Winterize Your Car With These Tips

Winter is in full swing and lots of people are busy putting their holiday shopping lists together and insulating their homes for the long, cold months ahead. But something that is frequently overlooked is the importance of getting automobiles ready for the winter season.

Aside from regular maintenance, cars need special attention when getting ready for cold weather.

Carcare.org has a list of tips for winterizing your car to make sure it will start on those cold, subzero mornings.

No. 1 on CarcareÂ’s list is to make sure the antifreeze is flushed and changed every two years.

Jim Spielmann, owner of SpeilmannÂ’s BP service station in Minnetonka, Minn., said, old antifreeze will prevent a car from heating properly.

“After a couple of years (antifreeze) kind of turns into an acid, and that can start clogging up your radiator and heater core, and it doesn’t have the flow to get the heat out of it,” Speilmann said. “The same, in the summer, you will have trouble with it overheating. I’d say every two or three years you want to flush the antifreeze.”

Carcare.org also recommends checking the tread depth and pressure of your car's tires, and to consider special tires if snow and ice are a problem in your area.

“I think the biggest problem we see is flat tires. People just don’t watch their tires,” said Spielmann. “I fix tires all the time. It’s just huge. The temperature changes and they are running low, and then they pop the bead and they ruin them. I think tire care is probably No. 1 in my book."

Another tip from Carcare.org is to switch to a light, “winter weight,” oil if you live in a cold climate, which is something a good mechanic should recommend when you bring your car in for an oil change.

“I would have a thin oil (for the winter),” Spielmann said. “Most cars take thin oil now, for starting easier.”

Another tip is to keep the gas tank at least half full in the winter, which will decrease the chances of moisture forming in the gas lines and freezing.

“With the alcohol that’s in the gas now, its susceptible to moisture, so I would recommend keeping the tank full,” said Spielmann.

Spielmann also said that cars donÂ’t require tune-ups as often anymore because spark plugs are of a higher quality than they were 10 or 20 years ago.

“You don’t need a tune-up like you used to,” said Speilmann. “They have platinum plugs, and they just last a lot longer. The cars really don’t require as much as they used to. There will be a lot of people in the field that would argue with me on this one, but there are just better starting cars and better running cars now.”

Other tips include checking the battery and exhaust system, making sure your headlights work and are properly aimed, and to replace wiper blades every six months.