Episode 14 Prepping Your Car For Winter
Happy Monday Everyone!
The season is upon us. Yes winter is almost here. Heck depending on where you live, it IS winter. As I type this, it is 44 degrees in NC. It is probably a million below in the northern states. 🙂 With all that, today we are talking about getting your car ready for winter.
This is something that is highly dependent on your location. Someone in the south will have different needs than someone in the northeast. Prepping your car for winter is also dependent on your car. If you drive a small car, you may not have room to fit things like a minivan. Also think about how getting a truck ready, may be different than a car.
Also keep in mind, many of the things we talk about are every day type things. This is more about fine tuning, rather than reinventing the wheel.
Prepping your car for winter show notes:
- Lights on your car
- Tires, both pressure and condition
- Coolant or antifreeze
- Washer fluid, level and spray patterns
- Wiper Blades
- Vehicle battery
- Keep your fuel level up
- Test the heat
- Spare tire and jack
- Things to keep you warm
- Hat
- gloves
- handwarmers
- socks
- blankets
- Multiple ice scrapers
- Water and snacks
- Flashlight, check batteries
- Evaluate your First Aid kit
- Cash
- 72 Hour kit
If you are having trouble viewing the video, watch it here on YouTube Episode 14, Prepping Your Car For Winter
I don’t think I mentioned it on the show, but keeping a weather radio and a way to keep your phone charged are VERY important.
Thanks for watching. What do you add to your car in the winter time?
As always, your questions, comments, and feedback are always welcome. You can post any comments below. You can also use the contact me form. Also feel free to email me Charles(at)humblemechanic(dot)com.
Be sure to check out and follow me:
Snow is very difficult to drive through and it can be a danger to all on the road. Located in Northeast Ohio is Hills and Dales Auto Care. They fix all makes and models and can get you prepared for this long winter. Check it out and stay safe!
Getting ready to put a coolant heater (FrostHeater) and possibly an oil pan heater on my 2011 Touareg TDI – heard anything for or against either of these options? I want to keep my vehicle at its best and performing well in the -45 temps we get up here.
For blankets, we have some sleeping bags we keep in the van. We keep them in the stuff bag they come in that you can never seem to get them back in so they don’t take up as much room.
For water, in colder climates, you need to take it out, otherwise the bottle will crack when it freezes, then you get a nice puddle when it thaws.
The gas is a big one that I am surprised how many people don’t do. With modern cars, it is more likely that you will get stuck rather than your car breaking down, so why not be able to run the engine for more heat? Plus, it doesn’t cost any more to fill it from half a tank to full twice as often as from empty to full.
I would recommend keeping plenty of extra batteries for your flash lights, since they are small and cheap.
And in northern places like I am in MN, or anywhere else in the cold, any snacks you keep in the car, make sure you can actually eat them if you need them. Some candy bars will break your teeth in sub-zero weather. Jerky is good though, it doesn’t freeze.