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Winter Motoring - don't get stuck!
8th Jan 2009
About this time of year there are many articles on Winter Motoring, so we have added extra tips from our experience in order to cover the essential points for this season. Remember winter does not end officially until March, so there is still plenty of time to be hard hit by bad weather if you are not prepared for it!
Bodywork:
Your 4x4 is a lot of capital investment and its bodywork needs to be looked after if it is not to deteriorate and lose you some of the car’s value. Winter is, of course, the time the bodywork takes its maximum punishment. The weekly wash is sometimes ‘forgotten’ or simply cannot take place because of the weather, so we need to do all we can to preserve and protect it.
Get the hose and pressure washer out and thoroughly clean the underside of the car with special attention to the wheel arches. Check for any build up of mud in corners and behind the headlights – remember when the roads are salted during freezing weather you will not be soaking up just water, but also salt solution into any mud left. We all know what a corrosive effect salt has on bodywork! Don’t forget though, pressure washing should be done with care so read our guide to Pressure washing first.
Wash with a good quality car shampoo, Turtle Wax ‘Extreme’ seems to be very good and is easy to dry off afterwards. Next, polish the car with a good polish such as Autoglym. Be very thorough and sure to polish it to a good shine. In a week’s time repeat the polishing treatment and if possible use Autoglym Gloss finish. This leaves a really good amount of protection on the paintwork. Paint work gets a lot of extra punishment with salt spray, grit, and chemicals from the windscreen washer all of which can adversely affect the paint finish so the better the protection the better the paint will be at the end of Winter.
Wash the car and hose underneath at least weekly if possible; using a good wash wax like ‘Extreme’ you should see the water beading on the bodywork all through winter.
 Battery, Electrics and Lights:
Dead batteries top the AA’s call out list, accounting for one in five winter breakdowns each year. Remember that not only are cars more difficult to start in low temperatures (because the oil is thicker) but batteries also generate less power.
Modern batteries are maintenance free but they do eventually give up, but not usually without warning. Is your car turning over more slowly when you start it? Do the lights seem to be brighter when you rev the engine? Has your battery recently failed but seems all right after a charge? Is your battery over three years old? If you have any doubt at all about your battery now is the time to change it.
Tip If purchasing your battery at a local car accessory dealer, look at the ‘charge week’ marked on it and get the latest one, i.e. highest number. Supermarket rules apply; the most recent are often placed at the back! Also make sure you are buying one that is powerful enough for your vehicle, ask if you don’t know.
Check your battery terminals are tight and there is no white ‘fungus’, if there is white ‘fungus’ flush it away with very hot (but no boiling) water. Coat the terminals with petroleum jelly, Vaseline for example.
Cold weather affects the efficiency of the battery so when you start the car make sure all electrical heaters, fans and rear windscreen heaters have not been switched on.
Give the battery an occasional trickle charge even though it may seem all right. On short journeys with ‘everything on’ it has a difficult job to supply all the current and keep charged, and can slowly lose its maximum charge. The trickle charge will help it to recover.
Have a look at the Auxiliary or fan belt; make sure it is in good condition and not squealing, especially when you have heaters, blowers, lights and all those other winter electricals switched on. Check the adjustment of the belt and make sure any tensioner is working properly.
Thoroughly inspect all the plug leads. Make sure they are secure at the ends and are not cracked in any way. Spray all your leads and the top of the distributor with a water repellent such as WD40.
Speaking of heaters, check they all work including the rear screen heater and heated mirrors. Also make sure that your electric windows are working since you may need to wind the windows down at junctions if they are badly misted or frosted.
Every week go round the car and check that the vehicle lights are working, especially headlights, brake lights, fog lights and hazard lights. All bulbs get used a lot more in the winter and so tend to break more often at this time of year, so it’s a good idea to carry a few spare bulbs with you and make sure you know how to change them.
 Antifreeze:
Have a good look to make sure there are no leaks; white, green or blue deposits at the end of coolant pipes or on radiators will show these up.
Check the strength of your antifreeze; you can buy a small hydrometer to do this. If your coolant level is down you must only replace with antifreeze made up to the proper strength. Which for the UK is a 50:50 mix (50% antifreeze 50% water). Do not be tempted to use only water. It is a good idea to always have some 50:50 antifreeze and water mixed up ready. It is also important to use the same antifreeze as you already have. Do not be tempted to just use ‘any. They are not all compatible and we do not want corroded engine parts!
When adding antifreeze make sure you only add it when the engine is cold and do not go above any level indicators. It is important to check where you actually add the antifreeze because it is not always the apparently obvious place!
Under Bonnet Checks:
It is well worth checking all the other fluid levels whilst the bonnet is up; engine oil, brake fluid, clutch fluid, power steering fluid and if applicable automatic transmission fluid.
Pay particular attention to the windscreen washer fluid because when driving along, winter grit and spray will dry onto windscreens reducing visibility. Ordinary water will freeze solid when you need it most so you must add a decent Winter washer fluid. (Cheap fluids can contain large amounts of Methyl Alcohol (Meths) which can evaporate and is effective in removing polish on paint work, not what we really want after all that polishing!).
Typically a good mix would be 30% winter screen wash to 70% water but we recommend a 50:50 mix.
If your car hasn’t had a good service for a while then get it done now! The extra demands of winter will soon search out the faults in a poorly maintained car and could leave you stranded miles from help in freezing conditions.
Tyres:
Now is the time to make sure that you have enough tread on your tyres. A little snow or ice, white or black and you need all your skidpan training! The more tread you have the better and if you live in a rural location (or journey off the beaten track) then a set of winter tread tyres would be worthwhile investment. It is also a good idea to make sure the jack works and you have a good strong wheel brace for undoing those super tight wheel nuts!
