Like every other season, we witness the Earth’s yearly revolution, the winter from October to January. Along with the winters comes a brand-new set of factors and issues that will affect your car. Today, we will focus on those issues and find out how we can make your car ready to handle the fall in temperature in the most effective way. So, let us start with our list of the significant winter car care tips which will help you in taking care of the vehicle in winter.
Important Winter Car Care Tips
Preparatory Check-up
It is perhaps the simplest tip when it comes to winter car care tips. It is always suggested that before the seasons change you must take your car for a health check-up to an authorised service centre. While this tip is not specific for only the winters, this could be beneficial for places that have harsh winters. Cars are more susceptible to malfunctions during extreme weather conditions. Therefore, getting a basic check-done to make sure the core parts are functioning normally can help avert the possible accidents later.
Warming up the car
Moving from the most basic tip, we come to possibly the most significant point on our list of winter car care tips. During winters, it is essential that you warm up your car before you start driving. There are many articles that suggest the necessity of warming up your vehicle before moving is a myth. While it is genuine that the mechanical components inside have evolved to a huge extent and are not prone to the issues that older cars suffered from. However, warming up the car before starting is suggested ritual.
Generally, warming up your car makes sure that the engine oil present in the engine covers every nook and corner of the engine. Therefore, once you start to move, inside part of the engine are lubricated thoroughly. This decreases the level of wear and tear on the engine. During the winters, the engine oil will tend to get thickened. So, it will take more time before it flows to the different parts of the engine. In this situation, it is better to allow your car idle and warm-up for 3 to 5 minutes before starting. It is an effective driving tip which will make your car work in the best way during this season.
The health of the battery
The biggest enemy of your car’s battery is summer heat. Though the winter months do not encourage temperature-oriented damage to the battery, its effects are noticed in a much different manner. If the battery’s charge is ow or going to deplete, the battery has a chance of dying off during the winter. Distilled water is present inside the battery which plays a vital role in the chemical reaction that takes place inside. If this distilled water gets frozen during this reaction, it can cause irreplaceable and permanent damage to the battery. The main sign of battery damage is the inadequate functioning of the electrical system. Some of the major signs of battery problems include troubles while starting the vehicle, flickering lights, and non-functioning of the audio system or cabin lights.
Tire Pressure
One of the most important winter car care tips is to check the pressure of the tires. Air works in a simple physical mechanism that is applicable universally. When it becomes hot, it expands and when it cools, it starts to contract. Inside your tire, these effects are seen in terms of the pressure. During hot weather, the tire pressure in your car rises and during the cold months, the tire pressure reduces. Therefore, it is recommended that you must perform tire pressure checks frequently. Driving with low tire pressure has a huge impact on your driving. Therefore, be sure to drive at the right specified pressure every time.
Foglamps and headlights
Apart from the temperature, another important aspect that guarantees winter car care tips is fog. While fog is not a common phenomenon in many places, it is common in the Northern regions. When fog occurs, the main effect it has on your driving is visibility. Therefore, you must make sure that your light systems are in the best condition. More than your headlamps, the foglamps play a significant role in driving through the fog. These days, almost all the cars come with front and rear fog lamps. However, if your car is older and does not have fog lamps, it makes sense to choose aftermarket lamps if you live in fog affected areas.
Coolant/ antifreeze level
This is one of the essential winter car care tips. You might know every car has a green-colored coolant liquid. During the summer, it keeps your engine cool and saves it from the rigorous heat. However, not many are not aware of this but it has an equally significant role during the winters too. A similar liquid that cools down the engine during summers plays the role of antifreeze during the winters. When the temperature reduces, the chemical in this liquid makes sure that the engine does not freeze. Usually, this fluid works round the clock making sure the temperature inside the engine is regulated and perfect. Therefore, even during the winters, you must make sure that the antifreeze level in the engine is perfect and is up to the right level.
Apply Shaving Cream to the windows
Have you ever thought that shaving cream could be used for something else other than shaving? It is found that shaving cream consists of the same ingredients that are present in defoggers. To keep away fog from your windows, put shaving cream on the inner part of your windows and then wipe it. It may sound strange to you, but it works efficiently.
Bring the water bottles inside
As enticing as it may be to leave your water bottle inside your car for an icy cold drink, it creates frost inside the windows. To keep away frost from developing inside the windows, you must bring water bottles and any other beverages inside and do not leave them in your car.
Do not drive in deep snow
Driving in deep snow will not only leave you stranded, but it can cause damage to your car also. Like puddles, you do not have to know what is waiting below. Snow containing road salt can get into places below your car causing rust. Deep snow can damage your exhaust system. Based on which car you have; exhaust systems can be expensive to repair. If you find your car shaking during the winter months, it is probably because of the packed snow in your wheels. To get rid of the shaking, first, you must get rid of the snow by washing your car.
Purchase touchup paint
Because of cold temperatures, applying touch paint to a chip or scratch is quite challenging. However, just applying a bit of it on bare metal can help fight against corrosion. If you have been in an accident still your car is in driving condition, make plans to get it to the car service center for repair as fast as possible. The longer bare metal is shown, the more likely it will rust.