Get Your Car Spring-Ready: Revive Your Car Post-Winter Storage

Our 7 expert tips to bring your baby back to life.

You followed our ten expert winter storage tips (right?). Now, it’s time to welcome spring by prepping your vehicle for post-winter roads with our top 7 maintenance tips. From checking your battery to inspecting tires, these essential steps ensure your car runs smoothly and safely as the weather warms up.

If you read our previous feature about winter storage linked above, you already know some of the steps you need to reverse, but before you do anything, take a good look around. Get out a flashlight and get on the floor: scan underneath the car from stem to stern for any signs of fluid leaks.

Open the hood and check any visible hoses for signs of cracks or loose fittings. Check all fluids, from transmission to power steering. Inspect the battery terminals and clean off any deposits (or reinstall the battery if you’ve kept it inside). Check the air filter and the coolant. Look hard for any signs that turning the key is a bad idea. 

How to Make Your Winter Tires Last Longer
Photo: iStock

If you followed my advice to install a cheap set of used tires for storage (to prevent putting flat spots on your good tires and unnaturally stressing the suspension by lifting the car), now’s the time to put the road tires back on.

Check them now for wear, cracks, oxidation, bulges, or anything that could lead to failure. If you notice uneven wear now, getting an alignment should give you a summer’s worth of straight-and-narrow driving.

RelatedHow Long Do Car Tires Last & When Should They Be Replaced?

How long do car batteries last & why
Photo: iStock

If you leave the battery in the car with a trickle charger, it should be ready. If you took it inside and have to reinstall it, check the voltage. If it’s below 12 volts, give it a charge. Check the oil level and examine the dipstick for signs of a greenish or reddish sheen, which could indicate contamination from the coolant system and a leak between the two systems. 

RelatedHow To Change a Car Battery Yourself (And How Long They Last)

Once you’ve checked all the fluids, hoses, filters, and tires, if all is OK, you can think about starting it. The best is to push the car’s back end out of the garage, and if you have one, a fan to keep the exhaust from accumulating in the garage is also a good safety tip.

Depending on the age of the car, turn the key on, but hold off starting for a few seconds. If your car is a post-1980 model, chances are excellent that you have an electric fuel pump. Please give it a second or two to spin up and prime the system. If your car is older, it probably has a cam-driven fuel pump that won’t move any fuel until you start cranking.

Depending on how long the car has been stored or the last time the brake fluid was changed, you’re likely due for a change.

Once the engine is running, do not blip the throttle. Let the engine warm up before attempting to drive it or revving it. Give it a few minutes and let the engine naturally return to average idle speed. While it’s running, look around for black smoke, white smoke, fluid leaks, or anything else out of the ordinary.

Before you go anywhere, press the brake pedal. Brake usually and feel for sponginess, too-easy pedal travel, and whether the pedal returns to rest usually. You’re likely due for a change depending on how long the car has been stored or when the brake fluid was changed. Glycol-based brake fluid will absorb water over time. A flush and a fluid change is, again, good insurance.

If everything feels good and looks OK, ease your way into driving it. Find non-congested streets and move slowly, checking steering feel and braking before heading to faster roads or highways.

Car owner going for an early spring drive
Photo: Tobi at Pexels

If all seems good, drive it for at least 30 minutes and then stop at your favorite spot for an oil change. It’s best to drive it a bit before changing the oil, as this allows the oil to splash through the engine and loosen any deposits, which will come off the most in the first half-hour. It’s better to dump these out with the oil you have to change anyway than change it too early and have them floating around for the next 3,000 km or three months.

This is also an excellent time to get a spring check-up: be sure to tell your mechanic the car was in storage for the winter. Here are some things they should be doing minimally:

  • Battery performance test
  • Tire pressure and tread inspection
  • Brake system evaluation
  • Fluid levels check (oil, coolant, brake fluid)
  • Suspension and alignment check
  • Air conditioning system check
  • Exterior and interior lights check

Finally, wash off accumulated dust and give it another good waxing that leaves your arms tired and your car gleaming. Any other kind of waxing isn’t worth the trouble or the money. 

Taking the time to get your car back on the road gives you the best chance at protecting yourself, your vehicle, and others on the road. Safety and longevity should trump your impatience to get back on the road, hard as that may be. Now, enjoy the open road, and good luck!

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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.