What can be worse than watching your car break down or die? For the purpose of keeping your car running at its very best, it is essential to keep up with routine inspection and maintenance. Through the optimal maintenance of your car – you will be saving a lot from future repairs, optimizing the performance of your vehicle, extending its life, and keeping up with its value.
For the car’s optimal performance, we have gathered a list of some regular to-do maintenance lists for you to keep in mind;
1 – Make regular and simple checks
First things first, one of the most effective ways of increasing the lifespan of your car is by doing regular checkups. A checklist of important inspections will alarm the problems before they get a chance to develop into an expensive repair bill, and it could also assist you to stop hurdles from arising in the first place.
We suggest that you do these checking as frequently as possible, maybe every two weeks:
- Air conditioning
- Oil
- Rubber (i.e. Wiper blades and tires)
- Fuel
- Coolant
- Screenwash
- Electrics
- Brakes
- Spark plug (petrol engine only)
- Exteriors
- Interiors
2 – Stick to the service schedule
Regular servicing is essential if you want to keep your car running at optimal performance and prolong its lifespan. The intervals are settled on the miles or time driven.
You can read the handbook to figure out when your vehicle needs a service and what work is required. Nowadays, many modernized cars have warning lights on their dashboard to alarm you when your car requires maintenance.
On the whole, you should save a small budget for minor service once a year and a major service every two and three years. Relying on the car’s performance and mileage, minor services might include oil filtering, oil changing, and replacement of other fluids if needed. While on the other hand, major services may cover the replacement of spark plugs, cam belts, and air filter. The tasks for minor services are numerous, but most importantly these tasks should include the accurate operation of wipers, horn, gearbox, clutch, lights, suspension, steering, and the checking of fluid leaks, oil, tire pressure and condition, excessive exhaust, brake wear, and emissions.
3 – Keep Your Car Clean
Keeping your car clean is not just about vanity – it can considerably keep your car running for a longer time.
Grit gets into the chassis and the moving parts, which leads to corrosion and accelerated wear. Automated car washes have stiff brushes that might leave fine scratch marks. You need to take your car for pre-rinse before heading for deep cleaning and don’t forget to employ a proper cleansing solution rather than just washing up liquid and before drying the vehicle with a soft chamois.
Getting a yearly polish will provide a layer of protection and avert corrosion from spreading. It is also essential to keep the inside of your car clean using a microfiber cloth and to get rid of any dirt from the floor mats.
Employing a protective sprat on the dashboard prevents the likelihood of discoloration or cracking, meanwhile placing a sunshade on the windscreen on bright days assists too.
4 – Watch out for potholes and rough tracks
Potholes can wreak havoc on your tires, exhaust, and suspension. The hard edges found on the roads can lead to tread separation, sidewalk bulges, and in some cases, it might even lead to tire deflation. While driving on the holes, suspension can change into misaligned and shock damages.
Deeper holes have the power to scrape catalytic converters, which leads to loss of power. The best possible solution to this problem is by taking roads that have a smoother surface to bypass the wear and tear situation.
5 – Don’t run low on fuel
When you run your car on low fuel, the fuel pump will draw on debris, sediments, and air that is found at the bottom of the fuel tank in an attempt to power your car. The dispensable material might cog the system and ultimately corrode the filters and pump, possibly blocking fuel and stopping your car from starting.
The owners of diesel cars should be particularly more guarded of low fuel levels, as the powerful injectors in the car’s engine are capable of drawing large quantities of air into the system, which can easily lead to turning over of the engine. Keeping the ideal fuel level can highly cut expensive bills.
6 – Don’t run low on fuel
Modifying your car is likely to shorten its life and make it less reliable. Tuning the engine for extra power implies extra brakes if you drive fast as a result. The sportier, stiffer suspension also results in additional wear to the brushes, sub-frames, and chassis.
After modifying the car, there are higher chances of frequent depreciation which is the biggest cost involved in a running car, the reduction of resale shouldn’t be taken lightly.
7 – Keep the weight down
The motor manufacturers are incessantly looking for ways to reduce the weight of their manufactured vehicles to uprise the miles per gallon and meet the fluid’s requirements. So it makes sense to keep the weight down carried by car to a minimum whenever possible.
Adding extra weight is the quickest way to dent the fuel economy of your car. You will also be putting extra additional wear and tear on your brakes, suspension, and tires. A seamless and practical solution is to simply discard the unneeded objects from the car.
Final Words!
These tricks and tips will assist you in getting the most out of your car and will keep it running like a new one. If you own an old car that has a lot of miles on it, then do check the owner’s manual to view the recommended service intervals. Getting regular service is the key to keeping your car in the best condition and prevents any potential problems from rising. You always have the mechanic’s shop to get your services done, but by keeping track of these small routine checks you might not need one.
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