Glendale Nissan Official Blog
Is there anything worse than your car not starting in the winter?
By Product Expert | Posted in FAQs, Service & Sales on Monday, February 13th, 2017 at 9:12 pm
How to keep your Nissan car starting in winter
When it comes to winter driving, there’s plenty to worry about. So much so that we often forget what a relief it is to start up the engine in the summer and just take to the roads. We’ve written plenty about winter driving tips, and anyone who has lived in the Midwest for most of their lives probably has a few of their own, but how do you keep your Nissan car starting throughout the winter if you’re not driving it every day? Here are the top tips to keep your motor running.
Why won’t my car start in the winter?
At the end of the day, your vehicle is more than a hunk of metal. You have a battery and plenty of liquids that don’t like the cold. After all, water freezes in the cold unless you keep things moving.
Problem: Your Battery
There are a few main reasons vehicles fail to start in cold weather. One top reason is that your battery drains faster in the cold and struggle to produce as much current to give your start the boost of energy it needs to allow your engine to turn over. You can also use battery blankets or engine block heaters to help warm things up before you try to start your car.
More Service Tips: How to inspect and inflate tire pressure on a vehicle
Fix: Preventative Car and Starting Your Engine
Before winter starts, you should check to ensure your battery has a good charge. Old batteries are likely to drain faster in the winter months and batteries are only meant to last five or so years. If the culprit isn’t an older battery, it may just be that you aren’t driving frequently enough. You need to drive your car a few times a week, preferably for at least 20 minutes. Despite popular belief, merely running the engine isn’t as good as getting everything moving.
Problem: Your Engine Oil
There’s a reason they make engine oil for the colder months, and that’s because the cold weather makes your oil thicker and less likely to get a move on.
Fix: Get an oil change
Now, moving things around, like with the battery, will help, but you should consider getting an oil change to get more winter-friendly oil in your Nissan.
Problem: Frozen fuel lines
Water can get in your fuel lines, and you know what happens when it gets below freezing outside? That’s right, water freezes. Frozen water in your fuel lines means you won’t be able to get fuel where it needs to go.
Fix: Keep your fuel tank full
It may be too late if you’ve already allowed your gasoline to get low, but you should try to keep your tank above the halfway point throughout the coldest days to help prevent freezing. If you have allowed the tank to get low, adding new fuel may help things out. You can also use fuel additives to help prevent gas lines from freezing. In some cases, adding it might help your lines thaw, but it is meant to be preventative.
Like most advice, the best way to ensure your car will start is through maintenance. Change your oil, add fresh antifreeze, check your battery and park in a garage whenever possible.
Do you have any other service or maintenance questions? Leave us a comment here at the Glendale Nissan Blog for more tips.
