How to Keep Your Car Roadworthy During Lockdown

Whether you’re a key worker wanting to keep your car roadworthy for essential journeys and getting yourself to and from work, or are concerned about the impact of your car being parked up for a while, we are here to offer some advice on how to keep your car roadworthy during lockdown.

With MOTs being suspended and many garages being closed, keeping your car in good nick is essential to making sure it runs smoothly and reduce the risk of an accident, there is already enough pressure on our amazing emergency services!

Unless we are heading out for the essential purposes outlined by the government, our cars are going to be parked up for an extended period of time. Any vehicle left unused can develop problems that can prevent it from working as it should when you need to venture out of the house.

How to keep your car roadworthy

Take care of your tyres

Even when tyres are not being used, they can lose pressure overtime meaning you still need to inflate them to the maximum recommended pressure which can be found on the sidewall. If left for a long period of time, flat spots and tyres losing their round shape can occur.

Check fluid levels of vital liquids

In general, you should always be checking your car’s fluid levels to keep your engine in good shape. During lockdown, be sure to top up all your vital liquids to the manufacturer’s guidelines and your car will be ready to drive when you need it:

·Window wash

·Coolant

·Fuel

·Oil

Clean your car

Keeping the outside of your car clean is important to help prevent any damage from any of the world’s outdoor elements, however, now more than ever it is important for us to keep our cars clean on the inside.

When fuelling up, make sure you wear disposable gloves as this is a very common contamination point for the virus. As soon as you have replaced the fuel pump, take the gloves off and use antibacterial hand gel or wipes to clean your hands. Clean down car door handles, keys, steering wheel, dash, seatbelts and all other contact points regularly to help stop the spread of the virus.

Brakes and batteries

If left for some time, a car’s brake discs can begin to corrode and eventually lead to the brakes seizing entirely, which will require a mechanic’s attention to put right. To prevent this from happening, you can roll your car back and forth a few metres every so often if safe to do so. This will also help to avoid those flat spots in your tyres!

Corrosion of brake discs can cause your handbrake to stick, if you’re fortunate enough to live in a private area and on level ground where your certain the car won’t budge try to avoid using your handbrake. Leave the car in gear to prevent it moving.

You also need to keep your battery maintained, even when switched off other things such as security devices are running in the background. Simply start it up once a week and let it run for 15 minutes, this will allow the battery to increase its charge and for oil and fuel to circulate the engine.

Are you a key worker and need to find a mechanic to keep your car roadworthy during lockdown to get to your place of work? Find a reputable garage in your area with MyCarNeedsA.com today www.mycarneedsa.com/get-a-quote/