Preparing your car for the winter

[SirDavidAlhambra]

Hello everyone, Christmas is almost here (have a holly jolly one) and I was wondering what your tips are for preparing your car for the winter.

My main tip is to put the winter tyres in and keep an ice scraper in the car. What tips do you all have please.

Thank you.

[Amarok]

Check Anti-freeze
Check Washer fluid has Anti Freeze installed
Spare tyre & Jack Check
Spare Bulbs
Battery Check

Blanket & Coat

[SirDavidAlhambra]

Excellent ideas!!

Also I always keep some choccy and canned drinks in the car, just in case.

A phone charger is a handy idea.

I like having all season tyres on my car.

Do any of u have ice scraper recommendations and suchlike?

[brianh]

Excellent ideas!!

Also I always keep some choccy and canned drinks in the car, just in case.

A phone charger is a handy idea.

I like having all season tyres on my car.

Do any of u have ice scraper recommendations and suchlike?

A garage to keep it in is the best kind! Wish I had one.

[Orbis]

Surely keep it as dry and as salt free as possible! A good check underneath and take care of rust and damaged undercoating in time. Use a good windscreen blanket that is big enough to prevent ice. Be sure that your cooling system and thermostat are in good working condition, so the engine can heat up as quick as possible. (A good working aux heater can also be helpful I think if equipped). Don't set the cabin heating too high before the engine is nearly up to temperature.  Also check the windscreen washer jets front and back. Make sure to have good windscreen wipers and clean windows. Drive gently (as always) but surely with a cold engine. Keep the battery up to charge with a charger if it's not driven frequently enough. And of course a good set of winter tyres

[SirDavidAlhambra]

What excellent advice!

Very good point about the aux heater too. Iââ,¬â,,¢ve always fancied having that thing working but have no idea if mine is functional or not. Does anybody know any sort of diagnostic check I can do to see if it is working please? Thank you

[Chrispb]

Using VCDS select module 18 Aux heating, see what codes are present/ if no codes are present the heater should start automatically when ambient temperature is below about 10 degC

Make a note of any codes then clear them and see if heater starts (outside temp pending)

If codes return like flame out, overheated, combustion blower, glow plug or dosing pump then these will require attention

See below for more help

https://www.fordmpv.com/smf2/ford-galaxy-common-faults-and-problems/galaxy-mk2-auxiliary-booster-heater-guide/

[SirDavidAlhambra]

I know this might sound very basic but what is VCDS and where do I get a copy plus any relevant cables please?

Also thank you for all the help with this, you are all so helpful!!

[brianh]

Read this thread, it has loads of info on VCDS
https://www.fordmpv.com/smf2/ford-galaxy-common-faults-and-problems/ford-galaxy-software-solutions-(vag-com-vcds-vagtacho)/
You can buy a cheap clone cable from eBay to use with the lite (free) version which is adequate for most users. Cable should cost you less than a tenner - First example https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/UK-USB-Cable-KKL-VAG-COM-409-1-OBD2-II-OBD-Diagnostic-Scanner-VCDS-VW-Audi-Seat/233243762340

[SirDavidAlhambra]

Thank you very very much!!

With that cable and the free version of the software will I be able to check if the aux heater is working and change settings like if the car honks when I lock it

Thank you again

[brianh]

Aux heater yes, not sure on the honking would expect so. You can't do some of the more advanced coding but unless your swapping things like the speedo for different spec ones you don't need that anyway.

[johnnyroper]

Vcds lite will check codes on boost heater but not a lot else if I recall, you need paid version to check temperatures etc on live data.
I also donââ,¬â,,¢t think you can do coding like that with the free version, itââ,¬â,,¢s just mainly code reading and very basic measure block access

[SirDavidAlhambra]

Does it do that thing where you can see a graph of what the turbo should be outputting (based on speed, throttle, etc) vs what it actually is delivering, and fancy useful things like that please?

Also it looks like the demo version only lets you see one fault code, is that correct?

Thank you all again

[johnnyroper]

No I donââ,¬â,,¢t remember the free version doing logs,it was just a basic fault code read with a couple of items on measure blocks thatââ,¬â,,¢s about it. Itââ,¬â,,¢s more just to test vcds works on your car prior to paying for full version really

[Chris]

Excellent ideas!!

Also I always keep some choccy and canned drinks in the car, just in case.

A phone charger is a handy idea.

I like having all season tyres on my car.

Do any of u have ice scraper recommendations and suchlike?

Be careful with canned drinks, if it gets too cold they may explode  I know -20C is unlike in the UK but you never know!

When it comes to ice scraper the only answer is MURSKA, a great ice scraper with a brass blade, which will not scratch your windows like the plastic ones! You can find them on amazon, they're cheap and you won't find better one

Get the winter tyres if the winter is harsh

Have the battery charged

Make sure all water drain canals are clean and empty

Clean and wax (or apply a ceramic coating) your car and clean it often

Buy a claybar and clay the windscreen and side windows, apply the rain repellent, replace the wipers

Make sure to pressure wash wheelarches everytime you clean the car

Clean any rubber suspension parts and spray them with a silicone spray

Make sure your antifreeze is actualy an antifreeze and your windscreen wash liquid is not a water

After the winter pressure wash the underbody (and during the winter too if you can)

Replace the cabin filter if it hasn't been changed in a while

[SirDavidAlhambra]

What brilliant tips, Iââ,¬â,,¢m going to look up one of those scrapers and will put silicone spray on the rubber seals straight away so theyââ,¬â,,¢re less likely to freeze shut