Winter car and vehicle care checklist

Winter is here, and winter driving comes with it. With the extreme winters we’ve had over the last couple of years it has become even more important to make sure your car/vehicle is up to taking on the elements. rnPassing a MOT is not enough when it comes to battling ice and snow in your car/vehicle. If you’re not careful you’ll end up having to fork out allot of money on car recovery if your car should breakdown or on car repair if you end up in a crash, god forbid. rnWhy risk it? You should make sure your car is up to task, and the best time to do this is now! Before when head full on into the winter months. rnAs experienced car mechanics with over 10 years in the job of repairing and serving cars/vehicles, we highly recommend you check your car against the following check list, and if your car doesn’t meet the following criteria, book your car in for a service and let the professionals sort it for you. rnCar/Vehicle Winter Checklist : -Check your antifreeze - Your car contains a 50/50 mix of water and antifreeze. This flows around your radiator and keeps your car cool, if there is not enough anti-freeze in your vehicle the water inside will freeze and ruin your cars radiator. -Check your tires – It’s hard to stop on ice, and its allot harder to stop when your car tires don’t have enough tread. It’s also illegal to drive your car in the UK with a tire tread of less than 1.6 millimetres, which comes with a hefty fine and points or your licence if you are pulled up on it. -Replace your wipers – It’s the last thing you think about until you’re on the M25 and its teaming down with rain and your wipers are doing nothing to improve your visibility of the road. If they’re hard and brittle and not clearing the salt and muck off your windscreen get them replaced. -Windscreen Wash fluid – A. make sure you have windscreen washer fluid, B. make sure it’s not just water and is a mix of wash fluid or the water inside will freeze and crack/break your windscreen -washer system. -Check your Brakes – Remember that driving theory test you did where you memorized all the stopping distances then immediately forgot them when you passed the test? Well let me remind you, in the dry you stop in around 50 feet from 30mph, in the wet it’s more like 80 feet. Your brakes may have held out in the dry (or as dry as England gets), but in the wet and icy winter, it’s going to take you allot longer to stop. All the more reason to make sure you check your brakes. -Clean your battery posts – My car won’t start! If you check your battery connections and make sure they are all ok your car battery will be able to charge better and will also provide the correct amount of voltage. Especially in the cold your battery has a high chance of not having enough power to start your engine.rnIf you’re unsure of how to check anything on this list or have found something on the list that is not quite up to scratch, feel free to give us a call and our expert team at Mechanical engineering services can organize a car service for you or just some friendly advice : Car Service Guildford Car Service Surrey Car Service Cranleigh