Winterize Your Volvo

Ready to winterize your Volvo? Here are over a dozen tips you can perform on your Volvo to make it ready for winter.

It includes things like checking your tire pressure (colder air makes tire pressures drop) and testing your coolant for freezing temperature protection.

I’d like to add to that: check your drain gutters for decomposing leaves. They clog my trunk gutter drain tubes on my 850 every fall. Water sometimes flows into the trunk 😯

11 Steps to Winterize Your Volvo

1. Lubricate door locks. There is nothing worse than having to use the key to get into the car when the remote fails only to find the door lock is frozen.
2. Check the specific gravity of the battery as it takes more punishment in cold weather. Any doubts now, get a new battery. Check out the video below to see how it’s done.
3. Check battery connections are clean and tight.
4. Ensure the windshield washer tank has sufficient winter additive to stop it from freezing. I am not a great believer in all-year additives for the winter.
5. Check your coolant for low-temperature protection. You can get coolant temperature gauges at auto parts stores very cheaply. Below the safe range your block can crack.
6. Check your tire pressure. As outside temperatures drop, your tire pressure drops.
7. Check wiper blades. Self explanatory.
8. Spray rear section of undercarriage with Owatrol.
9. Clean, wax and polish the car.
10. Silicone on door rubber seals.
11. New engine oil and filter will help your Volvo survive the cold better. Depends on where you live but I switch from 10W30 to 5W30 in the winter time.

Field-Tested Volvo Winter Tips

Chew on These Interesting Facts While You Winterize Your Volvo

• In Latin, the word Volvo means “I spin,” but it means something closer to “I roll” in modern times.
• Volvo was founded in 1924. The two founders were Gustav Larsson and Assar Gabrielsson.
• The ÖV 4 is the first Volvo car. The first car was sell-ready in 1927. The 2-Liter, 4-cilinder car got the nickname: Jakob.
• Volvo’s very first commercial vehicle was the Type-1 truck. The release year was 1928. In the same year, Volvo released the second car, the Volvo PV 651. Volvo manufactured a total of 1383 of both vehicles in the first year; of which the auto maker exported 27.
• Manufacturing sharply rose in 1932 when Volvo released a good amount of 10,000 vehicles, both trucks and cars.
• The company started making a large-scale profit from the year 1935. The first luxurious car by Volvo was the PV36, which could carry six passengers at a time. The design of this iconic car paved the path for future Volvo cars to come. I came in the market with a price tag of 8,500 Swedish kronor and enjoyed brisk sales.
• Volvo sales reached a landmark in 1941, with the sale of its 50,000th vehicle—a unique achievement considering the time when WWII was in full swing.

Subscribe to the MVS Newsletter

The MVS Volvo Newsletter is a once-a-month email delivered to your email. It’s simple to unsubscribe at any time if you change your mind.

Visit The Official Volvo Cars Website