Ask Joe Mechanic: Winter Car Washing

            If you think that car washing is just for sunny summer days, you had best think again. It is actually even more important to do regular car washing in the winter.

            People have different preferences when it comes to car washing. Some people just take their car to the local car spa and have them do the job for them. Others take their car to an automatic drive-thru to get the job done quickly and at low cost.  However, others really like to take their time and hand wash and primp and polish their pride and joy. While this may be fun to do on a nice sunny summer day, when it is cold and blustery, that can quickly zap anyone’s ambition and make it a painstaking and even painful job. Also, environmental experts tend to frown on washing in your driveway because of the wastewater and chemical-cleaning agents going into the storm sewer system. Commercial car washes recycle and filter their water.

            Preventative car care is especially important when the cold weather sets in. The road additives such as salt, liquid brine and sand or cinders can wreak havoc on a car’s finish, corrode the undercarriage and potentially rust the wheel wells. Keeping the car clean and waxed can protect the finish and help protect from scratches and marring from winter road debris.

          Car corrosion damage is especially common during the winter months. Prevention remains the best solution to corrosion, and a car wash is one of the best preventive measures and costs a minimal amount of money and little physical effort. If you are planning to wash your car during the winter, it is best to select a day when the temperature is at least a few degrees above freezing if possible. If you feel you must wash your car and it is below freezing, try to park your car in a garage afterwards or at least drive the car for a few minutes to remove excess moisture. And, try to avoid blasting water directly into the door and trunk locks to prevent them from freezing.

Automatic car washes are a convenient way to clean a vehicle in the winter. The one downside is that these facilities tend to use harsh chemicals to eat through the debris. With brush type systems, this can result in swirl patterns or scratches to your car’s finish. Also, hard water can tend to leave spots on a car finish. An alternative is to head to one of the local do-it-yourself car washes.  Bring your own cleaning products so that you have a high-pressure water supply to help you get the job done quickly and right. Even if you cannot do the kind of cleaning job you like to do when the weather is warmer, rinsing the dirt and grime from your car, and especially spaying the wheel wells, rocker panels and the underside of our vehicle can go a long way toward preventing destructive corrosion.

Washing your car in winter is not something that most people enjoy, but it is a good way to help keep your car looking good for a long time.

This week’s recalls:

2342 2013-2014 Polaris Victory Cross Country, Cross Roads, Hammer Eight Ball, High Ball, Jackpot, Vegas Eight Ball, 2014 Victory Cross Country Eight Ball, Cross Roads Eight Ball, Ness Cross Country, 2015 Victory Gunner, and 2013 Victory Hardball motorcycles. The fuel pump in the affected motorcycles may have been incorrectly crimped during manufacturing, which may result in the fuel pump seizing.

198,900 2008-2011 Subaru Impreza, 2008-2014 WRX and STI, and 2009-2013 Forester vehicles, currently, or formerly, registered in Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, West Virginia, Wisconsin and the District of Columbia that were remedied under recall 14V-311 prior to December 23, 2014. The brake lines may experience brake line corrosion due to salt water splashing on the brake lines through a gap in the fuel tank protector. Brake fluid may leak due to the brake line corrosion and may result in longer distances being required to slow or stop the vehicle, increasing the risk of a crash.

159 Forest River 2015 Vibe VBT272BHS travel trailers manufactured July 15, 2014, to December 19, 2014. These trailers may have incorrect tire size and tire pressure information on the Federal Certification and Tire labels. The information on the label lists the installed tires as ST225/75R15/C inflated to 50 PSI, however the tires that are actually mounted on the trailer are ST225/75R15/D inflated to 65 PSI. As such, these trailers fail to comply with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 110, "Tire Selection and Rims and Motor Home/Recreation Vehicle Trailer Load Carrying Capacity Information for Motor Vehicles with a GVWR of 4,536 Kilograms (10,000 Pounds) or Less." If the tires are replaced with the tires indicated on the label, the tires may be insufficient to carry the load and a tire blow out may result, increasing the risk of a crash.

773 2012-2014 Champion American Crusader, Challenger, Crusader, CTS-FE, CTS-RE, Defender, EZ-Street, HC American, HCAC, LF Transport, M1235, Platinum Shuttle, Stacked Rail, and Federal Coach Premier, and Spirit transit buses manufactured January 1, 2012, to October 1, 2014, equipped with certain triangle warning signs manufactured by Imperial Supplies, LLC. Test reports indicate that the triangle warning signs, labeled C&J, may reflect an inadequate amount of light. As such, these triangle warning kits fail to comply with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 125, "Warning devices." Warning triangles that do not properly reflect light may fail to warn others that a vehicle is parked, increasing the risk of a crash.

3924 2014-2015 Toyota 4Runner, Tacoma, FJ Cruiser, Land Cruiser, RAV4, Scion FRS, and XB vehicles. The affected vehicles may have accessories installed by SET, such as running boards or other items, that were incorrectly installed. The accessory attaching fasteners were not tightened with the proper torque, possibly causing the accessory to detach from the vehicle. Accessories that detach from a vehicle may result in a vehicle crash and/or personal injury.

If you own one of these vehicles, contact your dealer for further instructions on what to do.