Winter is here, and it’s one of the most challenging times of year for our cars, with the majority of breakdowns and accidents happening in this season. You want to be sure your car is up and together to avoid these possibilities, which is why we’ve compiled a list of some simple checks you can carry out on your car without the need to go to the garage. Continue reading to find out items you should check to best prepare your car for the winter months.
1) Your vehicle battery
The battery is an integral part of your car and without it your car simply won’t start. Car batteries come equipped with a Cold Cranking Amps Rating (CCA), which is the amount of amps a battery can deliver while at a temperature of minus 0 degrees for the duration of 30 seconds. If your car battery is old, it may not have the sufficient CCA it once had and therefore it may be time to replace it.
It’s also important to bare in mind that the smaller the engine, the harder it’ll have to try to power up the engine in cold weather.
You can buy a battery tester online or take your car to a garage to have specialist engineers look at it for you to double check your battery health.
2) Tyres
Another very integral part of winter driving. As the temperature outside drops, this also makes your tyre pressure drop too, so ensure they’re properly inflated. It’s also important to check your tread depth as this affects traction on the road surface. The legal specified limit is 1.6mm, but having the recommended amount for your vehicle make and model will dramatically help to improve steering and braking.
3) Brakes
On the topic of brakes, it’s a good idea to check your brake pads and brake discs. You can simply peer through the wheel at the brake pads, showing you whether there is sufficient pad material left. Many brake pads are designed with a wear indicator which shows you whether there is sufficient pad material left by creating an audible screeching sound too. If you’re unsure, we recommend checking with your local garage.
4) Engine Oil
Potentially not a quite as obvious aspect of your car to check during the winter time. Every car has a recommended engine oil which can be found on the fill cap or in the owner’s manual. However, what isn’t so commonly known is that some engines do recommend different viscosity grades of oil depending on the climate you live in. It’s important to refer back to your owners manual and see if it’s recommended for you to use a different grade of oil in your car depending on the climate.
5) Wiper Blades
When examining your wiper blades look for worn or cracked rubber and if your wipers are streaking or skipping across the windshield. If this is the case, they likely need to be replaced.