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A guide to lockdown car maintenance

08 January 2021

With the UK now navigating lockdown 3.0, your vehicle may find itself once more confined to the driveway. We have compiled this guide to lockdown car maintenance, to help you keep your car ticking over until restrictions are lifted. 

Keep it clean

You might want to dedicate a little of the extra time on your hands to washing your car. In these winter months, your car is likely to have been subjected to ice and road salt, which can cause damage to your paint work and the undercarriage of the vehicle. 

It’s also the perfect opportunity to disinfect ‘hotspot’ areas inside of your car, such as the steering wheel and gear stick.

Check your tyres

If your car is left standing on the driveway for extended periods of time, it’s a good idea to regularly check your tyre pressure to ensure that there are no slow-punctures or deflation. Whilst you’re there, it’s a good idea to check that your tread-depth meets the legal requirement of 1.6mm across the central three-quarters of the tyre.

Battery

Leaving your vehicle unused for extended periods of time can have a detrimental effect on your battery. For petrol and diesel cars, we recommend that you run the engine for at least twenty minutes, three times a week. This could be simply leaving it idle in the driveway, but it is important to remember not to leave your vehicle unattended whilst idle on a public road, to avoid fines. 

Electric and hybrid cars generally have a 12-volt battery for the lights and audio, as well as a high voltage battery for the engine – which should be kept fully charged.

The 12-volt battery, with appropriate equipment, should be charged once a fortnight. An intelligent charge can be permanently plugged into the battery and will do the monitoring and maintaining for you. 

If you don’t have the right equipment, you can alternatively idle the engine for 20 minutes every two weeks, switching off all unnecessary electric items. 

For safety reasons, do not idle your vehicle in an enclosed space.

Brakes

Brake discs are vulnerable to corrosion when not used for long periods of time, which may cause some resistance at first when you next go for a drive. After a few applications of the brake, this should return to normal and is not a cause for concern. Once the UK’s lockdown restrictions are lifted and you return to the road, you should listen for any brake noise and pay attention to shuddering or vibrating from the brake pedal, which may indicate that your brakes need further inspection.

Lights

Fines for driving with defective headlights can reach up to £1,000. Other ‘lighting offences’, such as a broken rear light, can result in a fixed penalty notice (FNP) which carries a fine of £50. We recommend that you check your lights are all working correctly and that there is no dirt or debris covering them. 

General maintenance

The little things are often easy to forget, but important to maintain. If you’ve been meaning to change your oil and check your fluids, but haven’t found the time… well, now you have it. 

To keep your car running smoothly and avoid any leaks, make sure to check and refill your engine oil, coolant, power steering, brake and transmission fluids where needed. 

Why not replace your windshield wipers whilst you’re at it? Maybe even your air filter… 

We trust that you find this information useful. With lockdown restrictions in place once more, we understand that many fleet decision-makers will be reviewing their fleet needs. If you would like assistance from our team of experts, please get in touch with us at info@marshall-leasing.co.uk or by calling 01480 414541. 

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