MINT HILL, NC – So, a few weeks back we talked about prepping a car that will sit over winter. Of course, the natural follow-up question to that is “but what about the one that won’t?” Great question! Those cars need some love too, let’s talk about it.

Get some de-icer windshield washer fluid and an ice-scraper. Now, this may seem a bit much as snow in the Carolina piedmont is more of a once-or-twice-a-season occurrence than anything else, but boy do we get our fair share of ice here. Rained in the evening and it got cold overnight? Frozen windshield. Nice January morning when the dew is fresh? Frozen windshield. Haven’t cleaned the glass in a while? Guess what? Frozen windshield. Don’t be that person trying to drive with nothing but a small hole poked in the ice. Clear your glass!

Coolant is the other thing you should look into flushing when it gets colder, should you need to. To give you the short story, coolant only lasts so long before it starts to degrade, and extreme hot and extremely cold temps are bad times to have poor quality coolant. Check the fluid and flush if needed.

Also, even if you don’t want to get a whole bunch of fancy fluids… don’t run water in a radiator or washer fluid reservoir when it’s cold. Water freezes at 32 degrees and expands when it does, cracking things. Coolant and most washer fluids don’t freeze until it gets much colder.