Car care in winter – the right way

Tip 1: Fit the right tyres

As we noted in our article on the October-Easter rule , there is no obligation to fit winter tyres in Switzerland. But given the likelihood of reduced pay-outs by insurers, and especially in the interests of your own safety, switching to winter tyres in October is still advisable. 

You should pay particular attention to the depth of tread on your winter tyres: if it’s less than 4 millimetres, they are no better than summer tyres and should be replaced. The same applies if they are more than ten years old.

Tip 2: How to make it easier to scrape your windscreen in the morning

Where frost on the windscreen is concerned, a stitch in time saves nine. Taking preventive action will save a lot of time in the morning. If your car is parked outside overnight, you should apply a protective cover to the windscreen – or even cardboard. Don’t forget your wipers. You can prevent them from freezing to the windscreen by folding them up overnight, or by placing an insulating sheet under them. 

If the windscreen still freezes, use a de-icer spray – or if all else fails, scrape it in the time-honoured way. But make sure you always scrape it in the same direction: this reduces the risk of scratching it with the odd particle of grit.

There’s a widespread misconception that warm water can be used instead of a spray. But watch out: the high temperature difference creates increased tension in the windscreen, which can cause cracks.

Tip 3: Steamed-up windscreens: internal humidity

Poor visibility in winter isn’t always due to fog – to fog outside the car, at least. Warm, moist air is the culprit, as it is for normal fog. It condenses on the cold windscreen, reducing visibility.

Heating up the interior of the car won’t help. Instead you should use the air conditioning to dry the air. After a brief ventilation interval – the colder the better – the situation will quickly improve. Always keeping your car dry reduces the risk of a steamed-up windscreen, so you should always stamp your feet to get rid of the snow before getting in.

Tip 4: Wash your car when it’s frosty

Another common fallacy is that you ought not to wash your car when the temperature is below zero because the water you rinse it off with will freeze. In fact the opposite is the case. The salt that’s scattered on the roads makes for a better driving experience in winter, certainly – but it’s also the bitter enemy of your car’s paintwork. It eats into the paint and causes ugly corrosion. 

High-mileage drivers are therefore advised to give their cars a weekly wash in winter. Using the car wash is fine, and there’s no need to select the most expensive programme. What’s important is to clean the salt off regularly, then dry the car.

Tip 5: Low battery charge – no short trips

The cold also puts the performance of the car battery under considerable strain, quite apart from the fact that heating and lighting particularly drain its power in winter. For a car’s battery to be properly recharged, it needs to cover distances of at least 50 kilometres. 

If you want to avoid a flat battery, it’s best to avoid short trips – as well as doing entirely without major power consumers like heated seats.

Tip 6: Be patient when starting up – your transmission will be grateful

Here’s another half-truth: oil doesn’t freeze! But although we don’t talk about the freezing point of oil as such, it can still thicken. The solidification point is rather lower than the freezing point of water, for example. But the cold still has a massive impact on engine oil: it makes it viscous and thick. This means the oil takes longer to lubricate all the engine’s moving parts, so you should avoid high revs for the first few kilometres.

NB: you should avoid the temptation to run the engine in neutral to warm it up, because this creates condensates – and if they don’t evaporate, the result is a dangerous water/oil emulsion that can quickly freeze inside. It also causes unnecessarily heavy exhaust pollution. 

Tip 7: Rubber and the cold

When it’s cold our lips get dry, so we treat them with moisturizer sticks and lip balm. It’s much the same with your car’s rubber seals: extremely low temperatures make rubber brittle, and therefore useless. Prevention is better than cure: you should grease your seals with deer tallow, glycerine or – like your lips – Vaseline. 

One element of looking after your car properly is covering it with appropriate insurance – especially in winter, when there are so many accident risks. Find the most suitable, lowest-cost insurance for your car, and come through the winter safe and sound.