Care: How to get your car through the winter

Whether ice, rolling grit, snow or road salt: In winter, cars are exposed to particularly heavy loads. Regular vehicle care is therefore a must - even for drivers who are not on the roads every day. One reason to reach for a brush, cleaning agent and water is the road salt that sticks to the vehicle.^

Markus Peter, Head of Technology & Environment at the AGVS: "To ensure visibility and thus safety, the windshield and windshield wipers must be cleared of salt residues."

Clean headlights are important
The same applies to the headlights, which do not illuminate the roads enough when they are covered with dirt and road salt.

As far as the car body including the underbody is concerned, road salt only becomes a problem if there are already scratches, flaking or minor damage to the paintwork.

Markus Peter: "The salt dissolved in the water, which splashes onto the paint layer, exacerbates the corrosion at these points. The warm temperature in the garage additionally accelerates the process."

As for the car wash, the expert recommends pre-cleaning, which strips off the coarsest dirt:

Markus Peter: "In particular, those who travel on rough terrain can prevent dirt and rolling particles from scratching through the paint during the washing process. Thorough cleaning of the wheel housings also removes fine stones and dirt particles from the spring plates of the coil springs, thus preventing damage and, in the worst case, spring breakage."

Cracks due to temperature change
If the car is ever covered with snow, there are some rules to follow.

Markus Peter: "For road traffic, the car roof must be completely free of the white mass. Likewise, a clear view through all windows must be guaranteed. For this, the Head of Technology & Environment recommends reaching for a broom and ice scraper. It is important that no water is used. The rapid change in temperature can cause cracks in the windshield."

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