7 Winter Car Care Tips: How to Winter-Proof Your Car

The winter months bring its share of complications, thereby increasing car maintenance charges. So, how would you keep your car winterized during the season? On this note, here are the valuable winter car tips & tweaks to help you safeguard the vehicle effectively.

Get Your Car Services before the Winters

Before the harsh winter arrives, get the vehicle serviced and prepare it for challenges during the winters. Firstly, ensure that the battery is in good condition. The battery power will decrease as the temperature drops. So, it means that it will take more power to start. In case the battery is having problems, there will be an upsurge in the risk of breaking down. 

Additionally, it's also recommended to maintain the ratio from 50/50 to 70/30 of antifreeze and water. While the cold weather does not hurt the brakes, a comprehensive inspection ensures excellent performance while driving during harsh weather conditions. Also, get the hoses, belts, wires, cables, and spark plugs checked because they can trouble you more during the winter conditions just in case they stop working.

Installing the winter pipers

These get equipped with rubber, thereby restricting ice from getting into the blades. Be sure of removing them during the springtime. Winter wipers happen to be heavier than the regular ones. Thus, keeping them would just increase the overall load on your wiper motor.

Get hold of a winter kit

If you plan a trip during this time of the year, always store the common tools & supplies inside your vehicle just in case of emergencies. You can perform insightful research about what to pack and what not to take before heading out during the cooler months.

Keep the rear-window defroster working

Being incapable of seeing behind you may create a dangerous driving experience. That's the utmost reason why different states impose laws mentioning that the windows must be out of debris and condensation. While winterizing the car, always check the rear-window defroster before the winter hits the town!

Consider checking the change in temperature that may affect traction

Before you go out for a long drive during the winters, it becomes imperative to check for the temperatures that may change when you are out driving. As a matter of fact, changing temperatures could affect both your driving ability and traction when there's a chance you were initially not prepared for.

To help you understand it better, let's cite an example. Suppose you drive during the 0° weather. So, driving during this temperature is way different from driving during the 32° weather. You may have better traction during the 0° temperature than at 32° because of the surfaces that become slippery at lower temperatures.

Maintaining tire pressure is important

Each 10° change in the temperature might mean a loss or gain of the 1 PSI. Meaning, you must get the pressure checked more frequently during the winter months & refill the tires when and as needed. 

Keep the washer fluid full

Replacing the windshield wiper fluid frequently is something that you would never overlook. A single snowstorm may exhaust a larger amount of the fluid. Thus, it's better to refill your washer reservoir with the windshield wiper fluid that's formulated for winter conditions. Just in case you are not sure whether the washer fluid is the right formula or not for the low temperatures, you can include a bottle of the fluid antifreeze in your reservoir.

There are other ways how you can winterize your car. That stated it includes preparing yourself with the winter emergencies, using winter tires, etc. With these tips followed, you could become a pro at driving during the winters.