Making sure your vehicle performance is optimal means more than just sending your car in for a service in line with its maintenance schedule. You should do a bit of maintenance yourself.
Knowing the car maintenance basics could save you a fortune in repair shop costs. But what type of preventative tasks should you be doing to improve your vehicle performance?
Here are five car maintenance basics that will keep your vehicle happy.
1. Replacing Your Car Battery
Getting your battery replaced can be expensive. If you wait until your battery is completely flat and won’t charge anymore, you may need to call out a recovery truck to tow you if you’ve broken down, and then get charged the earth for a replacement battery.
But if you know that your battery is on its way out, you can do something about it before your car breaks down. Replacing your battery is a relatively short and straightforward job that anyone can do.
By testing your battery occasionally, you can avoid your car breaking down.
2. Carry Out a Tire Inspection
Making sure that you have enough tread on your car’s tires is essential for your safety. If you don’t have enough tread, your tires won’t grip the road and you could skid and have trouble stopping.
For this reason, you should make sure you check your tires on a regular basis. You can do this by placing a penny headfirst into the tread. If you can see the top of Lincoln’s head, you should replace your tires as soon as possible.
Learn more about the tell-tale signs that your car’s tires need replacing here.
3. Replace Your Brake Pads
Brake pads wear down preventing your vehicle from stopping within adequate time. If you don’t take care of your brakes, you could end up in a car accident.
The car industry wants motorists to think that this is a difficult task and garages charge quite a lot for parts and labor. However, it’s actually quite a straightforward job.
When your brakes start to squeak, it’s time to replace them. All you’ll need is a car jack, some pliers, and a wrench.
4. Carry Out an Oil Change
Carrying out an oil change will help keep your engine running smoothly. You should aim to change your oil every 10,000 miles. It’s not a difficult job, you just need to drain the sump tank and refill your oil tank.
It may be a messy job, but it’s worth it for the performance of your vehicle.
5. Check Your Fluids
Finally, you should keep an eye on all of your fluids. This means your antifreeze, windscreen wash, and oil levels.
Checking these every couple of weeks and topping them up accordingly will ensure your car is in tip-top condition.
Car Maintenance Basics
Knowing some car maintenance basics can save you a small fortune at the repair shop where you’ll be charged excessive labor costs for small and simple jobs.
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