How to prepare your car for winter

In winter, icy roads, freezing temperatures, and snowstorms can become a serious test for drivers and their vehicles. That’s why you need to prepare your car for the coldest season in advance and ensure that everything works properly. Here’s a list of handy tips that will help you survive winter and avoid problems on the road.

Protect the body from corrosion

Car manufacturers constantly look for ways to improve engine efficiency, ride comfort, and occupant safety. However, not all of them invest in good corrosion protection, which could become a severe problem after just a few winters.

Vehicle owners who want to protect their cars from rust can take relatively light protective measures. For example, washing your car at least 1-2 times per month will help remove salt, but there’s no 100% guarantee that the bodywork will not be susceptible to corrosion in a year or two.

The most effective way to protect a vehicle from corrosion is using rust protection products that can be applied to your vehicle’s chassis. A single layer of rust protection will dramatically extend a car’s life.

Inspect the wiper blades

The winter season is unpredictable – a severe blizzard can reduce visibility and put your life at risk. Therefore, your car’s wipers have to be in condition to remove snow.

Depending on the manufacturer, moderate use of wipers can wear them down within a year. After that, the wipers can no longer remove dirt and water with the same efficiency. Also, worn-out wipers tend to scratch the windshield.

Check the windscreen washer jets and change into season-appropriate washer fluid

Windscreen washer fluid falls into 2 categories: summer washer fluid and winter washer fluid. While they look the same, summer and winter windscreen washer fluids have different compositions that help them achieve maximum efficiency under the right conditions. For example, summer washer fluid helps effectively remove bugs and insects, while winter washer fluid works flawlessly when removing salt and a thick layer of dirt.

More importantly, when temperatures drop, summer washer fluid starts to freeze and clogs the whole windscreen washer system, including the jets. To avoid these unnecessary problems, drain your windscreen washer fluid before the winter and replace it with proper winter washer fluid, containing active ingredients like glycerine.

Check the battery

The average lifespan of a vehicle battery is 3 to 4 years. Of course, the battery’s lifespan depends on various factors, but most drivers tend to change their batteries only in case of emergencies.

To avoid getting caught off guard by an incorrectly-discharged battery, check the condition of your battery before the winter sets in. Most batteries have an indicator light showing the battery’s state. Turn on the ignition and look at the indicator light. When the voltage of your battery is low, it turns red, and when it’s in good condition, it turns green. You’ll see black when your battery is empty and can no longer be used.

Use rubber or plastic floor mats

While fabric floor mats make the vehicle’s interior more homey, they have more than a few drawbacks. Especially in winter, when carpet floor mats just become towels to absorb moisture, which then evaporates onto the windows and freezes them from the inside.

You can break this unpleasant trend very quickly. Simply replace the fabric mats with rubber or plastic ones. Furthermore, rubber or plastic floor mats last longer, they won’t stain, they’ll help you combat rust, and protect your vehicle’s floors.

Forget your ice scraper

In the early winter morning, people rush to drive away without properly removing snow and ice from the windows. Unfortunately, such reckless behavior poses a risk to them and other drivers.

“Getting into an accident because you’ve failed to fully remove the ice and snow on your windscreen and other windows is quite a common occurrence. Any damage will dent your car and its value, not to mention the health risk,” – says M. Buzelis.

If your vehicle sits outside in winter, there’s a strong chance you use an ice scraper to remove ice and snow from the windows. This isn’t the most effective way. There’s a wide range of de-icers and defrosting liquids that help melt ice and snow in no time.

Preparing a car for winter should be a natural part of every driver’s routine. This mitigates the risk of getting into a traffic accident and experiencing various problems on the road. Well-maintained cars have a higher residual value, which will benefit the owners when they decide to sell their vehicle.