With winter soon on its way, there are several things every vehicle owner should do to ensure proper maintenance. From complete system checks to make sure your tires are in good condition, cold weather can wreak havoc on your car if certain things are not taken care of before winter strikes. But what about items left inside your vehicle? This list demonstrates a few things you should avoid leaving in your car so you can avoid serious headaches and potentially expensive costs later.
Smartphones
It’s not uncommon to accidentally leave your cell phone in your car overnight. But if you leave your smartphone in your car during the winter, it can cause serious harm to the phone’s internal lithium-ion battery. As the temperatures drop, your smartphone battery can drain much faster, and it might go completely dead if you let it sit in the car in cold weather. But it’s not just your battery that’s under threat. Your phone’s LCD screen can also malfunction so make sure you never leave your phone in the car during the wintertime.
Prescription Medications
Whether it’s important prescriptions or over the counter meds, these items should never be left in your car during winter (or summer, for that matter). It’s easy to leave a bottle of medication in your car accident, but if you do so, it could destroy or weaken the medicine’s potency. This can be extremely dangerous for certain patients who rely on their meds to keep them healthy. Try to leave your medicine at home and if you need to bring it with you, store it in a purse or separate bag so you don’t leave it behind.
Food and Drinks
You might think leaving food in a cold car is like a replacement for a refrigerator. But if you leave anything from canned foods to a bottle of soda inside your car in the winter, the freezing temperatures can cause the contents to expand. When this happens, the seal on the food can become damaged which means your food will go bad. It’s also possible that drinks can explode in cold cars, leaving you with a nasty, sticky mess to clean up the next morning. Make sure you bring food and drinks inside when temperatures are expected to be below 50 degrees.
For all your automotive service and repair needs, come see us at Dave’s Auto Repair in Goshen, IN or contact us to schedule an appointment today!
