Is Your Hybrid Or Electric Car Ready For Winter

General Winterizing there are several obvious steps you can take to winterize your hybrid or electric. For starters, check your anti-freeze and make sure you have enough. Check your oil and your oil filter and get them changed if needed. Make sure your tire pressure is sufficient check all the plugs and wires. Lastly, you can even insulate your front grill. You can do this by cutting and fitting foam pipe into the grill openings. It can help preserve your gas mileage and keep your engine warmer.

Keep Your Green Car Clean this goes for all cars, really, but keeping your vehicle clean during the winter months is a smart idea. Any ice or snow that build up on your vehicle can reduce your fuel economy. So wash your vehicle regularly.

Lighten Your Load along those same lines, hybrid and electric vehicles are typically front-wheel drive. Thats important because thats where the weight of the engine is, which helps with traction. However, if you have extra weight in your car, because youre carrying around extra items you dont need, that can eliminate the benefit of front-wheel drive. So clean out your car and only haul what you need.

Let it Warm Up Before You Drive one of the main reasons you own a hybrid or electric is because of the fuel economy. However, all that money you save on gas will be lost if you dont treat your car right in the winter. It all starts with allowing your engine enough time to warm up before you drive it. If you drive it without a proper warm up your fuel economy will likely take a big hit.

Keep It Warm and speaking of keeping things warm, its also a good idea to keep the cabin warm. One of the cool things about hybrids and electrics is that they can heat or cool the cabin before you drive somewhere. The driver programs the settings and the car takes care of the rest. This can warm your car without draining your battery power.

Dont Unplug finally, one of the best ways to keep your electric or hybrid running at optimum performance during the winter is by keeping it plugged in. The battery is the key part of your car so you have to take care of it. Cold weather is hard on batteries, so even if your battery is fully charged keep it plugged in whenever possible, whether at home or out and about.