Prepping For Winter: Maintenance and Driving Tips
As the frost on the windscreen starts to appear, you know winter is coming. We’ve put together a couple of winter driving and maintenance tips to help keep you safe on the road.
A Healthy Battery
Making sure your vehicle’s battery is in good health is essential. You want to avoid having a vehicle that won’t start on a frosty morning. The battery condition and operation is checked as part of your vehicles routine service. If you require an additional check as a precautionary measure, the likes of Halfords offer free of charge battery checks.
Is your battery out of shape? We would recommend a replacement as soon as possible. If your vehicle has a Fleet Evolution maintenance package, then you should get in touch to organise this.
Winter-proof Lights
Periods of reduced daylight and cold conditions mean vehicles lights are used more frequently this time of year. Thus meaning maintaining the condition of your lights is even more important. You should always make sure that they are clean and free of anything that will obstruct the light; including snow, frost and condensation. You should routinely check that all of your vehicle’s lights are functioning correctly. For brake lights and reversing lights, this can be a little more difficult. However, reverse parking the car near a reflective surface should allow you to view the reflection of the vehicle. Then, you can view and check the operation of the brake lights and the reverse lights.
Antifreeze
Antifreeze is a vital component of your vehicle engine’s cooling system. It prevents the coolant from freezing and damaging the engine. It is important that the coolant level is routinely checked and topped up as recommended within your vehicle’s handbook. Whenever you perform this check ensure that your engine is cold to prevent any injury. You should never top up the cooling system with just water. Always use the correct type of anti-freeze, which is normally indicated by the colour of the coolant. You should use a mixture of water and anti-freeze as specified within your vehicle handbook.
Screen Wash
Visibility is key when driving, particularly in the winter. To ensure your windscreen is clear and effective, you should check the fluid level of your screenwash regularly. You can top this up with a ready-mixed solution, or you can purchase concentrated (which must be mixed with water). The instructions on the packaging will clearly indicate the ratio of water to concentrate that is recommended. Screenwash has a lower freezing temperature than water so this should help prevent frozen washer jets.
Tyres
Stopping distances on wet roads increase compared to dry roads. On icy roads, however, this can increase by 10 times. In addition to the extra care and attention when driving in such conditions, it is important to check the condition of your tyres. This is to make sure they are inflated correctly to the pressures/conditions specified within the vehicle handbook.
Also, check your tyres tread depth with a suitable depth gauge. You should check the inner, middle and outer of the central three-quarters of the tread; whilst the legal limit for tread depth is 1.6mm, we recommend that you replace your tyres once they reach 2mm. If you have a Fleet Evolution maintenance package and any of your tyres have reached 2mm please call us to arrange a replacement.
A Well-Stocked Car
As well as keeping on top of your maintenance, it’s important to make sure you are prepared for the conditions. Here are a couple of extras that it’s useful to have in the boot in case of emergency.
- Spare warm clothes, including hats and gloves.
- A blanket.
- High-visibility vest or jacket.
- Snacks and water.
- A torch.
- De-icer
- Slightly more fuel than you need (so you can use heating and charge a phone if needed in an emergency).
Hopefully, these winter driving tips have informed you what will keep you safe out there! If you have further questions, get in touch!
For guidance on all routine checks, please refer to your vehicle manufacturer’s handbook (typically located within your glove box). If you’re a Fleet Evolution customer, book your service below.
Tags : car maintenance, winter, winter driving