Winter car care tips
Winter car care tips
Posted on November 18, 2021
Driving a car in the winter is much different than cruising around in the summer months. If you own a vehicle, you probably know that the cold Canadian winters can be brutal on a car. To ensure that your car is safe and is able to properly run, here are a few things that you should do to your car in the winter.
1. Get Winter Tires for Your Car
Winter tires may look like ordinary tires, but upon closer inspection, you can clearly see that these tires are different than other types of tires. Winter tires are specially designed to have better traction during extremely cold temperatures. These tires have a deeper tread that is able to grip the snow-covered roads better.
If you live in Quebec or plan on visiting this area, you will need to have these special tires on your car during the winter months. Quebec requires that all drivers have winter tires on their vehicles from December 15th until March 15th. While this is currently the only province that requires winter tires, all provinces in Canada strongly recommend that drivers invest in a pair of winter tires and use them between October and May.
2. Check the Battery
Car batteries are known to frequently die in the winter. While the cold temperatures can be damaging to the battery, the reason that batteries commonly die in the winter is usually contributed to the damage that it receives in the summer.
During the summer, the car's battery can get very hot. This can cause extreme wear and tear to your battery. In the winter, the cold temperatures make the oil in the engine move slower and become more sluggish. Because of this, the engine may need more power to turn over. And demanding more power from a battery that has been receiving quite a bit of damage over the last few months can make the battery's life exceptionally short. If you noticed that your car starts slower than usual, the headlights are dimmer than usual, or there is blueish-white corrosion around the battery posts, it is time to have your battery changed.
3. Check Your Heater
The heater in your car s arguably one of the most important components in your vehicle during the winter. Not only does the heater keep you nice and warm during the colder months, but without it, you will not be able to see out of your windows when the temperature reaches below freezing. Before you start to even feel a cold nip in the air, you should have a service technician look at your heater to ensure that it is ready for the winter.
4. Check the Tire Pressure
As the temperature drops, so does the air pressure in your tires. It is important to regularly check the tire pressure during the winter to ensure that your tires are not running too low.
5. Fill the Radiator
Antifreeze, or coolant, is extremely important to your car's motor. It is what helps the engine from freezing in extremely cold temperatures. Before it starts to get too cold outside, you want to make sure that your car has plenty of antifreeze in the radiator. You also want to make sure that there are no leaks in the radiator or engine that could cause the antifreeze to leak out.