11th November 2015

Winter ready! – car checks

Get you and your car Winter Ready with Revive!.

We start to hear it from the weather forecasters about the same time every year: “There’s a storm coming”. This year is no different with the alarm bells now ringing to warn us all of the worst storm for 144 years and the coldest winter on record.

Many may be sceptical, as are we, but it is hard to simply turn a blind eye to the possibility of a three month storm caused by a “Super El Nino”, which has apparently already brought gale-force winds and flooding to the UK – just not to our head office in Rugby yet.

El Nino – the science

El Nino refers to irregular climatic changes which affect the equatorial Pacific region and beyond. The effects of El Nino will reverse wind patterns across the pacific and will cause sea temperatures to rise and become unusually warm. According to media sources, we are due to experience the strongest El Nino change since 1997.

The news sounds quite apocalyptic at the moment, painting pictures a bit like in the film “The day after tomorrow”, however commuting can be safe in the right conditions, if you make the right preparations. Just don’t go chasing any twisters.

Car checks

So in preparation for winter, it is perhaps a very good time to make some vital checks on your car, making sure you are doing all you can to avoid a meltdown.

As provided by the AA, here are the all important car checks which you need to do to reduce the risk of a breakdown:

  • Antifreeze – check your coolant level regularly and top-up with a mixture of the correct type of antifreeze if required. Get your garage to check the concentration.
  • Battery – here we have the most common cause of breakdown in the winter. If your battery is more than 5 years old it may struggle in the colder weather – get it checked and replaced if necessary.
  • Fuel – make sure you have at least a quarter of a tank to compensate for unexpected delay.
  • Lights – check and clean all lights regularly and carry spares. Make sure you can see as well as be seen.
  • Tyres – 3mm of tread at least is required for winter motoring. Also winter tyres can improve safety.
  • Windscreen – reduce the dazzle from a low sun by keeping your screen clean inside and out. Now is also good time to renew those tired wiper blades.
  • Screen wash – use a 50% mix of a good screen wash to reduce the chance of freezing.
  • Lock and door seals – you can stop doors freezing shut with a thin coat of polish or Vaseline on your rubber door seals. Also a quick squirt of WD-40 on your locks will stop them freezing too.

If you can think of any more important checks and tips not covered above, we’d love to hear from you. Please drop us a comment on Facebook here, or tweet us here!

Miss our first Winter Ready blog? Read it here.

Keep your eyes open for our next Winter Ready blog which will be appearing on our website next week. We will be looking at exactly what you should be keeping in your car as a Winter emergency kit.

Don’t get caught out this winter. Make sure you are Winter Ready with Revive! and drive safely!

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