Maintaining your car is an extremely important yet often overlooked part of being a car owner. With so many other priorities keeping us busy in our day-to-day lives, it’s easy to forget to get your car’s oil changed or check on the tires. Even if it may seem like you have to go out of your way to add something extra to your to-do list, the extra effort now for maintenance purposes will save you loads of time and money down the road. The first step to ensuring your car is properly maintained on the regular is setting a schedule and adding it to your calendar. Whether you need a reminder to change your car’s wiper blades or take it to the shop for preventative care, incorporating vehicle care into your routine will make it easier for you to keep it top of mind.
What Are The Most Common Vehicle Issues To Keep An Eye Out For?
- A dead battery is an obvious sign that your car needs some extra TLC. Without a working battery, your vehicle cannot start, and you can’t get to where you need to be. If you keep your headlights on for too long or the battery itself is old, you may be facing a dead car battery.
- Faulty brakes are not to be messed with- depending on the damage, you may either need to get new brake pads or replace the brake lines as a whole. If you’re not stopping after pressing the brakes or you see a light yellow fluid leaking from your car’s wheel wells, you should check your brakes.
- Is your engine air filter due for a change? If the air filter hasn’t been changed in a while, chances are that dirt, debris, and even tiny particles like a grain of salt can damage your vehicle. Changing the air filter also extends your engine’s life, so make it a point to check on this part of your car and replace it regularly.
What Are Some Vehicle Maintenance Tips You Can Do Without Going To The Shop?
- Jumper cables are the best way to jumpstart your car if you are facing a dead battery issue. It’s always a good idea to keep jumper cables in your vehicle if you need them on the road.
- If you encounter a faulty brake, you should change your car’s brake pads if the damage isn’t too far gone. By checking on your car’s brake pads and seeing if they’re too worn out, you can take preventative action against your brakes failing to work on the road. Depending on how much you drive, you should change your car’s brake pads every 25,000-75,000 miles.
- You can change your engine’s air filter by unscrewing the air filter retainer, removing the old filter, and replacing it with the new one. A good litmus test to see whether your engine’s air filter needs to be removed is to show it toward the light. If half the light is blocked from your engine’s air filter, it’s time for a change.
We hope you learned something new about vehicle maintenance this winter! They say an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, which couldn’t be more true for vehicle preventative care. We hope that the above tips helped you gain insight into regularly maintaining your vehicle, also knowing that prevention can only get you so far. If you find yourself in the middle of the road or need your car towed to the nearest shop, contact Tow Pro at (615) 256- TOWS (8697). We’re happy to help however we can!