What Car Maintenance Is Recommended For Winter Driving?

A bit of forward planning and preventative measures can help avoid the worst of what winter can throw at us.

First of all, ensure that your radiator is topped up with anti-freeze. There are devices for checking the strength of the anti-freeze mix in your coolant system, or your local friendly garage can do this for you. In most cases, a 25 per cent anti-freeze to 75 per cent water mix is adequate for the UK.

Check the condition of your battery and replace if not in tip top condition. Winter is hard on batteries due to the extra demands placed upon it for cold starting and running lights, wipers and the heater etc. Check that the fan belt is correctly adjusted and not slipping.

Keep all lights clean and in full working order. Check that the windscreen wipers are in perfect condition and that the windscreen washer bottle is topped up with winter grade screen wash.

Also handy to have, but not to store in the vehicle necessarily, are windscreen and door lock de-icers.