What to do to ensure that your car is winter ready
Winter is an excellent time of the year if you’re someone who enjoys the cold. However, it’s not the best season for the millions of people out there who drive every day. All that frosty weather can make car maintenance a real nightmare, and that’s without mentioning the more dangerous conditions on the road.
Of course, provided you take the right steps, these colder months don’t have to be any more stressful than the rest of the year. Just look through this checklist and do everything you need to before conditions get too bad, and your car will be ready for the winter.
Get Your Car Serviced
It’s important that you get your car serviced at least once a year, otherwise you risk inflicting expensive damage on your vehicle. If it so happens that your annual servicing usually occurs around winter, then it’s even more essential that you take your vehicle in and have it checked out. You’re far more likely to have problems going into the colder months than the people who only had their car checked out a few months ago.
The good news with this, though, is that getting a service at the start of the season can save you the hassle of having to do some of these other suggestions. The problems will likely be picked up by the mechanic, meaning you can drive away from there knowing your car is far more prepared for winter than it was when you arrived.
Check The Battery
Your vehicle can’t get very far with a dead battery and, unfortunately, this is a time of year when losing power is quite common. This is due to the cold and damp conditions that typically come hand in hand with winter. The lower temperatures don’t just put a strain on your engine, but they also reduce the efficiency of your battery. That’s particularly bad news for anyone who drives an electric car.
To ensure that you don’t find yourself struggling to start the car on a cold morning, either get a home testing kit or go visit a mechanic. These will determine whether or not you need a new battery, and if you do, then get yours replaced.
Check Your Keys
Just as you can’t start your car without a working battery, you can’t get anywhere without a functioning key either.
You might not have thought to pay much attention to the state of your car keys before, but it’s a vital thing to do in the winter. After all, if they’re damaged or showing signs of wear and tear, there’s every chance they could break when you try to use them. You don’t want to be stuck outside in the cold when you’ve got places to be, so checking the condition of your keys is essential.
If you notice that they’re looking past their best, or they do suddenly break, you’ll want to visit the professionals to get expert car key repairs. 3D Autokeys can provide this service, alongside providing replacement car keys, car key battery replacement, and even changing the locks on your car. For anyone in the Nottinghamshire area, they’re the specialists to rely on this winter.
Change Your Tyres
Perhaps the biggest problem that drivers face during the winter is the icy conditions of the road. While public services do their best to protect against this issue, there are plenty of places where the roads are essentially the equivalent of an ice rink. You don’t need that risk in your life, which is why checking your tyres is paramount during this time of the year.
If your tyres don’t have much in the way of grip, you’ll want to consider replacing them. It’s advised that your wheels have at least 3mm of tread depth to reduce the chances of sliding across the road. Depending on the conditions where you live, it may be wise to invest in winter tyres which are purposefully designed to handle ice and snow. However, as these can be expensive, they’re only really essential if the roads freeze a lot in the winter months.
Check Your Windscreen
Your windscreen can see a lot of wear and tear over the years, from debris flying up from the road to the constant back and forth of the wipers. As time goes on, the condition of the glass can deplete, putting you more at risk of cracks. This is a particular problem in the winter when the cold weather can make such fractures even bigger.
The smartest thing to do here is to check over your windscreen and make sure there aren’t any chips in the glass. If you do notice an issue, have it dealt with immediately so that it doesn’t develop over the next few months. Also, remember not to use warm winter on your windscreen when trying to defrost your car. The sudden change in temperature will simply escalate any problems.
Top Up The Fluids
There are a surprising number of fluids that a car requires in order to function at its best. We’re talking about things like oil, coolant, brake fluid, screen wash, and more. If one of these runs dry, you may find yourself running into trouble when you’re far away from home, which isn’t a pleasant thought.
Be sure to check regularly that nothing is running too low, and refill whatever fluids are necessary to keep your car running properly. During the winter, you want to pay particular attention to the coolant and ensure that it’s an equal mix of antifreeze and water. A lot of people tend to just top it up with water when it starts to deplete but doing that can cause the solution to freeze in the cold and damage your engine.
Check Your Lights
Considering that daylight hours are significantly shorter in the winter, and weather conditions can be worse too, it makes sense that drivers use their car lights more often at this time of year. Of course, it’s for that very reason that keeping your lights clean and functional is vital.
If it looks like dirt has built up over the casings, wipe that off to ensure nothing obstructs your lights when driving in the dark. Moreover, invest in some spare bulbs and learn how to replace them should the need arise. You want to be able to do the task quickly and efficiently if a light suddenly goes out while you’re driving.
Create An Emergency Kit
You can never be entirely sure what’s going to happen when driving at this time of year, which is why it’s best to have a car winter emergency kit. You should have a set of emergency supplies in your vehicle all-year-round because incidents can happen during any season. However, there are certain essentials that you’ll want to make sure are packed specifically for the winter months.
These are things like a de-icer, a scraper, wellington boots, a spade, and maybe snow grips for your shoes. You’ll also want to ensure you have stuff like a torch, a phone charger, a first aid kit, and a hi-visibility vest, which are beneficial no matter the season.
Winter can be a daunting time of year to be a driver, but if you take the right precautions, then it shouldn’t be that scary. So long as you get your car ready and always drive carefully, you can feel safe on the road.
