9 Ways to Prepare Your Car for Winter Weather

Winterizing your vehicle is a wise idea, says the Car Care Council.  An investment of an hour or two to have your vehicle checked is all it takes to have peace of mind and help avoid the cost and hassle of a breakdown during severe weather.

“The last thing any driver needs is a vehicle that breaks down in cold, harsh winter weather,” said Rich White, executive director, Car Care Council. “A vehicle check before the temperatures drop is a sensible way to avoid the inconvenience of being stranded out in the cold and with the unexpected expense of emergency repairs.”

The Car Care Council recommends the following nine steps for winterizing your vehicle.

1. Have the battery and charging system checked for optimum performance. Cold weather is hard on batteries.
2. Clean, flush and put new antifreeze in the cooling system. As a general rule of thumb, this should be done every two years.
3. Make sure heaters, defrosters and wipers work properly. Consider winter wiper blades and use cold weather washer fluid. As a general rule, wiper blades should be replaced every six months.
4. Check the tire tread depth and tire pressure. If snow and ice are a problem in your area, consider special tires designed to grip slick roads. During winter, tire pressure should be checked weekly.
5. Be diligent about changing the oil and filter at recommended intervals. Dirty oil can spell trouble in winter. Consider changing to “winter weight” oil if you live in a cold climate. Have your technician check the fuel, air and transmission filters at the same time.
6. If you’re due for a tune-up, have it done before winter sets in. Winter magnifies existing problems such as pings, hard starts, sluggish performance or rough idling.
7. Have the brakes checked. The braking system is the vehicle’s most important safety item.
8. Have the exhaust system checked for carbon monoxide leaks, which can be especially dangerous during cold weather driving when windows are closed.
9. Check to see that exterior and interior lights work and headlights are properly aimed.

Do you need to replace a car's damaged wheel? Not if it's cosmetic or superficial damage, such as from scraping a curb. If your car has steel wheels, you might just have a damaged wheel cover; if the underlying steel rim is sound, you merely have an aesthetic problem and might choose to repair or replace the cover. It's a similar story for alloy wheels, which don't have covers: If a scuffed rim is still round and has no bent sections or chunks of metal missing, it's likely the problem is merely cosmetic — but it's wise to keep an eye on any wheel that has sustained curb rash to ensure that the tire doesn't develop a slow leak over time.
 On the other hand, if the wheel is bent, dented, cracked or structurally weakened from hitting a massive pothole, running over a steep curb or some other mishap, it may need to be replaced, though it could possibly be repaired. A dented wheel may not be able to maintain a seal with the tire bead, resulting in consistent slow leaks or blowouts, and it will be difficult if not impossible to balance so that it doesn't vibrate at speed. A wheel with structural damage could eventually break apart. When in doubt about the severity of damage, a mechanic experienced in assessing wheel damage should inspect the entire wheel with the tire removed.

Whether to repair or replace a bent wheel is often a judgment call, but because it involves safety as well as cosmetic concerns, the best course is to err on the side of safety and avoid a delay.

Repair services that promise to restore badly damaged rims to like-new condition might be able to remove dents and bends to make a rim look great again. However, there are no federal vehicle safety standards that apply to refurbished wheels, so you'll be taking your chances as to whether they'll still have their original strength and integrity.

Repairing more than superficial rim damage will not be an easy do-it-yourself project. Heat and specialized machines are used to straighten bends, and a complete refurbishment involves removing all paint and protective coatings, repairing corrosion and physical damage, then applying new paint and clear coat.

The repair cost will vary by rim size and the type and amount of damage, and it might approach the price of a new or used replacement. Many original-equipment aluminum wheels can cost hundreds of dollars to replace — or even thousands in the case of luxury and sports cars, which combine larger wheels with low-profile tires that provide less protection. So buying a used one can save money. However, it might be hard to determine if a used wheel had prior damage and is refurbished.

If I Seldom Drive, What's the Minimum I Should Drive My Car?

 If you're not a regular driver of your car, it can be easy to feel disconnected from the mechanics of the thing. Out of sight, out of mind, right? Not necessarily: We recommend driving every two to three weeks to make it less likely that you wind up with a dead battery, flat-spotted tires or other issues that can be caused by letting a car sit parked for weeks.
 We've heard many people say they let their cars sit for months in a garage with no problems, but you're better off driving it a couple of times each month and for at least 10 miles, with some speeds over 50 mph if possible. You not only want your engine to get fully warmed up but for the entire car to get some exercise as well.

Letting a car idle for 10 minutes will get the engine up to normal operating temperature but accomplish little else. Driving the car for several miles wakes up the transmission, brakes, suspension, power steering, climate system (including the air conditioner) and all the fluids, seals and gaskets for those components that have been on a long snooze.

Batteries slowly lose their charge when they sit idle, and starting the car will drain it even more. That is one reason you want to drive several miles afterward, so the battery has a chance to recharge. If a car sits parked for a month or more, the battery may lose so much power that it will need a jump-start — or a  charge before the engine will start. To be sure your car will always start, consider a battery tender as described in our guide, "How to Store Your Car for Winter." Unlike the rechargeable batteries in electronics, conventional car starter batteries don't like to cycle deeply, so keeping them topped off could improve their longevity.

Here are more reasons not to let your car sit for several weeks or longer:

Tires slowly lose air under all conditions but especially during cold weather. As they do, the weight of the car keeps pressing down on the tires, which causes flat spots to develop on the segments sitting on the ground. Driving the car and adding air if necessary will usually make the tires round again, but letting the vehicle sit for extended periods on underinflated tires can cause permanent flat spots that you will be able to feel and hear when you drive.
Rodents might take up residence under the hood or even in exhaust outlets. If they get hungry, some may munch on the wiring harnesses and other parts made of soy and other organic materials that are used on modern vehicles.
Moisture can collect in the gas tank (especially if it isn't full) and in the oil over time, and that can lead to corrosion.

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