Winter car equipment
Carrying an emergency kit with you at all times through the winter might seem a bit extreme – but if you ever find yourself stranded you’ll be glad of it. We recommend:
- • A mobile phone and charger
- • A hazard warning triangle
- • Hi-visibility vest
- • A first aid kit
- • De-icer and a scraper
- • A shovel
- • A tow rope
- • Wellington boots
- • A torch
- • Warm clothes
- • Food and drink
And a decent set of car mats will not only protect your car’s carpets from wet or muddy feet, but can be wedged under the driven wheels to get you moving should you get really stuck in the snow.
Check your car battery
Cold and damp weather can put a strain on your car’s 12-volt battery. Cold weather makes it harder for an engine to turn over, but unfortunately, as an EV driver will tell you, cold weather also has a negative impact on the power a battery can deliver. If you haven’t changed your car battery recently, then it could be tired, and the cold weather means it might not play ball. Add in the additional power drain of heaters and other electrical devices, and it can become a critical component. If the battery struggles to provide enough power to start your car, the chances are it’s on its way out.
You can get a home battery tester, but it’s easier to see a specialist. Assuming you can start the car, you can drive to your local dealer or car spares shop to buy a new one. Most car battery stockists will even fit it for you.
Car battery prices vary, and can cost from around £60 fitted, although models fitted with stop-start systems need a heavier duty battery that can cost more than £100, depending on the size, type and the electrical current produced. There are dozens of combinations on offer, so make sure you get the correct one for your car.
If you can’t start your car, but have access to a 12-volt power supply in another car, then you can use a set of jump leads. If you’re skilled enough and it’s accessible, you could remove the battery and charge it indoors. This can be complex, not least because car batteries are heavy. You should always refer to the owner’s manual.
Check antifreeze
Antifreeze, as its name suggests, stops the water in the engine’s cooling system from freezing. To test the effectiveness of your antifreeze, an antifreeze tester is available for about £5. To use it, unscrew the coolant reservoir cap under the bonnet (ensuring the engine is cold first), lower the tube into the coolant and squeeze the rubber bulb on the end to suck some antifreeze inside the tester.
You can then read the freezing point of the antifreeze using the scale inside the tester. Replace the antifreeze in the car’s system and replace the cap.
Check screen wash
Winter weather is frequently wet, and this draws all the dirt and road salt from the road surface, so you’ll spend lots of time using your windscreen wipers. Assuming your wipers are in good shape, there’s still a high risk of them smearing grime across the windscreen if your screen wash bottle is empty.
To ensure this doesn’t happen to you, open the windscreen washer bottle under the bonnet, and fill it with screen wash. You can buy ready mixed or concentrated screen wash, which you’ll need to mix with water.
Screen wash has a lower freezing temperature than water alone, so you shouldn’t end up with frozen washer jets, although they can still become blocked if there’s a particularly heavy frost or freezing rain gets into them.
Check exterior lights
It sounds simple, and it is. The days are shorter and the weather is worse during the winter months, so maintenance of your exterior lights an important aspect of any winter car checklist.
Check and clean your lights regularly. The salt and dirt can quickly build-up, reducing the effectiveness of the lights and reducing your visibility to other road users. It’s best to keep your lights on in all sorts of weather, as it helps you to be seen. Carry extra bulbs in case of a failure, but do try and learn how to replace the bulbs when it’s convenient, because you can guarantee that when one blows it’ll be in the dark, in freezing cold and possibly wet weather, which isn’t an ideal time to learn about your car.
Professional winter car checks
If you’ve not got the time to prepare your car for winter, then you can ask an expert to do it for you. Many main dealers and high street car spares shops can do this for a nominal fee. Some even offer free winter car checks, especially if your car is due a service around the same time.
Winter tyres
If you frequently drive in winter, then consider buying a set of winter tyres. They offer exceptional grip when the temperature drops below seven degrees, and while they’re effective in snow and ice, they also perform better than summer tyres when it’s wet. They’re not cheap, but are well worth the investment for the additional safety they bring.
It’s up to you whether you buy a second set of wheels to fit them on, but if you choose to swap the winter tyres onto the same wheels, it’s a job for a tyre fitter, as it’s a pretty tough job to do yourself.
Even if you don’t want the extra cost of winter tyres, checking the tread depth of your existing tyres is important. The legal limit is 1.6mm, but having more than this can dramatically improve steering and braking – if your tyres are due replacing, then winter is a good time to do it. Also check your tyre pressures regularly, as these can change with the drop in air temperature with the changing of the seasons.