Taking care of your car is a breeze when spring and summer are here, since the warm weather practically invites you to perform regular check-ups. But when winter arrives, it’s a different story – all that cold-weather cleaning and maintenance feel like a chore. The truth is though, when the first frost arrives and snow blankets the ground, vehicle maintenance is absolutely critical to road safety.
Winter weather and freezing temps can wreak havoc on your car, from the slick and icy roads to the fluids that keep your engine humming. Even if your check engine light isn’t brightening up the dash and your tires are already prepped for winter, there are a number of must-dos worth practicing all winter long to ensure you’re hitting the road in a car that’s safe, prepared, and ready for all of the season’s challenges.
Here’s a list of must-do vehicle maintenance tasks to get you through winter.
Check Tire Pressure Regularly
When temperatures drop, your tire pressure can undergo unexpected changes. Every 10-degree change in the ambient temperature can cause as much as 1 PSI difference – and that PSI can increase or decrease. Driving on underinflated tires, even if they’re just slightly below their usual PSI, can lead to premature wear and tear and a loss of traction in slick roads.
As a result, you’ll want to check your tire pressure more frequently during the winter. Your tires can change PSI weekly, or even more often if you live in a region with always-changing temps. With regular check-ins, you’ll be able to add or decrease as needed to achieve just the right balance of pressure for your tires.
Keep an Eye on Tire Tread Depth
Even if you switched to winter tires ahead of the coldest months of the year, don’t overlook those shoes throughout the season. Winter roads are tough and unpredictable, which can lead to serious wear. And once your tires develop wear, they can become dangerous, increasing your stopping distance and lowering your stability on roads icy, wet, and dry.
Keep an eye on how well your tires are wearing by checking the tread depth regularly. Most states require a minimum 2/32-inch depth – but you should actually be on the lookout for a decrease to 4/32-inch depth. Testing has shown that once your tread depth wears beyond 4/32-inch, you’ll have a dramatic decrease in traction (and an increase in sliding and slipping!)
Check both the inner and outer tire tread depth regularly as you perform weekly or monthly checkup maintenance across your vehicle. If your tread depth is getting into the danger zone, it’s time for new tires.
Tech Tip Tire Tread Depth
Check Window Defrosters and Heaters
A working vehicle heater isn’t just essential for your comfort during the winter – it’s also a must-have to clear off your windshield and rear window. You need clear, debris-free windows to drive safely and see all obstacles, even when it’s not actively raining or snowing. And while you’ll certainly need the help of an ice scraper and snow brush to get on the road, your heater can help melt what’s collected on your windshield.
So, it’s important to regularly check your heater as well as your front and rear window defrosters throughout winter. Run them to ensure they’re effectively heating up and effectively clearing away condensation, frost, and fogginess that gathers on your front windshield and rear window. If they aren’t working appropriately, it’s time for a check-up so you don’t run into bigger problems as temperatures change.
Inspect and Replace Air Filters
Think winter is a good time to skip air filter maintenance because you aren't worried about allergens? Think again!
A dirty or clogged cabin air filter can have a surprising impact on your vehicle’s heater and airflow throughout the winter. If a gross, long-overdue-to-be-changed air filter is clogged up, it’ll reduce airflow through the car heater. That, in turn, can make your heater less effective, while also putting unnecessary strain on the blower motor. It may even lead the blower motor and its resistor to overheat.
Take a peek at your air filters regularly throughout the winter. If you’re finding them covered in dust, dirt, and other captured material, you can swap them out for fresh filters for less than $20 total (and keep your heater running strong!)
Replace Wiper Blades
While you might think you can get away with your wiper blades for a year or longer, it’s really better to replace them regularly. Even the highest-quality blades start to degrade and become less effective after just six months of use. Streaking and missed areas can be increasingly common as your wipers start to grow old.
Plan to replace your wiper blades before winter arrives – but if you forget, twice a year should be fine. To keep them in tip-top shape, maintain them regularly. Throughout the winter months, you can clean the blades’ rubber edges with glass cleaner to get rid of buildup if they aren’t performing smoothly. Or, you can opt for special winter wipers, which feature heavier blades than your average windshield wipers to handle tougher loads like snow and debris.
Winter Prep Visibility
Caption: Winter elements compromise vision. Gain some clarity with Putco Nitro360 fog lights, which use amber LEDs for superior lighting in fog, rain, or snow. Meguiar's PlastX Clear Plastic Cleaner and Polish is perfect for clearing up those dull headlights, while PIAA Si-Tech Flat Wiper Blades combat snow and ice build-up on the windshield.
Top Off Your Fluids
Your car’s various fluids may need some tweaks during the coldest months of the year, as freezing temperatures can literally change their composition.
Here’s a quick guide on what to look for:
- Coolant: Aim to maintain either a 50/50 or 70/30 ratio of antifreeze to water in your cooling system. (Check your owner’s manual to determine which one best suits your vehicle.) This mixture helps prevent the liquid from freezing and lessens the risk of corrosion as seasons change.
- Gasoline: Try to keep your fuel tank at least 50% full throughout the season to avoid condensation or water vapor in the tank or lines from freezing. Besides, you never know when you might get stranded on a snowy road or caught in a storm.
- Oil: In cold weather, motor oil gets thicker. That makes it slower to flow through your engine, which can pose a problem. If you haven’t already, consider switching to a quality synthetic blend and opt for the lowest viscosity your vehicle manufacturer recommends in the winter. This will ensure easier starts and smoother shifts, as well as better overall protection.
Wax and Wash Often
Winter introduces your car’s exterior to plenty of harsh elements, from gross road grime and slush to corrosive road salt to mud and so much more. The best way to protect these common woes from building up and affecting your undercoat, wheels, and paint job? Wash and wax your car regularly.
High-pressure car washes can help slough away buildup that’s starting to collect. Don’t want to do the job yourself? Winter is the perfect season for a professional wash that gets into hard-to-reach areas like the wheel wells and nooks and crannies of the undercarriage.
And don’t skip the wax throughout winter! Applying a coat of polymer wax is even more important this time of the year, as it offers a protective barrier that can keep salt, grime, and general dirt from getting buried on and under your vehicle.
Keep up with winter car care so your vehicle can keep up with your busy lifestyle. From new windshield wipers and fresh fluids, to a complete new set of winter tires, find all your cold season maintenance needs right here on Parts Via.