No Garage? No Problem. How to Protect Your Car From the Cold

December 22, 2020

Is Jack Frost nipping at your tires? Low temperatures, road salt, and winter elements can impact your vehicle, especially if you don't have access to a covered or climate-controlled area for parking. Below, you'll find a variety of car parts that are extra susceptible to cold weather-related wear, along with a few ways to take care of them ‐ even if you don't have a garage!

Windshield Wipers

Ice and snow are known for snagging or damaging the rubber of windshield wipers blades. However, there are a few things you can do to protect yours!

Relying only on your windshield wipers to clear large or frozen obstructions can do more harm than good! Always use an ice scraper to clear ice and snow off your windshield before activating the wipers. Additionally, leverage your HVAC's defrost setting to help melt or loosen the ice.

Remember to finish each car wash with a windshield wiper blade cleaning. Use a clean towel soaked in rubbing alcohol to wipe the windshield wiper blade rubber after each wash. This will help keep your wiper blades in good working order while also helping you get better visibility in adverse weather.

With possible blizzards and earlier nightfalls each heavily impacting visibility, it's a worthwhile investment to replace windshield wiper blades at the start of winter before the ice and cold hit.

Essential Fluids

Frigid temperatures can affect your car's essential fluids in a variety of ways! Your standard oil may naturally become thicker in winter. Other fluids, like your vehicle's coolant (a.k.a antifreeze) and wiper fluid, may be more susceptible to freezing ‐ especially if they're leaking or contaminated.

Keeping up with manufacturer-recommended fluid level inspections and replacements and refilling windshield wiper fluid with a cold-rated de-icer fluid are some of the best ways to support your vehicle's performance year-round!

A great rule of thumb is to inspect and test your vehicle's essential fluids ‐ antifreeze, transmission, power steering, brake, and windshield wiper fluids ‐ every time you get an oil change, or sooner, if you notice any issues! Additionally, when you're spraying your wiper fluid more frequently in the winter, you may benefit from topping it off every other time you fill the tank.

Battery

Cold weather causes batteries to lose their strength, which is why you may notice that you have to "crank" the engine longer to get your vehicle to start during a cold snap. If your Nissan's battery is particularly weak or corroded, your car may not start at all! Beat the next polar vortex to the punch by testing your current battery's strength and cleaning its terminals of any corrosion, or replacing it entirely if necessary.

If your vehicle has close, safe access to an outlet, an electric battery blanket can be a quick and easy way to keep your battery warm if cold-weather battery problems are particularly common in your area.

Paint and Body

Thanks to road salt and ice, your car's paint and body are at a greater-than-normal risk for wear during the winter months. To best protect your car's exterior, wash your vehicle regularly, and finish each car wash with an application of buff or spray wax.

When parking outside, use a car cover, no matter how inconvenient it may seem. And, don't forget to check the plastic and rubber seals around your car's door jambs! Those seals help keep your door from freezing shut, shield it from moisture-induced corrosion, and also keep the car's cabin warmer and free of water and debris!

Tires

You may experience quicker-than-usual tire pressure losses in the winter ‐ particularly if your car is not in a climate-controlled environment. These drops in tire pressure happen because cold temperatures cause the air in your tires to become "denser," effectively occupying less space, leading to a decrease in pressure! Some estimate that your tires lose up to 1 PSI of pressure with every 10° drop in temperature.

Accordingly, you should be extra diligent about checking and restoring your tires' pressure in the winter. Additionally, take advantage of the extra tire pressure stops to inspect the tire tread's condition ‐ since traction-supporting tread depth is especially important when navigating slippery or icy roads.

Keep Your Nissan Cool and Collected this Winter

Even without a garage, you can still give your Nissan the TLC it deserves! Use these tips to help protect it from cold weather and turn to Nissan Parts & Accessories for genuine Nissan parts and winter gear made just for your vehicle.