Being from Texas we rarely get winterstorm. I was curious for those who do live in cold climates what steps/maintenance do you go through to keep your Maxima in tip top conditions?

 

Good battery, and i let the car warm up for like 5-10min, depending on how cold

 

Winter tires, winter washer fluid, ice scraper, gloves, chocolate bars hidden inside the passenger compartment, survival knife, candles & matches.
Fresh oil & filter.

This applies to all cars in the Snow Zones!

Optional: Rosary or Rabbits foot.

 

Shovel and blanket in the trunk is handy as well

 

Having lived in Carrollton for 10 years and watching Texas drivers handling the odd winter storm, the best advice I can give is to Stay Home!!! I recall one day going from Irving to Lewisville counting 37 cars in the ditch....of course most were country cadillacs!

 

Buy a warm coat.
On a serious note, there is absolutely no point in warming up your engine for more than 30 seconds unless you like burning gas for no good reason (or live in Northern Canada/Alaska). I am not trying to start a war about warming up the car, but I've owned plenty and never had an issue with my cars related in any way to warming up my cars.
I live in Chicago and our winters are pretty ugly. Unless you plan on driving less than a few miles, there is no point in long, static warmups. 30 seconds or so is plenty. When you get moving, go easy and accelerate slowly and gently. Your car actually warms up more efficiently under load than it does sitting in one place.
My car is blowing hot air and fully warmed up within a few minutes of setting off with under 30 seconds of static warmup.
As for maintenance, making sure your coolant and anti-freeze is in good condition and your tank is full is good. Make sure your wiper fluid is full. Get regular oil changes.
Other than that, life isn't that much different from what you do to ensure your car operates well in warm climates.
Keeping items in the trunk like blankets, a first aid kit, and some food is a good idea, but I've gone my whole life up here never having or needing that stuff. It's a good idea, but not a requirement unless you travel on roads and at times where traffic is very limited. Granted, folks in more rural areas have different issues to deal with, and when I travel to Florida in the winter, my car always has food and blankets just in case.
I'm no greenie, but here are a few interesting links:
http://www.thedailygreen.com/living-...warming-up-car
http://withyou.cenex.com/blog/dont-i...the-right-way/
http://antranik.org/the-myth-of-warming-up-your-engine/
http://www.boston.com/cars/researcha...he_car_doctor/
http://blogs.howstuffworks.com/2010/...ng-the-winter/

That's enough for now, I suppose.
Best of luck!

 

Jeffslouie made some good points. It's really only worth warming up until your idle settles down and that only takes 1-2 min tops. Inside our owners manual it actually states that idling your engine in long stages has a negative effect on the cvt.

I practice this warmup cycle everyday regardless of the temp. Certainly helps with keeping wear components from breaking down sooner.

 

This is great information, thank you everyone.

What about turning on the a/c for heater? Any tips on that? I know it's a good habit to wait for the car to warm up and in motion, but I could be wrong

 

The car's HVAC system will automatically use the AC during winter weather to hold the humidity down and keep the windows from fogging up. Just be sure to turn the thermostat up to the point at which the AC is putting out dry heated air instead of dry cold air.

 

Verry good points indeed. I live in Houston and was not worried about the cold weather but when it turned 26 for Thanksgiving and we got a little ice today at 28 degrees, I figured I would take some extra precautions. Glad to know I can stop waiting 10 minutes for the car to "warm up."

 

Not tryna stir up a big debate, but how does idling in park effect the cvt or any transmission. I understand the effects on a engine, or idling in a gear. I'm trying to understand the logic that's all...maybe no one has the answer, so I'll bring it up next time I'm at the dealer

 

Good point. I don't know the answer. Our manual even states other things like its bad for the car if it's moving in anything but D, so coasting up to a stop in Neutral is no longer a good practice.

Take a peek at your manual and see if you can locate this too.

 

I will for sure

 

Living in cold weather all my life, every car gets a remote start. A must have for me and now that I have kids it is great for them to get into a warm car. Also, a plus for the ladies, we all know how they hate to be cold.

 

One other point - If you are on a trip, or will be going through rural areas on icy or snowy roads, NEVER EVER let your gas tank drop below half-full or fuller. Being stuck in a snowbank overnight is 'doable' if you can run the engine and have heat in the car. But if you are low on gas, you could get mighty uncomfortable. Or much worse.

I even use this same logic when travelling year round if there is a chance of storms, as a power outage puts service station fuel pumps out of service.

Lastly, if stuck in the snow, be sure the tailpipe is clear when running the engine, else carbon monoxide can collect in the car.

 

It was once explained to me that it has to do with the way fluids are circulated when the car is parked versus moving. I'm assuming this is very similar to the break-in instructions advising not to allow the engine to remain at a single RPM for too long; concentrated splashing in one area and not enough in the rest, perhaps?

My tendency to warm the car up is for MY comfort versus the car's longevity may explain why I sometimes get into it and it's sluggish - I'm assuming that the computer makes adjustments as it's just sitting in the driveway for a while.

 

I normally don't idle long, I give it about 5 mins when the operating temperature is good I cruise about 20 mins or so before I punch it all

 

An idling engine is not under load, the fastest way to warm up an engine is to put it in load = driving. Start off slow & easy.

 

I believe it has to do with the flow of various fluids.
When moving, everything is flowing (slower at first, but gradually faster as the car warms up). If you idle to warm up, the perception is that the car is ready to handle more aggressive driving. Since the fluids in the transmission haven't been cycling, you hit the gas and the trans fluid is still cold. Engine is warm, trans is still cold.
If you start it and drive off gingerly, all the fluids should reach optimal temp at the same time.