February 5th, 2019 by Chris Chapman

You probably know that driving in winter is a little more dangerous than it is at other times of the year. Everyone seems to have their own habits and rituals to help them cope with the low light conditions and cold weather, but not all of them are actually helpful! Some of these things are simply a waste of time, whereas others are actually bad for your car. We’ve pulled together a list of the most common winter driving myths and explained the truth down below!

Should I Let My Engine Warm Up on a Cold Day?

One of the most common winter driving myths is that you should let your engine idle for a bit before you set off on an icy day. The theory is that your engine needs time to warm up before it can run efficiently. It seems to make sense on the face of it, but leaving your engine to run while you wait indoors can actually be harmful to your car! This myth comes from the days when car engines were fitted with a part called a carburettor, which did need a few minutes to warm up before they’d run properly. Ever since the late 80s, however, carburettors have been phased out in favour of fuel injection engines, which find it easier to warm up after a minute or so of steady driving. If you leave a modern fuel injection engine idling, it can potentially throw off the mixture of fuel vapour and air that your car needs to run and, at worst, can even strip off grease from the pistons. Unless you have a very old or classic car with a carburettor, you don’t need to let your engine warm up on a cold day. Just drive a little slower for the first few minutes of your journey and you’ll get your engine running perfectly!

Does Underinflating My Tyres Give My Car More Grip?

It’s often said that underinflating your tyres is a good way to increase your grip in winter. The theory is that this increases the surface area of your tyres when they’re in contact with the road, so you have more grip when driving on snow and ice. This can actually be helpful when you’re driving on sand dunes or on heavy, unploughed snow, but both of those things are incredibly rare in this country! The truth is that, for regular winter road driving, you should never underinflate your tyres – in fact, winter is the time of year when you should be checking your tyres the most! Your tyres are designed to work at a specific tyre pressure, so you should make sure it’s at that pressure to ensure your car handles well. While slightly underinflated tyres might be useful in some very specific and extreme situations, if you underinflate your tyres for road driving all you’ll do is damage your wheels and increase your risk of getting into an accident. You should make a point of checking your tyres more often in winter, and always make sure they’re properly inflated to the correct pressure.

Is There Any Point in Washing My Car in Winter?

It’s tempting to skip your regular car washing routine through the winter. After all, the weather is usually so bad that it won’t be long before it’s dirty again anyway! This can really reduce your motivation to leave your warm house and wash your car through the winter, but you should still make the effort. In fact, winter is the most important time of year to wash your car! This is because of the salt and grit that gets spread on the roads throughout the winter. The salt from the roads will cling to your car, and it’s important to wash it off regularly as it can corrode your car’s bodywork. This can cause rust on your car’s paintwork, but it can also eat away at the vital components on the underside of your car, too! Give your car a full detail every couple of weeks through the winter, using some snow foam and a pressure washer to ensure you remove all the salt from every crevice in your car. This will help your car’s performance and it could even help prolong its lifespan!

Should I Pour Hot Water on My Windscreen to Defrost It Quickly?

A common winter driving myth is that you should pour hot water on your windscreen to defrost it quickly. It can be tempting when you’re furiously scraping the ice from your car on a frosty morning, but you should be patient and stick to your ice scraper and de-icing spray. While you will find that hot or boiling water will defrost your windscreen instantly, there’s a real risk that it could shatter the glass! This is because the sudden change in temperature causes the glass to expand rapidly, potentially to breaking point. Instead of this, turn your car’s heating on inside the vehicle and use your de-icing spray (or, if you don’t have any, you can use room-temperature water mixed with alcohol).

Is My 4x4 Safe to Drive in the Snow?

Arguably one of the most common winter myths is that four-wheel drive cars are completely safe to drive in snow and ice. 4x4s do indeed have better traction that comes in handy through the winter, but you shouldn’t get complacent and assume that this makes you invincible. Four-wheel drive helps your vehicle move in the winter, but it doesn’t help it stop! Your stopping distance will still be massively increased on an icy road, a fact which means that many 4x4 drivers still get into accidents on icy roads. When you’re in a 4x4, drive exactly as carefully as you would in a regular car. Leave plenty of stopping distance between you and the car in front on icy roads, watch out for black ice, and don’t be tempted to take corners too quickly.