How to prepare your car for winter

Many of us have a snow brush and an ice scraper in the car during the colder months of the year. But do you know the tips below?

Double check the car's battery

Has it been a while since you changed your car battery? If it has been longer than five to seven years since the last change, it may be time to change it before winter comes, because the battery discharges faster in the cold. You can also measure your battery level at a workshop if you are unsure.

Prepare stone shots before freezing temperatures

When it gets cold outside, a small stone chip on the window can lead to a big crack. Therefore, make sure you have time to fix it before the first minus degrees to be on the safe side.

Cold reduces pressure

The cold reduces the pressure in the tires. If the pressure is 2 bar at 20 degrees, the pressure is displayed at 1.8 bar at zero degrees, according to tire manufacturer Michelin. To compensate, you should therefore add 0.2 bar extra to the vehicle manufacturer's recommendation if you add air indoors. However, if you are outside when it is cold, you only need to follow the recommendations.

Check fluids!

Do you need to top up the coolant for the winter? Also check the antifreeze with a glycol tester and top up if necessary. Also, don't forget to check that the anti-coolant fluid, which ensures that the engine does not freeze even on the coldest days, is working properly.

Keep the squares clear

If you lack a built-in engine heater or the possibility to park the car in a heated garage, then the probability is high that you need to scrape and brush the car before driving away. Therefore, always have both an ice scraper and a soft brush ready in the car.

In addition to scraping your windows free of frost and ice, it is important to brush any snow off the hood and roof. If you leave the snow on the bonnet, you run the risk of it blowing up on the windscreen when you drive, but also of the snow on the roof collapsing over the windscreen when braking quickly.

Did you know that? You can actually be fined if you don't remove snow from the roof before driving. It counts as carelessness in traffic.

Despite scratched windows, fog can sometimes appear on the inside of the windshield once you start driving. You can then turn on the heating fan in the car or open the car's window ajar for a while while driving to get the fog out faster. To minimize the risk of fogging in the first place, you can regularly wash the inside of the windscreen, as fog sticks more easily to a dirty window. And you, also make sure that your washer fluid is frost-resistant in winter!

Create a winter kit for the car

Last but not least, there are some things that can be really helpful to have with you in the car during the winter, a kit of good-to-have things. For convenience, but above all for safety.

• Ice scraper & soft brush

• Extra can with frost-resistant washer fluid

• Lock spray (if you have a car with regular locks)

• Warm blanket

• Flashlight

• Starter cable