Winter Car Care Tips to Help Avoid the RAC

 

Winter’s coming, and it’s coming with force. And UK motorists as usual aren’t looking forward to the notoriously unpredictable weather (more so in Scotland should we add), icy roads stuck with black ice, and colder all-round temperatures to force us all to adopt anoraks.

With the temperature’s plummeting already, experts are already warning 2016 to be the year of White Christmas, with “2016 bucking the trend with the UK now to face the coldest and snowiest for at least six years”. And if that wasn’t enough for you to squabble over with the Met Office, forecasters predict “icy blasts arrive in November unleashing FOUR MONTHS of heavy snow and sub-zero temperatures well into February 2017”.

Having said that, here’s our top 5 car care tips for you to get acquainted with, in order to keep on top of your oil levels, tyres and ensure your number plates; brand new or replacement number plates are thoroughly clean this winter.

After all, who wants to be stuck at the side of the road waiting for the breakdown service to arrive? The average 40-minute call-out time will significantly worsen; we can assure you.

Battery & Electric

Batteries hardly run past the 5-year mark, so make sure you’re keeping electrical systems used to the bare minimum.

If your vehicle stands idle for more than 2 days at a time (meaning you won’t use it) make sure to start the engine up in the 2-day period to give some oomph to the battery. If you don’t, you could risk killing your battery.

Make sure to turn off non-essential electrics; cigar lighters, rear window heating and wipers even – turn them all off as soon as you turn on the engine. Thank us later.

Windscreen

Give yourself time to rid snow from the bonnet, bumpers and the roof of course, and all additional panels where snowfall could cause loss of vision for you and other drivers. You can face a £60 fine if you don’t. 

 Make sure your wipers are in their respective off positions, or you’ll risk freezing them. If your blades aren’t in their default positions, you could burn up the motor when you turn on the ignition.

Ensure you top up the windscreen washer fluid with a suitable additive to prevent the off-chance of freezing.

Tyres & Tyre Pressure

Check tyres weekly to make sure you’re running the correct legal tread levels. Minimum legal requirements for tread depth is 1.6mm, but experts recommend 3mm across all tyres for maximum safety.

Avoid reducing air pressure in tyres as it won’t gain your vehicle much traction. In fact, it could make it the vehicle stable.

Consider winter tyres if you’re really nervous about driving in snow and low temps with a chance of ice. Winter tyres (especially if your vehicle is rear-wheel powered) works wonders when temperatures hover around 7 degrees and under.

Oil & Anti-freeze Levels

Oil is essential to the performance of your vehicle, and making sure your vehicle is miles away from a damaged engine. Using a fresh lick of oil engineered for winter can help your engine stay lubricated under the coldest of temperatures.

Keep a close check on oil levels with the use of a dipstick. On the dipstick, you’ll find it to have two points; the ‘min’ and ‘max’ marks. Your oil levels should be comfortably sat between these two points at all times.

Make sure to top your anti-freeze levels to avoid a frozen and cracked engine block. It only costs a few quid, and you’ll save hundreds in repair costs.

Number Plate Maintenance

Make sure to check for obscure number plates. With the snow out in full force, having your number plate hidden in plain sight can have the police pull you to the side.

Remember it’s illegal to have cracked or faded number plates. And in winter it’s ever-more difficult to find quick-fixes to attaching your number plate temporarily due to low temperatures.

The easiest thing to is to purchase a new replacement number plate from a UK government registered supplier of legal number plates, such as Kickplates.

If your number plates contain cracks, or they’re completely obscure, save yourself the hassle of being pulled over by the Police with a set of low-cost replacement number plates.

With a brand new set of number plates waiting to be built, why risk a £100 fine when a set of 2 plates can put you back just £20.20?

Start building your new plates now, with our easy-to-use plate maker:

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