Winter driving guide 2025: how to prepare your car for winter

Short days, long nights, wet and cold weather can all make driving more hazardous. We show you how to prepare and what to do if your car is not starting in the cold...

Stuart Milne

Published23 December 2024

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Driving in winter can be one of the challenging times of the year. That’s because the days are short, the weather is often cold and damp and we tend to use our cars for a greater number of shorter journeys.

All of these things can conspire to expose cracks in the reliability of our cars – so as the saying goes, fail to prepare, prepare to fail.

Our complete guide to driving in winter – and the winter car checks you should make – will give you the best possible chance of keeping moving during the cold season.

Check your car battery

Without a functioning car battery, your car won’t start – it really is that simple. Winter is a tough time for batteries, because their chemical makeup means they’re less likely to give their best performance, especially if they’re old or uncared for.

There are several easy ways to check your car’s battery:

Check the headlights: if they’re dim when the engine isn’t running, it’s a good indication that the battery is struggling.

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Is the engine slow to start: taking a little longer than normal to start the car is another indication the battery may be failing.

Battery indicator: many batteries have a small window on the top. Green shows the battery is in good health, red means the battery is unwell. Black means it’s completely flat.

Use a multimeter: an electrical multimeter will provide an accurate measure of your car battery’s voltage. If it reads less than 12.6-volts, the battery will need a charge.

It’s important to use your car regularly throughout the winter; this will keep the battery topped up ready for when you need it. But should the worst happen and you turn the key and the car won’t start, a jump starter is worth its weight in gold.

These are small boxes with cables and clamps which you can connect to your car’s battery. They act as a surrogate battery, enabling you to start the car. As long as there are no other faults with your car’s charging system, you simply disconnect the jump starter, pop it in the boot and drive as normal. It’s worth noting that – after using a jump starter – you should run the car for at least 20 minutes to enable the battery to recover enough charge to start the car unassisted next time.

You can read more about the best jump starters and the best car battery chargers in our expert product tests.

Read more: How to check a car battery

Check your tyres

There are three main things to check your car’s tyres for: pressures, tread depth and damage.

To check your tyre pressures, you’ll need a tyre pressure gauge. These can be standalone items or can be part of a tyre inflator. Either way, you’ll need to know the correct pressures for your car’s tyres, so check your car’s manual.

At each tyre in turn, remove the dust cap and attach the pressure gauge. If the indicated number is less than the recommended pressure, then use a tyre inflator.

You should then check the tread depth of each tyre using a tread depth gauge. These cost a few pounds and can accurately measure the depth of your tread. The legal minimum tread depth is 1.6mm, but experts recommend at least 3mm all around the circumference of the tyre.

Finally, check for damage, including cuts, nicks or bulges. If you find any, get a second opinion from a tyre fitter or garage because the affected tyre may need to be replaced.

Read more: How to check a car tyre

How to check your car’s lights

Because of the long nights and the likelihood of visibility-sapping rain, mist or fog, lights are essential. Flick your side lights, dipped and main beam headlights on to make sure they all function, and don’t forget your fog lights, indicators and rear lights. You might need some help to check reverse and brake lights.

Give them all a wipe if they’re covered in road grime – and run a cloth over your number plates while you’re at it.

Bulbs can be really easy or really tricky to replace. YouTube is a good place to find out how to change yours, although some high street car spares shops will swap them for a few pounds.

Read more: How to change a car headlight bulb

How to check and replace windscreen wipers

Check your windscreen wipers; they shouldn't judder smear dirt across the screen. If your wipers aren’t clearing the screen properly, clean them first, then replace them if that doesn’t work. Perished or split wiper blades should also be replaced immediately.

Cars tend to vary, but as a general rule to replace your wipers, lift the blades away from the windscreen and locate and release the clip and remove the blade. Simply reverse the process to refit the blade.

Remember that wiper blades come in a variety of fitments, so get the right one for your car. And while you can replace them individually, it’s better to do it in pairs – if one blade has worn, the other won’t be close behind.

You’ll use far more screenwash in the depths of winter than you would at other times because of the amount of spray and grime thrown up from damp and salty roads. Yet it’s not enough just to fill the windscreen washer bottle with tap water, because this’ll likely freeze when the temperature really drops.

Dedicated screenwash is essential. You can buy ready-mixed or concentrated solutions, which you need to dilute. Whichever you choose, take a look in your owners’ manual to locate the screen wash lid and carefully fill up the reservoir.

Read more: How to replace windscreen wipers – and check screenwash

How to check your car’s antifreeze

It’s not hard to check your car’s antifreeze, although doing so requires a specialist tester, so it might be worth speaking to your local garage.

Take a look in your owners’ manual to help locate the antifreeze reservoir (also known as the coolant tank). First check that the fluid is midway between the ‘min’ and ‘max’ marker. If not, it’ll need topping up.

Secondly, you’ll need to check the effectiveness of the antifreeze, so that it protects against both low and high temperatures. A reusable coolant tester or single-use coolant tester strips are cheap and easy to use.

You need to ensure you use the correct antifreeze for your car, so speak to your local dealership. If you need your antifreeze replaced, speak to your local garage – the job isn’t particularly complicated, but it can be messy and you’ll need to dispose of the old fluids properly because they can’t be flushed down the drain.