3 Winter Car Issues & How To Tackle Them

Enduring extreme chilly weather affects people as well as their vehicles. And ironically, since cars cannot wear sweaters or stay indoors, you, as a responsible driver, must protect your car. You need to safeguard your vehicles from sub-zero temperatures. A car may have many issues during winters such as frozen locks, flat tires, frozen windshield, and more.

Cars are often exposed to sleet, rain, slushy mud, snow, and below-minus temperatures. Even when a car is parked safely in covered parking or garage, it will still be affected by the freezing climatic conditions in winter. Therefore, you must know how to winterise your car to keep it protected and avoid costly repairs. If you are not able to get the right auto parts in the local market, you may find auto parts in international markets or events.  

Let us discuss 3 common winter car issues and ways to avoid them:

• Frozen Wipers – The windshield wipers get frozen stuck to the windshield. Sometimes, the blades get torn when the wipers are activated. While driving you may suddenly notice that your windshield wiper is broken due to snowing or sleeting.

Avoid such windshield damages by conducting regular maintenance and buying extra wiper blades or special winter blades designed to suit freezing conditions. Make sure you clear away all the accumulated snow or ice from the windshield before you start driving for the day.

• Damaged Spark Plugs – Many people forget about spark plugs while winter-tuning Car engines require special attention during winter. When temperatures dip below minus degrees, spark plugs may not work as they are susceptible to corrosion. This makes it difficult to create a spark and drivers can be marooned in the chilly weather.

The best thing you can do is to check the spark plugs during your vehicle maintenance. Do not ignore them or you will be stuck out in the cold. All old, worn-out and cracked plugs need to be replaced after checking.

• Battery Checks – A common winter problem is dealing with a dead car battery. Most garage mechanics report that it is one of the primary issues faced by thousands of customers during winter. Batteries can lose around 40% of their power due to cold climatic conditions. Starting a car engine in extremely cold weather may take up enormous amounts of energy compared to the energy requirement on a normal day. So, it is vital that batteries be made ready for the winter.

 Batteries that are less than 1 year old need not be tested for proper charging. All older batteries have to be tested for their functions to winterise them. A dead battery could prove to be expensive to repair along with vehicle towing. You can keep a set of jumper cables in your car to sort out such issues while driving.

You can visit West Africa Automotive Show for the best vehicle parts, car accessories, components, tools, and different equipment used in automotive services. WAAS represents an auto part international event, and it is by far the most exhaustive super show catering to all your automotive needs, right from regular maintenance, vehicle repairs, and exclusive enhancements.