IS YOUR CAR READY FOR WINTER?

As the temperature drops, the roads start to get slippery and the car needs to be defrosted in the morning, are there things that you can do to make your car safer and better prepared for the seasonal change?

The cars’ tyres are really important. Make sure that the tyre pressures are set correctly and that there is plenty of tread on them, including the spare tyre if you have one. Do this when the car is cold and set the pressures to the manufacturer’s recommendations. If you get snow and ice regularly, then there are winter and all-season tyres that can be fitted to give you much better grip in the worst weather.

Being able to see clearly through the windscreen and side windows is vital to drive safely. Easy things you can do to help this are clean the inside of the windscreen and glass around the vehicle. I use a microfibre cloth and window cleaner. Then make sure the windscreen wipers are clean. Lift them gently off of the windscreen and pull a damp cloth across the blade to remove any dirt or debris. Don’t forget the rear wiper if you have one. If the wipers are frozen to the windscreen, try not to use them until the windscreen has defrosted as you may damage the rubber blades.

If your car has air conditioning use this to remove the moisture in the air. If you start to fog up check that the recirculation button is set to off if you have the air conditioning set to off – this will keep the moisture in your exhalations from misting up the car. Make sure your washer bottle is full of the correctly mixed screen wash for the outside temperature, neat water will freeze and block the washer nozzles.

Do the lights all work and are they clean? A legal requirement but obviously really important for your safety. If your car doesn’t inform you of a bulb failure, get someone to look at the lights as you try them all out and a wipe over with a damp microfibre cloth will keep them nice and clean.

When was the car last serviced and did they check or replace the engine antifreeze/coolant? As you can understand from the name, antifreeze is set to a certain strength to avoid the possibility of the water in the cooling system freezing which could then irreparably damage the engine. As you’re mostly likely under the bonnet and if you have an internal combustion engine car you should also check the engine oil to make sure it has the correct amount in it.

If you are expecting to drive in particularly bad weather such as snow there are other precautions you could take. Make sure the car has enough fuel or charge to get you to your destination or to keep you warm should you get stuck en-route. Keep some blankets, ice-scraper, de-icer, mobile phone charger and even a shovel in the car to assist with getting unstuck. In many Northern countries they also expect you to have snow chains, spare fuel, warning triangles, sunglasses and booster cables.

With either a bit of preparation or a quick trip to your local garage for a winter check your car should be more than capable of making it through the worst of winter weather this year.