How to winterize your car in ten easy steps
If you live in sunny southern California or balmy Florida, you don’t need to winterize your vehicles. For those of us who live in the land of ice and snow, winterizing our vehicles is as important as winterizing our homes. With a little preventative maintenance your cars and trucks will weather the long, cold winter months without a hitch, no pun intended. In this article I will explain what’s most important in getting your vehicles ready to weather the ice and snow. Whether you are a seasoned DIY mechanic and perform these tasks yourself or whether you take your vehicle to a trusted mechanic, this article will tell you what needs to be done.
The first step: your car’s battery
According to the America Automotive Association, approximately six million Americans are stranded at the side of the road with dead batteries. Batteries with 3-year warrantees often last 5 years and batteries with five year warrantees often last 8 years but the life of a battery really depends on many factors. The way you drive, the environmental conditions under which you drive, preventative maintenance schedules, etc all effect the life of a battery. You winterization process should begin with your car’s battery.
· First, clean and inspect your battery for obvious physical damage, cracks, blistering of the case, loose post/terminals, etc. For more information on DIY battery care read my Factoids DIY auto battery maintenance: How to clean your car’s battery.
· Perform a load test on the battery using a battery load tester or take you car to an Auto Zone or Advance Auto store and have one performed on your car’s battery for free. They will also check the performance of your car’s charging system at the same time. If you are a serious DIYer and want to be able to perform these checks yourself, I recommend purchasing an Associated (ASO6031) Alternator/Battery Tester from Tool Topia.Com. This is a professional grade instrument priced for the avid DIY auto mechanic. The ASO6031 normally sells for $175.76 but Tool Topia sells it for $112.99 and they pay the shipping. Besides checking the health status of your battery and alternator, this instrument checks for excessive starter current draw which can alert you to potential mechanical problems with the starter motor and/or with your car’s engine. Tool Topia offers free shipping on any order over $99.
· If you need to replace your battery, make sure you purchase one with a CCA (Cold Cranking Amperage) rating equal to or higher than the one specified in your owner’s manual or the one specified in the auto service manual for your vehicle. Higher is better. If you don’t have a service manual, you can order a Haynes or Chilton service manual for almost any vehicle from Auto Zone or Advance Auto for less than $20.
The second step: get your car’s oil and oil filter changed or do it yourself
Regardless of what some may say about high mileage oils, it’s still recommended that you change your oil every 3,000 mile or every 3 months, whichever comes sooner or even more often if your driving habits and the driving conditions warrant it. You should also change your oil filter every 10,000 miles or sooner if conditions warrant it.
· Check your owner’s manual or service manual to find out what viscosity oil you need for the temperatures you will be driving in. Must manuals provide a temperature –Vs- viscosity chart to make this selection easier for you. For most new vehicles 5W30 weight oil is a good, safe choice.
· If you want to perform this service procedure yourself, check out my Factoid DIY oil and filter change made simple.
The third step: service your cooling system
· Servicing you car’s cooling system is an essential step in winterizing your car. Have your cooling systems flushed out and your cooling system thermostat replaced. Have all the hoses checked and replace any that show signs of sponginess, cracking or heat damage. Have all belts checked and replace any showing obvious signs of wear-tearing, cracking, heat damage, slipping, etc. Replace the radiator cap with a new one of the proper pressure rating. If you want to perform these procedures yourself check out my Factoids DIY radiator maintenance and coolant replacement guide and A DIY guide to maintaining a trouble-free radiator.
The fourth step: wiper blades and windshield washer
· Check the condition of your windshield wiper blades and rear window wiper blade if your vehicle is equipped with one. This is a good time to replace those all-season blades with high quality winter blades. There’s nothing worse than having your wiper blades fail in a blinding snow storm.
· If you live in an area subject to really low temperatures as well as snow and ice, you may want to install or have install heated wiper blades which are available for most vehicles. Check them out at JC Whitney Everything Automotive. The cost of heated wiper blades runs the gamut from $40 to $140 depending on the vehicle.
The fifth step: check your tire pressure
· Keeping your tires properly inflated is important all year round for getting the best gas mileage possible and for minimizing tire wear but it’s especially important when driving in snow and on ice.
· Check your tire pressure regularly, especially during the cold weather. Keep your tires inflated to pressure recommended in your owner’s manual. The manufacturer’s recommended inflation pressure can also be found on a plate on one of the door pillars which is usually the driver’s door pillar.
· In cold weather you can expect to lose 1 psi (Pound per Square Inch) of air pressure for each 10°F drop in ambient temperature.
· Carry a small 12V tire inflator. They’re relatively inexpensive and sure beat the old hand powered pumps. Besides that, they take up a lot less space in the trunk.
· A tubeless tire plugging kit is another good investment. More often than not it takes less time and effort to plug a puncture than it does to replace the punctured tire with the spare.
The sixth step: Get snow tires
If you live in an area subject to getting a lot of heavy snow fall, snow tires are a necessity. Keep this caution in mind, if you have a front wheel drive vehicle you will need to install snow tires on all four wheels otherwise you will create a really dangerous condition. With a front wheel drive vehicle you will spin out if the front wheels have traction and the rear wheels don’t.
The seventh step: check power transfer
If your vehicle is equipped with AWD ( all wheel drive ) or 4WD (four wheel drive) check the power transfer controls to make sure the switch between two wheel drive goes quickly and smoothly.
The eighth step: prepare an emergency kit and store it in the trunk
The emergency kit should contain the following items
· A blanket
· An extra set of warm clothes including extra winter boots and gloves
· Emergency food and water
· A flashlight
· A small shovel, a folding camp shovel is ideal
· Ice scraper
· Extra wiper blades
· Windshield washer fluid
· Flares
· Jumper cables
· A small tool kit
· A tire gauge
· Spare tire w/jack and lug wrench
· First aid kit
· A bag of sand or non-clumping kitty litter for extra traction
The ninth step: know where you are at all times
Equip your vehicles with GPS. The cost of GPS devices are dropping everyday with high quality ones like the Tom Tom One selling for less than $150 so there really is no excuse to hit the road without one. GPS equipped cell phones are ok but in an emergency I want a fully fledged GPS receiver onboard. GPS receivers, like the Tom Tom One not only gives you driving directions; they give you your exact location which emergency services can use to locate you if you have need of them; they can tell you the location of the nearest gas stations, hotels, hospitals, etc; they can give an estimated time to those locations; and much more.
The tenth step: keep extra fluids in the trunk
· 50/50 antifreeze solution
· Engine oil
· Transmission fluid
· Brake fluid
· Power steering fluid
· Windshield washer fluid
Happy and safe winter motoring.
