How to Winterize Your Car 2 days ago

Winter is just around the corner, so you must prepare your car for colder temperatures, icy roads, and harsh weather conditions. If you’re looking for tips on how to winterize your car, you’ve landed on the right page. 

Proper winterization is more than just avoiding breakdowns. It’s about safety measures, ensuring the car’s longevity, and a smooth driving experience throughout the season. 

If that’s what you plan to do, this guide will highlight key factors on how to winterize a car for winter driving and how to winterize a car for storage. 

Remember: Winterizing your car isn’t just about maintenance—it’s a proactive step to ensure your vehicle is reliable and safe all season.

Key Takeaways

• Importance of Winterizing: Preparing your car for winter protects it from cold weather wear.  Winter car care extends your car’s life, reduces the chance of breakdowns, and keeps you safer.

• Check Key Components: Inspect and prepare critical car components like the tires, battery, brakes, coolant, wipers, and fluids. 

• Safety Essentials: Winter-specific items like antifreeze, wiper blades, and coolant are crucial to maintaining visibility, traction, and engine health. 

• Storage Tips for Long-Term: If you’re storing your car for winter, consider disconnecting the battery, inflating the tires, and placing it in a covered area. 

• Consider Car Shipping in Winter: When relocation is involved, shipping your car with a reliable service like Sherpa Auto Transport ensures your car’s safe transit without winter wear from road travel.

In This Guide:

• How to Winterize Your Car?
• Why Prep Your Car for Winter?
• How to Prep Your Car for Winter?
• Winterization as Risk Prevention
• Before You Go
• Winter Car Care FAQs

How to Winterize Your Car?

Winterizing your car helps protect it from the challenges incurred when extreme weather conditions like low temperatures, ice, and snow hit. 

Extremely cold weather conditions can strain your car’s essential parts, such as your battery, tires, and engine. While icy conditions require strong traction and clear visibility, it is better to winterize your car beforehand. 

Properly preparing your vehicle will reduce the risk of costly breakdowns, keep you safer on the road, and potentially extend its life.

Related: Thinking about taking your car somewhere warmer? Consider vehicle transport options from Sherpa Auto Transport.

Why Prep Your Car for Winter?

There are times when life gets in the way of important tasks; as busy individuals, we tend to put off car winterization until we see that first snowflake fall. 

However, if you read up on how to winterize a car beforehand, you can act proactively and save yourself a lot of hassle. 

Early winterization prevents you from being caught in a sudden weather change, such as a snowstorm. It’s best to plan on winterizing your car in early to mid-October so you know you have plenty of time before the first snowfall of the year. 

Doing it this early means you likely won’t run into your first big snow and ice issues for at least a few weeks, but you’ll be prepared when it does come. And believe me; it will come, so prepare beforehand to avoid dealing with all the last-minute rushes to the auto repair shop for winter car care. 

How to Prep Your Car for Winter?

Below are the essential steps for effective winter car care. Whether you’re driving daily or planning long-term storage, following these tips on how to winterize your car will keep your vehicle in prime condition.

• Inspect Your Car Tires

Inspect your car tires and replace them with all-season or winter tires. Since winter tires don’t harden in cold weather, they manage traction on ice, slush, and snow. 

How To Do That? Take a pair of thin gloves and run your hand on each tire, checking for abnormal wear, bumps, or spots that “catch your hand.” While you are at it, make sure you check your car for alignment, too. If your tire is worn out, change it. 

Remember that tires become harder on their surface from repeated heating and cooling over the seasons and years. So, make sure you check the car’s grip. 

Check that your tires have ample tread, and consider switching to winter tires if you’re in an area with frequent snow and ice. 

Cold temperatures can also cause tire pressure to drop, so inflating your tires to the recommended PSI is essential to maintain stability and control.

Cars with apparently healthy treads can have poorer traction than you think. So when in doubt, swap those tires out.

ProTip: If you live in an area not normally hit by heavy snow, you may stick with all-season tires. Even then, it would help if you gave those tires a check-up.

• Check Your Tire Pressure

Ensure your tire pressure is correct, per the standards mentioned in the owner’s manual. You can also check for the standard pressure on the tire placard on the driver’s side door jamb.

Colder temperatures will cause tire pressure to drop about 1 pound per square inch for every 10° F drop in air temperature. That’s because air molecules pack together more closely when the temperature drops. As the air becomes denser, the pressure it exerts on the interior tire walls drops. 

ProTip: Refill your tires whenever they’re low to maintain good traction and durability.

• Install Winter Windshield Wipers

Clear visibility is crucial in winter, especially during snowstorms or heavy rain. Swap your old wiper blades for winter blades designed to handle ice and snow.

The winterized wipers have a rubber edge that prevents ice and snow from accumulating on the blades. 

Also, fill the washer fluid reservoir with a winter formula that won’t freeze. Look for a washer fluid made specifically for handling extremely low temperatures; otherwise, it will freeze and block your vision while driving. 

ProTip: Use a winter windshield washer fluid with antifreeze properties to prevent it from freezing up and ensure your view stays clear, no matter the weather.

• Test the Battery

A weak battery can struggle to start your car in cold weather. Low temperatures make engines harder to start and require more power from the battery. 

