Rick's Free Auto Repair Advice

13 Tips to prepare your car for winter

Follow these 13 tips to get your car ready for winter

Getting your car ready for winter involves a lot more than just checking your coolant and filling your windshield washer reservoir. Winter puts a huge stress on your car’s electrical, heating, fuel and ignition systems. A failure in any of those systems can leave you stranded, shivering, and waiting hours for help. So now’s the time to check everything listed in this guide to prepare your car for winter before the snow flies. That way, your car will start right up, keep you warm and stop when its supposed to. Here’s what to check before winter.

Start with a battery and charging system test

image showing car battery tester connected to battery

Clore Automotive BA9 Digital 12V Battery and System Tester

There are two ways to tell if your car battery is going to make it through the winter:

• Wait until it fails on a cold day, or
• Get it tested now and replace it if it fails the test

Guess which approach makes more sense?

A battery test really can predict how well your battery will perform this winter

A battery voltage test tells you the battery’s State-of-Charge (SOC). That’s important to know, but SOC is a poor indicator of long-term reliability.

A State-of-Health (SOH) test, on the other hand, tests the battery’s internal resistance/capacitance (ability to store an electric charge) and performs a simulated load test. When used in conjunction with a SOC test, a SOH test can provide an accurate picture of your battery’s condition. In other words, if your battery fails the SOH test, even it it’s working great right now, it’s going to leave you stranded once cold weather arrives. So replace it now.

Where to get your battery tested

• Free battery testing at auto parts stores — Most auto parts stores test your battery and charging system for free using a modern SOH tester.
• Buy your own SOH battery tester — Purchase a battery tester for about $50 and test the batteries in all your vehicles (see the ad at the bottom of this article for more information).
• Your local repair shop — Shops can also test your battery and charging system for a small fee.

If the battery results are on the edge, replace your battery now so you don’t get stranded.

Learn how to test a car battery
Learn how to clean battery terminals
Learn how to test your car’s alternator
Learn how to install a new car battery
How long does a car batteries last?
What IS an AGM battery?

Keep your battery charged by driving it regularly or by charging it when not in use

Winter driving uses a lot more power than summer driving. In summer, you may run your AC at full blast and headlights at night, but that’s about it. However, in winter you use your heater, wipers, defogger, heated mirrors, heated seats, and headlights, all at the same time!

If you drive your vehicle on the highway, your charging system can keep your battery fully charged. But if you drive short trips or drive in stop-and-go traffic, your vehicle’s charging system simply can’t provide enough power to run all those electrical accessories. So the balance of power has to come from your battery, leaving it in a discharged state. A constantly discharged battery can leave you stranded and dramatically shorten the battery’s life (see this article on battery sulfation and how it kills batteries).

Letting your car sit unused also kills your battery

Remember the pandemic when everyone stopped using their cars for months on end? Remember how those cars didn’t start after sitting for so long? Well, all those batteries died because the computers draw a small but constant stream of power from the battery. If you let your vehicle sit unused for two or more weeks, the computer drain can drain your battery by almost 25%. If you start your car, take it on a short trip to the grocery store and then let it sit for another two weeks out in the cold, you’re going to wind up with a dead battery, even if your battery is fairly new.

There are two easy ways to keep your battery fully charged

• Drive it on the highway for at least 20-30-minutes once a week, or

image of car battery mainainer

Clore CHARGE-IT #4502 Battery Maintainer•

• Purchase a battery maintainer and connect it to your battery overnight once a week. That’ll bring it back to full charge.

Check your serpentine and other drive belts and belt tensioner before the snow flies

The drive belts run your alternator and that’s what charges your battery. If the alternator drive belt is worn or slipping, the alternator can’t do it’s job.

In the past you could tell the condition of the drive belt by checking for cracks in the belt ribs. But car makers switched to EPDM drive belts in the early 2000’s. EPDM belts don’t crack like the older Neoprene belts, so you can’t tell a belt’s condition by looking for cracks. Instead, you have to use a belt wear gauge. Belt wear gauges cost less than $8 and are available online and at many auto parts stores.

EPDM belts and automatic belt tensioners last about 100,000 miles. If your belts are hitting or above that mileage its time to change the belts and the tensioner.

Replace worn spark plugs for best starting in winter

FACTOID: Worn spark plugs are the #2 cause of a no-starts in winter (dead battery is #1). It takes much more energy to ignite cold fuel in a cold engine. Old spark plugs that worked fine in summer can fail to start your engine in winter.

