Store Your Car for Winter the Right Way: 10 Tips to Keep in Mind

From preventing corrosion to preventing rodents living in your engine bay, if your car is taking its long-term winter slumber, here are some things to consider before putting your baby to rest.

Mechanical devices such as automobiles aren’t made to be stored. Engineers don’t spend countless hours dreaming up ways to improve the reliability of vehicles only to have you park them for six months. To stay fresh, seals need frequent lubrication, often from oil splashing around the engine.

To prevent corrosion, coolant and oil should be flowing through engines and related components on a regular basis. Tires develop flat spots when stored for six months, but suspension components can also develop issues if you try to elevate the wheels and take the weight off the springs and shocks.

car on driveway ready to store car for winter
Photo: iStock

Transmission fluid can’t protect transmission components by sitting in the bottom of the transmission’s oil pan all winter. It is for all these reasons storing a car is never as easy as it seems. That said, there are some cars you just absolutely don’t want slopping around in the slush, the snow, and the salt. Particularly if it’s from a vintage when rust wasn’t the enemy but, rather, a profit centre in a scheme of planned obsolescence.

1. Clean Your Car As You’ve Never Cleaned it Before

Photo: iStock

Get it absolutely as clean as you can get it. Give it a wash as you’ve never washed it before: Get on your knees and jet away crud underneath. Clean the wheel wells. Clean all the nooks and crannies you can. Find a stall at the wand wash you like because you’re going to be there for a while.

Dirt that’s not on your car can’t hold moisture against your car and lead to rust. Then give it the right proper waxing, with lots of arm-tiring, cliché-inspiring “wax on, wax off” moments. Make Miyagi-san proud. Wax any chrome pieces. Don’t use chrome polish, which has abrasive qualities.

2. Don’t Park on the Grass

Few things can turn a car from road-ready to crusher-ready faster than parking on grass. Park your car on a solid surface such as a garage floor or asphalt driveway. As level as possible, too.

This will help reduce moisture retention around suspension components, leading to rust, and it will also help highlight any fluid leaks. Miss the wrong leak and you could lunch your motor the first time you try to start it.

3. Consider a Colder Storage Area

Inside is the only way to go, but a warm place to park your car will only make it easier to start in spring. Cold has its advantages, too, namely, that water in solid form (ice) doesn’t cause rust at the same rate as liquid water.

When you take your car out of winter storage and hit the road, you’ll displace water that will only have been there in liquid form since the thaw rather than all winter long. Besides, a car only needs a day or two of warm weather to be just as easy to start. If you have a garage that you heat for other purposes, fine, but we wouldn’t use energy just to keep a car warm.

4. Ditch the Car Cover (Really)

Autoglym Hi-Tech Car Cover Review
Photo: Russell Purcell

Not everyone is a big fan of car covers, despite what many may think. Even the good ones can trap moisture and dirt right against your paint. Give your car a good pre-winter waxing instead. But if you insist on wrapping up your ride during the cold months (hey, it’s your car), then check out our car cover review here.

5. Keep the Battery Charged Up

There are two ways to safeguard your battery during winter: Take it out of the car and store it inside or leave it in the car with a trickle charger. If you take it inside, make sure to elevate it off a concrete floor either by not leaving it on a concrete floor or by putting some wood underneath it. Consider the in-car storage option. A fully charged battery won’t freeze, and it will make the next tip easier.

Here’s a portable charger we reviewed – one that’ll fit in your glove box.

6. Start Your Car Regularly During Winter Storage

Seals that aren’t getting a steady diet of oil will dry out and crack. Cylinder walls can develop some corrosion without the usual film of oil and coolant components similarly are use-them-or-lose-them propositions. So start your car regularly. We say at least once a week. Obviously, open the garage door or vent the exhaust outside.

And if you use a device to block the exhaust pipe and prevent critter intrusion, obviously take it out before you start the car. Let it run 20 minutes to get properly warmed up.

7. Plenty of Car Fluids

It doesn’t just apply to the common cold. Give your car an end-of-season oil and filter job, and run the motor for a bit afterward to get the new oil distributed throughout. Brake fluids can also be problematic. Moisture intrusion into glycol-based brake fluids is inevitable, which can lead to corrosion.

pouring fluid into car
Photo: iStock

Get your mechanic to check it before you put your car away. Fill the fuel tank and use a stabilizer or (for diesel) anti-gel fluid. Your transmission fluid, whether standard or automatic, should be checked at the same time as the oil change.

Overall, there are essentially 6 vehicle fluids to know about, whether you’re checking them yourself or to keep in mind when chatting with your mechanic.

Six fluids to keep top of mind for long-term winter storage

Engine oil: Engine oil lubricates moving parts in the engine, reducing friction and heat buildup. It also helps clean and protect the engine.

Transmission fluid: Transmission fluid lubricates and cools the transmission components. It allows for smooth gear shifts and helps transmit power from the engine to the wheels.

Coolant (Antifreeze): Coolant circulates through the engine and radiator, regulating engine temperature and preventing it from overheating. It also protects against freezing in cold weather.

Brake fluid: Brake fluid transfers force from the brake pedal to the brake components, allowing for effective braking. It also helps lubricate and protect the brake system.

Power steering fluid: Power steering fluid assists in turning the steering wheel by reducing effort. It also helps lubricate and protect the power steering system.

Windshield washer fluid: Windshield washer fluid cleans the windshield and improves visibility by removing dirt, grime, and bugs.

8. Don’t engage the brake

Don’t engage your parking brake. Chock the wheels instead. Over time, this continuous contact can cause the brake components to corrode, rust, and potentially seize, leading to difficulty in releasing the brake when it’s time to drive again.

car brake
Photo: Amee Reehal

Additionally, if the parking brake is engaged while the car is parked on uneven ground, it can put excessive stress on the brake components and potentially lead to brake damage. For extended parking, it’s often better to rely on proper chocking methods (such as wheel chocks) and putting the transmission in “Park” (for automatics) or gear (for manuals) to avoid unnecessary strain on the parking brake (note: always check with your mechanic or a professional first, especially if you’re not sure how to proceed).

9. Swap out your good tires

Lifting a car off the wheels and letting the suspension components hang unnaturally in mid-air is a bad idea. But so are flat spots on good tires. Here’s the trick: get yourself a set of storage tires. Never heard of storage tires? That’s because they don’t really exist.

Our suggestion is to put on a set of the least-expensive used tires that fit and let them take all the flat spots you need them to. In spring, go back to your good tires and you’re set. Mount them on their own rims (used, of course) and you can change them yourself.

10. Mouse-proof the house

Your storage area should be clean and uncluttered. If you can see the wall-to-floor interface all around your garage, you’re golden. Clutter attracts mice and mice can, and will, find a way into your car. Check your walls and foundation for cracks and seal any you find. Leave out poisoned bait.

If you have pets, there are containers that will allow mice but not larger animals to get at the bait. Check with a local pest control company for the best strategy for your situation. Mice can turn your prized ride into scrap metal in no time.


All things being equal, storing a car is never as good as driving it. But if you have a car you don’t want to drive in winter, take the proper steps when storing it. And when Spring arrives? Follow our next guide – Get Your Car Spring-Ready: Revive Your Car Post-Winter Storage

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Author:
Kelly Taylor
Kelly Taylor
Kelly Taylor has been writing about cars since 2000. His favourite ride has been the Audi R8 from Thunder Bay to Winnipeg, where he nearly traded the car for a Ford Ranger, a Greyhound Bus and the Blue Heron Gift Store in Kenora, Ont.