Sometimes I have a hard time figuring out what I’m going to write about, but today’s topic kind of fell out of the sky as the Rattling Death Trap (RDT) and I sat idling on the side of the road a couple of houses down from our abode. In a nutshell, it is about 25 below zero today in southeast Minnesota and my car was letting its angst known!
The RDT sits overnight in a lean-to which keeps most weather at bay and prevents my windows from frosting up. It also protects my little Saturn from any bone-chilling winds, which in our previous living situations, would render my car darn near impossible to start in the morning without some coaxing of my foot on the gas pedal.
But although our lean-to is darn near magical and the temperature is about 10 degrees warmer than what it is outside, that was still 15 below zero this morning and I tried to drive my car without giving it a chance to warm up. And although I’m not sure what kind of damage I could have done, I was glad that I had the sense to pull over and give the RDT a couple minutes to get the oil going before I tried to get the car above 15 miles per hour.
So what does this have to do with frugality? Everything! 
Other than uninsured root canals, me and my checking account live in fear that something bad will happen to the RDT because car repairs are not cheap. And so with the thought that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, I did some digging on the Internet to find out what the “experts” say about winter car care. (I ignored the article from the AAA of Southern California – what the hell do they know about cold weather?)
This list comes from Road and Travel Magazine and isn’t a blatant advertisement for Jiffy Lube, which this article was.
First and foremost – tires. I’ve always been told that it’s important to have a mechanic get one last good look at your car before the snow falls and if they tell you that you need new tires – they’re probably not trying to bilk you (although it’s really neat when they show you the various cracks and wearing in the treads, which I always view with a mixture of awe and dread. “I was really driving on those tires?”).
According to the magazine article “tires should not be worn down to less than 2/32 of an inch for normal tires and 5/32 of an inch for snow tires.”
The article also has this neat trick to test your tire tread: “An easy way to check is to take a Lincoln-head penny and insert it head first into the most worn part of your tire tread. If you can see Abe’s head, he may be telling you to get a new set of tires. If so, consider buying a set of all-season tires with a traction rating of A (the highest rating) versus B or C, to better grip the road in snowy conditions.”
It’s also important in winter to check your tire pressure on a fairly regular basis. My Future Husband is obsessed with tire pressure, mostly because his tires have been known to leak a time or two. This obsession came in handy over Christmas though when I thought that my front tire was looking a little low. FH got out his tire gauge and sure enough – all of my tires were at a pressure way lower than what they should have been. All I would have needed was to blow out a tire on my way to my parents’ house to damper my Christmas cheer.
Check your cooling system – Admittedly that sounds a little counterintuitive to me … check your cooling system in preparation of cold weather? But I do not question the importance of antifreeze. Since what I know about antifreeze can be stored in a thimble, I’ll let the article speak for itself. “Antifreeze can be one of the trickiest parts of your winterizing routine because, even though it has a strong green color, the additives could be worn out. This can cause the inside of your radiator to rust and if you are the type who ‘just adds water’ when the level is down, your antifreeze mixture may have lost its ability to withstand freezing temperatures.”
The article advises for people to replace your antifreeze every two years. And if you’re like me and you’re not sure when your antifreeze was last changed, “you can easily check its endurance and freeze point with an antifreeze tester (they cost less than five dollars at any auto parts store). But if you’re not a do-it-yourselfer, have it checked at a quick oil change or other service provider. They have more accurate and reliable testers.”
Oil! This fall when I had the RDT in the shop for an oil change, the mechanic recommended that I change my oil grade for winter. I said sure. And according to the article, this was a good move! “Another way to help your car endure three months of cold starts in sub-zero temperatures is to change your oil grade. Check your owner’s manual and use the lowest recommended grade for the best all-weather protection, fuel efficiency, and energy conservation. For most passenger cars the proper grade is 5W-30 and for the newest model Ford vehicles, 5W-20.”
The article also recommends considering a synthetic blend motor oil to your vehicle this winter. “Synthetic oils make starting a cold engine easy. They resist build up of cold temperature sludge, helping your engine run better and longer, even in the most arctic-like weather.”
Is your battery up to a cold weather challenge? I learned the hard way a couple years ago that the RDT’s battery was not up to the challenge and ended up spending a pretty penny replacing it. I was also living alone at the time and didn’t have the luxury of having FH handy to drive me to work since my car was out of commission. He came and picked me up anyway, but still … having a car that’s out of commission is not a convenient experience.
To make sure your battery is arctic-weather ready, “make sure terminals are clean and tightened — you may even want to clean around terminals with an old toothbrush and a homemade mixture of baking soda and water.
“Keep in mind that you should replace your battery every three to four years, but if you suspect your battery won’t survive the season, have a trained technician check it out. If it is time to shop for a replacement battery, look for a model that offers more starting power, higher cold cranking amps, and reserve capacity to provide electrical energy when the engine isn’t running.”
Winter Safety Kit: OK – this really has nothing to do with winter car care, but I would be remiss to not advise people to keep a winter safety kit in their trunk. I am fortunate that I never had to crack mine out, but when I would take five-hour winter road trips to my folks’ house, I usually made sure I had my thermal underwear on, my wool socks, warm boots, etc., in case I had the misfortune of breaking down on the side of the road.
My winter safety kit was in my trunk and consisted of an extra blanket (I even had my old winter coat that I used to wear in high school in the trunk), some granola bars and beef jerky in case I really had to camp for awhile, a flashlight, the hat that my grandma knitted me, my first aid kit (which is always in the trunk) and some extra clothes. Other lists recommend keeping emergency flares in your kit.
I hope that none of you ever have to use my advice or ever have the misfortune of being stranded. In the meantime, I’m waiting for my feet to thaw from this morning’s drive to work. Brrrrrrr it’s cold outside!
