Summer Road Trip Prep: Essential Checks Before a Long Drive
Avoid breakdowns and ensure a smooth journey by performing these vital car checks before hitting the road.
Long journeys and warm weather push your car to its limits. A breakdown ruins a road trip fast. Check these essentials before you load up the boot.
1. Inspect Your Tyres
Check the tread depth across all four tyres. The legal minimum is 1.6mm, but you want at least 3mm for heavy motorway rain. Check your pressures cold. Add extra pressure if you're carrying a full load of passengers and luggage - check your handbook for exact figures. Under-inflated tyres run hot and blow out; over-inflated tyres wear unevenly.
2. Top Up Fluids
Your engine runs hotter in the summer. Check the coolant level when the engine is ice cold. If it's low, top it up with the right antifreeze mix - never plain water. Check the oil. Pull the dipstick, wipe it, dip it, read it. It must sit between the minimum and maximum marks. Running dry on a motorway kills engines. Fill your screenwash with a proper summer mix to blast off dead bugs.
3. Test the Air Con
Turn the AC on maximum cold. It should blow ice-cold air within a minute. If it just spits out lukewarm air, get it re-gassed by a garage now, before you're stuck in standing traffic in 30-degree heat.
4. Check Wipers and Lights
If your wipers squeak, smear, or leave lines of water, bin them and fit a new set. Walk around the car and check every light. Get someone to stand behind the car while you test the brakes and reverse gears. You need to see, and others need to see you.
5. Pack an Emergency Kit
Breakdowns happen. Keep a kit in the boot: a high-vis jacket, warning triangle, jump leads, torch, first aid kit, and water. Driving in Europe? Check their specific laws - many countries demand breathalyzers and spare bulb kits by law.
6. Check Your Paperwork
Verify your MOT certificate covers the whole trip. Check your breakdown cover includes long distances or European travel if you're crossing the channel. Don't risk an invalidated insurance policy.
About Mr Need
Mr Need is a Glasgow-based automotive specialist with over 15 years of experience in vehicle diagnostics, garage servicing, and MOT compliance.
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