How To Look After Your Car In Winter

If you’re wondering how to look after your car in winter, there are a few things that differ from looking after your car in other seasons. In the UK, winter brings a few challenges, like frosty mornings and corrosive salt on the roads, which can take a toll on your car.

At Vital Vehicle Care, we see the impact of winter neglect every year and therefore have put this blog together to help you stay on top of your car maintenance this winter.

How Often To Wash A Car In Winter

One common question we get is “how often should I wash my car in winter?” and although it might seem slightly counterintuitive, winter is the most important time to be regularly washing your car. Not only are the roads messy from the winter weather, but local councils will also heavily salt the main roads to prevent ice and keep everyone safe. However, this salt is highly corrosive to your car’s bodywork and can lead to damage if left untouched.

How often should you wash your car in winter to avoid damage from salt?

To prevent rust and protect your paintwork, we recommend you wash your car every 1-2 weeks in winter, especially if there’s consistent heavy frost and lots of salt being used on the roads you regularly drive on.

When washing your car in winter, you should place more emphasis on cleaning the undercarriage, wheel arches and lights. This is because the undercarriage and wheel arches are where the salt will build up and cause the most damage. Similarly, general winter grime can reduce the effectiveness of your headlights, which can be dangerous on dark winter days.

Defrosting Your Windscreen

Although it may be tempting to pour a kettle of boiling water over your frozen windscreen when you’re in a rush, please don’t do this! The extreme temperature change can cause the glass to crack or even shatter instantly. With the 5 minutes you might save, costing you a whole new windscreen. Instead, we advise using a de-icer spray and an ice scraper to clear the frost.

Headlights For Your Safety

With the sun setting early and the limited daylight hours, your car’s lighting is one of the most important.

Roughly once a week in winter, it’s recommended you check all your bulbs are working, including indicators and brake lights. This is another reason why regularly washing your car is important, as it will make your headlights brighter.

If you’re unsure about how to check all your lights, take a look at this helpful guide by RAC and watch the useful video to make it as simple as possible for you.

Keeping The Damp Out Of Your Car’s Interior

When looking after your car in the winter, you should not neglect the interior. Wet shoes and coats lead to damp carpets and seats, which can lead to your windows becoming foggy more easily. Other things that can make your car foggy in the winter include:

• Recirculation mode on the air conditioning.
• A clogged cabin filter.
• Leaking heater cores.

You could choose to swap carpet floor mats for rubber ones in the winter, although for many, this is not necessary and often just an additional wasted cost. We recommend that you pick up a reusable dehumidifier bag filled with silica gel to absorb the excess moisture. They just sit in your car and absorb the moisture, and can go in the microwave to be reused for winters to come.

When washing your car, water can get trapped in the sills of your car. For the rest of the year, this isn’t too big of a deal, but in the winter, you should ensure that your car’s door sills are moisture-free. This is because your car doors might freeze shut on a particularly cold morning if you leave moisture in the sills!

Essential Mechanical Checks

Knowing how to look after your car in winter also involves a little bit of maintenance under the bonnet:

• Battery – another frequently asked question we get during the winter is “why won’t my car start in the cold?”. Often people neglect looking at their battery until they are sitting with it not starting on a frosty morning. If your battery is older than 3 years, we recommend you test it.
• Fluid Levels – as cold temperatures cause standard water to freeze ensuring your car’s fluid levels are correct and the correct mix is important in winter. Ensuring the concentration of antifreeze and screen wash helps avoid the costly repairs pipes freezing can cause. Similarly, having proper oil levels also reduces the strain on your engine when it’s trying to start on cold mornings.
• Tyre Tread – check your tyres regularly throughout the winter to ensure they not only meet the UK legal minimum of 1.6mm (required to pass your MOT) but also have a little extra tread depth for better grip on wet or icy roads.

For a complete car winter checklist, read our safe driving preparation in winter blog for more details.

Proactive Winter Vehicle Checks At Vital Vehicle Care

If you want total peace of mind, our team provides comprehensive vehicle winter checks in Peterborough.

Our team of experienced mechanics will inspect your battery, tyres, lights and all your essential fluids to ensure you’re ready for whatever the winter weather brings. Checking your car proactively saves any surprises coming up at your next MOT. Get in touch with the team today for more information.