First Aid Kit
Your time on the road is always unpredictable, as unforeseen events can cause injuries or harm. This can be life-saving and ensure the safety of you and your family. Therefore, keeping a well-stocked first-aid kit in your car is vital. Ensure your kit contains some pain relievers, bandages, plaster, thermometer, tweezers, and some sterile dressings.
Ice Scraper & De-icer
You never know when you'll wake up to an iced-over windscreen or return home after a day out to a frozen automobile. Make sure you have an ice scraper and de-icer with you at all times so you can effectively defrost your entire windshield. "Portholing," or only cleaning ice or snow from a portion of your windscreen, can result in three points on your licence and a £60 fine.
Torch & Spare Batteries
In the winter, when the days are short and the nights are long, you may find yourself getting in and out of your car in the dark. To avoid trips, keep a torch available. You'll need to find a safe area to wait for roadside help if you break down. On a dark verge, a torch will assist you in finding your route.
Checking Washer Fluid Levels
The qualities of winter washer fluid are mostly defined by its ability to resist freezing at low temperatures. It's usually a good idea to check the packaging to see the maximum temperatures for a particular product. -22 degrees is the usual temperature. These characteristics ensure that you may use them without any problems in colder climates. It's also significant when we start utilising winter fluid. However, it would help if you did this before the first cold drop arrived.
Fully Charged Mobile Phone
It's a good idea to notify your loved ones if you're delayed due to bad weather. It will relieve their anxiety and prevent any distracting texts or phone calls from coming in while you're driving. Remember that using a handheld device while driving is not a good idea. To make a call, pull over to a safe rest area or ask a passenger to do it for you.
Phone Charger or Power Pack
Imagine dealing with a dead phone in the middle of nowhere. A phone charger or power pack is vital and can be very handy during an emergency. The winter weather may be beautiful, but the frigid weather can affect your smartphone usage, so you need an in-car charge or power pack with you always.
Warm Clothes
You may need to get out of your vehicle when it's broken down. This means you need to carry some additional clothing to keep you warm in the cold.
High Visibility Jacket
In the winter, there are fewer daylight hours. Vision may be limited because of the darkness and the increased likelihood of rain, snow, sleet, and fog. A hi-vis neon jacket will make you more visible if you're standing outside your car.
Warning Triangles
Reflective warning triangles, in addition to a hi-vis jacket, will make you more visible if your car breaks down. They'll alert other vehicles that there's a broken-down vehicle ahead of them, allowing them time to slow down before they hit you. If you're on a highway, don't put a caution triangle on the hard shoulder Because it's not safe. If you're on the road and it's safe, place a caution triangle at least 45 metres behind and in front of your car.
Small Shovel
Some people may need to dig their wheels out of deep snow. This is when keeping a shovel comes in. It is important to determine if it is advisable to leave the house during terrible weather conditions. However, you should keep a small shovel in your car if you go out during bad weather or encounter deep snow.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Manufacturers claim that you can drive vehicles equipped with modern fuel injection systems right after starting up, without the need to warm them up first. Additionally, many environmental agencies recommend idling your car for no more than 30 seconds before moving during the colder months.
In the winter, auto experts recommend warming up the automobile for no more than 30 seconds before driving. When the engine is run, it warms up faster. As a result, it is more practical to turn off and restart your engine than to leave it idling.
As a general rule, you should start your car each day at zero-degree temperatures. Auto professionals recommend starting your car once every week to ensure continued battery life. However, this should be under the ideal circumstances.
Wash your car thoroughly, paying extra attention to areas you might overlook, such as beneath the wheels, quarter panels, undercarriage, and front end. These are frequent sites for salt and road debris to gather and rust.
Road salt, sleet and snow that comes with winter can inflict a lot of damage to your car's paint finish and can even damage it permanently. To protect your car, you may want to use car wax, fix any chipping work and apply vinyl wrapping before the weather drops.
A winter car service will ensure the cooling system in your vehicle is working at optimal levels, and your antifreeze will be checked and refilled if necessary. Antifreeze is added to the water in your car's radiator to prevent it from seizing up and causing unwanted issues.
Cold temperatures are tough on even the newest cars. It is vital to warm your car engine, tire pressure, battery maintenance, waxing and washing, and so on and avoid the costliest repairs.
The fuel injectors transmit more fuel through the system while your car engine is cold. The engine requires less fuel as it warms up. As a result, the longer you let a cold engine idle, the more fuel you waste and the more likely you are to accumulate fuel residue.
While it's commonly suggested that you wash your car every two weeks, it's best to wash it about every 10 days when salt is on the road, especially if you haven't waxed your vehicle.
Allowing your vehicle to warm up adds more fuel to the combustion chamber, which can cause damage to the cylinder walls. Because gasoline is a good solvent, too much on the cylinder walls might dissolve the oil that lubricates the cylinders, resulting in reduced component life.
Cold weather might affect your electric car's operating range, one of the most critical performance indicators. In the cold, ions in Lithium-ion batteries have a tougher time moving around, which might reduce the range of your vehicle. To make your batteries last longer, park in your garage if possible, warm your car in the morning, avoid the batteries getting too low and keep your tires properly inflated.
Suppose you have any car trouble due to the bad weather or need regular auto servicing. In that case, we here at Chippenham Motor Company can help you with all the vehicle needs. Visit us at Chippenham where we also sell new and used vehicles and offer after-sale care for your vehicle.