First Gritter of the Season? The 10-Point Check Your Car Needs Now

The gritter has been out. You might have seen it on the ring road, or noticed the white crust along the kerb the morning after. For most drivers, that is just a sign winter is closing in. For your car, it is the start of the toughest few months of the year. Salt, wet roads, dark mornings and short journeys all pile on at once. If your MOT was recent, you are in a good starting position — but the post-MOT weeks are exactly when small things start to drift.

Here is a practical, no-drama November check for 2026. Some of it takes ten minutes on the drive. Some of it is worth booking in. None of it requires you to become a mechanic.

1. Battery load, not just voltage

Cold mornings are brutal on batteries. A battery that starts fine in July can struggle once the temperature drops. Check the terminals for white or green corrosion and give them a clean if needed. If your battery is more than four or five years old, ask a garage for a load test. A slow crank, dim interior lights or a flickering dash are warning signs. Do not wait for a no-start on a dark Monday.

2. Tyre pressures and tread depth

Tyre pressures fall as the temperature drops. Check them when the tyres are cold, not after a motorway run. The legal tread limit is 1.6mm, but for decent wet grip most garages would suggest changing well before that — around 3mm is a sensible winter marker. Look at the sidewalls for cracks and check the spare if you have one. Salt and grit also hide punctures, so listen for any new ticking noise.

3. Brake feel and noise

Grit and salt sit on discs and pads. A light grinding first thing in the morning can be surface rust clearing, but persistent grinding, a spongy pedal or a car that pulls to one side needs looking at. If your MOT advisory mentioned brake pipes or pads, this is the month to deal with it, not the week before next year's test.

4. Lights, all of them

Dark mornings and early nights make lighting a safety issue, not a cosmetic one. Check headlights, sidelights, indicators, brake lights, reversing lights and number plate lights. Ask someone to help with the brake lights, or use a wall reflection. Clean cloudy headlight lenses. If a bulb has gone, replace it in pairs where sensible.

5. Wipers and winter screen wash

Wipers that smear are dangerous in low sun and rain. Replace blades if they chatter or leave streaks. Top up with proper winter screen wash, not water. A weak mix can freeze on the screen and leave you driving blind. Check the rear wiper too, if you have one.

6. Coolant strength

Antifreeze does more than stop freezing. It protects against corrosion. Check the coolant level when the engine is cold. If it is low, top up with the correct type — and if it keeps dropping, get it pressure-tested. A small leak in November can become a big one in January. Do not open a hot cooling system.

7. Underbody rinse

Salt is the quiet enemy. It gets into wheel arches, sills, subframes and brake lines. A simple garden hose rinse underneath can help, especially around the arches and behind the bumpers. Avoid blasting high-pressure water at electrical connectors or brake components. If you have just had an MOT, ask the garage to show you any corroded areas so you know where to keep an eye.

8. Door seals and locks

A frozen door seal is a miserable start to the day. A light smear of silicone spray on the rubber seals can help stop them sticking. Check that door drains are clear. If locks feel stiff, use a proper lock lubricant rather than WD-40 alone.

9. Emergency kit

You do not need a survival expedition, but a few basics make sense: a torch, a hi-vis vest, a warm blanket, a phone charger, an ice scraper, de-icer and a warning triangle if you have one. Add a bottle of water and a snack. In the UK, breakdowns often mean waiting on a hard shoulder or a cold lay-by.

10. Book a post-gritting check if anything feels off

This is the honest bit. If your car has an advisory list from its last MOT, if the brakes feel different, if there is a new rattle or warning light, book a local garage check. Ask for an underbody inspection and a brake line check. A good garage will tell you what can wait and what cannot. At Portrack Motors, we would rather see a car now for a small job than recover it in January for a big one.

What to check yourself versus what to monitor

You can handle pressures, lights, screen wash and visual checks. Monitor battery behaviour, brake feel and any new noises. Book in for anything involving the underside, brake pipes, coolant leaks or diagnostic warning lights. The first gritting is not a crisis — it is a prompt. Use it to get ahead of the salt, the cold and the dark mornings.