- Joined
- Jul 28, 2003
- Messages
- 2,790
Most of you probably know all of this, but for those who don't pay much mind to their cars, here are a few friendly tips (some are just common sense, others I've learned the hard way 
)
If you have a manual transmission, you're probably used to using your emergency brake with or without the car in gear. In cold weather, you should probably keep it parked in gear (always double-check that it's really in gear, and first gear and reverse are the safest for parking) with no emergency brake. Yesterday, when I released mine, I noticed the handle was very slack and knew that I shouldn't have used it on our first day of snow. A frozen e-brake isn't fun, especially when you need to sit around with the car running waiting for it to thaw out. Same goes for automatics, of course. If you put it on out of habit and it's frozen on (the most obvious symptom being that the handle/pedal is very loose), leave the car running and turn on lots of little appliances to make the engine heat up faster- full AC on recirculate etc.
On the topic of sitting while the engine runs, it's definitely a good idea to give the engine some time to warm up before you go anywhere. Even one minute of idling will really help things out. Take it easy when you're starting off and if you want to do any spirited driving, at least wait for the temperature to reach the normal range.
Hose off all of that horrible road salt and sand as often as you can. Rinse it off the undercarriage, brakes, and paint/trim so you don't end up with too much rust.
Check your brakes frequently as well. Have someone sit in the car and press and release them so you can look and make sure that your calipers didn't corrode in position as they are so inclined to do from salt and moisture. Brake rotors are always getting "sanded" when the brakes are used, so if yours look like antiques with a nice patina you might have a problem.
Make sure your coolant is 1:1 appropriate anti-freeze and distilled water, don't let your fuel tank get below 1/4, and make sure your other reserviors (like windshield washer fluid) are all at the right levels so you don't get any freezing.
And if you don't wash or wax your car regularly, please just do it at least once really well before the weather gets too bad. A quick at-home wash is SO much better than drive-through, and much cheaper too. Give your car a good coat of wax to give it a fighting chance this winter. If you have 4-wheel drive, make sure to only use the 4-wheel mode when needed, and if you have all-wheel drive, I am very jealous and I hate you
Winter is a very bad time to be car
)If you have a manual transmission, you're probably used to using your emergency brake with or without the car in gear. In cold weather, you should probably keep it parked in gear (always double-check that it's really in gear, and first gear and reverse are the safest for parking) with no emergency brake. Yesterday, when I released mine, I noticed the handle was very slack and knew that I shouldn't have used it on our first day of snow. A frozen e-brake isn't fun, especially when you need to sit around with the car running waiting for it to thaw out. Same goes for automatics, of course. If you put it on out of habit and it's frozen on (the most obvious symptom being that the handle/pedal is very loose), leave the car running and turn on lots of little appliances to make the engine heat up faster- full AC on recirculate etc.
On the topic of sitting while the engine runs, it's definitely a good idea to give the engine some time to warm up before you go anywhere. Even one minute of idling will really help things out. Take it easy when you're starting off and if you want to do any spirited driving, at least wait for the temperature to reach the normal range.
Hose off all of that horrible road salt and sand as often as you can. Rinse it off the undercarriage, brakes, and paint/trim so you don't end up with too much rust.
Check your brakes frequently as well. Have someone sit in the car and press and release them so you can look and make sure that your calipers didn't corrode in position as they are so inclined to do from salt and moisture. Brake rotors are always getting "sanded" when the brakes are used, so if yours look like antiques with a nice patina you might have a problem.
Make sure your coolant is 1:1 appropriate anti-freeze and distilled water, don't let your fuel tank get below 1/4, and make sure your other reserviors (like windshield washer fluid) are all at the right levels so you don't get any freezing.
And if you don't wash or wax your car regularly, please just do it at least once really well before the weather gets too bad. A quick at-home wash is SO much better than drive-through, and much cheaper too. Give your car a good coat of wax to give it a fighting chance this winter. If you have 4-wheel drive, make sure to only use the 4-wheel mode when needed, and if you have all-wheel drive, I am very jealous and I hate you
Winter is a very bad time to be car
