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Do you take a lot of road trips or spend a lot of time in your car driving kids to and from activities and school? Did you know you can save a lot of money and prevent major repairs by performing routine maintenance? Do you know what things you should be checking and replacing? If not, you’ll find some helpful information in today’s post. Later in the post you’ll also find a free printable car maintenance checklist to keep in your vehicle(s) to remind you when to do what.
I wish I could take credit for the condition of our vehicles, but the truth is my family has my husband to thank. He has always been good about making sure we do routine checks and maintenance on all of our vehicles to ward off expensive repairs or unexpected car trouble down the road (Haha! Double entendre. Did you catch it?). He made sure I, and our teen drivers, know how to perform all of the routine maintenance to: 1) save money and 2) help us understand how our vehicles function. Most of it is easier than you think!
Important Note: You should always consult your vehicle’s owner manual for maintenance guidelines specific to your vehicle. The recommendations within this post are GENERAL guidelines.
Monthly
Each month you should check fluid levels and general condition of the car. It only takes a few minutes to check everything and once you know where to look and what to look for, it’s so easy that even a novice teen driver can do it without assistance. To demonstrate, I enlisted the help of my 16-year old daughter who gets her license in a few weeks.
Check Brake Fluid Level
The brake fluid reservoir is typically located under the hood near where the brake sits on the opposite side of the wall. In newer cars it is usually a translucent container that is marked with a fill line. A quick glance can tell you if the brake fluid is low. If it is, you just need to unscrew the cap on the top of the reservoir and add fluid to the fill line.
Check Coolant Level
The reservoir for coolant (aka “antifreeze”) looks similar to the brake fluid reservoir and is also usually marked with a fill line. In most cars, it sits near the front of the car. In the picture below my daughter is pointing to the fluid level which, since it is full, doesn’t need anything added right now.
Check Engine Oil Level
My first car was a Chevrolet Citation with a slow oil leak. One of the few things I learned to do (before my husband taught me everything I know about vehicle maintenance) was how to check the engine oil level. Once you locate the dipstick, you simply need to pull it out, wipe it clean, then push it back in all the way and withdraw it again. At the end of the stick are lines indicating the ideal range for your oil level. If it doesn’t pass the first line (closest to the tip of the stick), you need to add engine oil.
Check Lights
You don’t want to wait until an officer pulls you over to realize you have a tail light out. Or worse, you don’t want to be driving at night and realize you can’t see the road ahead of you because one of your headlights is out or they are too dirty for the light to illuminate the road ahead. Once a month it’s a good idea to leave the car running when you return home one night and walk around the car to inspect the lights.
Check Tire Pressure & Condition
Properly inflated tires result in better performance and better gas mileage. While you’re checking the tire pressure, it’s also a good idea to check out the tread on the tires to see if they are worn or wearing unevenly indicating that it’s time for a wheel alignment or tire rotation.
