Look after your vehicle this Winter, it will thank you for it.

Snow, ice and sub zero temperatures can affect how your vehicle functions in many ways. In this cold weather, you need to pay extra attention to your vehicle to keep it running smoothly and to avoid costly repairs.

Check your levels...

Antifreeze - make sure you have enough antifreeze in your vehicle.

Screenwash - With grit covering all of our roads at the moment it is important that your washers are working and have enough screenwash to help the washers to clear the residue that builds up on your windscreen whilst driving. We use our washers more than ever in these conditions so don't leave for a long journey without checking that you are topped up.

You are welcome to pop in and we will check your levels for you.

Carrying water in your vehicle - Although it is advisable to carry water for emergencies or to top up on a long journey, you should take care when doing this in cold weather. Avoid leaving water bottles or carriers in the vehicle overnight or in freezing temperatures, take them indoors and bring them back when you travel. They will freeze if left in the vehicle and may crack open as they expand, leaving you with water leaking into the car as it thaws.

Setting off after a freezing night

Although it's hard to get up earlier when it is so dark and cold outside during the winter months, it is worth getting outside to your vehicle in advance to defrost it properly before setting off. Make sure you clear as much snow off as possible. Before you switch your engine on, make sure your wipers are switched off if there is ice or snow on your windscreen. Quite often it is easy to accidently leave them on the evening before and when you switch the engine on, they start straight up. If your wipers have to work harder than usual, clearing snow or ice from the windscreen, they could easily get damaged. They are only designed to clear water from the windscreen so they can fail when faced with the strain. Make sure they are free from ice and snow before you attempt to switch them on.

Allow your engine plenty of time to warm up before you start to move as not only does it help the performance of the engine, it will defrost the windscreen washers and warm up the interior of the car reducing condensation.

Walk around your vehicle and check that it is free from large chunks of ice around the bottom. Sometimes these can build up and form around the wheels where snow has compacted. If left, they can fall off whilst you are driving and cause a hazard to other vehicles.

Air conditioning - The dark mornings and gloomy clouds make the summer seem so far away and your air conditioning is sometimes the last thing on your mind. However, when the heat creeps back into the UK you will soon start to need it again. Try to run your air conditioning for at least 10 minutes every week to keep it working, even in winter.

Contact us on 01795 841007 or drop us an email to info@tomsettkent.com