5 Tips to Keep Your Car Running This Winter

From drinking hot chocolates to taking an extra five-minute nap inside the quilt, everything about the winter is mesmerizing. But sometimes, the cold waves are so strong that you’re bound to fall out of love with the season. In places like Oymyakon, Russia, the average temperature falls to -50°C during the winters. Needless to say, it’s quite troublesome; not just for people, but for things like cars too.

Unsplash | Extreme cold can be harmful to your car

Come to think of it, when extreme cold can freeze people to death, have you ever considered what damage it can do to our vehicles?

During a recent interview, Right Choice Automotive Repair’s owner, James Grant, and Car Care Council spoke about what cold temperatures can do to cars. Grant discussed some day-to-day vehicle issues in winter with their solutions, and we’ve shared the most common ones here.

Issue 1: Maintaining an EV during winters

Using an EV is probably the best thing you can do for the planet, but maintaining it through winters can be exhausting. During winter, the battery in EVs slows down due to low temperature, resulting in less energy formation for acceleration.

Less energy means more pressure on the battery, which means that you can either run your car or keep yourself warm by switching on the heater. Layering up thoroughly is the best way out. If you don’t need to switch on the heater, your engine will get full energy. 

Read – How to clean your car daily?

Issue 2: Shrunk tires

During winters, air contracts faster, resulting in low pressure in the tires. The best solution is checking the air pressure regularly or replacing regular tires with winter tires. If you don’t want to spend money on buying new tires, keep an eye on your usual ones so that when the air pressure goes down, you can get them filled on time.

Auto123 | During winters, air contracts faster, resulting in low pressure in the tires

Issue 3: Failed Battery

Problems related to the failure or discharging of the battery are very common during this season. But you can fix these with the help of a jumper cable. If you aren’t familiar with a jumper cable, go for a battery warmer, which is available under $30-$70. And if you don’t want to buy it either, then keep your battery corrosion-free and clean.

Issue 4: Malfunctioning of windshield wiper

Icy-cold temperatures can lead to wear and tear of the windshield wiper blades or can make them brittle. To escape these problems, the Car Care Council suggests using winter wiper blades. To avoid buying winter blades, check on your old blades from time to time and replace them within six months.

Issue 5: Thickening of oil

With the fall in temperature, the thickness of oil increases. Grant suggests that the process starts when the temperature goes below -20°C, and the oil becomes so thick that the engine fails to pump it adequately. To avoid this, use Synthetic oil, which has better startup performance. 

Read – Why is synthetic oil better than conventional oil

Shutterstock | When the temperature goes below -20°C, the oil becomes so thick that the engine fails to pump it adequately

Summing it up

Just like human beings visit doctors, vehicles also need a routine visit to the service centers. If you take good care of your automobiles regularly, they will age slowly, keeping you satisfied for a long time.