Winter Car Problems: Top 5 Prevention Tips

Jul 8, 2015

With the winter approaching, and long range forecasts predicting a repeat of last winter, we have listed the most common problems associated with cars and cold weather. These problems are avoided with simple preventative maintenance and regular awareness.

Dead Battery: The everyday strain on car batteries has increased over the years. In fact, the American Automotive Association recently rolled back the average life span of the battery from three to five years, down to just three years. On top of that, your vehicle’s battery has to work harder in the winter, because of the increased usage of headlights due to less sunlight. Furthermore, the heater makes your battery work harder than the A/C and this strain typically shortens the life of the battery.

Prevention: Get your battery checked anytime you have your car serviced. While being check, ensure that the battery’s connections are optimal as well. A couple of quick ways to ensure an optimal connection is by removing any corrosion and tightening the connections at the terminal.

Tire Pressure: For every ten-degree drop in temperature, your tires can lose one PSI of pressure. This drop in pressure causes added wear and tear on the treads, which can make rough winter weather tougher to handle. The 2015 Farmer’s Almanac is predicting our winter to be colder and wetter than average, and this type of weather does not mix well with bald tires.

Prevention: As the temperature drops, continually monitor your tire pressure with an accurate tire gauge, and refill when necessary. Just looking at the tires won’t tell you the whole story, as the tire can lose as much as ten PSI before it becomes visible. Your recommended tire pressure is located on a sticker in the driver door jamb.

Frozen Wipers: The buzzword for South Louisiana last winter was “wintry mix.” That’s a combination of sleet and rain, and can be more detrimental to your vehicle than snow. When snow falls on your vehicle, it is already frozen. However, icy precipitation has the potential to freeze completely in the overnight hours. This freeze can cause your wipers to stick to the windshield. If this happens, and you attempt to run your wipers, you can burn up the wiper motor, or worse blow a fuse that can lead to other problems.

Prevention: If you know it’s going to rain, you can put an old bed sheet over your windshield using the wipers to hold it down. The ice will accumulate on the sheet instead of the windshield and will come right off when you remove it. If rain is not in the forecast, you can use a mix of rubbing alcohol and water to de-ice your windshield.

Frozen Windshield Washer Fluid: If you use water in your windshield washer, it can freeze inside the pump. Attempting to use the frozen washer for an extended period of time will burn up the motor of the pump, or worse blow a fuse that can lead to other problems.

If winter symptoms are starting to get the best of your Volkswagen, contact the Volkswagen service department in Lafayette at 337-456-8400.