Published 2026-09-28
A short twice-yearly list, tied to the tires you fit and the climate you actually have.
Seasonal maintenance fails when it is a poster of twenty jobs. Pick the few that change with weather: tires, visibility, and fluids that freeze or overheat.
The calendar is the trigger. The log is where you write that you did them, so next November you are not guessing.
01
When you usually fit winter tires, and when you take them off. If you run all-season tires year round, pick the first frost and the first heat wave in your area instead.
02
Fit, store, or inspect. Log the set that went on, the odometer, and the week code if the set is new to the car. Rotation can wait for the shop if you are only swapping seasonal wheels.
03
Wipers, washer fluid that matches the season, lights, and a look at brakes if the last inspection is old. These are driveway jobs unless something is already noisy.
04
A reminder named 'Winter set' or 'Summer set' beats a swarm. Attach it to the last seasonal row so it has a date that already happened.
A mild coast is not a mountain winter. Copy a list from a place that ices over only if you ice over. Coolant spec and battery age matter more than a ritual you saw in a video.
Oil, cabin filter, and the big shop visit stay on their own intervals. Seasonal work is the extra that weather adds. Mixing them into one vague 'spring service' makes the history harder to read.
Yes. Inspect tread and age when the weather changes, and still walk lights and washer fluid. You skip the swap, not the look.
Log them if you paid for a product or a shop did the work. A tender you plug in at home is a habit, not a service row.
