Cold Weather Car Care Tips

(KNSI) – Central Minnesota is in line for an arctic blast these next few days, and a local car care expert has some ways to keep your vehicle running, so you aren’t left out in the cold.

Jesse Nelson, General Manager for Granite City Tire and Auto, says one of the best things an owner can do for their vehicle is before the extreme cold hits.

“Having your battery tested to make sure that it’s still holding the cold-cranking amps and load testing out so your car will actually start is always the most vital thing to start with. To go along with that, keeping up on your services to make sure that you have good oil and your oil is full along with your coolant levels as you want all your fluids to be at proper levels before the cold weather hits.”

Nelson says that it’s not a good idea to hop in and drive away when it comes to vehicle fluids with the extreme cold.

“Because what happens is, the viscosity in the oil, as it gets colder, the oil gets thicker, almost turns into like a syrupy consistency and all that oil drains to the bottom of your engine and the oil pan. After it sits, when you start your vehicle up, oil pump has to pump all that oil to the top of the engine to lubricate all the moving parts in your engine. So you don’t want to just jump in and take off, because you’re not going to have any oil at the top of the engine helping to prevent wear and damage internally. So you do want to let it run for about two to three minutes, you should be able to jump in and drive.”

Leaving your vehicle to idle for long periods can also be hard on the engine as it’s not running at peak performance, so the combustion isn’t the most efficient.

Another fluid to watch is your gas.

“The other thing I always tell people, in the wintertime I personally try to never let my vehicle go go below a quarter tank of gas as it gets colder out. We don’t want all the contaminants at the bottom of the tank getting sucked up and you also there might be a slight amount of moisture in there not to have a vehicle start so and, also, you don’t want to run out of gas.”

Nelson adds that it’s essential to keep an eye on your tire pressure. He explains that where the tire and the wheel match up, “there is corrosion that builds around there after tires have been on vehicles for a couple of years. That can cause slow leaks, and when it gets colder that just makes the leaks even worse.”

Some newer tires are filled with nitrogen, which can better maintain their inflation pressure than standard air-filled tires in the extreme cold. One way to tell if you have nitrogen in your tires is to look at the valve stem covers. If the cover is green, the tires are filled with nitrogen.

If you have a standard air tire, you can ask if your car care provider can drain the tire and inflate it with nitrogen, but not every shop has the capability.