Prepare Your Car For Winter - The Vehicle Network

Prepare Your Car For Winter

As the weather gets colder, it seems like a good idea to remind you to get your vehicles ready for winter.

But what does that involve? How do you get a car ready for winter?

Here is our handy checklist of things to consider :

Check your antifreeze. You don’t want your engine to freeze when the temperature dips below zero, so check that your antifreeze is efficient. You can get cost effective (cheap!) testing kits from your local automotive shop and just double check that your antifreeze is still doing the job – if not, drain it out and replace it with fresh antifreeze. A local garage can help if you are unsure of how to do this.
Check your screen wash. You’ll be using it a lot more if you’re driving on roads that have been treated with road salt, or are slushy, wet, and muddy. Your windscreen is likely to get dirtier than during the summer months. Remember that you may need a greater concentration of screen wash in the winter if you mix it yourself, as you don’t want it to freeze, or hit your windscreen and freeze straight away. You buy screen wash pre-mixed which can handle very low temperatures.
Check your lights. This should be a regular task anyway, but realistically, how many of us do it as a regular job? Driving on darker days and nights mean that not only do you need to give yourself the best chance of seeing where you’re driving, but you also want to make sure that you can be seen by other drivers. Clean your lights if they get dirty too, make the most of the lights you have. Remember, it is the law that all lights and number plates are clearly visible.
Check your tyres. You’ll want better grip for driving in cold, wet conditions, so make sure that your tyres have plenty of tread on them, or if your conditions are likely to be particularly wintery, you might want to invest in some snow tyres.
Battery Check. If your car sometimes struggles to spark into life, then it could be a problem with the battery. You need this to be at working correctly over the winter when you’ll likely be driving with lights and heating on, draining energy from the battery. Take it along to your local mechanic, they can check the battery strength quickly and fit a new battery if it is needed.
Prepare for bad weather. We really hope that you don’t get caught out in the bad weather, but it’s worth being prepared just in case. So pop a winter survival kit into your car before you leave home. Include food & drink, warm clothes, blankets, High vis vest, a torch and an ice scraper.

Of course, you can always take your vehicle along to your local garage and ask them to check it over for winter – If you have a newer car, some will do this for free, This gives you the confidence of letting a professional check it over.