermostat checked. It is important in regulating your engine’s temperature, a part of your car that would be very costly to replace.

When it comes to taking care of your car, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Making your vehicle winter-ready will only save you in the long run.