Winter maintenance for car

blackdragone · Post by **blackdragone** » Wed Jan 08, 2014 10:27 am

Hello,
this is our first winter with a car in Finland and we would like to know what to do exactly. We know about snow tires and when to put them on but that's about it. We also bought the wire to connect the car to the electricity but how should we use that exactly? We saw there is a timer, how long should one keep the car attached before leaving? Also, how do you use the antifreeze exactly, where do you put it in the car?
We really have no idea of anything and any tip, big or small, is very welcome.

Thanks

Paola

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Pursuivant · Post by **Pursuivant** » Wed Jan 08, 2014 12:00 pm

Well, does your car have a block heater? So if you have the cable for the right socket, you plug it in and set the timer, usually its for 2 hours before the time you leave. Just depending on the timer as they all are different and how you set the time is magic and each one is rotating this way and that and the time is between or then starts or ends...

As for anti-freeze there is three different kinds, or actually four. 1st is for the radiator fluid, 2nd is for the pissboy, 3rd is for the fuel as theres condensation always, you can use regular sinol for these 2&3, but theres separate stuffs at the station. Oh then the 4th is some brandy what you put in the driver when the car don't start and you need to go wait for the bus and won't drive...

Also, you need now gun oil to oil the locks and the "system" inside the door, also if you got power windows, and silicone to do all the rubbers as when the freeze comes after all the wet the car will be solid.

Also, don't use the handbrake as it freezes. And rise the wipers as the rubber don't like being frozen either.

And get a proper wood-handled brush for the snow and proper scrapers for the window. Don't use the parking disk as it gets brittle and breaks.

DMC · Post by **DMC** » Wed Jan 08, 2014 12:30 pm

Yes, buying the lead is not enough; there has to be a mains-powered heater (for cabin and/or engine) fitted to the car. If you have this already, there will be a socket around the bumper/bonnet area. If you don't have the heater, you wasted your money buying the lead. If you want a heater but don't have one you should get a garage to fit one, as I guess it is beyond your current skill level to fit it yourself. Note that a heater is nice to have but is not absolutely essential. You and your car can survive without one.

Another place to oil, apart from the locks that P mentions, is around the petrol filler cap covering flap. One of our cars is prone to freezing that shut if this task is neglected.

As for antifreeze, I guess you mean the stuff that goes in the cooling system. It is easy enough to put in, but you need to drain the system first to make room for it. There may be a drain plug, or you may need to just disconnect a hose from the radiator. Are you sure you need to add more antifreeze? Most cars already have it and if yours had none I think you would have found out in the colder weather a few weeks ago.

You will also need something in the screen washer fluid to prevent it freezing. Easiest way is to top up with ready-mixed fluid you can buy at fuel stations in 5 litre plastic containers.

I have never put antifreeze in fuel or anywhere else.

Just for clarity, the advice about the handbrake is not to use it when parked. If it freezes on you can't move your car. If you need it in an emergency whilst driving you can still use it. Not a common requirement of course.

cors187 · Post by **cors187** » Wed Jan 08, 2014 1:29 pm

As a user you will need a supply of anti-freeze window wiper fluid, it gets used a lot so keep some in the back.

The best thing about heating the car before driving is you will never scrape ice from the front window glass again,
You set your timer to start the heaters before you drive, the colder it is the more time needed.Sometimes i thought that 1 hr of pre-warmup was good.Other times i would come to the car after the complete 2 hr timer had been on, which was great.Sometimes i thought 30min warmup wasn't enough for the ultra fast get away.

Now i have a couple of cars to bother with and the engine startup without the block heater being warm is noticeable below -7.
Having said that i think without an engine block heater your engine oil quality/specs can help make the start-up less jumpy.

blackdragone · Post by **blackdragone** » Fri Jan 10, 2014 9:05 am

Thank you very much for all your precious tips!

Paola

riku2 · Post by **riku2** » Fri Jan 10, 2014 10:22 am

a lot of these tips depend on the age and type of your car.

antifreeze for the cooling system - it will come from the factory with antifreeze+water in the cooling system. so no need to change it for the winter. the same liquid is there year round. It doesn't go anywhere (unless your cooling system/radiator leaks) so I never top it up. I suppose when servicing the car they check this, but service intervals are 2 years so this is hardly a regular thing that needs checking.

block heater - these are good not only for the life of the engine but also fuel consumption which is greatly improved if you have the engine warm. I think the cut off temperature is +10 deg (ie if it's colder than +10 then the fuel consumption is improved by using the block heater before starting). I think about 2h is the maximum amount of electricity worth using, more than that and you're keeping the car warm unnecessary.

handbrake - I always use the handbrake when parked in the winter. never had a problem. The older in-law relatives living in the countryside don't use the handbrake. they are also the ones that stop at traffic lights with their foot on the brake and don't use the handbrake then. so it's more a case that finns don't like the handbrake at all really.

locks - mycar is keyless and I think only the driver's door has a keyhole anyway (which i've never used). I never oil it.

diesel fuel - the petrol stations dispense a different kind of diesel during the winter. the "winter diesel" has an additive which stops the fuel freezing. They change the stock around september/october and you shouldn't have just summer diesel in the tank come winter time (say -10 or colder). This is only relevant if you filled up in the summer and didn't fill up again since then.

wipers - I don't lift them mostly because they park below the line of the bonnet (to avoid the heads of pedestrians hitting them in a collision - newer cars have stricter pedestrian impact safety requirements). it's too much trouble to move them to the wiper blade changing position and then lift them up and do the reverse the next morning.

shovel - I have one of those collapsible snow shovels in the boot. it's ok when you're at home to shovel out the driveway but there are occasions when the car gets stuck when visiting friends and relatives. the small shovel doesn't take too much space.

one thing I do in the summer (once winter is over) is remove the fuse for the headlight cleaning system. the headlights don't get dirty in the summer and with the fuse taken out only the windscreen gets washed rather than wasting water on the headlights.

DMC · Post by **DMC** » Fri Jan 10, 2014 10:33 am

riku2 wrote:I suppose when servicing the car they check this, but service intervals are 2 years so this is hardly a regular thing that needs checking.

What car do you drive? What is the service interval in terms of km? I have never had a car with a 2-year service interval. My current car service interval is 12 months or 30 000 km, so it gets serviced every 6 months because of the km it does. I am about to change cars and 2 years service intervals sounds very attractive.

riku2 · Post by **riku2** » Fri Jan 10, 2014 2:15 pm

DMC wrote: What car do you drive? What is the service interval in terms of km? I have never had a car with a 2-year service interval. My current car service interval is 12 months or 30 000 km, so it gets serviced every 6 months because of the km it does. I am about to change cars and 2 years service intervals sounds very attractive.

BMW 520d which is now 20 months old, first service will be May 2014 (2 years and 2 months after I got it). The service intervals are not fixed but depend on the time, mileage and whether you do lots of short city trips or more longer trips. I think there is a sensor to evaluate the quality of the oil as well (based on how many small particles of metal it contains) and that's taken into account as well. For the last 520d I had (previous series) then it was serviced once in the whole 4 years i had it.

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