Car Maintenance Basics Everyone Should Know

Car maintenance is crucial for car owners of all stripes to understand, for a wide variety of key reasons. Safety is the most important of these reasons, as poor car maintenance can increase the risk of accidents or injury. Cost is another considerable factor, as repair costs can mount when things go wrong. According to a recent survey, nearly three-quarters of UK car owners do not know how to perform even basic maintenance tasks; if you are one of the three in four, what should you know how to do?

How to Check Your Tyres

Your tyres are your car’s only point of contact with the ground – a fact that is easy to forget, and one that illustrates well the importance of maintaining awareness of your tyres’ condition. You should be checking their air pressure on a regular basis, with a tyre pressure gauge. This is especially important in the winter, as dropping temperatures cause air pressures to fall.

You should also know how to check the tread depth of your tyres, in order to not fall foul of legislation regarding tyre wear. Tyres should have a tread depth of at least 1.6mm, or the width of the band around the outside of a 20p piece. You can use a 20p piece to ascertain whether or not you need new tyres.

How to Jumpstart a Dead Battery

Dead car batteries are the common culprit for many roadside breakdowns, and often the root cause of costly call-outs to said breakdowns. Once upon a time, the only solutions would be to replace the battery altogether or to “jump” the starter motor with another vehicle’s battery and let the alternator charge your dying battery just enough to take you home.

Today, though, jump-starting your car is much easier. Products exist that jump your car for you, without the need for another pair of hands or a donor battery. This is the easiest way to save yourself from a lengthy wait for a helping hand – but if you find yourself in a pickle before you get your hands on one, it can be helpful to know exactly what to do.

In order to jumpstart your car with another, you will need two jumper cables. One attaches the positive terminal of the donor battery to the positive terminal of the dead one, and the other attaches the negative terminal of the donor battery to ground (aka an unpainted bit of car chassis or engine block). The donor car is started, then the dead car. After both have idled for up to 10 minutes, remove the ground jumper cable first, followed by the positive cable.  

When Your Car Needs Servicing

Regular car servicing is the best way to keep your car running for longer. If you neglect this regular service, it is more likely to develop issues and break down. This can lead to pricey repairs, meaning you end up spending more money trying to fix problems that could have been prevented.

Typically, most manufacturers recommend getting your car serviced about once a year or once every 12,000 miles. You should also keep a history of when your car was serviced and what, if anything, needed to be done.

If you notice any changes in your vehicle, such as issues with the brakes, unusual noises, engine inefficiency, dark smoke where it shouldn’t be, and dashboard warning lights, you should get it serviced right away.

How to Check Your Oil Level

Knowing how to check your oil level is vital to ensuring your engine lasts as long as it possibly can. If your engine oil is allowed to deplete and thicken, then your engine will be less lubricated and more prone to potential breakage. 

Checking your oil is as simple as lifting the bumper and locating your oil dipstick. Pull it all the way out, wipe it clean, and then dip it back into its reservoir before lifting again. There will be a clear marker for minimum oil level; if the tide on the dipstick is lower than this marker, your oil definitively needs topping up.