Estimated reading time: 4 minutes
Kids electric cars make great gifts for autumn birthdays and excellent Christmas gifts for kids of all ages! Naturally, your little one will want to take their new kids ride on car out for a spin as soon as they get it.
However, even though the weather isn’t always glorious sunshine, that doesn’t mean kids can’t play with their favourite toys all year round. If you’re planning on giving an electric ride on car as a gift this autumn or winter, here are our top tips for safer driving.
Electric ride on cars are the ideal gift for any little ones, especially those who love to spend time exploring the outdoors. They’re fun to drive around and help to build their coordination and motor skills.
Learning how to drive a ride on car is an exciting task. But, it’s important to show your little one how to navigate during all weather conditions.
Below we’ve provided some of our top tips on how to drive a kids electric car during the autumn and winter months.
It goes without saying that parental supervision at all times will help to keep your child safe. Whenever your kid uses a ride on toy, make sure you keep an eye on them. This makes it easy for you to help them learn to drive and stay safe while they’re playing, especially during colder or darker months.
Electric ride on cars are designed for toddlers and up, and make great toys for a 3-year-old or a 10-year-old alike. But it’s always good to have a grown-up looking on just in case!
Seat belts are common as standard for kids ride on cars, and they’re there for a reason. Make sure your little one belts up every time they drive their car – it not only keeps them safe, but it’s a useful life lesson for when they have a ‘real’ car when they are older.
Children’s electric cars with remote controls are another option which is great if you want to give your little one a helping hand to drive. Make sure you keep the batteries fresh and you’ll be able to step in and take over the steering if necessary.
Ride on cars for kids have a max speed of a few kph so a skid or spin-out is unlikely to be too dramatic. But the remote control means you can always steer them away from any bumps, puddles or icy patches they haven’t spotted!
Our kids electric buggies & UTVs are built for rugged terrain, making them a great choice for older children who love adventure. From strong tyres that offer better grip on fallen leaves and wet ground to powerful engines that can handle wet grass and softer surfaces, they make superb Christmas gifts for kids in rural areas or with private land to play on.
Last but by no means least, realistic ride on cars have many of the same features as their full-sized versions and will often include working LED headlights.
The working lights on these cars help to keep little ones visible to you and any passers-by on darker autumn and winter evenings. They’re also great for providing more vision for the driver.
It’s best to avoid allowing a kids electric car to get wet. Whilst the exterior of the cars are typically made from plastic and are of a high quality, there are parts inside the vehicle which could be damaged by water.
If your kids electric car is out in the rain, water may get inside the car and this could damage the battery or other electrical components. Because of this, it’s best not to use your little one’s electric car in the rain or snow.
The best place to store an electric ride on car is indoors. This makes sure that the toy car is safe at all times and protects it from wet or cold weather.
Rain or snow can damage a kids toy car if it gets inside the vehicle. Moisture over time can corrode some components and damage the battery, causing you to look for replacement spare parts.
If you do need to store a kids electric car outside, make sure it’s protected with a kids electric car cover.
Explore our range of electric ride on cars and ride on car accessories or discover some popular autumn activities for kids to make playtime even more fun!
For more tips and advice, why not read some of other guides:
Estimated reading time: 8 minutes
Power wheels are a fantastic way to get your children outside for some fresh air and sunshine. They’re fun to drive and provide hours of entertainment! But, sometimes wet weather puts a damper on things, and your electric ride on car may get wet in the rain.
Our guide covers everything you need to know about electric cars and wet weather. Read below to find out how to store your electric ride on car and fix a water-damaged power wheels vehicle.
No, kids ride on cars should not get wet. Cars may stay outside for short durations during use but should never be left out unattended in wet weather.
If water gets inside the electric toy vehicle, it can rust electrical components and leave your little ones without a car to ride! It’s best to store your kid’s ride on car inside, especially if there’s rain or snow outside.
It isn’t a good idea to leave your kid’s electric toy car outside. We don’t recommend you do this, and a lot of manufacturers don’t either. If you leave an electric car out in the rain, it might still work after. But, after a while, chances are the battery will stop working. When water gets into the battery, you could find yourself with a very unhappy child!
If you do need to store your power wheels outside for any reason, make sure it’s covered with a high-quality waterproof cover and keep the battery indoors.
Electric ride on cars are built to exceptionally high standards and are made to be durable. Kids love to play with toys, and some malfunctions or damage is bound to happen over time. However, kid’s ride on cars aren’t built to be waterproof.
Power wheels are typically almost entirely made from plastic, which does offer some resistance to wet weather. It’s the parts inside and the battery compartment that are most at risk of getting wet. We recommend not using or storing the car outside in wet weather, as rain and snow can damage the electrics and battery compartment.
