Proven Tips to Prepare Your Car for Winter
Proven Tips to Prepare Your Car for Winter
With winter fast approaching, it is important to ensure your car is in tip-top shape so that it can endure the worst of the weather. The rapid decrease in temperature and poorer weather means the number of breakdowns may increase, therefore, a little maintenance may benefit you in the long run during the winter months.
Check Your Car Battery
Your car’s battery takes the most strain during autumn and winters months. Cold weather negatively impacts the power the battery can deliver. If you have never changed your car battery, or it’s at least been a while since you have, then it may be wise to get it checked out, because it may be worn out. The battery becomes a vital component when it comes to heating or using electronical devices.
Checking Screen Wash
Autumn and Winter bring a lot of wet weather here in the UK, and this causes for roads to become dirtier and grittier which all end up on your car causing you to use your windscreen wipers more often. First thing you need to do is ensure your windscreen wipers are in good shape, then fill your windscreen washer bottle with screen wash. This will make sure that no dirt gets smeared across your windscreen and cleans it properly. You don’t need to worry about screen wash freezing over as it usually has a lower freezing temperature than water alone, however, you may need to be wary of the washer jets becoming blocked during heavy snowfall or frost.
Checking Your Lights
The days become a lot shorter in the winter as well as the weather becoming worse, so it makes sense to check on the maintenance of your car’s exterior lights. A simple check and clean of your lights on a regular basis should do the trick. As mentioned before, bad weather makes the roads much dirtier and this ends up on our car, and when this builds up it can reduce the effectiveness of your lights. This has a negative impact on both you and other drivers as it will reduce your visibility making it hard for people to see you and you see the roads.
Attaching Winter Tyres
If you commute a lot during the winter months, it may be wise to install a set of winter tyres for your car. They are ideal when it comes to facing treacherous weathers of winter, they are effective in icy, and wet weather providing you with better performance than regular tyres. However, they can be costly so if you don’t want that extra cost, it may be worth checking the tread depth of your current tyres. The legal limit it 1.6mm but having it more can aid with your driving massively in winter weather. Another top tip would be to regularly check your tyre pressure as this can change with the seasons.
Professional Service
You may be too busy and not have the time to prepare your car for the winter, then it may be worth it to get a specialist to do it for you. This way you won’t need to worry whether you have done it correctly or not, and here at Hatfields our experts can provide you with the best care for your car this winter. So why not contact Hatfields for your next service.
