Imagine being stuck on the side of the freeway. We’ve all seen that person or been there before, our car overheating and pouring smoke from some unknown area.
The cars whizz past as you helplessly gaze and wait for the tow trunk. The frustration mounts as you realize the inconvenience this brings to your day. You’re even angrier because you know this could have been prevented had you just taken a little more care with your car.
Luckily, we’ve provided you 10 essential tips on car maintenance to make sure you never deal with this situation. We also advise you to maintain and follow your routine service schedule that is tailored to your specific vehicle.
1. In order to prevent the engine from working too hard in your car, the simplest advice you can get is to always make sure you get the oil changed without allowing extensive periods of time to elapse. This is much more than adding some new oil for to the car. The engine must always remain properly lubricated, therefore scheduling routine oil changes should be as routine as looking at your smartphone.
2. How often are you looking under the hood? You can get under there easy enough with a flashlight. Even if you are hesitant or inexperienced, there are a few things to look for even with an untrained eye.
Do things look out of place?
Do you see cracks in the hoses or belts?
Do all the components look wet?
Make sure you are getting under her hood at least once per month.
3. Be sure the tires are properly inflated! The air pressure needs to be checked often in order to ensure a comfortable ride is maintained at all times. You cannot check the tire pressure simply by squeezing them; use a tire pressure gauge! These are available at most gas or service stations.
4. Fuel economy and the lifetime of your tires are also maintained to the fullest when the tires are properly inflated, not to mention the vehicle’s handling is also significantly improved. How smooth a car rides is one of the main reasons you bough such a quality car.
5. She needs to breathe deeply, and that is accomplished with air filters. Make sure the air filters for the engine and the cabin filtration system for your vehicle are changed regularly because they will collect debris and dirt, become clogged, and not work as efficiently as they should when gone unchanged.
6. Make sure you are also monitoring your vehicle’s fluids such as the coolant, oil, and washer fluid so that they are all functioning as well as they should be. Give your car this kind of simple attention at least once per week.
7. Don’t forget the brake, transmission, and power steering fluids. Those should be checked at least on a monthly basis. Maybe you could consider that as your monthly gift to your car?
8. Car washing is a priority you should never neglect when it comes to your vehicle care. Do not allowyour vehicle to go without a good cleaning; otherwise, you are not only sacrificing its appearance but also the quality of the paint and exterior. If you don’t have time for a car wash find a reliable local car wash or detail location.
9. The interior of your vehicle deserves just as much attention. In addition to keeping the interior constantly vacuumed, you should also be conditioning the leather seats routinely. There are premium interior car care products that you can pick up at the car spa…I mean, in the service care aisles of your favorite automotive supply store or service station.
10. Give your vehicle its spa day by bringing it to a high quality service center. You invested a significant amount of money into her purchase; therefore, she needs some pampering from time to time. That means proper servicing using quality parts that are installed by professional service technicians.