The most important thing you can do this Christmas is to enjoy your time with your friends and family, if you plan of driving home for Christmas there are a few things that you can do to make sure that you are safe on the roads. The first step in ensuring your safety on the road should be your car, if you plan on driving long distance, ideally you should get your car serviced up to a month leading up to the trip. As well as making sure that your car is serviced there are a few other things that you need to make use that you are doing. We have put our heads together to come up with a list of checks you can do to make sure that everything is up to code.
Tires
Your tires are the most important feature of your car, and should be treated as such. Your tires will take some wear and tear on the road in the hot summer months, so by the time winter comes around, you should be making the tread is accurate and it has the correct air pressure required to keep it working. You should also make sure that you have a jack and spanner kit in the car and the mobile number for your local mobile tire fitting team in case you get stranded.
Wipers
Check your wiper blades so that your visibility isn’t impaired, if you have dirty or damaged wiper blades, leaving smudges or scratches on your windscreen you will either need to replace or clean them. You might also need to top up your wiper fluids to make sure that it wipes smoothly.
Filters
You’ll need to clear out your filter before long journeys, air filters need to be cleared of debris to allow good airflow to keep the engine cool and keep the air conditioning system clear.
Battery
Your battery should also be given the once over as they tend to drain faster in the cold. Clean off any built-up gunk and check all connections are secure before heading off. You should also make sure that you have jumper cables in your trunk just in case.
Fluids
Conduct an oil check before your trip home this Christmas, your engine has the capacity to freeze over easily in the colder months, so you need to make sure that you are topping up often to keep the engine properly lubricated.
Lights
It is a legal requirement to have your all headlights, brake lights and hazard lights in working order before getting on the road. It might be worth double checking that none of these lights need replacing to avoid disappointment when you take it in.
Belts and hoses
It might be worth doing a once over on your fan belt as it is responsible for keeping the overall cooling system from overheating. You should also check for cracks in the hoses, holes within the hoses can lead to a reduction in the coolant being pumped into the radiator.
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