What Are the Best Car Care Tips?

By John Harvey

Your car is a major investment, and it also gets you where you need to go. As such, it deserves proper care and maintenance to keep it running well. Many accidents are due to car problems that could be easily prevented with a little simple vehicle maintenance. You can perform many routine checks on your car yourself, and for many of them, you can also handle them without having to be a mechanic.

Taking this type of care and effort for your car means that you're going to make it last longer, too. You also get better gas mileage, fewer exhaust problems, and a longer tire life. If you do routine checks on your car, you're also going to be able to see small problems before they become expensive or even dangerous to you. It's imperative that you keep up on your car's maintenance so as to detect these problems and repair them; this will also help keep your car repair costs lower.

What should you be doing in order to maintain your car properly? Here's a checklist:

Start with the basics. Your owner's manual should have recommendations for routine maintenance, oil changes, and tuneups, among other things.

Oil and oil filters need to be changed periodically. Some cars require that these be changed out every 3000 miles while some other manuals will allow longer times between these changes.

Check fluid levels for several different applications weekly. Check your oil, brake fluid, transmission and power steering fluid, overflow tank and radiator fluid every week. Check to see that you have enough windshield washing solution or water every week, too. Take a few minutes to top off any fluids that are low.

Tires should be checked for proper pressure at least once a week. If your tires are under or over inflated, your car will be less fuel-efficient, and it could even be dangerous to you.

Check tires for wear patterns, the amount of tread you have left, and any cracks; also make sure no nails or tacks have been picked up that could be causing you to have a slow leak. Make sure his well that hubcaps and lug nuts are securely fastened.

Schedule and take your car in for regular tuneups. If your spark plugs or fuel injection are causing problems, your fuel mileage could be reduced by as much as 35%. It may be tempting to postpone tuneups, and a lot of people do especially if their cars appear to be running fine, but don't. Take your car to a professional mechanic so that your engine is thoroughly inspected for any problems that are small now, but that could be bigger later.

Make sure your chassis is regularly lubricated as well. This means your car's suspension is going to remain optimal. Usually, the shop that changes your oil will also perform chassis lubrication as part of the service.

Your battery is literally what keeps your car ticking along. Keep an eye on it, especially in regard to cables and posts. If you notice corrosion is building up, you can gently clean it off with a wire brush. Make sure connections are secure; if you don't, you could have a dead battery, which is something you don't want.

Change your windshield wiper blades at least once a year and inspect them monthly for cracks or other problems. Use a protective coating such as Rain-X on your windshield every 2 weeks. This increases your viewing ability on days when heavy rain is a problem.

Check your headlights, too, as well as tail lights and turn signals, once a week. Replace any burned-out bulbs, because this can cause you to have an accident or other problems.

It may seem like a lot to undertake: to follow a checklist every week to maintain your car well, but doing it on a regular basis will soon have it be second nature to you. And because you're proactive in this way, your car is going to stay running well and in good repair for much longer, which means that it will perform well for you much longer, too. - 21392

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