As winter rolls in and the weather worsens, it’s crucial to complete a winter car check - as recovery firms say you’re twice as likely to break down during this season. With the drops in temperature, your car is 51% more likely to have battery problems and 18% less likely to start due to the cold. Although this time of year can be busy, it’s important to prepare your car for winter to keep yourself and other passengers safe.
To help you out, we’ve put together a winter car care checklist - featuring our top 8 tips on how to prepare a car for winter. So, before the weather gets worse, be prepared with our winter car protection tips.
A winter car check will ensure that your car is prepared for making it through the winter in the best way possible. As many breakdowns or accidents can happen at this time of year, it’s important to give your vehicle a health check so that your car can be ready for what the winter weather brings.
You can service your car yourself, however we do strongly recommend having a professional check over your car as well. Eurorepar offers a winter check that covers:
- Tyres
- Lighting
- Wipers
- Braking components
- Exhaust
- Steering & suspension
- Battery
- Fluid levels
One of the first things you should do is check your car’s battery. During the winter a car battery can suffer from cold temperatures. Reduced output in combination with an increased use of the lights, heater and blower will place the battery under additional strain. If you haven’t changed your car battery recently, it could be tired, and the cold weather will amplify the problem.
Top tip: Most car batteries have an average effective working life of about 5 years, so be wary of how old your car battery is going into winter this year to avoid a breakdown.
Anti-freeze will help to ensure the water that cools your engine will not freeze up on frostier days. Without this, the water in your car will naturally freeze at water’s freezing point - 0 degrees Celsius. However, with anti-freeze, the freezing point is much lower at -37 degrees Celsius.
Top tip: To use Anti-freeze, simply locate the coolant tank in your car and pour in the liquid. Engine coolant should be a mixture of 50% water and 50% Anti-Freeze, so make sure to top this up throughout the winter.
When it comes to winter vehicle checks, keep in mind that with lower temperatures comes icy roads. This means your car’s normal tyres may find it harder to grip to the ground, making steering and braking less responsive and reliable.
In order to fix this issue, you can check your tyre pressure and the tyre tread depth (the legal requirement for tyre tread is 1.6mm but for safety we recommend going above this.)
Top tip: Alternatively, you can change the tyre altogether and fit specific winter tyres for better grip in snow, slush or ice.
Keep in mind that during the winter it stays darker for longer, so we often find ourselves commuting to and from work while it’s still dark outside.
Consequently, it’s important that your car’s lights and reflectors are working effectively. This means checking your:
- Side lights
- Beams
- Fog lights
- Indicators
- Brake lights
- Reversing lights
- Hazard lights
Top tip: Have an extra bulb in your car in case of a failure. Use your car’s handbook to learn how to change your car’s lights manually or seek professional help.
When cleaning your windscreen in cold weather, make sure to use anti-freeze to stop any liquids from freezing up on the glass. For removing ice and frost on your windscreen, use de-icer and a window scraper.
Make sure not to use boiling water, as the sudden change in temperature could cause the glass to crack. Also, don’t use old wipers if it’s frosty. If they freeze to the screen this could damage the blades, the wiper’s motor and even cause scratches to your windscreen. For this reason, it’s recommended that you replace worn or damage blades.
Top tip: Check for chips and use a windscreen sealant on them before they get worse in the colder weather.
Keep a small box somewhere easily accessible in your car that is filled with the essentials for getting by if you were to have a breakdown during the winter.
These essentials could include:
- Ice Scraper
- De-Icer
- A Torch
- Tow Rope
- First-aid Kit
- Fuel Can
- Jump Leads
- Spare Clothes
- Non-perishable food & drink
- Phone Charger
- An atlas or map
- Spare batteries
- A blanket
- A shovel
It might sound extreme but having these winter car kit essentials will help to keep you safe if your car breaks down.
Top tip: If you’re going on a long journey, throw a spare coat into the boot along with a hi-vis jacket in case of a breakdown.
If all else fails and you do still unfortunately break down, at least you will be covered. Make sure you always have a contact number available, so that you know you won’t be stranded out in the cold. Remember also before setting off on long journeys to check the weather forecast, travel news and opt for the safest routes.
Top tip: To be on the safe side, keep at least ¼ of a tank of fuel and check the oil before setting off. Don’t ignore any warning dashboard lights & if you don’t understand anything, Eurorepar is here to help!
And those are our 8 top tips on how to prepare a car for winter. Winter frost and low temperatures can have a significant effect on your car, but we hope with the help of this guide on how to properly prepare your vehicle for winter, you can prevent potential damage to your car from ever happening. If you think your car needs to be looked over for any reason, you can arrange a car service at your nearest Eurorepar centre.
