How to Look After Your Car in Winter

Be an all-season friend to your car with some generally helpful advice

Winter is when your car stops being a loyal companion and starts quietly testing the limits of your patience. Cold mornings, salty roads, endless darkness. None of it is ideal for man or machine. Cars are tough, but winter has a habit of magnifying neglect. So here is a practical, slightly irreverent guide to keeping your car alive, healthy, and not plotting financial revenge.

Change the oil (yes, it still matters)

Cold starts are brutal on engines. Old oil thickens, circulates poorly, and makes everything work harder than it needs to. Fresh oil flows better, lubricates faster, and reduces wear when your engine is at its most vulnerable, those first few minutes on a freezing morning.

If you have been stretching service intervals, winter is not the time. Your engine will start easier, run smoother, and generally sound less like it regrets its life choices.

Clean it, especially underneath

Winter roads are coated in a delightful cocktail of salt, grit, and grime that loves nothing more than eating metal. Washing the body helps, but the real danger lurks underneath.

Regularly pressure-wash the undercarriage to stop salt building up around suspension, brake lines, and seams. While you are at it, clear leaves and debris from door shuts, scuttle panels, and drainage channels. Trapped moisture is rust’s best friend.

Be kind to the windscreen

Yes, hot water might work. It might also crack the glass and ruin your morning. Instead, let the car warm up naturally, use the heaters and air conditioning to dry the air, and scrape patiently.

Keep screen wash topped up because you will use far more than you expect, and make sure it is winter-rated with antifreeze. A clear screen is not just polite. It is essential for seeing cyclists, pedestrians, and that pothole you forgot existed.

Check your coolant properly

Coolant is not just for summer overheating. In winter, it stops freezing, cracking engine blocks, and turning your car into a very expensive ornament.

Check both the level and the strength. Too much water and not enough antifreeze can cause slush, blockages, or worse. A cheap coolant tester can save you a catastrophic bill and a very bad day.

Batteries absolutely hate the cold

Cold weather reduces battery efficiency, and short winter journeys do not give it enough time to recharge. If your battery is older than a few years, get it tested before winter bites.

A trickle charger or battery maintainer is a smart investment if the car sits unused. Otherwise, be prepared for that heart-sinking click on a frosty morning.

Do not live on empty

Keeping the fuel tank fuller reduces condensation building up inside it. Water in fuel systems is never a good idea. It also gives you options if you are stuck in traffic, snow, or an unexpected delay.

EV drivers are not off the hook either. Cold reduces range, so plan charging with a bit more buffer than usual.

Winter tyres are not dramatic, they are brilliant

Winter tyres transform grip, braking, and control in cold, wet, and icy conditions. Even without snow, they outperform summer tyres below about seven degrees Celsius.

If you can manage a second set of wheels, swapping seasonally makes life easy and safer. Once you have tried them, you will wonder why they are not the default.

Final thought

Winter car care is not glamorous. It is preventative, slightly dull, and incredibly worthwhile. A bit of effort now saves breakdowns, repair bills, and standing by the roadside questioning your life choices. Look after your car. It is fighting the same winter you are.