Toyota Car Care Tips
Toyota Tips for keeping your car healthy during lockdown
From daily commutes to being parked up at home, like a number of things, the way we use our cars has changed during the lockdown period. Here are some top tips from our Technical Engineers about how you can look after your car during lockdown.
Caring for your car’s battery
If the battery is in a good or near new condition, it can keep the charge for up to two months* without affecting its life.
Where possible, use the vehicle for your essential needs (groceries, healthcare, etc) once per week should be enough. If this is not possible, run the vehicle engine for 30 mins, making sure the vehicle is outdoors in a well-ventilated area away from flammable material i.e. not on dry grass. Always park in a safe place where you can monitor the vehicle and no access to children. Don’t leave it unattended.
‘Smart’ Battery chargers are advisable for maintaining good battery health for vehicles that are used infrequently. Be sure to follow all the instructions and precautions as advised by the battery charger manufacturer.
A full battery maintenance charge is recommended after a long period of infrequent or short trip use, this will help to restore the battery and prolong its service life.
Caring for your car’s brakes
It is advisable to disengage and engage the parking brake once a week to avoid any brakes binding. Brake discs and drums show surface rust as normal reaction of being unused. Try to avoid using excessive water splash on them during cleaning or storage.
• Disengage the parking brakes.
• Move the vehicle for a short distance.
• Engage the parking brakes in the secure place.
Checking your car’s tyres
Check and adjust tyre pressures after any long-term parking. Ensure your car’s tyres are inflated to the recommended pressures and that there’s plenty of tread.
The legal minimum tread limit for standard car tyres is 1.5mm but winter is not the time to take chances and we suggest that you start thinking of replacing the tyres when the tread is down to 3mm.
Tyres need tread to disperse water, so the more tread a tyre has the safer it is. The legal minimum tread limit for snow tyres is 4mm.
Windscreen care
Remember to clean the windscreen before heading out, dust and residue may have built up and could cause impaired vision.
*It is important to note this period could be shorter due to the following: installation of non-Toyota approved accessories, if the vehicle has been left unlocked or if the smart keys have been left in the vehicle.