To avoid hassle, act proactively, have your battery tested, and ensure it’s fully charged. If it’s nearing the end of its lifespan (typically around 3-5 years), consider replacing it as a preventive measure. 

This simple check can save you the frustration of a non-start on a frosty morning.

ProTip: Keep jumper cables in your car as a backup, especially during winter, as even a healthy battery can struggle in extreme cold.

• Change the Oil

Switching to winter-grade oil can make a noticeable difference. Since winter-grade oil flows more easily at low temperatures, it reduces strain on the engine during startup. 

Winter oils are formulated to maintain a thin consistency in cold weather, allowing your engine to function efficiently when temperatures drop. If your car is due for an oil change, winter is ideal for switching to this cold-weather formula.

ProTip: Check your car’s owner’s manual for the best winter oil type. The manual will indicate the viscosity that provides better flow and engine protection in colder conditions.

• Add Coolant or Antifreeze

Coolant (or antifreeze) is critical in winterizing your engine by preventing it from freezing. 

Ensure the coolant is topped off and has the correct antifreeze-to-water ratio (ideally, it’s 50/50, but consult your owner’s manual). 

A well-maintained coolant system is essential for engine health during winter.

ProTip: If unsure of your car’s antifreeze ratio, consider a coolant flush or test to ensure maximum protection against the cold.

• Check Belts and Hoses

Cold weather can make rubber components brittle, leading to potential cracks, leaks, or breaks. 

Its always recommended to inspect the belts and hoses under the hood for any signs of wear and replace any that appear damaged or aged. 

These components may be small, but they keep your engine running smoothly. This element can distinguish between a reliable ride and an unexpected breakdown.

Pro Tip: Look for areas where the rubber feels softer or has visible cracks, as these are the most vulnerable points that could fail in winter.

• Monitor Brakes

Winter driving demands excellent braking performance. The roads may become icy or snow-covered, which can be a hazard. This is why the brakes should be responsive and effective. 

Check that your brake pads aren’t worn down and that the system works smoothly to avoid surprises on a slick road. 

Winter is also a good time to ensure brake fluid is topped off and consider replacing it if it’s been more than a few years since your last flush.

ProTip: Consider having a mechanic inspect your brakes if you haven’t done so recently; they can spot issues that might be harder to detect.

• Fill All Fluids

Low temperatures can impact the effectiveness of your car’s fluids, so it’s crucial to top up all essential fluids, such as transmission, brake, and power steering fluids, before winter arrives. 

Some fluids may have winter-specific formulations or additives that offer added protection against freezing or thickening in the cold.

Protip: Ensure your car’s maintenance is current and all fluids are filled before leaving the house. You don’t want to be stranded in the middle of the road on a freezing day or night.

• Equip Your Car With Winter Emergency Essentials

Please don’t wait to fill up your gas tank, in fact, refill it every time it hits the halfway mark. If you’re stranded, keeping your car running with the heat on may keep you warm until help comes.

While we’re on the subject of staying safe while stranded, go ahead and stock your car with these winter emergency essentials:

• Cell phone
• Spare warm clothes and boots
• Warm blanket
• Flashlight and fresh batteries
• Flares
• Non-perishable food
• Water
• First-aid kit
• Ice scraper
• Jumper cable
• Extra gas
• Extra quart of oil
• Antifreeze
• A shovel
• A car tool kit

For tips on storing your Motorcycle for the winter, click here. 

Winterization as Risk Prevention

Even if you meticulously complete all steps of the winterization process, things can still go wrong. Fortunately, winterizing can significantly reduce the risks involved with winter driving. 

Here are the risks you should know when navigating winter road conditions. 

Risk #1: Car Battery Dies

Your car battery has to work harder in colder temperatures. Also, it’s likely that you have excessively been using your windshield wipers, heat, and lights more often during winter compared to summer. If you proactively replace your older battery before winter arrives, you will retain yourself due to a dead battery.

Risk #2: Low Pressure In Tires

Cold weather reduces tire pressure, if you don’t act proactively, you won’t be able to catch tires before they are underinflated. This would result in wearing out of tires quickly, possibly leading to potential blowouts or flats on the road.

Risk #3: Frozen Gas Lines

Temperatures that change quickly can cause condensation to form in your gas tank. When this moisture backs up into your gas lines, it can freeze, making your car inoperable. 

The most common sign of frozen gas lines is a car’s failure to start, but if you check your antifreeze and coolant levels while winterizing, you can catch warning signs of frozen gas lines before they result in disaster. 

Risk #4: Systems Leak

Certain features freeze when condensation occurs on a mechanical level in your car. But what happens when they are no longer frozen? As they start de-icing, leaks can spring up, leading to an abnormal pressure build-up. Plus, if vital fluids start leaking, malfunctions that could cause an accident may occur. 

Risk #5: Corrosion and Rust

During winter, the roads are often salt-coated to help drivers stay safe amid slippery and dangerous conditions. While salt can protect winter drivers from hazards like black ice, road salt and other chemicals can corrode the metals that make up your car’s body and frame. 

By winterizing your car and preparing for salt, you can protect it from common issues, like damage to its muffler, exhaust pipe, and brakes.

Before You Go

Whether you expose your car to winter conditions or store it under a car cover until the weather gets warmer, winterization is a must. For those who want to store their car for the winter, use Sherpa Auto Transport for reliable transport services.

Winter Car Care FAQs