Make sure the spare wheel comes off easily and you have the key to any locking wheel nuts in the vehicle. It is not a lot of fun lying on cold wet roads battling with jacks etc. whilst on the way to the Posh Bash!
Don’t forget too to check those tyre pressures; tyres can lose up to 1psi every few weeks even when newly fitted.
Brakes:
Now is not the time to do your Tarzan impression on the hand brake lever. When the brake drum cools down it can really grip and distort. In wet, freezing conditions hand break can even ice on. If possible park off the road on private land and put a chock behind the wheel.
Exterior Checks:
Windscreen wipers need to be checked. If they are split or leave ‘marks’ on the screen replace them, it is a quick job and you need all the vision you can get at night in winter. Also make sure the rear wiper is OK.
Always remove all snow and ice from your vehicle before setting off. Don’t just scrape a little circle out of the windscreen and hope for the best! So-called De Icer Windscreen sprays are very effective in removing ice etc. (which is useful) and polish (which is definitely not). It is more preferable to use a combined plastic and rubber squeegee, which leaves the screen cleaner and drier. Keep the squeegee in a plastic bag with a leather or other cloth with which to wipe the windows.
Never, never, use boiling water, unless you want the possibility of a cracked windscreen. Any boiling water spilt on paintwork can also damage it!
If you vehicle is covered in a blanket of snow then scrape it off windows and lights and also the bonnet (so it doesn’t blow onto the windscreen when you are driving along) as well as the roof (so it doesn’t blow off onto someone else’s windscreen when you are driving along).
Air conditioning:
Air conditioning is what it says: it conditions the air. In fact it removes the moisture from the air and a side effect is that it makes it cold. This does not mean that it should only be used in summer. AC is invaluable in winter; it can be used with the heater on and quickly removes excess misting from the windscreen and condensation from within the car, especially when you have just got in and your breath has condensed on the cold windscreen.
An added advantage is that when the AC is used it causes the refrigerant to circulate and keep the bearings lubricated in the system. Every year people damage their AC because they do no use it often enough.
Keys:
AA research has shown that in winter drivers are more stressed and four times more likely than usual to lock their keys in the car or leave them at the check out.
It is a good idea to have a spare key/s available in order to prevent any problems, do not leave them in your brief case or jacket in the car though.
If you have a car alarm, make sure you know how to disable it if it goes wrong or ‘resets’ after a flat battery. Usually they have a small key that fits into a switch on the main unit and this will turn them off.
Fuel:
With bad weather or even home emergencies (such as a power cut) you just never know when you will need your vehicle most. Over winter, always keep at your car’s fuel tank at least half full. That way you will always have adequate fuel for journeying and keeping warm, especially if severe weather closes petrol stations or even strands you in the car!
Drive Cautiously:
It doesn’t matter whether you have a 4x4 or the latest gadget packed Eurobox, in snow and Ice DRIVE CAUTIOUSLY, accelerating gently and turning slowly.
Leave an especially long gap between you and the car in front and brake as gently and as early you can. If you’re going either up or down a slippery hill then make sure any vehicle in front has cleared it before you start off. If they get into difficulties then so will you as you try to avoid them, especially if they start sliding back towards you!
Accelerate gently and turn slowly
Look out for icy black spots. Remember that towns and cities are three or four degrees warmer than open rural roads so don’t just assume that everywhere is ice-free just because your driveway is.
Look too for shady spots from trees, hedges and buildings. Ice will linger in these shady areas long after the sun has melted it from everywhere else. On the other hand, bridge surfaces will be the first places to freeze as night sets in so.
Always carry sunglasses with you since the winter sun is very low in the sky and snow and ice will serve to dazzle you further.
 Plan Ahead:
Leave plenty of time for your journeys, at least half as long again as you might normally allow.
For longer journeys plan your route carefully in advance and try to stick to trunk roads where gritting is more frequent and the passage of other vehicles helps keep routes clear. Try to avoid taking diversions off the beaten track if the road ahead is jammed; at least in a crowd you are more likely to find help if you need it or the weather turns particularly nasty.
Listen to weather forecasts, especially just before setting off. There are literally hundreds of ‘instant’ weather forecast sites on the Internet so you don’t have any excuses for not double-checking
Don’t over exert yourself:
More people die from cold weather related deaths in London than any other city in the world! Cold weather puts an extra strain on the heart and unaccustomed exercise such a pushing a stuck vehicle or trekking miles for help can bring on a heart attack, trigger asthma or make medical conditions worse. If you or your passengers require medication then always carry some with you however short the journey. Don’t over exert yourself, if in doubt find help!
Useful extra equipment:
If you are undertaking longer journeys, or live in a rural location then why not put a ‘winter emergency’ kit in your car: Things we recommend are:
- Mobile Phone, phone card, or coins for emergency use.
- Blanket, preferably several, really useful in Land Rover Series vehicles at all times!!!
- Light Bulb set
- Good torch (with extra batteries) or better still a powerful handlamp that can be recharged from the car.
- Windscreen scraper or De-icer (see above)
- Good Heavy Duty Jump Leads (Do not get cheap ones, they will not take the current, the clips could come off the battery terminals and they could get extremely hot or melt.)
- Emergency Triangle
- First aid kit
- Extra coat and especially waterproofs
- Small shovel and possibly a small sack of rock salt
- Bottled water and a big bag of peanuts or lots of chocolate
- Good Motoring Atlas, in case you find yourself on unfamiliar roads
- Wheel-Brace (with the correct sized socket!)
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Winter Motoring - don't get stuck! - 8th Jan 2009 - 1:29:00 AM
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