It’s no secret that cold weather can play havoc with your vehicle. Not only does the frost get in the way of leaving the house in the morning, but the chilliest temperatures can cause major problems in the running of your car too. And if you’ve recently bought a car from one of our online car auctions, it can be a bit of a nightmare to end up having to spend even more on it to fix damage that might have been caused by cold temperatures. So, from battery problems to tyre issues, here we cover the basics about how you could be damaging your car in the cold weather.
Defrosting with hot water
You probably know at least one person who’s done it, and it’s certainly sometimes a tempting prospect. When your car windscreen has frosted over, it feels like just a bit of boiling water from the kettle will sort out the issue in seconds. We’ve got bad news for you on that score though – this has the potential to cause serious breakages, potentially leaving you in a worse position than just a bit of frost.
There are several possible ways it could play out, but each is just as catastrophic as the last. We’ll spare you the detailed physics lesson, but the rapid shift from freezing temperatures to boiling ones exerts a serious pressure on the glass, and just like most of us in those circumstances, it’s likely to crack under the pressure.
What’s more, if your screen already has a crack, the hot water can start seeping into the crack, and stay there. The next time the windscreen freezes over, that water will expand and cause the crack to get bigger. If it doesn’t end up cracking the glass entirely then, it won’t be long before it will.
Failing to pay enough attention to your tyres
Different temperatures can have an impact on the quality of your tyres. This can be for a few reasons: grip and pressure. Let’s look at them one at a time.
Firstly, the pressure. Driving in the cold can see your tyres lose their pressure, something that affects the safety of your driving and the quality of your wheels. Not checking your wheels frequently during winter months could cause you to be driving below the legal standard.
Secondly: grip. The reason cars have winter and standard tyres is because the cold weather can see ‘normal’ wheels lose their grip. This grip has a legal minimum requirement that is linked to your safety and the safety of others on the road.
Failing to leave enough space between cars
This is more likely to be an issue on the road, but not leaving enough space between yourself and other drivers while driving is a classic mistake during winter.
Black ice and snow are a nightmare for motorists, but they can be particularly serious problems if you don’t account for them when driving. This could also be an issue for anyone either letting their car out for a test drive or going on one themselves. Even a small patch of black ice can easily be enough for you to lose control of the car. And as we all know, even a brief loss of control can easily be enough to completely write off your car, posing a serious threat to your safety – as well as that of everyone around you.
These are just a few issues that you may have with your car during the colder months. But if your car looks like it won’t survive its next brush with winter weather, that’s where we can help. Here at RAW2K, we have a fantastic collection of new and used cars that are suitable for a range of budgets and tastes, including models from a range of manufacturers such as Peugeot, Mercedes, Renault and more. Why not take a look around, and see what you can find?
