With its cold, ice and snow, winter can be a complication for those travelling by car, which is why it’s best to be proactive and carry out targeted vehicle maintenance, which reduces potential issues and allows you to travel more peacefully and safely.
Car maintenance in winter: at-risk areas
Bodywork
Considering possible snowfall, it’s best to thoroughly wash your car, removing mud and other dirt, after which you should apply a generous amount of wax. These two vehicle maintenance steps remove the minimum “grip” from the bodywork which favours the snow sticking. If it does snow, your well-cleaned and waxed bodywork is freed from the blanket of snow very easily, as it slips off with a brush of your hand.
Tyres
In many areas snow tyres are mandatory during the winter period. It’s important to mount them on your car as soon as suggested, both because sudden snowfall with summer tires practically prevents you from driving, and because the fines are quite high.
Chains
Proper car maintenance for the winter must also include checking the “state of health” of your chains. Chains are indispensable when you have to travel on snow-covered roads, perhaps uphill, even using snow tyres. For this reason, if you plan to travel to mountainous areas, it’s good to have them in your car.
Since their use is typically very sporadic, it’s important to keep them in good condition. After winter is over, make sure to wash them thoroughly, perhaps with a pressure washer or by soaking them in a container with warm water and a strong surfactant (liquid soap).
After rinsing and drying them, they can be spread flat and treated with a good spray of WD-40 Multi-Use in order to keep the joints always efficient and prevent the formation of rust.
Underbody
Snow and winter also mean salt on the roads. This salt is collected by your tyres and transferred to the underbody of the car. Even if this part is effectively treated, it’s always best to not let it stay in contact with the salt for too long.
This is why during winter it’s best to wash the underbody with a pressure jet from a pressure washer at least once a month. This also applies to the inside of the fenders and wheel arches.
Engine
Splashes of snow and mud can reach various parts of the engine. We recommend continuous cleaning. Furthermore, it’s useful to use WD-40 Multi-Use in a large container so you can abundantly apply it with a brush here and there where you need to dissolve hardened grease and sludge.
The engine must always be cleaned and dried with paper towels before starting up your car again.
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