Last night I had a thought pop into my head, "what entails winterizing?". I've never really done much in terms of prepping my cars for winter besides snow tires or all seasons...

I know there's a decent amount of members on here who garage their TLs during winter months, but for the ones who daily drive our cars year round, what does your winterizing consist of?

Let's hear some ideas

Winter is coming....
And is some places has already arrived

 

nothing that you shouldnt already be doing......making sure fluids are topped off, making sure tires are in great condition, making sure heater works, making sure defroster works, making sure your car is absolutely in shape to tackle what's at hand.


as a little kid, I always dreamed of being a pilot. I can kinda emulate the pre-flight check list and apply it to a car...
- check tire pressure
- check all tires
- check battery
- check all electronics.
- check fuel
- check mirrors.
- check all passengers for seat-belts
- check hand brake
- check if sounding healthy. (no funny noises)
- etc, etc.

 

anything in particular members do to protect the exterior of the vehicle, such as the paint and underbody?

 

i dont live in a place that snows, but I have gotten in habit to detail my car(s) (family cars) in the fall, so it'll be ready to tackle the not-so-harsh winters of Texas.

if I did live in a place that laid down salt, I'd at least "wash or spray" the undercarriage with a hose every week. Ive seen people lay down a sprinkler, so that the water can reach everywhere. lol

 

https://www.google.com/search?q=site...hrome&ie=UTF-8

 

1.) Swap out to winter tires
2.) Swap out to winter washer fluid
3.) Confirm blanket still in trunk
4.) Confirm snow/ice scraper made it back into trunk

That is about it for me. My car gets washed no matter if it needs it or not when it goes in for an oil change....or when the front wheels are finally dirty enough to annoy the piss outta me. I probably do wash it more during the winter than the summer due to the salt concerns. But more likely due to the fact that I can justify taking it somewhere vs my driveway since it is too cold to wash it by hand. During the summer there is no excuse other than I am just too lazy to hand wash it on a regular basis.

 

I store my 2006 TL in the winter, but for my other vehicles I try to:
- wax/detail them in the fall.
- Swap tires, if I plan on doing that. Check tire pressure on all.
- Make sure window scrapper and jumper cables are in the vehicle, along with a couple of blankets.
- If I drive in snow, and they have put down salt, I typically hose out the vehicle each time I drive it. I do not wash the car unless it is really bad, but I have been known to hose out the car in the driveway at midnight. (And yes it leaves a nice patch of ice.)

Other things may need addressed, but you typically notice those when you are driving the vehicle day to day.

Doug

 

The only thing I do for winter that im not already normally doing is;

Swap winter wheel/tires, add air pressure as temperature drops

Bring car to Krown rust for anti rust spray

Thats it!

 

I wanted to add one thing that seems overlooked over the last few posts, and that's too ensure your wipers are in decent condition. Wipers take a beating in the winter. I switched over to "winter" wipers last year and I wasn't expecting much of a difference, but they seem to do a decent job and they have an extra shield so they don't stick to the windshield as much when it ices up compared to regular wipers, and I can vouch for that after last winter.

 

how to winterize your TL? put it in a garage with a battery tender. Don't take it out until late April.

 

Clearly only read the title.
#slowclap

 

^^^ LOL I read the entire thing, there is no such thing as winterize IF you will be driving it. It really should be "prepping for winter driving" sorry but I am not trying to be smart ass or anything like that.

 

Rust is the devil! I buy Fluid Film by the case and spray the shit out of the underbody and any crevices where salt from the roads can sit and rust everything to shit. Having had a '01 Accord @ 235k miles that was mechanically perfect but had to be scrapped because of severe rust damage to the frame makes me enraged.

 

I raise the car up for the winter, clean the coilover threads and reapply anti-seize every single time I adjust the height. It pays off, the collars move super easily every single time I need to adjust.
I also usually detail my car and give it a wash, quick clay bar job (a full clay bar job would take me like an entire day - squatting and scrubbing hard remove every single brake dust spot from the paint), then apply wolfgang sealant with collinite wax.

 

Just regular oil change,trans service if its due,swap out tires and flush radiator.At 172k its running like new.

 

Great info! I think guitarplayer takes the cake on this one lol. That's one tedious regime.

 

What's this "winter" one speaks of?

 

damn hearing you guys go through these check lists makes realize how lucky i am to live in SoCal... We're lucky to get rain let alone snow over here

 

Love the winter. So fun driving the 6MT in snow.
winter tires, a coat of wax and you're good to go. Keep an extra jacket or 2 in the car.

 

Items i have done/do...YMMV

1. adjust oil viscosity for colder weather
2. Gas line antifreeze for colder temps
3. Check all belts/hoses
4. I lube hinges and locks with WD40/silicone to prevent freeze ups...also bought lock antifreeze if does happen
5. I also soak the rubber door seals in 303 for same reason as #4

 

Its sad to say but my car's cancer popped up again on the rear quarter after my friend did a cheap fix on it. You southern guys are lucky, I park mine in the winter and drive my rusty but trusty f150.