It’s not true that all spark plugs last 100,000 miles or more. Some engines require spark plug chanimage showing worn versus new spark plugsges every 60,000, 40,000, or even as often as every 30,000 miles. Check your owner’s maintenance guide to find the manufacturer’s recommendation for spark plug changes. Then check your maintenance records to see when you last changed your spark plugs. If you’re within 20% of the recommended change interval, change them now and enjoy faster and more reliable starting this winter.

Want to lean more about spark plugs and spark plug myths? Read these two articles. Spark PlugsSpark plug MYTHS.

Replace your wiper blades with “winter blades”

Prepare your car for winter by installing winter wiper blades. Winter blades are specifically designed to reduce snow and ice packing that can clog ordinary wiper blades, resulting in skips and streaking. So they keep your windshield cleaner even in heavy snow. If your current wiper blades streak now, they’ll only get worse as road salt and grit wear them down even more. Replace them now for clearer visibility. Read this article on the difference between traditional and beam style blades.

Check your headlights

It gets dark earlier in winter so you’ll be using

image showing cloudy headlights and polished headlights

Remove oxidized coating, polish, and re-apply new UV protective coating

your headlights more. The UV coating on plastic headlights degrades over time and the lenses turn cloudy, reducing road illumination by as much as 20%.

You don’t have to replace the entire headlight to see clearly again. Just buy a headlight restoration kit (about $25) at any auto parts store. I like the kit from Sylvania best because it contains a bottle of remover to help get rid of the old UV coating, AND it also contains a bottle of NEW UV coating to wipe onto the lenses after you’ve buffed them.

You can buy those kits and buff up your headlights. Read this article on headlight restoration kits.

Replace old headlight bulbs

Halogen headlight bulbs bulbs have an average lifespan of 500 to 1,000 hours, depending on the lumen output of the bulb. But all halogen bulbs lose some light intensity as they rack up hours of use. So it may pay to replace your headlight bulbs now, before winter arrives to get the most light on the road.

Since both headlight bulbs burn the same number of hours, always replace headlight bulbs in pairs. If one burns out, the other bulb is right behind it.

FACTOIDS on headlight bulbs — Traditional headlight bulbs output 1,450 to 1,500 lumens, last 2,000 to 1,100 hours, and cost about $8 each. Brighter bulbs can cost around $27 each and output up to 1,630 lumens. But their lifespan drops to around 400 hours. In other words, the greater the lumens, the shorter the life of the bulb.

For more information on headlight bulbs, see these articles.

How to replace a headlight bulb
Fix a cloudy headlight lens
Fix a dim headlight
When to replace headlight bulbs

Check your coolant

Driving with worn out coolant is a bad idea all year ‘round,

fleetguard coolant test strips

Fleetguard Coolant Analysis Test Kit CC2602A

but it’s especially bad in winter. Worn coolant can freeze and destroy your engine — but you probably already knew that.

However, there’s more to coolant than just freeze protection. Fresh coolant prevents corrosion damage to your heater core, radiator, and water pump. The corrosion comes in two forms: ordinary corrosion caused by the 50/50 solution of water and coolant, and the kind caused by electrolysis. Electrolysis occurs when you have dissimilar metals and an electrolyte. And that’s exactly what you have in a vehicle. You’ve got aluminum, steel, magnesium, copper, and cast iron all connected electrically by the coolant.

Fresh coolant contains additives to combat electrolysis. Once that additive wears out, galvanic action begins starts transferring metal from one surface to another. The heater core and radiator are the first to go. They can spring leaks or plug up. A heater core repair alone can cost upwards of $1,000. If you can’t remember the last time you changed the coolant, change it now. It costs far less than the repairs you’ll face later. See my article on choosing the right coolant.

How to test coolant condition before winter

See this article for tips on how to test your coolant for:

freeze protection
pH balance
electrolysis protection

Check the tread depth on your tires with a tread depth gauge

Studies show that once tread depth wears down to 4/32″ or less, stopping tire tread depthdistances start increasing dramatically. Stopping in snow and ice is hard enough with good tread, so it doesn’t pay to drive in winter on worn tires.

Forget about the old “penny tip” and buy a real tire tread depth gauge (available at any auto parts store for around $8). Check the tread depth on the outer and center tread of each tire. If they’re approaching 4/32″ or less, it’s time for new tires. Rather than wait until next spring, buy new tires now and get better traction and stopping power through the winter. Driving on good tread is one of the best ways to avoid winter accidents.

