Autowirez Blog

Winter is now well and truely here when road accidents hit an all time high. In order to reduce your chances of being in one of these accidents, winter maintenance checks on your vehicle should be followed. Although safety is always a concern whatever the time of year, winter is the time when your vehicle is under the most stress and a little TLC from a pre-winter check can go along way.

If your vehicle has previous owners and you have not long owned it, now is maybe a good time to check the maintenance log to see when the last full service was, and what was replaced. Autumn is the best time of year to schedule your yearly full major service. This will ensure your vehicle is in good shape for the harsh winter conditions that follow.

Check your coolant
Many people think that in the summer, anti-freeze is not needed, this is not true. Anti-freeze serves two purposes as a coolant additive that is just as effective in the summer as it is in the winter. The anti-freeze improves the heat transfer properties of the water as it raises the boiling point meaning the water can keep doing its job to keep the engine cool, even at the higher mid-summer temperatures. In the winter, it also prevents freezing which would obviously overheat the engine as there would not be any flow of coolant.

Be sure to maintain you anti-freeze / water mix throughout the year, not just the winter. The recommended mix for most vehicles is 50% water to 50% anti-freeze (50/50). To check your mix you will need an anti-freeze tester which normally retail around £5 - £10. Alternatively you could call in to many of the larger service centres such as Kwik-Fit where they will do this for free. To find your nearest Kwik-Fit centre, click here.

Inspect your wipers
Throughout the winter, tonnes of grit is thrown onto the roads by the local councils in order to reduce accidents on the roads. This is great for preventing ice on the roads but for our precious cars, this is a nightmare. The sand and salt from the grit dramatically increases wear on your vehicle and wipers are no exception. This sand and salt always ends up on your windscreen from spray, following the vehicle in front. Here your wipers are essential in clearing the view through your windscreen and unless they clear perfectly, they need to be replaced.

Replacing your wipers need not be costly. If your wipers are in good order but the rubbers are worn, why replace the whole blade. Replacing just the wiper blade rubbers is much less costly and should see you through a whole winter without a problem. If the whole wiper blade is rusted, corroded or worn, then it obviously needs replaced. It is recommended to replace both the driver and passenger wiper blades if they where previously both fitted together. It will not be long until the ‘good wiper’ of the two will need to be replaced anyway.

Screenwash checks
Always ensure your windscreen washer fluid is well topped up in winter. You should keep screenwash stored in your vehicle to add to the water if a refill is needed. By the time spring comes, you will have sprayed ‘gallons’ on your windscreen trying to keep it clean throughout the winter months. Adding screenwash to the water in your windscreen washer reservoir not only aids cleaning but prevents freezing too.

Inspect your tyres
With black ice, snow and poor visibility throughout the winter, tyres are the last place you want to save cash and go cheap. If your tyre tread is nearing the 1.6mm legal minimum then get it changed. A tyre tread just under 2mm might be legal but does not mean it is going to perform well. The recommended minimum is 3mm by the RoSPA (Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents). Be sure to check for lumps, cuts and any exposed ply fibres. If a tyre exposes the wire ply, it is illegal, no matter how small or minor the cut may look. Remember, radial and cross ply tyres must not be mixed on the same axle, they must both be of the same construction. The correct tyre pressures for your car can normally be found near the drivers door jam or on the reverse of the petrol cap on many German cars. An under or over inflated tyre will not fully connect with the road surface and have a negative effect on road holding. Only when the tyre is at the recommended pressure is the maximum amount of tread in contact with the road. Tyre pressures should be checked before driving when the tyre is cold. Given the importance of tyre pressure, many people still fail to ensure it is maintained resulting in increased tyre wear, fuel consumption and poor road holding.

Check battery condition
Check your battery for corrosion around the terminals and ensure the battery is secured in its tray and cannot be moved without loosening the clamp. The terminals should be clean, dry and free of corrosion. Corrosion on the terminals can indicate a battery acid leak so check the levels of each cell to ensure the acid is above the top of the cells. To clean the battery terminals, disconnect the cables from the battery and clean the terminals with a wire brush. Refit the cables taking care to observe polarity and tighten. A good habit to get into is when you park your car up for the night, allow the engine to idle for a minute or two with all electrical items off to add a little charge to the battery for starting the next morning. Many people will park up with their headlights, rear demister, heater etc all switched on, then cut the engine and use the ignition to switch all the items off. They will return to the car the next morning with all the items still switched on and start the engine. This puts a great deal of load on the battery and inevitably shorten its life.

To test your battery you will need a 12v car battery tester. These are available in all shapes and sizes but the most popular and probably most accurate are the testers which place a load on the battery and connect via jump leads or through two spikes which touch the battery terminals. These are normally more accurate than the type that plug into the cigarette lighter socket (AKA 12v aux socket if we want to be politically correct). Alternatively, most garages will provide this service completely free in the hope they will sell you a new battery.

Check ignition
Visually inspect ignition leads and distributor cap and rotor arm if fitted (older vehicles) for wear and replace if needed. To inspect the contacts you will need to remove the destributor which is normally very easy on most vehicles by either removing two screws or clips. On removing the cap you will be able to see the condition of the contacts which are striked by the rotor arm as it rotates. If these contacts look worn then it is likely the rotor arm will be worn too. These should be replaced together. The rotor arm should just pull off from the distributor.

Check your engine oil
You can check your oil level and condition by removing the dipstick. If the oil looks black then it is time to do an oil change. To change your engine oil you will need the following.

• New Engine Oil
• New Oil Filter
• Oil Filter Wrench
• Funnel
• Oil Catch Container
• Drain Plug Spanner
• Clean Rag

When changing your oil you must also change the oil filter too as these get dirty very quickly from harmful deposits which can damage the engine. Park the vehicle on a flat surface, jack the front of the car up and chock the rear wheels. Allow the engine idle for a while, watching the temperature gauge until it warms then switch off. This ensures the dirt in the oil is mixed well through and will be drained when you remove the drain plug. If you drain the oil on a cold engine, dirt may find itself in corners in the engine and will not be removed when the oil is drained. Be sure to allow the engine to cool if it is too hot or the engine oil may burn you when you first remove the drain plug.

Inspect your brakes
Inspecting your brakes normally means removing the wheels to perform a proper inspection. However, some cars that are fitted with alloy wheels can be inspected with the wheels in place. Check the brake discs for scoring and replace if there is any pronounced grooves in the disc. The brake discs should always be replaced in pairs with new pads also fitted. Your brake pads should have at least 1/8″ of ‘meat’ on them.

Check your air filter
To gain access to the air filter you will need to open the air filter box which is normally very easy on most vehicles which use either clips or screws to seal the box airtight. Unclip or unscrew the lip of the box and you will see the air filter medium. Pick up the filter and inspect for dirt and tears in the paper and replace if necessary.

Winter driving
By making these checks you can dramatically reduce the chances of problems and increase safety. If there are ever severe weather warnings and you have no choice but to drive, the following winter driving guide will give you tips on road safety.

http://www.thinkroadsafety.gov.uk/advice/winterdriving.htm - Provided by the UK Department for Transport Think! road safety campaign.

Drive Safely!