Let’s talk about winter now because it’s just around the corner. Winter and your automobile can be stressful, especially if you have car trouble in the middle of a blizzard. Stringer Auto Repair is ready to help you this fall, so you survive this winter with minimal damage to your car, truck, or SUV. Here are ways that winter is hard on your automobile.
Battery
Your battery produces voltage through a chemical reaction between the cells made up of two lead plates per cell and water and sulfuric acid solution. Frigid outdoor air slows down that chemical reaction and reduces battery power at freezing temperatures. This is why batteries die in the winter.
Belts and Hoses
Frigid outdoor air can also wreak havoc on your belts and hoses. The colder and harder these pliable materials get, the more likely they are to break or crack. Cold air also contracts belts and hoses – makes them smaller – and that leads to additional cracks, damages, and even leaks from broken hose seals.
Fluids
When it’s cold enough, such as the middle of the night in January, your automobile fluids can freeze partially. If you’ve ever had a frozen radiator, you know what we’re talking about. Frozen fluids can damage systems beyond repair, especially if you drive off before the motor oil has thawed out.
Tires
Bald tires plus wet roads equal hydroplaning and disaster: bald tires plus icy roads equal even greater loss of control of your vehicle. Road salt used to increase road traction damages the brakes, wheels, and undercarriage, but more on that next. Tire chains are also hard on your tire tread, reducing its lifespan.
Undercarriage
Road salt and wet roads corrode your vehicle’s undercarriage, rusting it, oxidizing it, and eating through it. Winter weather is murder on your undercarriage, especially when you live in a place that gets snow like Johnstown, OH, and drives on salted surfaces. Don’t forget about the undercarriage this winter.
Windshield
Winter can be harmful to your windshield, too. If cracks and pits weaken it, the cold air’s combination on the outside and the defroster’s hot air can crack it further or turn pits into cracks. If you pour warm water on it to help remove ice in the morning, you can also crack it easily.
With an auto service shop in Johnstown, OH, Stringer Auto Repair will inspect your vehicle and get it ready for winter. Our services include battery testing, fluid flush and fill, and even wheel alignment.
