As winter weather begins here in Minnesota, many of us experience difficulties with taking care of our cars.  From scraping windshields to maintaining air pressure in tires, winter can be a stressful time for many young drivers looking to drive home in a clean and safe car.  So what can we do to lessen these car troubles?  We asked Mr. Hauenstein, the wood and metal shop teacher at EHS, a few questions about how we should take care of our cars in the winter.  

What would you recommend keeping in your car during the winter?

First and foremost an ice scraper. People always forget their ice scraper and realize it on the first snowstorm. Second, I would want to have either jumper cables or a jumper battery system to keep in the glove box. If your car battery were to die, it’s likely to show itself in very cold temperatures, and if you have the materials to jump your car, then maybe somebody else can help you even if you don’t know how. You would increase your chances of success if you have the materials you need. Then of course, I would have some type of blanket in the car, just in case you do end up stranded, it could be awhile [for help to arrive]. Typically, when you’re stranded, you’re stranded on the day everyone else is. Yeah, you got your phone and you can call for help but what people don’t realize is that tow trucks get busy and it could be six, eight, ten hours before they show up on the side of the road to help you. Unless a goodwilling citizen were to pull up next to you and help you, you’re kind of sitting there waiting, so be prepared to stay warm.

Many teenagers store their car outside overnight, often causing snow and such to build up. What do you think is the best way to prevent rust over time?

Wash your car every so often. Take it to the car wash to get all the salt and sticky, nasty winter product off of it because that’s what really starts the process of rusting. Maybe not everyday, you know, but certainly at the end of winter so when they’re done salting the roads, you’re not leaving that until next year and so on.

What’s the best way to clean your windshield from salt and buildup?

So once people understand the outside of the window, you scrape it, brush it, maybe take it to the gas station and use their fancy little squeegee to clean the outside, what people maybe don’t realize is that the inside of the window, as we use our defroster, will develop a bit of a film. You can just take a rag, or a little windex and just clean the inside of the window, maybe once a season to remove that fogginess that seems to always be there.

Over the years owning a car in Minnesota, what do you think is the best ‘unknown’ thing out there?

Tires. A simple one is to just check the air pressure in your tires as the temperatures drop, the molecular structure of the air changes, and thus, the PSI in your tires also drops. You’re running on flatter tires in the winter than you are in the summer, so to maintain that tire pressure is a good idea. Nobody really wants to put a lot of money into cars but if your tires are bald, then you’re going to be spinning and sliding and skidding all over the place. The state of Minnesota says 3/32nds is the minimum tread depth, and ‘tire people’ will say 5/32nds you’ll be slipping around so if your tires are less than that then maybe it’s time to start shopping.

How often do you think people should check the air pressure, just for cars that don’t have it showing up on the dash?

Once a season, you know, once in the winter once in the summer is a good measure of thumb.