Or, consider buying winter tires

4WD and AWD drive vehicles are great for getting you going from a dead stop. But 4WD and AWD drive systems don’t help you stop or turn in snow and ice. Only winter tires can do all three: provide better traction from a stop, better grip in turns and better stopping power.

I won’t kid you, winter tires are expensive. But consider this: a single slide into the curb can easily cost upwards of $2,000 in repairs, even if there’s no body damage. If there’s body damage, that same curb kiss can immediately turn into a $5,000 repair, along with weeks in the shop and an insurance claim that could very likely raise your rates.

When you consider how much you’ll pay for a collision deductible and increased premiums, along with the fact that winter tires can help you avoid those accidents, the cost of winter tires starts to sound like a bargain. If winter tires  prevent just one accident over their 5-6-year life, you’ll come out ahead cost-wise.

See this article to learn how much better winter tires are compared to traditional all-season tires. If you decide to buy winter tires, check out my top choices here.

When to buy new tires
How to buy new tires
What’s the difference between economy and premium tires?
Do you really need a tire pressure sensor rebuild when you get new tires?
Should you buy a road hazard warranty?
How does outside temperature affect tire pressure?
Is tire rotation really necessary?

Change the cabin air filter to prepare your car for winter

A cabin air filter catches pollen, dust, dirt, leaves that enters your car’s HVAC system

A plugged cabin air filter dramatically reduces air flow through

image of clogged Cabin air filter

Cabin air filter catches all the debris from fresh air, like leaves, dust, and pollen

the heater and defroster vents. So it takes longer to defrost the windshield and heat up the vehicle. Plus, it puts added strain on the blower motor, causing it to fail early (about a $200 repair). You’ll have to change the filter eventually, so change it now and enjoy faster defrost times and warmer toes.

Prepare your car for winter by lubricating door and trunk locks

If you own a late model vehicle, you probably have keyless entry. But that doesn’t mean you can ignore basic lock cylinder maintenance. You may need to use those locks if your keyless entry ever fails. If you don’t lubricate locks, they may not work when you need them most.

Spray each lock with dry teflon lube spray or graphite (available at home centers and auto parts stores). Then, using the physical key that came with the vehicle (sometimes stored inside the key fob) insert and remove the key several times and rotate the lock to distribute the lube. That’ll keep them in shape in case you need to manually open the door or trunk.

Lubricate weatherstripping and window channels before winter

Sleet and rain can seep into door gaps and window channels and freeze them shut. If you try to force the door open, you’ll rip the weatherstripping apart ($150 for new weather-stripping). And, if you try to operate a frozen window, you can damage the window regulator mechanism (a $300 repair). Prevent damage by applying silicone to the weatherstripping around each door. Purchase spray silicone at any hardware or home center store. Spray it on a rag and wait a few seconds for the solvent to evaporate. Then wipe the silicone onto the weatherstripping. Then spray the silicone directly into the window channels. Raise and lower the window to spread the lubricant.

Check and recheck your tire pressure

Tire pressure is directly related to outside temperature, so as the temperature drops, so does your tire pressure. For each 10° F change in ambient temperature, your tire pressure rises or falls by 1-psi. If you check your tire pressure in late October when it’s 50° F outside, and the temperature drops to -10° F  in early January, your tires will be at least 6-psi underinflated. Underinflation causes accelerated tire wear, reduces overall stability, and can have a negative affect on your collision avoidance systems. So check and adjust your tire pressure as the outside temperature changes.

Check tire pressure when the tires are cold (haven’t been driven for at least 3 hours). For more information on checking and adjusting tire pressure, see this article.

Use the right windshield washer fluid

Not all washer fluid is the same. Some fluids protect against freezing down to -32° F, while other only protect down to 0° F. If you leave summer windshield washer fluid in your reservoir, it’s going to freeze when cold weather hits. So read the labels on the jugs of washer fluid and choose one that will protect you for the coldest possible conditions in your area. Use up all the summer fluid in your reservoir before adding the winter fluid. See this article for more information on windshield washer fluids and windshield de-icing products.

Get a good ice scraper and snow brush

There are ice scrapers and then there are really good ice scraper/brush combos. This one is my favorite

Pack a winter emergency kit

A winter emergency kit isn’t just for long trips. In cold weather it can take hours for a tow truck to arrive. You need emergency supplies to change a tire yourself and keep warm in the process. Click here for tips to build a complete winter emergency kit.

car emergency kit for winter

Car emergency kit for winter. To keep you WARM

© 2012 Rick Muscoplat

Posted on by Rick Muscoplat

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