Every autumn the same calls come in: a car that cranked fine in August and won't start on the first frosty morning, a windscreen that's a smear in the low sun, a tyre pressure light that appears the moment it gets cold. Most of it is predictable in September. Here's what we check, what you can check on the drive, and what's free.
1. The battery
A battery loses roughly a third of its cranking power at freezing point, and a cold engine needs more to turn over, not less. A battery that was marginal all summer fails in the first cold week. The tell-tale signs: a slower, more laboured crank than usual, headlights that dim at tickover, or a car that starts fine after a run but struggles first thing.
We test the battery, the charging rate and the drain before anything is replaced, because a fair share of "dead battery" calls are actually a tired alternator or something staying on overnight. The test is free with any visit; batteries are fitted while you wait, coded where the car needs it. Batteries, alternators and starters →
2. Coolant and antifreeze
Antifreeze doesn't just stop the water freezing; it stops the inside of the engine corroding and raises the boiling point. It weakens with age and with every top-up from the tap. We test the strength with a refractometer — it takes a minute — and if it's below the mark for the temperatures we get here, a drain and refill with the correct specification is £84. Cheap next to a cracked block or a split heater matrix.
3. Tyres
Wet, greasy roads are where tread depth stops being a legal argument and starts being a stopping-distance one. A tyre at the 1.6mm legal minimum needs a lot more road to stop in the wet than one at 3mm. Check yours with a 20p coin: put it in the main grooves and if you can see the outer band of the coin, the tyre is close to the limit.
The tyre pressure light also tends to appear with the first cold snap, because pressure drops with temperature. Set the pressures to the figure on the door pillar first; if the light stays on, it's a sensor and it's an MOT fail on most cars from 2012 onwards. Tyres, punctures & TPMS faults → — the tyre check is free.
4. Wipers and washers
The single easiest MOT fail to avoid. A blade that's split or perished leaves a smear exactly where you're looking, and low winter sun makes it worse. Run your finger along the rubber edge: if it's rough, cracked or the edge has hardened, it's done. Fill the washer bottle with proper screenwash at a winter mix, not water — water freezes in the jets and pipes. Both take five minutes at home, or we'll do them while the car's in.
5. Lights
Lights are the number one MOT fail category, year after year, and in winter you're using them for the school run both ways. Walk round the car with someone on the pedals: sidelights, dipped, main beam, indicators front and back, brake lights, the reversing light, fog lights, and the number-plate lights that everybody forgets. While you're there, clean the lenses; a film of road grime takes a surprising amount off a headlamp. The full ten-minute pre-MOT check →
6. Brakes
Summer wears pads; winter finds out. Salt and damp attack discs and pipes, and a caliper that's been sticking slightly all year seizes properly in the cold. Grinding, a pulsing pedal, pulling to one side or a handbrake that needs more clicks than it used to are all worth a look. Our brake check is free: pads, discs, calipers, hoses and fluid measured and photographed, then a fixed quote for whatever's actually needed. Book a free brake check →
The easy way to do all six
A Bronze, Silver or Gold service covers the lot, and if the MOT is due in the next few months, add it to the service and get both done in one visit before the weather turns. Prices are by engine size, and you'll see yours before you book.
Something already flashing at you? Our warning-lights guide tells you what each dashboard light means and whether you can keep driving.