Winter

Get your Car ready for winter!

We prepare ourselves for the winter by taking warm clothes and shoes from the storage room. Cars also need to be prepared for cold days.

Lubrication of rails and locks
If the rubber strips on your car freeze, there is a risk of damage to the sealing strips. Therefore, it is advisable to lubricate the bars and locks.

Go over the lights
It’s dark in the morning when we go to work and then again later in the day when we go home. That is why it is especially important that there are whole bulbs in all the lights of the car. It increases your safety as well as that of others on the road. On dark winter evenings, it can be difficult to see whether a motorcycle or a car is ahead.

It is also important to remember the taillights on the car. On new cars, the rear lights come on automatically, but not all cars do. If the taillights on your car do not come on automatically, you can have a light sensor installed that does it for you.

Winter tires
The weather in Iceland can be unpredictable. In winter, it can be cold with snow and frost or mild weather with wind and rain. Whatever happens, we know it’s going to get colder – also out on the roads.

Many people think that winter tires are not necessary when the weather is mild, but research shows otherwise. In 2017, the first part of the winter was mild in Denmark, but there were more accidents than in a normal year. In January 2017, there were more traffic accidents than in January the previous year. It is believed that this is due to the fact that many people underestimated the slippery surface and that is why there were so many accidents. It has been shown that if we don’t see the snow and frost, we tend to forget that there can be a lot of ice on the roads.

It is a good rule of thumb to switch to winter tires when the road temperature drops below 7 degrees.

Winter tires are made of a different rubber compound than summer tires and are more stable on roads in low vibrations. A car on winter tires is therefore more stable on cold roads.

Cold puts a strain on batteries

When it is cold and frosty, the power in the battery decreases and this can cause problems. If the battery is empty, it not only affects whether the car can be started, but of course it is also not possible to use the lock on the car.

New cars are more vulnerable to dead batteries because of all the electronics in the cars. If your car is difficult to start, it’s a good idea to take it to a garage and have it looked at.

Batteries in cars are supposed to charge when the car is driven, but if the seat heaters, the stereos and other electronic devices are switched on, no electricity is charged in the battery because the electricity is used all the time.

Six things that are good to have in the car in winter

If the battery dies or you are stuck somewhere for the winter, it makes sense to be prepared.

While waiting for help in bad weather, it is a good idea to consider the following before setting off:

1. Always keep a blanket and mittens in the car. This doesn’t take up a lot of space, but can make a difference if you have to wait for roadside assistance somewhere in a cold, powerless car.
2. Have a small shovel to be able to shovel the car free of snow.
3. It can be useful to have a charging bank in the car. It is very annoying to be stuck somewhere and not be able to call for help because the mobile phone is not charged.
4. When going on long journeys, it is good to have drinking water and chocolate in the car. However, remember to eat the chocolate before summer comes and it melts! If you have to wait a long time for help on the road, it’s good to have a little extra energy.
5. Remember a flashlight. Having a flashlight can come in handy if you can’t reach land or shore. A flashlight can be used to attract attention. However, be careful not to blind oncoming drivers.
6. It’s always a good idea to have a jumper cable in the car. Remember that the car that is supplying current should always be switched off. Always put plus and plus together and minus goes to minus.