The RAC is expecting one of the busiest days for breakdowns in 2025 within the first week of the new year.
With vehicles left idle over the festive period, flat batteries can be commonplace on the first working day after the holidays.
Since New Year’s Eve falls on a Tuesday this year, the RAC expects most drivers to extend their Christmas breaks until Monday, January 6, meaning there could be a much longer period where cars are left unused.
RAC Breakdown spokesperson Alice Simpson said: “Cars left unused over the holidays, such as second vehicles left parked up, are often a breakdown statistic waiting to happen.”
Battery issues are the number-one reason for RAC patrol call-outs all year round, but breakdowns increase during the winter months when cooler temperatures put a greater strain on batteries due to the increased use of the heater, lights and heated screens and seats.
The RAC is advising drivers to make sure vehicles are used between Christmas and New Year to keep their batteries topped up.
Even drivers of electric cars need to do the same, as in most cases these vehicles still depend on a 12-volt battery to start – and it’s this battery that can go flat.
Simpson said: “Electric vehicles are just as vulnerable as combustion engines because they also rely on 12-volt batteries, so it’s important to drive them occasionally and keep them charged above 20% in winter conditions.
“Colder weather slows down the chemical reaction in vehicle batteries, plus they have to work harder in the winter months due to greater use of the heater, lights, heated screens and seats as well as windscreen wipers.
“The starter motor also has to work harder to turn over the engine in the cold, so if your car is particularly slow to start then the battery could be about to fail.”
The RAC suggests driving electric vehicles occasionally and keeping them above a 20% state-of-charge. A high-voltage battery should not be left below this point for extended periods of time, especially in cold weather, as this can harm its health
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Gareth has more than 20 years’ experience as a journalist having started his career in local newspapers in the 1990s. Prior to joining Fleet News in 2008, he worked in the public sector as a media advisor and is currently news editor at Fleet News.
martinwinlow - 02/01/2025 12:26
What a truly sad indictment of our modern society that motorists need to be told such basic information... and that they are too dim/lazy to simply carry a set of jump leads in their boot to enable them to get a jump-start from *any other car on the road* in 10 minutes rather than pay a fortune for annual breakdown cover and then have to wait hours for them to turn up!!