Cold Weather Creates Extra Stress On Your Car's Major Parts, Expert Warns
By Jim Melwert
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- The bitter cold is expected to continue through this weekend, with wind-chill temperatures forecast to be as low as 15 degrees F. below zero.
And the cold temperatures aren't just tough on you, they're also tough on your car.
So, there's the obvious cold weather maintenance: battery, belts, hoses, and fluids.
But Hugh Snyderman, owner of Snyderman's Gulf, at Second and Vine Streets in Old City, says temperatures this cold can cause a bunch of other problems.
"The thing that people really forget about is the suspension," he notes. "In really cold weather like this, the metal is so brittle, you can hit a bump the wrong way and break springs and everything else. The metal is so brittle, it's almost harder on that than on the workings of the engine."
So, he says, take it easy for the first five or ten minutes that you're on the road to lessen the impact on those frigid parts of your car.
Snyderman says it's a little better now that computers control a lot of what used to be mechanical, but he says even those computers aren't too keen on the cold.
Like any other time of the year, Snyderman says, preventive maintenance can save a big headache down the road.