Car Maintenance Basics

As a car owner, it’s important to know about your basic car maintenance procedures. If you perform regular basic maintenance on your car, you’ll keep it working longer in between professional car mechanic inspections, as well as keeping your family, your friends and yourself safe. And what better way to save money by fixing minor car issues while they’re still minor? Here are some car maintenance basics that any car owner should know and follow.

Basic Safety Checks

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Before taking your car out for a drive, you should perform basic safety checks to make sure your car will operate as it should. The Royal Automobile Club of Queensland (RACQ) motoring club suggests the following basic-level safety checks for car owners:

1. Inspect the car’s exterior lights to ensure that they are all functioning.
   You can check the lights’ reflections against the walls of a garage or a similar enclosed space.
2. Check under the car for coolant or oil spots on the ground in a spot that only your car would park at, such as inside of the garage.
   Fluid spots could indicate a more significant problem that a professional mechanic should look into.
3. Perform a horn test to hear if it sounds properly.
4. Inspect the car’s seat belts for wear and tear.
   Check the belt webbing for sun bleaching, tears or other damage.
   Fasten each belt and tug them to ensure that they each remain locked.
5. Activate the windscreen washers and wipers and assess for any streaks or other kinds of improper functioning.
6. Inspect tyres for their tread depth, relative wear, overall condition, and their respective pressures.
7. Ensure that all glass surfaces are clear of any cracks, chips or scratches and are clean.
8. Check the handbrake so that you feel confident that it can hold the car on high elevations.

Basic Car Maintenance Tips

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Before car problems arise, you should check the areas of your car that do not always require a specialist or mechanic. Here are a few tips from Finder AU on things you should know about basic car maintenance. Most of its tips can be performed or followed without hiring a professional.

1. Regularly rotate your tyres to even out their levels of wear and help them last longer.
2. Periodically wash your car or pay for a car washing service to protect its paint job and reduce rusting.
3. Replace the fuel filters based on the recommended interval of your owner’s manual. Fuel filters block rust and dirt so that the fuel delivery system operates efficiently.
4. Check car belts to prevent engine troubles. Modern cars use a single belt to handle the car’s water pump, alternator, and timing.
5. Listen to your car while it runs. Check if the engine makes any weird noises. It’s best to know how your car sounds when everything is working fine to detect problems later in the life of your car.

We’d love to know what tasks you perform for keeping your vehicle up to date. Leave us a comment below!