Local mechanic provides tips for winter car prep
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
With low temperatures and wind chills bringing mid-Missouri into the negatives, many complications can arise. One thing that commonly causes problems in the cold weather is cars.
ABC 17 Stormtrack Weather team issued a Weather Alert Day for Wednesday through Friday at noon due to extremely cold temperatures in mid-Missouri. Before you get stuck in the cold with a dead battery, here's a few things local mechanic Ben Webb with Custom Complete Automotive suggests.
Many of these things can easily be checked by a mechanic if you bring your car in for regular maintenance.
Tire pressure
Tires lose air pressure when the temperature drops and driving with low tire pressure can lead to a dangerous situation.
"Just like walking on ice, any extra movement in a direction that you're not ready to compensate for puts you at risk for an accident," Webb said.
To avoid disaster, drivers can check the tag on the inside of their driver's side door to see how much tire pressure their car should have. However, Webb reminds drivers not to fill tires up to the maximum amount of pressure. Webb suggests everyone keep a pressure gauge on hand to check tire pressure regularly.
Tires lose about 1.2 pounds of pressure for every 10 degrees the temperature drops.
"So let's say you get a 50-degree swing overnight like when we just went from 60 to 10, you're gonna drop about six pounds of pressure on average," Webb said.
Raditor fluid
The radiator cools off the engine. But, when temperatures fall below freezing, radiators could freeze and stop working without proper maintenance. Webb said a busted radiator could cost more to fix than replacing the whole engine.
"Otherwise, your radiator can turn into a big block ice essentially, and it prevents it from cooling off the engine, which is then going to overheat the engine," Webb said.
Mechanics can perform a gravity test, which checks how low of temperatures your radiator can handle. Radiators need to be able to handle temperatures between -30 and -40 degrees.
"Let's say your antifreeze rates to -10. You would think it'd be fine, right?" Webb said. "Well, you start factoring in wind-chill and driving on the highway 70 miles an hour, and suddenly you're looking at temperatures -20 to -25."
Windshield and windshield wipers
When defrosting a windshield, Webb suggests using a chemical deicer.
There are a few common mistakes Webb says to avoid when dealing with a frozen windshield. First, don't try to use the wiper motor to break the windshield wiper blades free from the ice. Forcing the motor when the blades are frozen causes issues in the long run.
Definitely do not pour hot water over a frozen windshield, it will break the windshield.
"Don't use hot water unless you like replacing windshields," Webb said.
Battery
Car batteries will lose power when the temperature takes a dip. Webb suggests keeping a jump-start pack handy in case the battery dies.
"If you've got a battery that is weak, you hit it with a 30- to 40-degree drop, there's a very real chance that it can't create enough voltage for you to even start the car," Webb said.
You can also get your battery tested at an auto-shop to make sure it's strong enough to handle the cold.
