Year end holiday going on a long drive ? 10 things to check before your Trip !!!

Posted by Shang Zhieh Gan on Nov 01, 2017

It’s finally the year end travel season, can your car cope with the extra stress and strain? Simply follow our checklist to make sure you're safe on the roads this season.

10 things to check before you set off

1. The coolant

Prestone

Most new radiators have overflow bottles with min/max water levels, which are easy to find.

Older cars fill via the radiator cap.

NEVER open them while the engine's hot or running.

Top up with a Prestone 50/50 mix of water .

2. The tyres

The minimum legal tread depth is 1.6mm across the central ¾ of the tyre, all the way around.

Get the pressures right at a garage - if they're wrong you'll burn more fuel, wear the tyres and suffer poor handling.

3. The spare tyre

There's little worse than having to change a wheel, only to find the spare is missing, flat or damaged.

Also check the jack and spanner , its handle and the wheel brace are there and fit your car!

4. The engine oil

Without oil your engine will overheat, weld itself together and self-destruct.

With the engine cold and the car level, check the dipstick.

Top up as necessary via the cap at the top of the engine, and give the oil time to run down to the sump before rechecking the level.

DON'T overfill.

Lubricant

5. The windscreen washer bottle & Wiper

It's no fun peering through two arched smears of exploded summer flies – top up your washer bottle and make sure your wiper blades are up to scratch and in proper working condition before you leave.

You can use water, but the stuff in garages contains antifreeze, detergents and, well, smells nice!

wiper

6. The lights

Go through all your lights – indicator, brake, dip, full beam, fog and so on – one by one.

Either get a friend to watch for blown bulbs, or park by a white wall or shop window one night to see them yourself.

7. The fan belt

Check for cracks in the rubber or excessive play.

A prolonged shrieking while you're driving means either it's loose and slipping, or you've got kids.

8. The hoses

Park up on a patch of tarmac you know is clean, then check underneath for oil or water leaks after a few hours.

Even a small leak can lead to dangerously low fluid levels on a long journey.

If the battery in your car is more than a couple years old, check that the terminals are corrosion-free and the positive and negative leads are tight.If you see any acid leaks, cracks or other damage, the battery must be replaced. If your starter sounds sluggish, it’s either corrosion or a dying battery. Don’t wait to be stranded with a dead battery.

Energizer Battery