The first hard freeze doesn’t break your car. It finds what was already broken.
A battery that’s been limping along since August. Tires that lost a few pounds of air overnight. Washer fluid that turns to slush the first time a truck sprays road salt across your windshield.
In 2024, AAA fielded more than 27 million roadside calls from stranded drivers. Roughly 13 million of those cars needed a tow, and about 7 million had battery trouble, the auto club reported. Together, those two problems made up about 74% of the calls.
Plenty of them didn’t have to happen.
Cliff Ruud, AAA’s managing director of automotive, said a lot of the towing and battery calls “could have been avoided had these vehicles been maintained.”
The shop isn’t getting cheaper, either. Prices for car maintenance and repair rose 5.8% in the 12 months through September, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. (If a repair bill is already headed your way, here are five ways to shrink it.)
The fix isn’t complicated. Most of what the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration tells drivers to do before winter costs little or nothing. Here are the six checks I’d do now.
1. Get the battery tested before it quits
The NHTSA says that when the thermometer falls, so does your battery’s power. Its advice is to have a mechanic look over the battery, the charging system and the belts.
AAA Northeast explains that a typical battery has to work about 30% harder to crank an engine once it’s 32 degrees out. As temperatures approach zero, the battery can lose as much as half its capacity.
Age makes it worse. AAA Northeast says the average battery lasts four to six years, and it recommends a test if yours is more than three years old or the car has been slow to start on cold mornings.
Look at it this way. A battery that fails a test in November gets replaced on your schedule, at a price you can shop. One that dies in a January parking lot gets replaced wherever the tow truck drops you.
Driving an EV? The NHTSA says to keep the battery charged and limit drain. AAA Northeast warns that below freezing, an EV can lose 20% to 50% of its range.
2. Check tire pressure on the coldest morning
Your tires feel the cold, too. The NHTSA notes that tire pressure falls right along with the outdoor temperature.
How much? Bill Yu, an engineering professor and department chair at Case Western Reserve University, explains that every 10-degree drop can cost a tire about 1 pound per square inch.
Run the numbers. Top off your tires on a 70-degree October afternoon, and by the first 20-degree morning, you could be roughly 5 pounds low before you’ve backed out of the driveway.
You probably won’t see it, either. The NHTSA’s tire safety page says underinflation is hard to spot by eye, and it links low air and poor upkeep to flats, blowouts and tread separation.
The fix is a cheap gauge. Check all four tires and the spare monthly, the agency says, ideally after the car has sat three hours or more.
Fill to the number on the label inside the driver’s door frame or in your owner’s manual — not the number on the tire.
3. Put a penny in your tread
Pressure is half the story. Grip is the other half.
The NHTSA says every tire needs a minimum of 2/32 inch of tread. You don’t need a special tool to check.
Grab a penny and stick it in a groove, Lincoln’s head pointing down and facing you. If his whole head shows, the tread’s too thin. Time to shop.
Passing the penny test doesn’t mean you’re done, though. A tire can have plenty of tread and still be too old to trust. Here’s how to check: “Your Tires Can Look Fine and Still Be Too Old. Check These 4 Digits.”
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4. Make sure the coolant is the right stuff, in the right mix
Coolant, also called antifreeze, keeps the engine from overheating in July and from freezing in January. The NHTSA says to make sure you’ve got enough of it and that it meets your carmaker’s specifications.
Your owner’s manual tells you which type your car takes. Don’t just grab whatever jug is on sale.
Consumer Reports recommends keeping the mix at half antifreeze and half water. Very cold places may call for mixes of 60/40 or 70/30, but CR warns against going beyond what the manufacturer allows.
5. Swap in winter washer fluid and fresh wipers
The NHTSA says one snowstorm can drain a surprising amount of washer fluid. Before the season starts, it recommends filling the reservoir with a winter blend that includes de-icer. That’s the fluid made for freezing weather.
While you’re at it, test the wipers and the defrosters, and replace blades that streak or skip. Consumer Reports suggests changing wiper blades as often as twice a year.
Then walk around the car with the lights on. The NHTSA says to check every light: headlights, turn signals, brake lights, hazards and the ones inside.
6. Keep the tank full and the trunk stocked
The NHTSA’s advice is to keep the tank near full as often as you can. If you end up stuck in a snowbank or a highway shutdown, fuel is what keeps the heat running.
Next, the trunk. Here’s a short version of the agency’s winter kit:
- A shovel, a broom and an ice scraper
- Sand or kitty litter for traction
- Jumper cables, a flashlight, and flares or emergency markers
- A first-aid kit and any medicines you need
- Blankets, bottled water and food that won’t spoil
- A phone and a car charger
If you do get stranded, the NHTSA says to stay with your car and not wear yourself out. Make yourself easy to find: tie something bright to the antenna or a window, and leave the dome light on.
Now the warning that can save your life. Clear snow away from the exhaust pipe, and run the engine only in short bursts, just long enough to warm up. The NHTSA cautions against running the car for long stretches with the windows shut or anywhere air can’t move freely.
That goes double at home. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says never to run a car or truck in a garage attached to your house — not even with the big door up.
Carbon monoxide, or CO, has no color and no smell. Each year, the CDC says, accidental CO poisoning that has nothing to do with a fire kills more than 400 Americans. Warm the car up outside.
Bottom line: know who you’ll call before you need to
Even with all six checks done, things break. So find out now what roadside help you already have.
Your auto policy may include it. The Texas Department of Insurance explains that towing and labor coverage pays for the tow when your car won’t go, along with the cost of someone swapping a flat or jump-starting a dead battery. Your declarations page will tell you whether you’ve got it.
You might also have it through an auto club. Before you pay for it twice, run through these five coverage checks before the first snow. And if you’re due to shop your policy anyway, you can compare car insurance options here.
A tire gauge, a penny and a battery test cost you next to nothing. A tow in a January storm costs you a morning, a repair bill you didn’t plan for and a lot of shivering.
Do the cheap parts now.
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