While your car may occasionally need to be repaired by a qualified mechanic, there are a few simple maintenance tasks you can carry out yourself to help preserve your valuable investment, and keep it running smoothly and reliably.
Here are 5 simple car care tasks to help keep your car out of the garage, and on the road:
1. Inspecting the battery
This should ideally be done at least once a year, and you’re looking for signs of dry white battery acid. If you spot any, remove the cables and using a wire brush and corrosion removal fluid (or natural combination of baking soda and water), clean the acid away. Rinse with water, dry off and reconnect.
2. Changing the windshield wipers
If your windshield blades have started to leave streaks, no longer remove rain and snow effectively, or are squeaking, it could be time to replace them. This should ideally be done every 6 months to a year, and it’s usually a simple task to carry out by following the instructions in the owner’s manual or on the wiper blade packaging.
3. Changing the engine air filter
Putting extra strain on an engine due to restricted air flow, a grubby air filter can impact gas mileage and the performance of your car’s acceleration. How often the engine air filter should be changed depends upon how and where you drive your car, and maintenance schedules can vary hugely between car manufacturers, so you’d be advised to check your owner’s manual to find out how often you should change yours. This is usually a pretty simple and straightforward task.
4. Checking your engine fluids
You should still check your engines fluid levels from time to time yourself, despite vehicle dashboard indicators, and while it doesn’t take long to do, always do it when the car is stationary on a flat surface. To do this safely for your particular make and model of car, check the owner’s manual.
If your car has a transmission fluid dipstick, check the levels when the vehicle is running.
Brake fluid is in a reservoir tank in which it’s easy to see the level indicator, and you can also check the power steering fluid reservoir, which may have a dipstick, depending on the model of car.
Lastly, check your windshield washer fluid, something most drivers are familiar with, and which is quick and easy to do.
5. Checking your tire pressure
While a lot of modern cars have tire pressure monitoring systems in-built, you should still make occasional checks yourself, manually, using a pressure gauge, and if needed, a portable tire inflator/mini air compressor.
So, to keep your car in tip top condition and preserve your investment, make yourself familiar with the above simple maintenance tasks, and carry them out as and when required.
For more details, visit https://firstchoicecars.com/
