How To Prepare Jeep Grand Cherokee for Winter?

By Nick Marchenko, PhD

Updated: June 29, 2023

When winter comes, we change from light and loose clothes to warm and heavy ones to keep ourselves healthy and safe from the cold. Being a Jeep Grand Cherokee owner means you also have to take care of your vehicle by preparing it (and yourself) for any challenges of the winter.

The winter preparation procedure for Jeep Grand Cherokee is simple but requires time and patience.

It is always better to be ready for winter in advance than to stumble upon an issue without knowing how to deal with it properly.

Jeep Grand Cherokee Checklist Before Winter

Winter conditions are often unexpected and even dangerous. Slippery roads covered with snow and ice and freezing temperatures require the driver to be extra attentive and careful on the road - the Jeep Grand Cherokee also needs to be ready to meet all the challenges winter might have prepared for.

Tires 

Like humans, cars require winter “shoes” for better traction on the snowy surface. Changing your summer tires to winter ones is recommended when the temperature is no lower than +7 Celsius (+44 Fahrenheit).

Inspect your winter tires' tread depth, rubber, and pressure to be sure they're fine. In the winter, you may have to check your tire pressure more often, as tires tend to lose air more frequently due to the cold temperature. As an example: every 10-degree drop equals 1 PSI decrease.

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The rule of thumb is to change Jeep Grand Cherokee tires in advance. Definitely, you don't want to stay in a long line waiting for your turn. Moreover, you'll save time and nerves.

Brakes

In addition to good winter traction and acceleration, it's time to take care of stopping performance, especially on slippery surfaces like ice and snow. Inspect your Jeep Grand Cherokee brake pads and rotors to ensure they are in good shape and will guarantee maximum braking effectiveness.

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Battery

Low winter temperatures can significantly affect the capacity of the Jeep Grand Cherokee battery. When it's cold enough, like -30 degrees, the usual level of the battery's energy drops by 30% or more.

This power might not be enough to start the Jeep. In winter, if you don't drive your Grand Cherokee often, like less than two days, you will encounter the fact that your battery is literally dead. In this case, you must either ask someone nearby for assistance or bring your battery home and charge it.

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Oils

Before the onset of frost, replacing the Jeep Grand Cherokee oil and oil filter is necessary. The oil lubricates the engine's metal parts, protecting them from damage. Viscosity - or the oil's thickness- significantly affects the engine's operation.

If the oil is too thick, it slowly flows over the parts, which can cause the engine to overheat.

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In winter, at low temperatures, the oil thickens. Still, you can easily cope with this problem by filling in oil with a lower viscosity (low viscosity index oil) specially created for winter conditions.

Coolant

In the winter, one has to change the usual coolant to an antifreeze liquid. Antifreeze will not only protect your Jeep Grand Cherokee engine in cold weather, but it also prevents corrosion of the components. 

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It is important to maintain a certain level of antifreeze. A 50:50 proportion is optimal and prevents liquid from freezing in extreme temperatures (-40 degrees).

If there is an insufficient amount of antifreeze, the coolant may freeze, which can lead to engine overheating and result in one or two gasket replacements.

Consumables

Spark plugs, wires, cables, belts, and hoses must be double-checked before you roll on the winter roads. Do not hesitate to open the hood and inspect everything carefully. If you suddenly spot an issue, you can find a solution soon.

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It is always better to prevent any inconsistencies now than to face them unexpectedly on a snowy road.

Amount of fuel in the tank

Low fuel harms the Jeep Grand Cherokee at any time of the year because you risk being stuck somewhere without a chance to refuel. Driving with an empty tank in the winter is especially dangerous.

A cold temperature with constant fluctuations can lead to the formation of condensation on the walls of a half-empty tank, and soon the water will get into the fuel.

Water is heavier than gasoline or diesel, so it will sink to the bottom, which is not good at all: if water gets into the fuel line, it will freeze, blocking the fuel path to the engine, which will spoil all your plans. Repairing such a malfunction will cost you a fortune.

Therefore, despite the increasing fuel prices from time to time, a constantly full tank will save both the car and money.

Wiper blades and washer fluid

Poor visibility in cold weather can be very dangerous, so you must ensure your Jeep Grand Cherokee wipers are in good condition.

Imagine driving down the road at night when it suddenly starts raining with snow, watering the windshield abundantly with water. You turn on the wipers to improve visibility, but they don't help, they just use a rubber scraper on the glass to no avail.

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Wiper blade scrapers are rubber and can crack and wear over time. It is recommended to change the wiper blades every 6-12 months

You also need to monitor the Jeep Grand Cherokee windshield washer fluid level because it helps get rid of snow and ice on the windshield. Moreover, it must be replaced with a winter one. You can buy such a windshield washer at every gas station.

Emergency kit

You never know what challenges await you on the road, especially in the winter. Still, you can be ready for most of them.

The best solution is to keep a special emergency kit in your Jeep Grand Cherokee. Take care to have such items available in your car:

• Jumper cables;
• First aid kit;
• Window scraper and brush;
• Foldable shovel;
• Warm clothes;
• Tiny flashlight with batteries;
• Extra coolant or antifreeze;
• Car door locks defroster;
• Silicone grease for seals;

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To Sum It Up

As you can see, winter car preparation is not difficult. Definitely, it requires some time and items to be available in your trunk, but it is much better to be ready for every possible and impossible winter scenario than to be stuck in one place with no solution at all.