Winter Car Care to Keep Your Car Looking New

Last Updated on August 23, 2020 by Ellen Christian

Winter car care can affect how long your car stays looking and functioning at its best especially if you travel a lot in the winter.  In Vermont, winters tend to be long and generally last from about October through April. That’s a lot of snow, salt and mud for your car to have to deal with. If you aren’t careful, come spring, your car will be in need of serious attention. 

Winter Car Care

Winter car care doesn’t have to be difficult and time-consuming. Sometimes, it’s the small things that we do or don’t do that make all of the difference. Paying attention to these tips throughout the winter months will mean much less work for you come spring.

Clean Your Headlights

As the days get shorter, you’ll be using your headlights more often in the winter. Make sure that you have no bulbs burned out. If you’ve noticed that your bulbs have become dimmer over time, you may want to try a headlight restoration kit to remove the yellow film from your lights.

Check Your Battery

The cold weather makes your battery work harder so you’ll want to make sure it’s in great shape before the temperatures drop. A battery that isn’t working well may end up being dead one morning. You can take your car to a mechanic and ask them to perform a volt test to check the strength of your battery. Then, if need be you can replace it.

Check the Coolant

Coolant or antifreeze helps stop your car from freezing during cold weather. Take time to check the coolant and make certain that it stays full throughout the winter. Consider using a 50/50 mixture of coolant and water in your radiator to provide a lower engine freezing point than coolant alone.

Keep Fluids Full

Make sure that you check your windshield wiper fluid level and keep it full. There’s nothing worse than needing windshield washer fluid and not having it. When the weather is colder, it’s also important that you keep your gas tank full. A full tank of gas will help prevent water droplets from forming inside your gas tank.

Check Your Tires

Check to be sure you have a good tread on your tires before winter arrives. If you typically use summer tires during the summer, be sure that you get all season or winter tires before the snow and ice arrives. Now is a good time to check your tire pressure to make sure they are inflated to the proper level.

Regular Washing

Salt can be very hard on your car so it’s important that you take a trip through the car wash regularly during the winter to remove it. While you’re there, vacuum out the inside, wipe down the interior and treat your car to a coat of wax.

What other types of winter car care do you do?