Canada is widely known for its freezing climate most of the times in a year. You may experience an extreme level of winter in Canada with the temperature dropping below -15°C to -40°C. You will be facing huge challenges travelling during these time of the year, especially if you are a new driver or have recently bought a car in Canada. The cold temperature, snow and icy roads can degrade your car life if not maintained properly. Your engine and tires of car should be on top of the priority list to be taken care of in canadian winter.
In this article, we will be sharing few things to help you take care of your car in winter and implement proper winter car care practices.
Check your Tires
Tires are the most essential part of your car to keep you running on the road. The type and health of your tire decides your driving experience in icy and slippery roads. Spinning out in the icy road is not the best way to discover your tires are of no use anymore. It’s better to change your tires on time with all season or dedicated Winter Tires.
If you live in area where three is snow and ice almost all the winter months, then consider dedicated winter tires with better grip. But if you are living in an area with only occasional snow fall, a set of all season tires will do the job perfectly. Check your tire pressure timely a low tire pressure wears the tire faster. Keep snow chain as back up and learn to install it in your car if necessary.
Check your Battery
Battery is an important component of your vehicle powering all the electronic systems including spark in petrol engines. Without a healthy battery your car may not run as fuel goes to your engine electronically. Your battery health degrades with the cold temperature rising rapidly. Consider cleaning the terminals and investing in a battery blanket to keep it warm.
To check a conventional battery, remove the plastic caps on top and check the fluid level. If the fluid is low, refill with distilled water. In case of maintenance free battery, check the state if charge indicator indicates full charge or not. You can charge it with red and black wires attached to the respective terminals or replace it if any sign of weakness is seen or if it is old enough. You can always visit a mechanic to check for the battery health and keep maintaining it.
Checking Coolant
Coolant is very essential to prevent your engine from overheating. Irrespective of the outside temperature, your engine heats due to constant combustions at a very high speed. Your coolant may freeze or get thicken due to low outside temperature. If it’s frozen or thicken, it cannot reach out to your engine and prevent overheating. If it is brown, sludgy or has visible floating particles in it, it may need to be flushed and replaced. You need to use 50-50 mixture of water and antifreeze which will protect your engine at freezing temperature.
Engine Oil
Engine oil keeps your engine lubricated resulting in smooth drive experience and a healthy engine. The cold temperature thickens your engine oil, making your car harder to start. You should be using the oil suitable for colder region labeled as “W”, indicating it’s for winter use. Engine oil of type 5W-30 or 0-W30 is considered best for winter. Warm the engine properly before putting your car into gear. Warming up the engine thickens the engine oil making it easy to flow all over the engine in winter. Synthetic oil is also an option instead of using conventional oil. It is considered more protective and doesn’t take much time to warm up being easier on engines. Perform timely check on oil volume and health, replace it and oil filter if necessary.
Windscreen Wipers
Windscreen wipers comes in very handy in winter especially if you live in snowy region. Keeping your windscreen clear ensures the visibility on the roads especially with the fog and snowfall in your area. Proper wipers for your windscreen will do the job good. Your wipers may not last as long as you think. You may consider increasing its life by cleaning its rubber edge with a microfiber cleaner. But it may not be much convenient and safe to do this all winter long. A small visit to an auto service would ensure your safety. According to Ford motors, wipers should be replaced every twelve months. It’s recommended to replace them sooner or in about six months in the winter days.
Clearing your windows
Clearing your windows in your car should be your first task after a snowfall. Its better not to use the wipers to clear those ice on the windshield. Instead use an ice scraper. It’s better if you park your car with the wipers raised if there are chances of snowfall. It will keep the wipers from freezing to the windscreen. Wipe your windscreen and check for dirt and small pebbles. You would want to do the wiping carefully to keep your windshield form getting a scratch from ice or snow. Use your windshield washer to ensure the visibility on the road later on your drive. Look for cracks and scratches in your windows. A tiny scratch or crack from ice or snow may result in some fatal accidents.
Lights Condition
Your head lamps and taillights are the most important part of your car to ensure the safety. Lights not only increase the visibility, but also alerts other vehicles on the road about your existence on the road and your distance between them. Check if all the lights are working or not especially the fog lamps. Replace the brown or dim bulbs as soon as possible. Wipe your lights if dirty with a microfiber cloth. You need the proper use of indicators with low and high beam as per the situation. Remember not to use your hazard lights if it’s foggy day with very low visibility. Hazard lights are for emergencies and when you park just side the road. Using the hazard lights any other time will only confuse the other rivers. Fog lamps and taillights will do their job well in the fogy days.
Checking Fluids
Timely checking of necessary fluids in your car lie brake fluids, steering fluids, transmission fluids and windscreen wipers. Windscreen fluids are used more often in an area with frequent snow fall. So, it may need a refill sooner. Like engine oil and coolant these fluids may also get thicken with the cold temperature. So timely maintenance and checking of these fluids is important every time of the year, especially in the winter.
Brake Maintenance
Well-functioning brakes to your car is essential whenever you are driving. It is more important to look after the brakes in winter as you may need to apply emergency braking with the low visibility. Check your brake pads if they are worn out or not. If they are then consider replacing with a new one. Check if your ABS is functioning well. You would not want to skid while braking in slippery road.
Conclusion
You should check up on your vehicle timely irrespective of the season. But keep a strict routine check on your windshield, brakes, lights, necessary fluids and heater and defroster. These are the important things you need in proper condition especially on winter days in Canada. Remember to cold start your vehicle and defogging from inside. The link below will take you to a video, assisting you in defrosting your car every morning.
Take Care of your Car and Enjoy the Snowy Winter 😊
