Protecting Your Vehicle From the Ravages of Winter

Have you ever seen an image of someone washing their car in the winter? We haven’t either, which is ironic because winter is when washing your car is most important, especially if you have heavy snow and the city or county salts road surfaces to deal with. Fortunately, thanks to a little thing called the Pacific Ocean and Auburn’s proximity to it, we really don’t get heavy snow around here. But our Valley GMC customers wouldn’t buy some of the vehicles they do if they only drove in the Auburn area. You don’t have to drive far, particularly if you are headed east through the mountains, to run into plenty of snow, sometimes in five out of the twelve months.

Your primary concern in snowy areas is preventing rust. Different municipalities use different methods to keep roads from being covered by packed snow, such as salt. Your tires will kick up salt and liquid calcium chloride onto the underbelly, wheel wells, and lower rocker panels, starting a corrosion process that can lead first to surface rust and eventually to thinning and rust-caused holes on surfaces and components. Washing your car regularly in the winter can significantly reduce this kind of damage.

The first step to protect your car for the winter should happen in the fall, when you apply a coat of wax to your painted and chrome-trimmed surfaces. The latter can be particularly vulnerable to corrosive elements. A paint sealant can provide even more protection and will last longer than wax. If fall has passed, it isn’t too late. It will just be a colder job unless you can do it in your garage. That brings up the most obvious step: garage your vehicle if you can.

You will still need to wash your vehicle regularly, however. If you can, wash it after each snowstorm, after driving through heavy snow, or after driving on salt-covered roads. Washing a car in cold weather doesn’t fit anyone’s idea of a good time, so you may want to use a car wash. Two things to look for in a car wash facility are a brushless or no-contact system to protect your paint surface, which is important for year-round washes.

Another thing to keep in mind is that car washes primarily focus on the areas you can see, so your car comes out looking clean. However, you want to find a facility that provides thorough coverage of the underside of the vehicle, including the wheels and wheel wells. This is where corrosive substances are most likely to land while driving.

If you determine that no facility provides sufficient underbody coverage, or if you prefer to do the job yourself, here are a few pointers for winter car washing.

• Find a day when the temperature is above freezing. You don’t want to deal with water freezing on your vehicle as you wash. If only freezing days are ahead, drive your car for a bit before the wash to warm the area around the hood and cabin.
• Wear waterproof gloves and other protective clothing, as getting wet is inevitable during any car wash.
• Use warm water for your wash solution. This will be more pleasant for your hands to work with and can help melt away road grime and any frozen elements on the vehicle.
• Do what you can to wash the underside of the vehicle. A hose soap sprayer is ideal for this. Also, spend extra time on your wheels, which collect many of the road’s corrosive substances, and on the wheel wells around them.
• Dry your car as thoroughly as possible, especially if freezing weather is expected overnight or in the coming days. Remember, wet areas won’t dry on their own as they do in the summer.
• This is also a good time to inspect surfaces for signs of rust. Be sure to look in areas that can trap moisture, such as door jambs and areas around hood and trunk/hatch openings. Paint scratches that expose metal are also key areas where corrosion can begin.

Another thing to remember is that you can track salt and other corrosives into the vehicle with snow-covered footwear. Consider trading out your carpet-covered floor mats for rubber ones that are easy to clean. You can find these custom-fitted for your GMC vehicle at the Valley GMC Parts Department. If you make a switch to winter tires each year (highly recommended), switch your floor mats at the same time.

These measures can extend the life and quality of your car for years to come and significantly increase its value when it comes time to trade it in. If you have questions about washing methods or recommended materials, don’t hesitate to ask the Valley GMC Service Professionals for advice.