Despite the availability of public transport, a car is what will serve you in the longer run. Owning a car offers one greater autonomy, hence empowering individuals to be able to travel anytime and anyplace, without having to depend on the availability of public transport. 

Nowadays, purchasing a car is not too tricky, and cars are available at more economical prices. Various fuel-efficient cars are available in the market. But the most significant cause for concern among car owners is maintenance. And by maintenance, we are not talking about periodic maintenance that your car undergoes, especially cold-weather car care. 

The winter season brings about its own set of complications, thus increasing maintenance charges. So how can one care for their car, particularly during the winter?  Here are the winter car tips and tricks which will help you to safeguard your vehicle.

Common winter car problems:

Knowledge empowers. With adequate knowledge, one can understand why and when a problem happens, and be ready to take up the necessary countermeasures to either prevent it or overcome it. The winter season generally brings with it a series of complications to your car. What sort of complications or issues are we talking about? Here are some of the most common problems that your vehicle may undergo during winter.

●         Dead battery in the winter

Generally, during winter, car batteries lose 10 percent of their charge capacity. This makes it more probable for your car battery to quickly run out of charge, especially when it is used significantly less frequently during winter. This is especially true for batteries older than 5 years. Hence, timely winter car service can increase the lifespan and performance of a car.

●         Low tire pressure

During winter, the car winter check is a must, your car’s tire pressure can decrease due to sudden temperature drops. Your car tire may soften and crack as the cold temperature causes the rubber to contract.

●         Thick fluid

What happens during winter is that it causes your car’s fluids such as engine oil, coolant and transmission fluid to become denser and more viscous. Hence, this results in increased power loss, reduced efficiency and increased probability for your car’s parts such as the gasket and internals seals to wear out. Winter car care should not be taken lightly.

●         Cracks in spark plugs

The cold temperature can cause the ceramic spark plugs in your car to corrode and crack.  This is one of the popular cold-weather car tips to boost the car’s performance.

●         Faulty alternator belt

The alternator is what charges your car’s battery. Winter can cause your car’s alternator belt to crack.

Pre Winter car maintenance tips

Now that you know the different kinds of issues that your car may undergo during winter and why they happen, let us try to understand how we can prevent these issues from occurring. This can help us ensure the durability of the parts within the car, ensure that the car functions efficiently and also make sure that maintenance bills are lower. Knowing these tips will empower car owners to take better care of their cars during winter rather than having to rely on car mechanics for even minuscule issues.

Follow these tips to care for your car during winter, and in the long run as well:

●      Preparatory car check-up

A great way to preserve the functioning of your car, despite winter, is to conduct preparatory car checkups or premium car servicing before the start of winter. This can help assess parts or aspects that require servicing and hence ensure that your car enters winter in full health. Preparing cars for winter can save your money.

●      Monitoring car tire pressure

It is good to have a tire pressure monitoring kit and a handy tyre pump. This can help prevent the risk of low tire pressure. This is also one of the more important winter car tips.

●      Monitoring engine coolant levels

You must be aware of your car’s engine coolant levels. This is because car engine coolant contains antifreeze. This prevents the car engine from freezing and jamming up during low temperatures. So, ensure that your car engine has optimum levels of engine coolant during the winter. Thus, proper engine maintenance is necessary during winters. Regular winter car maintenance increases the lifespan of a car.

●      Warming up the car

A great way to preserve the functioning of your car during winter is to warm up the car periodically. This involves turning on the engine for a minimum of 10 minutes, especially when you have no plans to use it. This is one of the workable extreme cold weather car tips. This way, the various parts of the car become active, heat up and hence prevent unnecessary issues during winter. This pointer should not be ignored while checking the winter car maintenance checklist.

●      Maintaining car battery health. 

Finally, you must maintain the health of your car battery, and the cold weather car maintenance should never be ignored. This involves ensuring that it has optimum levels of distilled water, making sure that the terminals are well connected, and keeping the engine running for a few minutes (thus charging it). This will be winter-proof of your car.

As tough as winter can be for us, it can be even more difficult for our vehicles. By following the above tips, you can make it through the winter with your car without any hiccups.

The above-mentioned cold weather car care  tips will elevate your car’s performance in the cold season. The freezing weather can take a toll on your car’s performance, hence make sure to follow the needful winter auto care tips.