There are many people who don’t drive their cars during the winter. Some of them believe that the expenses for driving during the winter period are too high while others don’t feel safe to drive during winter. In any case, it’s a good idea to stay on top of car maintenance year-round.
Preparing the vehicle for the colds days, mandatory winter tires and snow chains, fuel, risk of accidents are some of the reasons why many people wrap up their cars and wait until the weather gets warmer. In case you want to park your car for a longer period of time you will need to take care of few other things besides locking the car and placing it on a safe place.
Before parking the vehicle always check and if necessary add antifreeze. Brake oil and engine oil should be fresh because these fluids are known for their ability to absorb moisture fast and easy which can later cause some serious problems with the engine of brake efficiency. Regular short driving keeps these fluids in a perfect condition.
In the past, all the reservoirs on the cars were made of metal, however many new car models come with plastic fuel tanks. So, in case you have a metal fuel tank, fill the tank to the maximum before parking the car for a longer period of time. When the tank is full there is no place for condensation on the inner side and in this way you will protect the metal tank from corrosion. If you have a plastic fuel tank this doesn’t mean that you should not fill the tank. In order to protect the fuel pump the tank should be at least half full. You won’t be wrong if you add a special stabilizer to the fuel. This stabilizer keeps the engine parts through which the fuel goes and prevents corrosion and decomposition of fuel due to prolonged storage.
The perfect solution for the vehicle would be to keep it parked in the garage during this period of inactivity. However, if you don’t own a garage you can use canvas car cover. Keep in mind that using a car cover like that is not completely harmless because you will have to remove the cover after every rain or snow in order to protect the paint from the moisture. On the other hand, it would be a good idea to wax the vehicle before winter and protect the paint. You can put some oiled cloth in the exhaust system in order to prevent moisture penetration, but don’t forget to remove this piece of cloth before starting the engine.
Even if you have decided to park the car in the winter period, you should regularly start the engine and take a short drive once in a while. If you don’t use your car at least once in two weeks in order to help the engine reach operating temperature, you will increase the risk of damage to the belts, the battery will discharge, the fuel and gas can evaporate etc. So, if you want the car to continue running even after the period of stagnation, make sure to start the engine once in a while.