I don’t know about you, but I spend a lot of money on my car every month. I’m still paying it off and will be for a little while longer. I need to make sure I take care of it and it lasts for a long time. Not only that, but I carry some pretty special cargo in that thing (my kids!). So staying safe is one of my top priorities. The winter months can take a toll on any vehicle, so it’s important to stay on top of things and get to them before they become an issue.
Top Five Tips For Moms To Maintain Their Car In The Winter
Check your battery
For example, right around the Thanksgiving holiday it snowed pretty good here in Denver, CO. I didn’t leave my house for days because I didn’t want to be out driving in the snow. Luckily I didn’t need to go anywhere due to the holiday. When I finally headed out to Target, my car wouldn’t start! Not only that, but my husband’s car battery also died the day before!
I’m not making this up – both car batteries needed to be changed the same weekend.
We jumped the cars and they started, but I wasn’t about to drive my babies around with the possibly that the car wouldn’t start back up. You can get your battery tested at most auto parts store to make sure your battery is dying. Most car batteries last for about 5 years (and mine was pretty much exactly 5 years old).
So you don’t get stuck like me, take your car to get the battery tested at the beginning of winter. Perhaps make it a yearly thing, like changing the batteries in your smoke detector at home. That way you can be better prepared for the situation and budget for the expense (the battery cost us about $100 to replace).
Check your tires
November was a big month for me and my car! During the whole battery issue, we were also replacing my tires. They were also 5 years old and almost completely bald. We waited a bit too long to replace them as we were budgeting for the cost and missed getting them replaced before it started to snow here.
The first snow of the season, I drove home and parked in the driveway like usual. Our driveway is on a slight incline. The next morning, my car wasn’t in the driveway anymore. It was actually half in the driveway, half on the sidewalk and almost in the street! Scary!
My husband wouldn’t let me drive my car after that until we replaced the tires right away. You can see in the picture above, how shallow the ridges in the tires are and how cracked.
If you’re not sure if you need new tires, take them in to get checked at a tire store.
Check your car seats
Now is also a great time to check your car seats. Make sure the straps are in the correct positions – they should be above the shoulders on forward facing car seats and below the shoulders on rear facing car seats. Kids grow so quickly sometimes, it’s good to check and make sure your shoulder straps are in the right position every now and then.
You can also make sure your car seat is positioned correctly. Many parents check the position of the newborn car seat but may get lax later on with older children’s car seats. You can find a car seat inspection location here or go to your local fire station.
Maintain a car wash routine
My car gets so dirty in the winter! Every time it snows, my car gets covered with dirt and salt mix as I am driving through the snowy slush on the streets. Not only that, but the inside gets extra dirty with mud and dirt. My favorite part of a car wash is getting the inside vacuumed.
The International Carwash Association recommends finding a car wash that is part of the WaterSavers® program. There are more than 1,500 environmentally friendly car washes worldwide enrolled in the program that meet water quality and usage standards. These car washes use 40 gallons (151.5 liters) or less of fresh water per car. Find a participating car wash near you by visiting www.washwithwatersavers.com.
Getting into a car wash routine is important in winter. Sometimes it can feel futile to wash the car when you know it’s going to snow again and get dirty in a few days or weeks. But it’s important to keep up this maintenance. The road salt used to keep the roads clear can cause the metal on your car to rust over time. It’s not a good idea to leave it on your car too long. Decide on how often you want to commit to washing your car, for example every two weeks or every month, and stick to it.
Set up your car emergency kit
Do you have an emergency kit in your car? If you don’t have one, you need to set one up ASAP! You never know when you’ll be stuck on the side of the road with your kids in the car with you. Be prepared for those “just in case” times.
What you need in a car emergency kit:
- Bottled water
- Blanket
- An emergency cell phone
- Snacks
- Jumper cables
- First aid kit
- Flashlight
- Duct tape
- Multipurpose tool (think Swiss Army knife with screwdriver)
- Gloves
Giveaway Time!
Travel bag – for you to set up your emergency kit for your car
Flashlight/Compass keychain – to keep you safe at night
$30 Visa Gift Card – to go get that dirty car washed at WaterSavers
Total Retail Value of prizes – $50
For more information, go to www.washwithwatersavers.com.
What other things can you do to prepare your car for winter? Let us know in the comments below.
This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of International Carwash Association. The opinions and text are all mine.
