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Topic Index > Second Opinion > Your winter driving tips?

Your winter driving tips?

Winter driving presents a number of challenges to both you and your car. Cold weather tests the limits of your car's mechanical abilities. Treacherous driving conditions test your abilities as a driver.

We hope folks find our Car Talk winter driving tips useful.

We're always interested to hear other ideas. We'd like to like to know your suggestions for winter driving, too! You can share them right here.

Yours in avoiding breaking down on the side of a lonely highway in January -- and then passing through the digestive systems of wolves,

Tom and Ray
Click and Clack the Tappet Brothers

Posted by: Tom and Ray

...or you could just drive a correct (rear) wheel drive car and go up the hill forward. (-;

It's spring, time to forget about this winter stuff (except for spring skiing) and break out the motorcycles. (-:

One that I've seen put many off the road. Never use criusecontrol on winter roads.The automatic speed control has a lead foot and will have wheels spinning,putting you out of control. Also halfway thru winter put the car battery on the trickle charger overnight.It will make your car like new. Winter driving uses lights,heater fan,wipers,rearwindow defogger.These all stress the cars electric system and the battery appreciates the help.

1. Replace your battery at the end of Fall if it is 6 or more years old. This will prevent your car not starting when you are about to head to the hospital for your baby's delivery (or other such critical travel). It also allows you to catch a battery sale and allows you more time for an intelligent choice of battery. After 6 years your battery owes you nothing.

2. When going down a VERY slippery, steep hill the car should be in neutral. Those that don't live in places with very steep hills and a severe winter climate like Ithaca, New York, can't imagine how much better traction you get in neutral. With the car in gear, the idle speed is pushing the car forward while you are trying to restrain the car to 2 or 3 miles per hour. This causes the car to skid. If you try it once, you will quickly realize how much more control you have by putting the car in neutral in this very special situation.

Updated: 03/30/2008 02:32:44 PM

there's been several discussions on having your car in neutral going down hill, most people agree that it's ridiculously insane to do such a thing.

I can "guarantee" that those people that say it is "ridiculously insane" have never tried it when attempting to go down an extremely slippery hill. It's a HUGE improvement. I've been using it for 32 years with GREAT success on very steep hills under very slippery conditions (Ithaca, NY). The caveats are:
1. Steep hill
2. Very slippery conditions
3. Very slow speed (i.e. creeping)
Under no other conditions should it be used.

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