NOW that lockdown is slowly starting to phase out, check your vehicle before taking it out onto the road. After spending over a month stationary, several checks need to be done before your vehicle can return to the road.
The managing director of MasterDrive, Eugene Herbert, provides some vehicle checks to do before returning to the road:
. Wash the vehicle. Even ones that have been kept under cover will have collected dust over lockdown.
. Check your battery. Newer batteries should have survived the full lockdown but it is possible that older batteries may need to be recharged.
. If your battery is new and still under warranty, consider returning it to where you purchased it from but do not charge or tamper with it before you do so.
. If you were not able to fill your fuel tanks before lockdown, do so now.
. Check other fluids and oil in your car including the water in your windscreen wipers, coolant and brake fluid.
. Check the pressure of your tyres.
. Check your wiper blades, particularly if the car has been kept outside or in the sun, to ensure they have not perished.
. Drivers were given an extension to renew their car licenses until after lockdown ends. If any of your licenses expired during lockdown, renew them now.
. Let your vehicle idle for some time before leaving.
To prevent any damage to your vehicle, give it some time and care before resuming operations. “The next few months will be economically strained. Avoid unnecessary maintenance costs by spending some time on the vehicles once you return,” says Herbert.
