Long nights and falling temperatures can be a major problem for cars.

If the engine and cooling fluids are inadequately protected from the cold by antifreeze, this can have fatal damage to the engine.



In order to prepare your vehicle for the particularly cold days, you should therefore enrich the coolant with enough antifreeze to prevent ice formation in the cooling system.

If water freezes in the cooling circuit, pipes and even the engine block can tear due to the associated expansion.

If you drive off with frozen coolant there is also a risk of the engine overheating as the cooling system may not work properly.



Antifreeze ensures that the freezing point for the coolant drops significantly.

The temperature up to which the existing cooling water remains liquid in the vehicle is best clarified with an antifreeze tester.

You can get such devices in accessory stores, hardware stores or on the Internet at prices of 5 to 25 euros.

The simple antifreeze testers are so-called measuring spindles that are held in the water of the expansion tank.

Using a pump ball, water is then sucked into a glass flask.

There you can read the existing frost protection temperature on a scale.



Ideally, the frost protection protects down to minus 20 degrees or colder.

If the measuring device shows a higher temperature, you have to refill antifreeze.

However, if there is no more space in the cooling system, the existing coolant must be drained.

Ideally, the coolant should be changed completely so that it can then be remixed.

It can happen that the antifreeze that is already present in the cooling water does not get along with the cold protection additive that has been added later.