At all times, ensure your ride on cars are protected and fully waterproof. We have a wide selection of ride on car accessories to choose from including kids electric car covers.
Before you buy an electric ride on car, think about where you can store it at home. You need to make sure it stays dry and pick a space with plenty of room to fit the car. Usually, the best place to store your power wheels is indoors. This could be in a spare room, your basement (as long as it is dry), or your garage.
If you store your power wheels in the garage, make sure there’s good ventilation around the vehicle. It might be tempting to push the ride on car in and leave it, but it doesn’t take a lot for it to end up covered in gardening tools and other toys. Fitting storage racks are a good idea as you can place the car on these to keep them up off the floor.
Storing your kid’s electric car outside isn’t recommended. However, if you do need to store the car outside, always use a waterproof protective cover. It might be a good idea to store the battery indoors to keep it safe from cold and wet weather.
It’s easy to clean your electric ride on car, and you can do this with your kids to show them how to care for their toys properly! You should regularly clean to make sure the power wheels are safe to use.
Before you start, remove any debris or objects and unplug the car from charging. Debris and dirt can build up in the foot pack and under the trunk, so remember to check these areas. You need to wash your car carefully to avoid water from getting into the components or battery.
The best way to do this is to wipe the car with a damp cloth. Dip your cloth into a bucket of warm water and dish soap, ring it out and wipe over the vehicle. Once you’ve done this, go back over the car with a damp cloth dipped in fresh water.
Sometimes it’s worrying when your power wheel stops working, especially if it’s got wet. But, there’s no need to panic! There are a few checks you can do to see if you can fix the issues.
The first thing to do is safely remove the battery. Dry the battery and make sure there’s no remaining moisture. Get your charger to fully charge the battery. Once charged, place it back into the car, and it should run again. If not, then you might need to do some further checks.
Luckily if your electric ride on car does get wet, you can try some fixes to get it working again.
The very first step is to check whether your power wheels battery is dead or still working. If your battery is still working, then you won’t need a replacement battery. However, it’s worth remembering hidden damage can get worse over time. Even if this is working after getting wet, it might still need replacing soon.
An easy way to see if the battery is causing problems is to test your power wheels with a new battery. You might be lucky and have a spare battery with the correct voltage for your 6-volt, 12-volt or 24-volt electric car. Make sure that you double-check you’re using the correct battery before you carry out any tests.
Carefully take the old battery out and insert your other battery. If the car starts, chances are you know the issue is with the battery. Don’t throw this straight away! Instead, dry the battery, make sure the charger is dry, and charge the battery for two days. It might just be that the car battery needs to dry out.
Once dry, place it back into your ride on car. If it still doesn’t work, then start looking at replacement batteries.
Another common fix is to use a voltmeter to check the battery and charger are working as they should. To do this, connect up your car charger to the mains power supply. Use your voltmeter to interact with the charger terminals. Any readings below 6 volts for a 6v charger and 13 volts for a 12v charger show that there’s a problem and you need a replacement charger.
Check your battery as well using the voltmeter. You’ll be able to see if there’s a problem based on the readings you get. Readings should be over 5v for 6v batteries and over 10 and a half volts for 12v batteries.
If the battery seems okay and the charger is working, it’s time to check the parts of your power wheels. Unfortunately, you won’t always know which parts need changing until you get in there.
You might need to swap parts out one at a time to see which one is causing issues. You can either use parts from a similar ride on car if you have one or buy spare parts.
Inspecting your gearbox to make sure it’s working could fix your problems. However, these are hard to replace as they are located towards the back wheels. You’ll need to open the wheel hub to reach it and fit a replacement gearbox.
It’s common for wear and tear to damage the shifter in your ride on electric car, so it’s worth checking. Make sure you replace the old switches with a new pair of switches if you find any damage.
It might seem like an obvious fix, but make sure no debris or dirt is blocking up the foot pack. Mud and other bits of dirt build up over time and can eventually stop the car from properly running.
Clean out anything you find around the foot pedals. Sometimes the foot pack might be too damaged and will need replacing.
One of the best fixes for your kid’s electric ride on car is to do regular maintenance. Taking care of your electric toy car stops any severe damage from happening and helps you to spot anything before it gets worse.
Learning how to maintain your kid’s electric car or how to repair electric scooters saves you money and keeps your little ones happy! Show your children how to safely drive the car and regularly check the wheels and battery for damage.
Find out more about our range of electric ride on cars, and discover the perfect power wheels for your little one. At Electric Ride On Cars, we stock everything from Lamborghini ride on cars to kid’s ride on trucks.