I always make sure my heater is working well before winter hits
I check the tires before winter
I like to make sure the windshield wipers are new. Living in southeast Texas, I was used to rain. When I moved north, I learned that real Winters with ice and snow are very hard on the wipers—this is probably something everyone else has always known 🙂
Check the tire pressure.
I make sure I have plenty of blankets in it along with a first aid kit.
The gas tank should always be kept at least half full. This decreases the chance of the gas lines freezing. Plus, if you’re stranded somewhere, at least you won’t have to worry about an empty tank, too.
I check the tire pressure and make sure heaters, defrosters and wipers work properly.
I will check that my 4-wheel drive still is in working order, change oil, have chins at the ready.
I make sure to drive with good snow tires, and I make sure to put on new windshield wipers every year before winter.
Check and or change your wiper blades and make sure your washer fluid is full. How many times a truck has gone by me and splashed snow on my windshield and if I have no fluid left, it won’t wash away and leaves my windshield dirty and I can’t see well.
I just got my back 2 tires changed and they look so pretty! I hope to get my front ones changed in a few months- they still look decent, but the back ones just look so good I want them all to match!
If you live where it gets really cold (below 0 degrees Fahrenheit) consider getting an oil change using 5W 30 oil instead of 10W 40; 5W 30 is lower viscosity so it will work better in your car when the temperature is really low.
When I know there will be snow and im out somewhere, I put my floor mats on my windows to make it easier to clean up the snow.
We always get new windshield wipers before the snow and ice come!
Great idea!
I get a new battery every year.
We keep survival kits in our cars with food, blankets, knives, firestarters and other gear!
Checking to make sure the wiper fluid is full! Very important in the winter.
If you live in a snowy region, before the snow starts flying is a great time to make sure your snow-scraping implements are in good condition and ready to go. Also, put an extra pair of gloves and a hat in the car just in case. If you get stranded, these may be items you need but don’t have on you but will wish you did.
new battery Every year
I always get new tires.
I take my car in and get a tune-up, make sure it has enough antifreeze and make sure my tires have enough tread left.
I put blankets, extra gloves and winter hats in the trunk of my car
I leave extra wool blanket gallon of water a bag of granola bars and snacks flares shovel flashlight lighter newspaper bundle of wood windshield washer fluid winter one. Take air out of tires for winter change oil and stuff to my gas to take water out from moisture put shovel and bag of kitty litter for traction if get stuck.
I carry blankets, water, snacks and such in my trunk. You just never know when you will need them.
What a wonderful post! I love having an emergency kit in the car! Being in Tucson, we don’t get too much winter weather but I always make sure the battery is good to go!
we put snow tires on our vehicles
Let’s just admit it. Automatic starters are the best winter car device ever made! Nothing like going right from the house to a warm car in the early morning :). Merry Christmas!
Check and replace your wipers.
One thing I have a tough time remembering is checking and changing out my windshield wipers!
Make sure heater is properly working and keep it washed so the salt on roads do not deteriorate the paint and parts.
make sure to get winter tired and check fluids!
make sure all standard checkups are done and all fluids replenished
put in an emergency first aid kit in the back
The most important thing we do is make sure our snow tires are in good shape.
And of course we always have our cell phone with us when we’re driving.
thank you
I’d highly recommend making sure your cars battery is in good shape. I had mine die on me during a cold snap and it was horrible.
I live in the South so we do nto get as much winter weather as other states do or even parts of Georgia. But after that nasty eposide we had a few years ago, I make sure that we have plenty of thigns in our car such as oil, fluids, water, snacks, blankets, change of clothes, etc..
Check your windshield-washer fluid and top it off.
Keep sand in the trunk of car.
Kitty litter to get traction.
Since we live in a snowy place, we use snow tires during the winter.
Some other things you can do to prepare your car for winter is to make sure you have plenty of Anti-Freeze in your car as well as all other fluids in your car topped off. Also, an emergency kit (jumper cables, first aid kit) is always a good thing to have.
Our local garage offers a winter tune-up – they check your tires, anti-freeze, windshield wipers, heater, etc. We also usually keep a bag of sand in the bag of the car, both for weight (helps control the car on slick roads) and to use for traction if we get stuck.
I always have my son go all over the car and see if their is anything that needs work-he’s a mechanic.
I live in GA and the winters aren’t that bad. We usually just make sure our tires have good tread and put some extra blankets in the car just in case.
We try to make sure we get our winter checkup to make sure everything is ready and safe to go.
I put snow tires on my car.