Winter Car Care Tips

Winter Car Care Tips

1. Don’t Use Hot Water on a Cold Morning

On those unusually cold mornings when the windscreen is covered with ice and you’re running late, it’s very easy to be tempted to remove the ice with hot water.

DON’T! Pouring hot water on a cold windscreen will most likely crack it. Instead, use cold water from a tap as it’s warm enough to remove the ice but not crack your windscreen.

2. Keep an eye on your battery

During those cold winter months, our car batteries are working extra hard to power the lights, wipers and washers, heater and air conditioner, and still have enough power left to start the engine.

If your battery’s going to fail, it’s likely to fail in winter on a cooler day.  It is recommended to ensure your battery is in good condition throughout winter.  

3. Light it up

With the days being shorter, foggy and often cloudier, we rely on our car’s lights during winter, so there’s no better time to check they’re all working.

Turn on all the lights and walk around the car checking the headlights (on low and high beam), the parking lights, tail lights and the turn indicators.

With the engine turned off but the ignition switched on, place the transmission into reverse and check that the reversing lamps are also operating. You may need assistance while you are in control of the vehicle, to check the reverse and brake lights.   

4. Window Demisters

Ensuring the windscreen and all other windows are clear of mist is done by using the heater/demister or air conditioner. It is important to make sure the demister is working correctly and are able to demist the windows.

The air-con system is certainly more effective at demisting the windows than the heater/demister as it removes the moisture from the air which actually causes the misting in the first place.

Don’t forget to check the front and rear window wipers, washer and demister to ensure they are all also in working condition. 

5. Clean windows

The first step to good visibility is making sure you’re keeping your windscreen and windows clean.

Cleaning the outside is not always enough, so make sure you also clean the windows and windscreen from the inside of the car as well to ensure you have the clearest and cleanest visibility on those dark, foggy winter days.

Tips:

Here at Bigbox Service & Tyres, our technicians are equipped with the experience and knowledge to Inspect your vehicles for these concerns, if you see anything relevant such as Battery, wipers, lights etc that you would like checked on your vehicle, do not hesitate to contact our team.