Pennsylvania (WTAJ) – Winter weather can take its toll on your car and experts offer some tips on how to care for it during the winter months.
What should you know and follow?
- Need to warm up your car?
- Check your tires
- Test your battery
- Remove snow and ice from your car
Do you really need to warm up your vehicle?
You may have heard that you should let the engine run for a few minutes before driving. However, this is a myth.
"Starting it for a minute would be more than enough," said Ron Peretta, owner of KarPro Tire and Auto Center.
The American Automobile Association (AAA) said the same thing. According to AAA , "You should start the engine and let it idle just long enough to fasten your seat belt." This ensures that the lubricating oil reaches all the important parts of the engine.
It is important to note that you should avoid hard acceleration and drive normally to reduce wear and tear on your vehicle.
"On these cold mornings I don't have to heat it up too much, which is a surprise. "Sometimes I warm it up a little for safety reasons, but of course that's not necessary," said the car's owner, Donna Parsons.
However, there are other things you can do to care for your car during the winter.
When should you fill your tires?
"When it's so cold, the tires lose air. You lose a pound or two. You just fill it with air or whatever is in there," Peretta said.
When temperatures drop, molecules in the air move slower and clump together . For this reason, your tires tend to need air in the winter. Although tire pressure should recover after the cold snap, signs of low tire pressure should not be ignored.
Low tire pressure can lead to longer downtime, reduced fuel consumption and shorter tire life.
Does the cold affect your battery?
It is also important to test the car battery and most auto repair shops will do this for free. Cold weather can drain the battery by 30 to 60 percent , but it will naturally recharge as you drive. However, you need to start it first.
You shouldn't wait for winter to check your car battery. These tests may take a few minutes.
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Clean snow and ice from your car
The last thing you want to do when you see a lot of snow and ice is remember not to use hard objects to remove it.
To get fluffy snow, you can use a brush with plastic bristles to clean windows and roofs. You can then use an ice scraper if necessary. Deeper snow may require clearing with a heavier object such as a broom, but never use hard objects such as a shovel. These items can damage the clear coat and the car itself.
You can use an ice scraper to remove frost from your windshield, but you should leave some of the work to your car's defroster first.
Never use hot water to clean your car windows and windshields. The sharp drop in temperature can cause the glass to crack and shatter.
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