In today’s era, owning a car is not only a piece of luxury but a necessity too. If you have recently bought your dream car, we welcome you to a never-ending task of vehicle maintenance. After all, it is a huge investment that none would want to be ruined!
Having said that your car can be dream-come-true ownership or a nightmare given how well you take care of your vehicle. If your car tries to tell you something, pay attention to it! Regular maintenance of your car ensures safety and prevents you from getting into a car accident – a well-maintained vehicle saves yours as well as others’ lives on the road.
Today, we are going to share a few useful car repair and maintenance tips to keep your vehicle in optimum performance:
Examine the Vehicle Regularly
Examining the different parts of your car on a regular basis is a must. This examination requires basic as well as advanced or professional assessment. If you are new to your vehicle maintenance and don’t know where to begin with, that’s okay! The owner’s manual is your go-to help, to begin with, your car assessment at the basic level.
In case, something looks complicated, you can get help from a professional and fix the issue. Examining your vehicle on a regular basis helps you increase knowledge about your vehicle, its various parts and you know how to fix the problem with your car.
Learn How to Read Warning Light Indicators
Unlike old fashioned cars, modern vehicles come with sophisticated warning indicators and sensors system that you must know how to read and what those lights indicate on your instrument panel.
For example, engine lights, service engine light, Electrical fault light, Coolant warning light, ABS warning light, Oil warning light, and Brake warning light. Once, you understand these warning light indicators, you can prevent a car accident by taking action at the right time.
Keep the Tire Pressure in Check
Why? Because, tire pressure puts a great impact on fuel economy, comfort as well as it affects the handling of the vehicle. Hence, an under or overinflated tire can blow out and cause a fatal car accident.
Depending on the type of your car, your owner’s manual will guide you regarding the recommended tire pressure; you can use tools and gadgets to check the tire pressure if your car does not contain tire pressure monitoring system. According to experts, you must check the tire pressure on a weekly basis, in some cases, a daily check won’t hurt either!
And if you don’t have the tools, fret not; because there are few smart gadgets that you can connect with your mobile device and monitor the tire pressure constantly.
Check the Tread Grooves
Have you ever wondered why race cars have slick, smooth tread-less cars? Well, this is because they require optimum contact with the ground and have a pit crew. Under wet racetrack conditions, these tires are replaced within 10 seconds appropriate rubber tires to keep the water away from the track.
But in the real world, your car does not come with a pit crew. Your vehicle needs tires that can work in all weather conditions. And here tire treads play a vital role in balancing your car. You must have seen the tread patterns with wide contact patches; this makes your tire’s rubber more versatile. As the modern tires come with tread wear bars molded into the tread grooves, they easily let you know whether they are too deep to keep the water away from the tire and prevent them from being slippery.
Replace your car’s tires if they don’t come with the tread wear bars. Although it may be expensive, nothing is as expensive as a car accident.
Examine Tire’s Alignment Regularly
As far as your safety on the road is concerned, there must be no negligence! You may forget to check wheel balancing and its alignment. Given the mileage, as indicated in your owner’s manual, it is crucial to rotate, balance and align your vehicle’s wheels. The rule of thumb is to have them checked after every 5,000 miles. And hey, it is even better if you double check with the manual to keep your vehicle’s maintenance perfect.
Keep an Eye on Oil Level
All your car maintenance will go in vain if the engine malfunctions. There are a lot of moving parts in the engine that brush against each other and create friction, which eventually reduces the engine’s performance and its fuel efficiency.
In order to ensure the reduced friction a smooth functioning of the engine, keep it lubricated with a good quality engine oil. In addition to it, change oil regularly as per the guidance in your owner’s manual. If the color of the oil has turned dark or black that means it is contaminated with other chemicals and excessive heat and your car desperately need an oil change.
Although the list of your car’s maintenance is exhaustive, however, these are a few basic maintenance tips for your vehicle. It is definitely easy to maintain your car which requires your vigilance. Spending a few bucks on your car maintenance prevents you from a car accident and even risking yours and your loved one’s lives.
